Specialty Pharmacy

With more novel therapies entering the market, costs are on the rise, however, new research suggests that the price tag may not reflect the drug’s clinical value.

At the ESMO Congress 2019, Ulrik Lassen, MD, PhD, professor of oncology at the University of Copenhagen, discussed the newly-released clinical data highlighting new overall survival and progression-free survival results for larotrectinib (Vitrakvi, Bayer) in tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusion cancer.

Treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor plus fulvestrant found to improve overall survival in women with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor 2-negative advanced breast cancer.

The addition of the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to standard presurgical chemotherapy improved pathological complete response (pCR) rates for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

A pharmacist and nurse led non-medical prescribing clinic that was focused on side effect management and survivorship support for patients with melanoma helped to improve common every-day pressure seen in a medical day unit and improved overall patient experience.

At the ESMO Congress 2019, Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, chief oncologist at Copenhagen University Hospital, talked about how ovarian cancer treatment has evolved over the years.

The PRIMA study evaluated the efficacy and safety of niraparib therapy after response to platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with newly-diagnosed ovarian cancer.

At the ESMO Congress 2019, Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, chief oncologist at Copenhagen University Hospital, discussed the role of oncology pharmacists in managing the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.

New data presented at the ESMO Congress 2019 showed that a 2-drug immunotherapy combination improved overall survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

At ESMO Congress 2019, Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, chief oncologist at Copenhagen University Hospital, discussed the latest practice-changing clinical data results involving PARP inhibitor therapy in ovarian cancer.

Five-year overall survival rates in patients with melanoma were 52% for nivolumab plus ipilimumab, 44% for nivolumab, and 26% for ipilimumab.  

The FDA has given the green light to rituximab (Rituxan) injection for the treatment of granulomatosis with polyangiitus (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) in children age 2 and older in combination with glucocorticoids. The application was approved under priority review and with orphan designation.

Research discusses specific mindsets that could affect the health of patients with cancer: regarding the disease as either a catastrophe or an opportunity and seeing the body as either a friend or foe.

Top news of the day from across the health care landscape.

Top news of the day from across the health care landscape.

The findings from 3 analyses on avelumab in combination with axitinib significantly improved progression-free survival compared with sunitinib in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

First-line atezolizumab (Tecentriq, Roche) monotherapy demonstrated improved survival compared with chemotherapy alone in PD-L1-high non-small cell lung cancer.

The efficacy of ceritinib was evaluated in patients who have ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer with active brain metastases.

Improvements in overall survival and response rates found in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with first-line nivolumab.

Daratumumab was approved based on results from part one of the Phase III CASSIOPEIA study.

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2019 will be taking place September 27 to October 1 in Barcelona, Spain, and Pharmacy Times® and Specialty Pharmacy Times® will be on location delivering coverage.

Value assessment frameworks are expected to play a more pivotal role in decisions that affect future patient choice and access.

Study indicated that patients who received radiation 30 days or fewer before their CAR T-cell infusion did not experience serious cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity.

Mammography found more effective at detecting breast cancer in men with high risk than for women with an average risk and in detecting the disease before it metastasizes.

Top news of the day across the health care landscape.

Top news of the day across the health care landscape.

Study participants who consumed approximately 500 mg of total flavonoids each day had the lowest risk of a cancer or heart disease-related death.

Study shows that higher levels of PTSD symptoms can be associated with increased risks of ovarian cancer even decades after women experience a traumatic event.