The annual ASCO Meeting, held in Chicago, May 31-June 4, 2019, explored many issues related to oncology. Exciting developments in the field of early detection include Grail’s liquid biopsy test and data showing that Medicaid expansion helped detect more cases of ovarian cancer earlier, potentially saving lives. New treatments for pancreatic cancer cut progression risk in half, and another drug assists in the battle against bladder cancer. This and more in this week’s Innovation Partners BioBlog.

ASCO: In early study results, Grail’s blood test identifies 12 cancers before they spread

Initial data from Grail indicates that its new liquid biopsy test can detect up to 12 cancers before they spread. The test also had a low false-positive rate at 1% or less. Not only can the test detect up to 12 cancers before they spread, it can also provide information on their location within the body. Detection rates varied among the dozen prespecified and potentially fatal types of tumors in earlier stages—from 59% in lung cancers up to 86% in cancers of the head and neck. When analyzed by cancer stage, the test showed sensitivity rates of 34%, 77%, 84% and 92% across all tumor types, from stage I to stage IV, respectively. Results from the study will be presented at the annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.
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ASCO: AZ, Merck’s Lynparza fends off pancreatic cancer, cutting progression risk in half

AstraZeneca and Merck’s Lynparza offered phase 3 data showing the PARP inhibitor reduced the risk of the disease worsening or death by 47% in patients with germline BRCA-mutated pancreatic cancer that hadn’t progressed after an initial round of chemo. Lynparza patients in the study, dubbed Polo, went a median 7.4 months without their cancer advancing compared with just 3.8 months for placebo patients.At the one-year mark, Lynparza had kept cancer at bay for 34% of patients versus placebo’s 15%. And at the two-year mark, Lynparza continued the trend, staving off progression in more than twice as many patients as placebo did—at 22% and 10%, respectively.
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ASCO: Astellas, Seattle Genetics’ ADC banishes 12% of bladder cancers

Astellas and Seattle Genetics shared data showing their antibody-drug conjugate, enfortumab vedoti, shrank 44% of tumors and eliminated 12% of them in patients with advanced urothelial cancer. The treatment could become an option for patients whose cancer has worsened despite receiving chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors. The phase 2 data was presented at the ASCO annual meeting.
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Cigna, Santa Clara County IPA partnership lowers medical costs, readmission rates

Data indicates that Cigna’s partnership with Santa Clara County IPA may reduce medical costs and improve patient outcomes. The partnership involves 240 primary care physicians and 600 specialists who serve approximately 18,000 residents of Santa Clara. According to Cigna, total medical costs for SCCIPA participants are 18% below the market average. Participants have given the group’s quality score a 20% improvement as care for patients with cardiac conditions, diabetes and depression improved.
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ASCO Town Hall Brings Tense Conversation About Drug Pricing

The American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO’s) Annual Meeting held a town hall meeting to discuss the topic of drug pricing. Moderators included Jeffrey Ward, MD, FASCO, hematologist at the Swedish Cancer Institute and Rodney Whitlock, PhD, of McDermott+Consulting. The discussion became tense as moderators fielded questions and concerns around drug pricing. The Trump administration has made lowering the cost of medications a major objective. By doing so, the administration has put out a series of proposals looking to address the cost of drugs, such as the International Pricing Index (IPI), and the recently finalized rule around direct-to-consumer advertising for pharmaceutical companies.
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Medicaid expansion narrows racial gaps in access to timely ovarian cancer care: study

Medicaid expansion may have narrowed the racial disparities in early access to ovarian cancer treatment. Blacks were 4.8 percentage points less likely than whites to receive care in a timely manner, defined in the study as within 30 days of diagnosis. However, inn states where Medicaid was expanded under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), black patients saw a 6.1 percentage point improvement in access to timely care for ovarian cancer. Early detection and treatment of ovarian cancer is crucial because survival rates drop for cancers detected later.
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