An analysis of Medicare claims data found that African American and Hispanic patients who underwent surgical removal of the pancreas for pancreatic cancer were less likely than white patients to use hospice services at the end of life, though all groups were just as likely to use hospice late, meaning initiation within 3 days of death.

Genetic information could help identify patients likely to respond to radiation therapy and predict when disease recurrence following radiation is likely to occur.

Drug costs and requirements for prior authorization of treatment plans pose barriers to cancer treatment and can potentially affect outcomes for many patients, according to two studies that will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) upcoming Quality Care Symposium, taking place September 6-7, 2019, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in San Diego.

CHICAGO – A study looking at 10,500 health records of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients from ASCO’s CancerLinQ database found that the use of expanded clinical trial inclusion criteria, as proposed by ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research in 2017, would nearly double the percentage of patients eligible to enroll in clinical trials – from 52.3% to 98.5%. The expanded clinical trial eligibility criteria would allow aNSCLC patients with brain metastases, previous or concurrent cancers, and limited kidney function to enroll in clinical trials.

The study will be featured in a press briefing today and presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

CHICAGO – A recent survey of U.S.-based physician members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology found that 64% of respondents experienced sexual harassment in training or practice; among women, the rate was 71% and among men it was 51%. Only 10% reported the incident(s) to officials. In addition, women were more likely than men to respond that gender affected career advancement (34% vs. 10%) and played a role in setting their salary (42% vs. 6%).

The study will be featured in a press briefing today and presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

CHICAGO – Previous racial disparities in timely cancer treatment between African American and white patients practically disappeared in states where Medicaid access was expanded under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a new analysis of electronic health records of over 30,000 patients. The study, based on data from Flatiron Health, also found that after Medicaid expansion African American patients had the greatest rate of improvement in receiving care within 30 days of diagnosis as compared with white patients.

These findings will be presented in ASCO’s Plenary Session, which features four studies of great importance to patient care, out of the 5,600 abstracts accepted to the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

An interim analysis of the international randomized, phase III ENZAMET trial found that 80% of men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) who received the non-steroidal anti-androgen (NSAA) medicine enzalutamide (Xtandi) along with the standard of care treatment were alive after 3 years compared with 72% of men who received other NSAAs along with standard treatment. The study was led by the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate (ANZUP) Cancer Trials Group.