Cost Analysis of Biosimilar vs Reference Rituximab for Treating CLL and Other Diseases

Rituximab-abbs may have more economic benefits compared to rituximab in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), rheumatoid arthritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and microscopic polyangiitis, according to a study presented at the virtual 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting. These findings were presented by Elizabeth James, MD, Aventine Consulting, LLC, Read more…

Clinical and Economic Burden of First-Line Chemoimmunotherapy for CLL/SLL

Between high-risk and nonhigh-risk patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) initiating first-line chemoimmunotherapy, high-risk patients experience greater risk of next treatment or death, treatment failure, and higher costs, according to a real-world study presented at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting. The economic burden for patients Read more…

Real-World PSA Progression After Enzalutamide or Abiraterone for Metastatic CRPC

A real-world study presented at the virtual 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting evaluated prostate-specific antigen pattern progression and its association with overall survival (OS) among patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who were treated with enzalutamide or abiraterone. In a real-world setting, prostate-specific antigen value is used among practitioners to Read more…

Cost-Effectiveness of Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation vs MRI Surveillance for Small Cell Lung Cancer

This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of prophylactic cranial irradiation compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) surveillance in this patient population. Cost-effectiveness of the treatment approaches were based on currently available evidence and in the context of the proposed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services alternative payment model. A Markov state Read more…

Venetoclax for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma: Outcomes Outside of Clinical Trials

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable disease despite incorporation of novel agents. Venetoclax, a B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) inhibitor is approved for some hematologic malignancies but not yet for MM, although clinical trials have shown efficacy in patients with MM particularly those harboring t(11;14). Venetoclax demonstrates encouraging activity in heavily-treated Read more…

Despite Benefits, Hematologists May Hesitate to Promote Exercise to Patients with Multiple Myeloma

Previous literature has explored the beneficial relationship between physical activity and quality of life improvement (QOL) sin patients with MM. A study published in BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care found that physically active MM survivors reported higher health-related QOL (HRQOL), including significant improvements in fatigue (P=0.002) and reduced treatment-related adverse effects (P=0.001), Read more…