The latest in precision prevention news, curated for CancerIQ's community of oncologists, genetic counselors, breast centers, primary care providers, and anyone interested in staying ahead of cancer.
- Undiagnosed cancer could be the next health crisis — and we aren’t ready via TheHill
If you read one thing before the year's out, it should be this incisive look at the consequences of not prioritizing preventive oncology – for both patients and profit – by Sanjula Jain Ph.D.
"The current data paint an ominous landscape of the future of cancer care and indicate that the drop in screenings and preventive measures may be more than just a temporary byproduct of the pandemic.
...It might take several years for us to grasp the consequences of missed cancer screenings and diagnoses. In that time, hundreds of thousands will be diagnosed with cancer and many will lose their battle. If [we] don’t act now to manage this emerging health crisis, we stand to face a potentially unpreventable wave of cancer cases, including more advanced-stage cases, across the population."
- Why Preventive Oncology is Good for Patients and Profit via CancerIQ
This year marks “one of the worst financial years on record for hospitals,” according to Kaufman Hall. In this environment, the usual hospital revenue generation strategies won’t get off the ground. Going into 2023, hospital leaders will need to find ways to drive greater incremental revenue with the resources they already have.
You might be missing a significant portion of your patient population who would benefit from billable clinical services, like colonoscopies, breast MRIs and prophylactic surgeries. Read on to find out why preventive oncology that capture these patients – which is good for both patients and profit – should be on the top of every health system’s priority list.
- Genetic testing for prostate cancer increases after introduction of point-of-care program via NewsWise
Why are genetic testing and counseling underutilized in cancer prevention? "The lack of an effective protocol to signal physicians" that it’s clinically indicated. That's why we're working to arm every provider with the technology that incorporates comprehensive risk factors and cross references them with the most-up-to-date guidelines to increase uptake and adherence.
Comprehensive Urology's adoption of a guideline-based point-of-care assessment and testing protocol for patients at risk of prostate cancer, "approximately tripled the rate of patient compliance with recommended genetic testing: from 33.3% to 98.7%. Point-of-care testing also decreased turnaround time to the availability of genetic test results, from 38 to 21 days."
"The foresight of the urology group to partner with medical oncologists allowed us to better utilize targeted therapies, offer enrollment in clinical trials and recommend cascade testing for family members, which significantly broadened the scope of care provided to the patient and their families," said Dr. Howard Korman.
- A lethal cancer’s long reach via Harvard Medicine
"Dr. Katharine Esselen vividly recalls one of her most tragic cases. A woman in her 50s showed up with a hallmark sign of ovarian cancer — a bloated belly. Quickly, Dr. Esselen and her colleagues confirmed the diagnosis, learning the woman had mentioned this and other symptoms to her primary care doctor elsewhere in the past. But her doctor never asked about any family history of the disease — a glaring omission, since the woman’s mother had died of ovarian cancer in her 30s.
'This was a super-fit and energetic woman who’d been good about getting care, and it broke my heart because we diagnosed her when she was incurable,' recalls Dr. Esselen, a gynecologic oncologist at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 'It was such a missed opportunity to refer her for genetic counseling or testing,' along with tests that may have led to earlier diagnosis."
- Moderna's mRNA Skin Cancer Vaccine Shows Early Promise in a New Study via Time
A new skin cancer vaccine is delivering on the promises of personalized care pathways, and Dr. Stephen Hoge of Moderna says "'this is a transformational moment for the field.' The key to the vaccine’s success is that it was tailored to each patient’s tumor, allowing each patient to mount a precise and targeted response to their cancer."
Personalized cancer vaccines may be on the way, but until they become widely available, health systems can start seeing the clinical and financial benefits of personalized care even sooner. The future of oncology focuses on moving upstream to intercept patients before a cancer diagnosis even occurs – enter precision prevention. Stay tuned for more from CancerIQ in our latest eBook, Preventive Oncology: An Untapped Revenue Source for Today’s Health Systems on how we're making this possible at scale.
- Large-scale study led by Fred Hutch finds new genetic risk factors for colorectal cancer, paving the way for better screening, prevention
The most comprehensive analysis yet "of more than 100,000 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases, led by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle and 200 scientific collaborators worldwide, has identified more than 100 new genetic risk factors strongly linked with the disease." The findings aim to help clarify who's at the highest risk for colorectal cancer so they can receive early screening, and who may be eligible for preventive chemo or other prophylaxis.
"Knowing these hereditary factors and which groups are at greatest risk from them can guide clinicians in recommending preventive measures and more frequent screenings which can lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment and better survival outcomes for patients," said Dr. Minta Thomas.
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