ASCO and the Food and Drug Administration are hosting two workshops, Feb. 27 and March 4, that will provide a forum for discussion of extending the qualification of minimal residual disease (MRD) detection as a prognostic biomarker to that of an efficacy/response biomarker in evaluating new drugs for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

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ASCO and the Institute of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum will co-host a workshop on Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century, Feb. 11-12, 2013.

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This four-part ASCO in Action educational series is designed to help ASCO members better understand the complex issue of physician payment reform – and why 2013 may witness dramatic changes in how Medicare reimburses oncologists for treating cancer patients. This first article provides an overview of the issue; Part 2 will discuss the Sustainable Growth Rate formula; Part 3 will provide details on the current buy and bill system of reimbursing for oncology drugs; and Part 4 will discuss payment reform options being considered as alternatives to the current fee-for-service system.

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The U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved bevacizumab (AVASTIN®, Genentech U.S., Inc.) for use in combination with fluoropyrimidine-irinotecan or fluoropyrimidine-oxaliplatin based chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) whose disease has progressed on a first-line bevacizumab-containing regimen.

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ASCO and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) held a meeting Jan. 16 to discuss how to work across international borders to improve efficiency of cancer clinical trials and make research on personalized cancer therapy available to more patients around the world.

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ASCO, a member of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC), is co-sponsoring the Coalition’s National Summit on Advanced Illness Care. The Summit brings together medical providers, policy makers, caregivers, insurers, advocates and faith leaders to address issues facing those with advanced illness, including cancer.

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A provision in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which passed in the waning hours of the past year to avert the “fiscal cliff,” may allow oncology practices to meet their Physician Quality Reporting System requirements by participating in ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative® (QOPI) starting in 2014.

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Three Research Projects Release Preliminary Data on Oncology Workforce Environment

Introduction
Anticipating a sea change in oncology practice over the next decade and beyond, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) initiated a far-reaching research initiative in 2012 to collect and analyze oncology-related demographic and practice data to help guide the society’s response to the business and political landscape in which oncologists care for people with cancer.

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