Dr. Hershman on the Use of Compendia-Approved Drugs

Dawn L. Hershman, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Leader, Breast Cancer Program, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, discusses the use of compendia-approved oncology drugs.

Last year, Hershman says, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) identified five areas where oncologists should focus on improving care. ASCO noted that oncologists should refrain from using medications and chemotherapies with no evidence of benefit.

The study that Hershman presented at the 2013 ASCO Meeting looked at patients with a variety of cancers over 65 years old using the SEER-Medicare Linked Database over a 10-year period. Researchers found that about 455 of patients received a drug not approved by the FDA. Of those patients, Hershman noted, a large proportion received drugs that were compendia-approved.

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