- Curbing Overpriced Treatments for Cancer Care. Dr. Peter Bach from the department of Epidemiology-Biostatistics is mentioned in this article from The Fiscal Times.
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Dx Molecular Pathology Lab Developing Cancer Panels on Illumina. Drs. Cyrus Hedvat, Michael Berger, and Ross Levine are mentioned.
- A letter in The New York Times entitled “In Cancer Care, Cost Matters” written by Peter B. Bach, Leonard B. Saltz, and Robert E. Wittes, doctors from MSKCC discuss their reason to not support an expensive new cancer drug.
Blog Buzz: October 13 – October 19
Just some of this week’s social media excitement… saying no to ACS, what Open Access isn’t, considering cost in cancer care and more!
In an op-ed piece in the NY Times, three MSKCC doctors explained the decision to not include an expensive new treatment in the hospital formulary and encouraged others to consider cost as well as effectiveness when treating cancer patients. Many doctors were tweeting about the piece, and a short mention on the Washington Post’s Wonk Blog led to a number of comments (some very interesting). Over at FightColorectalCancer.org, there is a nice discussion of the piece and links to a number of responses around the web.
Another great post from Kevin Smith at Duke, clarifying What open access is not, and therefore touching on a number of important things about what it is, including the wide range of open access publishing models and the emerging field of Altmetrics.
SPARC has a story covering how one university is stepping away from a society publisher whose pricing model is unsustainable… SUNY Potsdam Takes Tough Stand Against American Chemistry Society Prices. Jenica Rodgers, librarian at SUNY Potsdam has blogged about the process as well.
The Washington Post reported that two major breast cancer charities have agreed to “best practices” to disclose information to consumers about what pink ribbon products benefit.
Will NIH return to “three strikes” rule?
Scientists are no doubt waiting anxiously while senior leaders at NIH re-evaluate the “two strikes” policy that was instituted in January 2009, which stipulates that applicants have only one additional chance to win funding if they are rejected on their first try. MSKCC’s own Robert Benezra, a cancer biologist, led a reform effort in 2011 by presenting a letter from more than 2,300 scientists asking NIH to reinstate the three strikes rule.