What’s the NCI director’s professional judgment of opportunities in cancer research at a time of shrinking budgets, sequestration and conclusion of the windfall of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?
Under ordinary circumstances, this question wouldn’t have required a mind reader. The NCI director has an authority no other government executive enjoys: every year, he submits a summary of scientific opportunities directly to the White House, bypassing review by the NIH director and officials at the place ominously called “Downtown,” the brutalist-style HHS headquarters at the base of Capitol Hill.
 | Guest Editorial
Andrew Vickers on PSA Skepticism, Rational and Irrational
I consider myself a prostate cancer screening skeptic. For example, in the title of the grand rounds lecture I have given for many years, I describe PSA as a “public health fiasco.” I have also gone on the record to state: “PSA testing as it is commonly practiced in the U.S. is indefensible.” |
 | UT Board Announces Support for MD Anderson Tenure System The University of Texas System Board of Regents has—in response to the threat of censure by an external group—voted to continue support of MD Anderson Cancer Center’s seven-year term tenure system. |
 | Study: Drug Discounts Used For Wealthier Patients In Many 340B-Enrolled Hospitals
Hospitals that qualified for the 340B drug pricing program in 2004 or later were more likely to serve wealthier communities with higher rates of health insurance coverage, according to a study published Oct. 6 in the journal Health Affairs. The primary purpose of the 340B program—established by Congress in 1992—was to provide significantly discounted outpatient drugs to low-income and uninsured patients. |
 | In Brief
- ESMO Names Annual Award Winners
- Phoenix Children’s Hospital launches The Chan Soon-Shiong Children’s Precision Medicine Institute
- C. Parker Gibbs Jr. appointed deputy director of medical affairs for the University of Florida Health Cancer Center.
- MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy launches fellowship program
- Ohio State University completes five-year pharmaceuticals center project
- MD Anderson and VolitionRx Limited announce collaboration
- Andrew Brenner receives $1.62 million grant from FDA
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 | Drugs and Targets
- Akynzeo approved for chemotherapy-related nausea
- DNX-2401 granted orphan drug designation
- Caris Life Sciences launches pilot program through the U.K. National Health Service
- Mayo Clinic partners with Second Genome Inc.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb and MD Anderson collaborate on immunotherapies
- PhRMA Report details nearly 800 cancer therapies currently in development
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