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| South Carolina Oncology Society www.scosonline.com SUMMER 2010 |
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President's Message Dear South Carolina Oncology Society Member:
Hopefully, you will be able to join us for a program that will include updates from recent national meetings and discussions of controversial cancer management topics. The tentative agenda can be found on our website, www.scosonline.com, and you can also download the registration form to fax or mail in. All the information is just a click away at the website, using the Meetings and Events tab on the left. Please make your room reservations directly with the Francis Marion Hotel at 843-722-0600. The Program Committee, the Board of Directors, and I are looking forward to seeing you, your partners, and all providers of cancer care in our state for what promises to be a truly exciting and worthwhile educational event. Sincerely, TRAC Update
The Draft Report was presented to the full TRAC on Tuesday, June 29. Chairman Maybank gave a brief overview of the entire report, and the full TRAC opted to allow time for review of Draft Report before considering adoption due to the complexity. Chairman Maybank said the various exemptions for prescription pharmaceuticals are very complex, and that there are both “winners” and “losers” in the Subcommittee’s recommendation. Chairman Maybank said tweaking will be required and much study will need to be done. The full TRAC will meet again on July 21 and again in August and September to continue its study and review of the exemptions and other Subcommittee report. The final report of recommendations is due to the SC General Assembly by November 15. Even if the TRAC ultimately includes this 2.5% scenario in its report of recommendation, a bill would have to be drafted and go through the entire legislative process before becoming law. Drugs in the News from SCOS Corporate Members The FDA approved Genentech Inc.’s (South San Francisco, CA) anti-cancer drug Rituxan® (rituximab) to treat certain patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Rituxan is intended for patients with CLL who are beginning chemotherapy for the first time and for those who have not responded to other cancer drugs for CLL. Rituxan is administered with two other chemotherapy drugs—fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. For more information, go to http://www.gene.com/gene/news/press-releases/display.do?method=detail&id=12607. The FDA has approved an expanded indication for lapatinib (Tykerb, GlaxoSmithKline) in combination with letrozole (Femara, Novartis AG) for the treatment of hormone-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women for whom hormonal therapy is indicated. Lapatinib previously was approved in combination with capecitabine (Xeloda, Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc) for the treatment of advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer in patients who have received prior therapy including an anthracycline, a taxane, and trastuzumab. For more information, go to: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm199374.htm. Novartis (East Hanover, N.J.) announced FDA approval of Tasigna® (nilotinib) 150 mg capsules for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in chronic phase. Tasigna has been approved in more than 80 countries for the treatment of chronic phase and accelerated phase Ph+ CML in adult patients resistant or intolerant to at least one prior therapy, including Gleevec (imatinib). For more information, go to: www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm216181.htm. Sanofi-aventis (Bridgewater, NJ) announced that the FDA granted marketing approval for Elitek® (rasburicase) to be used for the initial management of plasma uric acid (PUA) levels in adult patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and solid tumor malignancies who are receiving anti-cancer therapy expected to result in tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) and subsequent elevations of PUA. The drug also is indicated for the initial management of PUA levels in pediatric patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and solid tumor malignancies who are receiving anti-cancer therapy expected to result in TLS and subsequent elevations of PUA. Elitek is indicated for only a single course of treatment. For more information, go http://products.sanofi-aventis.us/elitek/elitek.html. The FDA has approved Jevtana® (cabazitaxel) Injection, a chemotherapy drug used in combination with the steroid prednisone to treat men with prostate cancer. Marketed by sanofi-aventis (Bridgewater, N.J.), Jevtana is the first treatment for advanced, hormone-refractory, prostate cancer that has worsened during or after treatment with docetaxel. For more information, go to: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm216143.htm Wanted: Current Contact Information Societies, organizations, and associations are just as involved in the electronic age as businesses. SCOS is conducting more and more of its business electronically, such as sending conference notifications and registrations, alerts, and elections, as well as providing valuable information on its website. To ensure that its members are “plugged in,” we want to make sure that you and your colleagues’ email addresses are current and correct. If you know of someone who is an SCOS member but is not receiving electronic or mailed information from us, please encourage them to give us a call or email us to try to determine the source of the problem. Please call Sharon Atterbury at 301.984.9496, ext. 128 or email her at satterbury@accc-cancer.org. Thanks!
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Upcoming Events
Membership Conference: Board of Directors President SCOS (as of July 1, 2010) Gold Thank you for the value you add to SCOS! Welcome New SCOS Members! Larry Afrin, MD; Medical University of South Carolina
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For more information about South Carolina Oncology Society (SCOS) You are receiving this message because you are affiliated with SCOS and we believe you will benefit from this information. |
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In just three weeks the SCOS 2010 Membership Conference will take place at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston. I am looking forward to this Conference as we will have the distinguished Dr. Larry Einhorn from Indiana University as our keynote speaker and GU oncology panel member. In addition, we will be hearing from cancer care providers from all over the state of South Carolina: medical, radiation, surgical, and gynecologic oncologists will be participating in the sessions as well as interventional radiologists, urologists, and oncology nurse practitioners and business managers.
The South Carolina Taxation Realignment Commission (“TRAC”) Sales and Use Tax Subcommittee met on Monday, June 28, and adopted the TRAC Sales and Use Draft Report, which Commission Chairman Burnie Maybank noted includes eliminating and/or amending all state sales tax exemptions with the goal of reducing the overall state sales tax rate from the current 6% to the projected 4.9%; this number is to be confirmed by the state Board of Economic Advisors. The Draft Report specifically recommends elimination of the oncology-related pharmaceutical sales tax exemption in favor of a tax rate of 50% of the base tax rate on gross proceeds of sales, which is projected to equate to a sales tax rate of 2.5% or lower.