Cancer drug safety and public health policy : A changing landscape
Description and analysis of recent developments and current trends in health policy with regard to cancer drug safety. Opens with an overview of pharmacovigilance for cancer blockbuster drugs, covering both general considerations and efforts to develop a structured framework for the identification and reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). A number of important examples of serious ADRs to hematology and oncology drugs are then reviewed, with evaluation of the lessons learned and the policy implications of the ensuing legal cases and their settlements. Further, the difficulty of reporting such blockbuster side effects in the medical literature is explored in an empirical study. Significant advances have been achieved in analytic methods for the identification of ADRs, and here there is a particular focus on the value of optimal discriminant analysis. Finally, the impacts on pharmacovigilance and drug safety of the huge fines paid under the U.S. False Claims Act relating to the defrauding of governmental programs also receive careful attention – these fines are playing an important role in changing the landscape for pharmaceutical safety.
Breast cancer research and treatment : innovative concepts
Focuses on innovative treatment options for breast cancer, including surgery, radiotherapy, systemic therapy and of course immunotherapy that is changing outcomes in some aggressive breast cancer histotypes. Subsequent chapters also address the ongoing emerging research in the screening, diagnostics, and management of all subtypes of breast cancers. All current landscapes and future perspectives in each molecular subtype: luminal, HER2-positive, and triple-negative breast cancers are discussed within the different chapters. Breast cancer is still the most common cancer and cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. The improvement of breast cancer outcome appears to be strictly related to the validation of precise biomarkers that enable us to better select personalized approaches in breast cancer management. The closing chapters deal with the challenges of low income countries of conducting research in the era of precision medicine for cancer. The book is edited and authored by leading experts in this field and will be of interest for clinicians and scientists alike

