When a cancer drug fails, oncologists often fly blind. A precision technique might light the way

After his acute myeloid leukemia relapsed, Logan Jenner (above) got a rare opportunity. His doctor was working on a small clinical trial testing an idea called functional precision medicine, in which researchers harvest cells from the patient's tumor, take them to a lab, and subject them to brute-force testing against every potential drug. Then, whichever drug seemed to work best in the lab, combined with guidance from the treating physician and a genetic analysis of the tumor, helps determine the patient's next treatment option. Read more.

By Angus Chen

Adobe

Did you say 486%? Why one company thinks such a price hike for its drug is justified

A small company called Harrow argues that it can make the case for an injectable eye treatment that has been used to combat several serious conditions. Company executives maintain the medication, which has been largely out of stock for the past few years, requires substantial investment in order to restore a steady supply and, moreover, was substantially underpriced. Read more.

By Ed Silverman

Christine Kao/STAT

HCA reports almost $1 billion more in charity care to Medicare than to its shareholders, drawing more taxpayer money

The country's biggest hospital chain, HCA Healthcare, told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services it doled out almost $1 billion more in financial assistance to needy patients than it reported on its financial statement in 2022, helping the enormously profitable company extract billions of dollars from taxpayer-funded programs. Read more.

By Tara Bannow

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NCI director expresses optimism about next era of cancer research, despite shrinking budget and brain drain