Maggie L. Shaw

The BE-a-PAL study investigated potential of an algorithm-based default palliative care referral among patients who have stage III or IV lung or noncolorectal gastrointestinal cancer.

Glofitamab is currently being investigated in a phase 1/2, multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation study as monotherapy and in combination with obinutuzumab, following 1-time fixed-dose pretreatment with obinutuzumab for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, of which mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare type.

The TROPiCS-02 trial studied sacituzumab govitecan vs physician’s choice of chemotherapy for HR+/HER2– breast cancer.

Data presented at the recent American Thoracic Society 2024 international conference identified the top barriers to lung cancer screening in Asian Americans, and common risk factors among this population.

This international study, incorporating data from the US, Brazil, Singapore, and Spain, shows that durvalumab as maintenance therapy for use against non–small cell lung cancer remains a cost-prohibitive treatment option.

In this interview ahead of the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting (ASCO), Ravin Ratan, MD, MEd, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses study data he is excited to hear more about on the combination of trabectedin and low-dose irinotecan for relapsed/refractory Ewing sarcoma.

Investigators explored the utility of unplanned resections, also called reresection, among patients who have soft tissue sarcomas.

For this analysis of how body composition might affect the impact of immunotherapy used to treat non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), investigators from Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center compared patient outcomes based on baseline body composition measurements or first follow-up scan.

In the final part of our interview with Binod Dhakal, MD, lead investigator of the CARTITUDE-4 study, he looks to the future of earlier treatment for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Ravin Ratan, MD, MEd, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, explains the origins of soft tissue sarcomas within the body—which account for 1% of cancers in adult patients—how they are classified, and how they differ from organ-based cancers.

Coverage from the Community Oncology Alliance 2024 Community Oncology Conference, held April 3-5, 2024, in Orlando, Florida.

Investigators continue to seek more information on how to optimally integrate treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) into an established concurrent chemoradiotherapy regimen.

Data from real-world and clinical-trial settings on frontline monotherapy treatment with the KRAS inhibitor sotorasib both show similar progression-free survivals and a high likelihood that the treatment’s efficacy is not affected with dose reduction.

This interim analysis of the CheckMate 77T trial, outcomes were compared between adult patients receiving neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy or neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus placebo for resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Due to increasing reports of multiple myeloma and the emergence of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy as a treatment option, these investigators conducted a comprehensive review of the medical literature on the latest CAR T developments in the MM space.

Immune checkpoint blockade therapy works by preventing the binding of checkpoint and partner proteins, thereby allowing T cells to continue their work of attacking and killing cancer cells.

The optimal negative margin required following surgical resection and perioperative radiotherapy for extremity soft tissue sarcoma (STS) remains up for debate, with investigators of a new study using Union for International Cancer Control classification to define resection margin.

Outcomes among patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer as evaluated within clinical trials via Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and clinician response criteria in observational studies were compared for their concordance and reliability.

Innovation in the specialty pipeline, drug costs, health care policy updates, and collaboration were key topics at this year's Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit.

In part 2 of our interview with Binod Dhakal, MD, he addresses how CARTITUDE-4 study findings help to advance the clinical understanding of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) and the importance of vigilance and education on the treatment’s adverse effects.

In a session during the final full day of conference activity at AXS24, experts from CVS Health and Surescripts emphasized the need to simplify the prescribing workflow for specialty medication through proactive messaging, automation, and interoperability.

Representatives from ICON plc and Symphony Health joined forces at AXS24 to discuss the challenges of managing high-cost specialty drugs and how they influence self-funded employer benefit plan design and employee access to specialty medications.

In the US, a disease is considered rare when it affects fewer than 200,000 persons, or 1 in every 1500 individuals, with an estimated total of 25 to 30 million Americans overall living with a rare disease at any given time.

Doug Long, MBA, vice president of industry relations at IQVIA, covered a bevy of stakeholder investment–related topics in his presentation at AXS24 on trends in specialty pharmacy, chief among them challenges facing the industry, obesity medications, generics and biosimilars, new product launches, and the outlook for the US market.

Optum Life Sciences and Takeda Pharmaceuticals are partnering on an innovative virtual care pilot program for inflammatory bowel disease meant to both continue the mission of the current value-based health care landscape and raise the bar for personalized care delivery optimization.

Third-party tracking technologies are at the heart of a new analysis, which investigated if hospital websites accurately disclose how they transmit user information to third parties.

To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our final episode of this limited series and our conversation with Janine Jelks-Seale, MSPPM, director of health equity at UPMC Health Plan.

Just as it is important for retail analysts to understand the choices their customers make and why they may choose not to purchase a specific item, so is it important for the specialty pharmacy industry to understand the actions of prescribers and how the often inefficient prior authorization process affects patient outcomes.