Maggie L. Shaw

Pat Van Burkleo, the executive director of Feeding Louisiana, the Louisiana Food Bank Association, shares insight on legislative priorities and the impact food insecurity can have on health.

To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are kicking off a special month-long podcast series with our strategic alliance partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our first episode, which is all about the Baby Steps Maternity Program and its mission to support women throughout every step of their pregnancy journey.

Most recently, the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously voted to recommend ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Carvykti; Johnson & Johnson) in patients who have received at least 1 line of treatment for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).

"The government really didn't rise to the challenge the way that it should have,” notes Ben Jones, vice president of government relations and public policy for The US Oncology Network. “Practices were in distress…stretching all resources to figure out workarounds."

Kathy Oubre, MS, CEO of Pontchartrain Cancer Center, is 1 of 6 cochairs for the 2024 Community Oncology Conference, and here she discusses how meeting content has incorporated ongoing coverage of the extremely disruptive cyberattack and how there is still so much work to be done.

Jonathan E. Levitt, Esq, founding partner of boutique health care law firm Frier Levitt, LLC, discusses a recent class-action lawsuit brought against Johnson & Johnson in which an employee alleged a breach of fiduciary duty regarding her employer-sponsored pharmacy benefits.

Judy Alberto, MHA, RPh, BCOP, director of clinical initiatives at the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), addresses the challenges pharmacies face in managing formularies to provide optimal patient care.

Pat Van Burkleo, executive director of Feeding Louisiana, shares the key topics addressed during the Ochsner Health IVBM panel discussion on initiatives to increase food access in communities across the state.

This analysis found the complex decision-making process of lung cancer screening among eligible individuals is infused with 3 principal themes that may influence how primary care physicians approach patients with comorbidities.

"If someone is food insecure for a long period of time, then they may be consuming foods that aren't as nutritious and support their health and growth as they should," Denise Holston, PhD, explains in an interview.

With the 2024 Community Oncology Conference, from the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), set to kick off this week in Orlando, Florida, The American Journal of Managed Care® spoke with Emily Touloukian, DO, COA board member and 1 of 6 cochairs for this year’s meeting, on highlights from the packed agenda and the power of advocacy.

In this investigation, outcomes of interest were morbidity rate and length of hospital stay or a traumatic injury among a homeless population, and whether age and/or injury severity had an influence on that relationship—with implications for improving the discharge process for these patients.

This analysis included 119 patients with advanced lung cancer, who were evaluated on 3 facets of physical activity over 14 days of using the amuelink wearable device from Sony: metabolic equivalent tasks, distance walked, and steps taken.

In this interview, Pat Van Burkleo, the executive director of Feeding Louisiana, the Louisiana Food Bank Association, discusses the outreach dynamics of the organization and food banks.

Investigators used the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General General Physical Wellbeing Scale to collect data on patient-reported treatment-related adverse effects, to provide clinicians guidance on predicting risk of early treatment discontinuation among ECOG-ACRIN E1A11 trial participants.

Investigators examined the downstream effect of single-gene testing for guideline-recommended biomarkers on comprehensive genomic profiling in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The approval follows fast track, orphan drug, and rare pediatric designations and an original Prescription Drug User Fee Act date of December 21, which the FDA pushed back to March 21 to have more time to review Italfarmaco’s application.

In this analysis, 3 bisphosphonates (alendronate, pamidronate, and zoledronic acid) and 1 RANK ligand inhibitor (denosumab) were evaluated for their effectiveness at preventing osteoclasts from facilitating jaw degradation and reducing vertebral fracture risk among patients being treated for multiple myeloma.

Overall rates for lung cancer screening remain low, despite the US Preventive Services Task Force revising its annual screening recommendation in 2021 by lowering the age of initial screening for current or former smokers and their pack-year history.

The approval makes atidarsagene autotemcel (arsa-cel [Lenmeldy]; Orchard Therapeutics) the first approved treatment for metachromatic leukodystrophy, a disease caused by a mutation in the ARSA gene and marked by progressive declines in both the central and peripheral nervous systems.

In a recent issue of JAMA, a team led by Benjamin N. Rome, MD, MPH, examined how the FDA’s accelerated approval process has moved 5 genetically targeted treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) through its pipeline despite limited evidence on their efficacy.

In this interview, Pat Van Burkleo, executive director of Feeding Louisiana, explains why food access initiatives are a top priority.

Since 2016, 5 targeted treatments have received accelerated approval from the FDA for use in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and the total spend for just 3 of them is $3.1 billion.

March 1 saw the FDA grant full approval to amivantamab plus chemotherapy for first-line use in patients who have non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, converting the May 2021 accelerated approval for this treatment in the second line.

Teclistamab (Tecvayli, Johnson & Johnson), a first-in-class bispecific T-cell–engaging antibody, is approved to treat relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in the US.

Stress has potential links to worse outcomes in cancer, such as decreased quality of life and greater risks of disease progression and metastasis. There is a complex mix of emotions patients with cancer experience.

In this study, the 42-patient population was enrolled from 5 sites in Canada and 1 site in Scotland, and data were gathered from March 7, 2019, to January 12, 2022; all had interstitial lung disease (ILD) and early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Knowledge gaps persist in awareness of and education on the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for hematologic malignancies, especially multiple myeloma and lymphoma.

The authors of this report stress the importance of awareness of COVID-19–related complications in young patients who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, paying particular attention to a potential higher risk of respiratory infections in these patients.

The approval converts the May 2021 accelerated FDA approval for second-line treatment of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations to a full approval in the first line following results from the phase 3 PAPILLON study.