Jeff Sharman, MD, medical oncologist, Willamette Valley Cancer Institute and Research Center; medical director, The US Oncology Network, explains how personalized medicine has changed the way physicians think about treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Jeff Sharman, MD, medical oncologist, Willamette Valley Cancer Institute and Research Center; medical director, The US Oncology Network, explains how personalized medicine has changed the way physicians think about treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Transcript
How has the era of personalized medicine changed the way you think about treatment for patients with CLL?
Personalized medicine is a complex topic because what it generally refers to is a notion that you might find some feature or marker that’s unique to a patient and then select therapy on the basis of that marker. In the case of CLL, the disease is divided primarily into 2 groups of patients: those who has what’s called a mutated B-cell receptor, and those who have an unmutated B-cell receptor.
In this case, mutation is good. It means you tend to have a slower growing disease, fewer high-risk genetic markers for chemotherapy resistance, and so forth. So, by looking at the IGHV [Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Variable] mutation, or the B-cell receptor mutation status, those patients who have mutated disease are generally those patients who are going to benefit from a chemoimmunotherapy approach, whereas the patients who are unmutated are going to clearly benefit more from the novel targeted agent approach.
I think that there is debate, frank debate within the field, even amongst those who know the disease best, as to whether or not those patients with the mutated disease should get ibrutinib or chemoimmunotherapy, and I think that in a lot of cases, that would be subject to patient preference.
Dr Dalia Rotstein: Physicians Must Be Aware MS Affects People of All Backgrounds
April 24th 2024Dalia Rotstein, MD, MPH, emphazises the importance of awareness that multiple sclerosis (MS) impacts patients from various backgrounds as clinicians think through ways to improve access to care and research efforts in MS.
Read More
Empowering Community Health Through Wellness and Faith
April 23rd 2024To 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. In the third episode, Camille Clarke-Smith, EdD, MS, CHES, CPT, discusses approaching community health holistically through spiritual and community engagement.
Listen
Beyond Insulin: The Impact of Next-Generation Diabetes Technology
April 17th 2024Experts explain how new diabetes technologies like continuous glucose monitors are transforming care beyond intensive insulin therapy, offering personalized insights and improving outcomes for patients of all treatment levels.
Read More
Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To 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 second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
Listen
Increasing Lp(a) Awareness for Better Cardiovascular Health: Dr Mary McGowan
March 24th 2024For Lp(a) Awareness Day, Mary McGowan, MD, FNLA, chief medical officer of the Family Heart Foundation, highlights how most people with elevated Lp(a) are completely unaware that they have this increased risk and calls for increased testing.
Read More