Interviews

A new analysis of the Breast Cancer Index (BCI) may help identify women with HR-positive breast cancer who could potentially benefit from shorter or less-intensive treatment.

Tiago Biachi, MD, PhD, highlighted the transformative role of personalized medicine in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer treatment through advances in next-generation sequencing and circulating tumor DNA, while emphasizing the importance of lifestyle factors in prevention and recurrence.

In the second half of our interview with Brita Roy, MD, MPH, MHS, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, she discusses effective engagement of minoritized populations in discussion of medical mistrust.

Inhaling wildfire smoke could have immediate effects on children in Los Angeles, such as coughing and wheezing, which may lead to more long-term health effects.

Edgardo S. Santos, MD, FACP, FASCO, emphasized the need to eliminate the stigma around smoking in lung cancer, highlighted the importance of early detection and discussed how advances in precision medicine, genomic studies, and targeted therapies have improved patient outcomes and reduced health care costs.

Irina Dralyuk, MD, discusses how to best prevent vulnerable parties, especially children, from breathing in the toxic smoke in Los Angeles.

Yara Abdou, MD, emphasizes that addressing fertility, survivorship, and quality of life is key to improving outcomes for young patients with breast cancer.

In this second half of our interview with Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Travis Osterman, DO, MS, FAMIA, FASCO, he discusses opportunities for advancing the smart use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cancer care.

Keith Ferdinand, MD, professor of medicine, Gerald S. Berenson Chair in Preventative Cardiology, Tulane University School of Medicine, continues his discussion on treatment approaches for patients with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

Robin Glasco, MBA, Spencer Stuart, examines the crucial role of data in addressing urgent challenges in health care while inherent and systemic biases coexist, complicating efforts to achieve equity.

Edgardo S. Santos, MD, FACP, FASCO, discussed the barriers to precision medicine in lung cancer treatment, including patient concerns about technology understanding and insurance coverage, as well as the reliance on traditional tissue biopsies, emphasizing the benefits of combining liquid and tissue biopsies to improve treatment outcomes and clinical trial eligibility.

Tim Mok, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, malignant hematology pharmacy research analyst at Kaiser Permanente, discussed his perspective on the balance between clinical outcomes and cost considerations.

In this second part of our interview with Kasey Bond, MPH, NYU Langone Health, we discuss the contributions of community health workers to increasing clinical trial access and how technology—artificial intelligence (AI), in particular—can help to facilitate the process.

Tiago Biachi, MD, PhD, discusses the challenges of treating gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, particularly the limited effectiveness of immunotherapy for "cold tumors" and the need to make them more responsive to immune treatments.

For part 3 of our discussion with Chris Sayed, MD, we tackle several important topics in the hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and inflammatory disease space: patient quality of life, medication and treatment goals, and the possibility of a cure.

Song Park, MD, University of Washington Medicine, advocates for more user-friendly technology to support equitable skin cancer care access.

In part 2 of our interview, Yehuda Handelsman, MD, discusses how cardiorenalmetabolic (CRM) disease management is advancing with the 2022 Diabetes, Cardiorenal, and Metabolic (DCRM) multispecialty practice recommendations and the updated DCRM 2.0 guidelines.

In our ongoing conversation with James Cancer Hospital’s Don M. Benson, MD, PhD, he explains his philosophy of always striving to deliver personalized patient care.

Nicole Grieselhuber, MD, PhD, of The Ohio State University, discusses results from Part D of a dosing study involving patients with previously untreated higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who were treated with a combination of SEA-CD70 and azacitidine.

Sara Grethlien, MD, MBA, FACP, Swedish Cancer Institute, looks ahead to the future of oncology care and important value-based care considerations.

According to Ian Neeland, MD, strategies like pharmacist-led counseling, patient education programs, and patient assistance initiatives are key to addressing therapeutic inertia.

The individual behavior of a patient’s myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) will determine how the disease is monitored and managed in the long term, explained Jennifer Vaughn, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Edgardo S. Santos, MD, FACP, FASCO, highlighted how liquid biopsies are transforming lung cancer care by enabling faster, less invasive diagnostics, with key applications in early detection, predictive biomarker identification, treatment response monitoring, resistance mechanism assessment, and minimal residual disease detection.

Ryan Nguyen, DO, University of Illinois Chicago, highlights the importance of personalized care for patients who have non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in oncology, while cautioning against its limitations, including the risk of unsupported recommendations.

There’s a balance required to manage both the symptoms of myelofibrosis through treatment and the side effects caused by the drugs, explained Firas El Chaer, MD, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

The Society for Pediatric Dermatology (SPD) Annual Meeting took place in Toronto, Canada, July 11-15, with our top coverage including the hot topics of combating misinformation and improving care for children with dermatologic conditions.

The 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition took place December 7-10, 2024, in San Diego, California; the 2025 meeting is currently scheduled to take place in Orlando, Florida, December 6-9.

While treatment options may be fairly straightforward for high-risk patients with polycythemia vera, it’s less clear for patients who are considered low risk, explained Jennifer Vaughn, MD.