Interviews

The FDA’s approval of lecanemab for Alzheimer disease is very important, but there will remain significant challenges around pricing and access that will need to be addressed to deliver on the promise the therapy actually represents, said Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School.

We want to make it easy for our patients to manage and navigate the financial toxicity they encounter from their cancer care, noted Mike Koroscik, MBA, MHA, vice president of oncology, Allina Health and the Allina Health Cancer Institute.

There are still barriers to mental health care, in both the medical and outside worlds, noted Debra Delaney, MSN, FNP-BC, primary care nurse practitioner at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.

Michael Thompson, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance), addressed the current state of health equity strategies in the workplace and how employers can better address inequities in their benefit designs, programs, and policies in the near future.

Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas, spoke about the effects of isolation on patients with cancer who need help at home but have no one to provide it.

M. Hossein Kazemi, MD, medical oncologist and hematologist, Astera Cancer Care, discusses the benefits of de-escalating treatment for patients with multiple myeloma.

This year’s top 5 most-viewed videos include topics on eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), cancer screening awareness, and racial/ethnic and socioeconomic barriers to care.

Patrick Reville, MD, MPH, instructor, Department of Leukemia, MD Anderson Cancer Center, explains the implications of the longer-term follow-up of venetoclax in combination with the chemotherapy regimen cladribine, high-dose cytarabine, idarubicin (CLIA) and how age is a factor when considering chemotherapy options.

Throughout 2022, expert interviews on clinical topics covered cytogenetics in multiple myeloma, access to better treatments in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and challenges with devices in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas, discussed how housing conditions can impede positive outcomes for patients with cancer who are receiving cancer care support at home.

Patrick Reville, MD, MPH, instructor, Department of Leukemia, MD Anderson Cancer Center, elaborates on how certain patients responded to the updated treatment regimen.

Biosimilars are a wonderful option for patients, but the growing number available can be challenging to manage when different payers prefer different agents, said Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas.

Paul Thurmes, MD, medical oncologist and hematologist, Minnesota Oncology, spoke on key responsibilities and approaches that are often lacking in cancer care.

Cemiplimab with chemotherapy appears to offer value comparable to other options and may be "an important tool to use" in first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), said Davey Daniel, MD, chief medical officer for OneOncology, lung cancer specialist.

Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH, medical director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, explained the mechanism of action for Rebyota, the first fecal transplant therapy approved by the FDA for the prevention of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in individuals 18 years and older, following antibiotic treatment for recurrent CDI.

Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas, talked about the importance of having adequate support not only from clinical staff, but also emotional and moral support at home.

Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, Vanderbilt University, spoke on increased rates of smoking and lung cancer within a particular region of the United States called "Tobacco Nation."

Kyle Lamb, MD, associate medical director of population health at Vancouver Clinic, discusses how super-utilization trends have changed since the start of COVID-19, the necessity of transitional care in implementing value-based medicine, and how technology can decrease super-utilization.

Martin Levine, MD, MBA, chief medical officer at the PolyClinic at Optum Washington, describes why caregivers need more resources to adequately manage patients with Alzheimer disease and what clinics can do to ensure access to those resources.

Our current health care reimbursement system rewards procedures and undervalues the time spent talking with patients and learning their history, which speaks to the need for primary care redesign, according to Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, dean for medical education at UChicago Medicine.

Tom Robinson, vice president of global access at JDRF, talks about how the community and people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have contributed to the T1D Index, from development to publication and going forward.

Patrick Reville, MD, MPH, instructor, Department of Leukemia, MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses findings on an updated treatment regimen for newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

Liz Lightstone, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, professor of Renal Medicine for the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, discussed how sexism and other factors cause certain symptoms of lupus nephritis to be overlooked, contributing to delays in diagnosis and care.

Health care providers must acknowledge unconscious bias and watch for it to make sure treatments are given equitably, said Mary Cushman, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Vermont, director of the thrombosis and hemostasis program at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

The longer follow-up in the primary analysis of TRANSFORM provides confidence in the durability of patient responses to lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel), said Jeremy Abramson, MD, director of the lymphoma program, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

Ajai Chari, MD, professor of medicine, director of clinical research, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains the mechanism of action of talquetamab and what method of delivery patients may prefer.

Third-line ponatinib is the optimal treatment option for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) without T3151 mutation, said Elias Jabbour, MD, professor of medicine, Department of Leukemia, MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Individual clinicians can lead efforts to build trust in science and distribute accurate information, but medical schools also have an important role to play in training health care professionals to communicate with the public, according to Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, dean for medical education at UChicago Medicine.