Interviews

There has been a sea change in how retina specialists treat retinal diseases, with a progressive shift toward more utilization of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

Ophthalmology is image heavy, which has made the specialty amenable to telemedicine and the implementation of artificial intelligence, said Grayson Armstrong, MD, medical director, ophthalmic emergency services at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and instructor in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.

During the Parker Heath Lecture at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting, James Madara, MD, CEO of the American Medical Association (AMA), will discuss the 3 arcs of the AMA’s strategic framework and the innovation that needs to occur.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting will present cutting-edge topics on retinal disease, as well as feature a presentation from historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, said Ravi Goel, MD, spokesperson for AAO and ophthalmologist at Regional Eye Associates in New Jersey.

When converting a patient to a biosimilar, having clear and consistent messaging will reduce confusion and prevent patients from having a lack of trust in the process, said Paul Forsberg, PharmD, director of pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology.

When mapping out treatment strategy, it is important to first establish dominant disease physiology in patients who have heart failure (HF) and pulmonary hypertension, explained Allegheny Health Network's Amresh Raina, MD.

Jason Ezra Hawkes, MD, MS, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of California Davis in Sacramento, spoke on the importance of shared decision-making in deciding which biologic would best alleviate disease burden in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

During the Quality Cancer Care Alliance Summer 2022 National Leadership Summit, Hatim Husain, MD, discusses how HER2 exploration in lung cancer differs from that in breast cancer, as well as novel therapies being explored for HER2 and other disease targets.

Athena Gierbolini, president of Hope for HS, a nonprofit advocacy group for those affected by hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), spoke on the surgical and therapeutic interventions she’s had for the management of HS.

Teleophthalmology not only improves access to care and lowers the cost of care, but it can reduce rates of vision loss for patients with type 2 diabetes, said Parisa Emami-Naeni, MD, MPH, assistant professor of ophthalmology at University of California, Davis, and vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist at UC Davis Eye Center.

Patrick Burnett, MD, PhD, FAAD, chief medical officer of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, discusses clinical recommendations for patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, particularly the need for shared decision-making.

Being able to use minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity to make treatment decisions, such as stopping maintenance therapy, can have savings related to cost and quality of life (QOL) for patients, said Ajay Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, associate professor, Winship Cancer Institute.

Athena Gierbolini, president of Hope for HS, a nonprofit advocacy group for those affected by hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), discussed the misconceptions she faced from clinicians regarding her clinical symptoms of HS prior to diagnosis.

Amresh Raina, MD, is director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Allegheny General Hospital and the Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Biomarker testing should be done on all patients with an initial diagnosis of advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer, but the testing rates in the real world are lower than they should be, particularly for underserved or minority populations, said Ticiana Leal, MD, associate professor, director of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Program, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine.

In this interview with The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®), Igor Puzanov, MD, of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Buffalo, discusses the state of treatment selection in the setting of resected advanced melanoma, why sequencing of therapies does not occur in the setting of adjuvant therapy, and best practices to keep in mind for patient education and managing their treatment-related toxicities.

While commercial payers have been engaged with the shift to biosimilars, they all have their own preferred biosimilar, which makes it challenging for practices, explained Lalan Wilfong, MD, vice president of payer relations & practice transformation at The US Oncology Network.

Jason Ezra Hawkes, MD, MS, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of California Davis in Sacramento, spoke on diagnostic challenges for atopic dermatitis and tips for clinicians in screening for the condition.

Anchalee Avihingsanon, MD, PhD, HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, is principal investigator of the ALLIANCE trial, currently evaluating the responses of treatment-naïve persons living with comorbid HIV/hepatitis B virus to a triplet regimen of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide vs dolutegravir plus emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

Patrick Burnett, MD, PhD, FAAD, chief medical officer of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, speaks on the positive safety and efficacy profile shown in the DERMIS-1 and DERMIS-2 trials exploring use of roflumilast cream in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis, including those with intertriginous disease.

Hatim Husain, MD, discusses how National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines adjust to meet the treatment needs of patients with lung cancer.

Athena Gierbolini, president of Hope for HS, a nonprofit advocacy group for those affected with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), speaks on the quality of life burden she has experienced during her HS disease journey.

David E. Koren, PharmD, MPH, BCPS, AAHIVP, FIDSA, infectious disease clinical pharmacist at Temple University Hospital, discussed the risk posed by monkeypox among immunocompromised individuals and men who have sex with men, as well as the need for educational efforts to address misconceptions tied to the disease.

Sarah Wells Kocsis, MBA, coauthor of the Milken Institute report, “Chronic Kidney Disease: Finding a Path to Prevention, Earlier Detection, and Management,” discusses how the health care system can better suit the needs of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Different populations respond differently to drugs and treatments, but without adequate representation in clinical trials, it will be hard to judge the effectiveness of a new treatment, explained Vivienne Hau, MD, clinical assistant professor with the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

Everyone agrees that minimal residual disease (MRD) is the best prognostic tool for multiple myeloma, but there is disagreement on how to use the MRD results, said Ajay Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, associate professor, Winship Cancer Institute.

While initially there was a need for education around biosimilars, now there is a need to keep an eye on the evolving biosimilar marketplace and update the formulary of biosimilar medicines, said Paul Forsberg, PharmD, director of pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology.

The ALLIANCE trial is investigating the responses of treatment-naïve persons living with comorbid HIV (PLWH)/hepatitis B virus to a triplet regimen of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide vs dolutegravir plus emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.