Interviews

Camille Hertzka, vice president and head of oncology, US Medical, AstraZeneca, speaks on how the OlympiA findings may warrant greater need of genetic testing for BRCA mutation and the efficacy of olaparib by patient subgroup.

Rajat Bannerji, MD, PhD, Chief, Section of Hematologic Malignancies at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey/RWJBarnabas Health, speaks on the efficacy and safety findings of the CAPTIVATE study examining the fixed-duration regimen of ibutinib and venetoclax combination therapy in CLL.

Shalini Paruthi, MD, medical codirector, St. Luke’s Hospital Sleep Medicine and Research Center, and cochair of SLEEP 2021, discusses the sessions and discussions she is looking forward to at this year's meeting.

Farrah Kheradmand, MD, elaborates on the effects of marijuana legalization and increased recreational use on research into electronic cigarettes.

Camille Hertzka, vice president and head of Oncology, US Medical, AstraZeneca, discussed updated findings of the PACIFIC trial that indicated a third of patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer are stable at 5 years.

Antoine Italiano, MD, PhD, head of Early Phase Trials and Sarcoma Units at Institut Bergonié, Bordeaux, France, addresses findings of an extended follow-up of larotrectinib in patients with TRK fusion cancer that indicated prolonged progression-free survival in those undergoing the NTRK inhibitor.

Kirk Shepard, MD, chief medical officer, senior vice president, and head of Global Medical Affairs, Eisai, discusses findings of a study showcasing similar health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores between lenvatinib/pembrolizumab vs chemotherapy in patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma.

Christopher Arendt, PhD, head, Oncology Therapeutic Area Unit, Takeda, speaks on efficacy and safety findings of the OPTIC study examining dose optimization of ponatinib in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) resistant to second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.

Barriers to authorship and adequate representation of women in heart failure–focused clinical trials need to be addressed, noted Mariana Garcia, MD, cardiology fellow in the Academic Clinical Investigator Pathway at Emory University and member of T32, Multidisciplinary Research Training to Reduce Inequalities in Cardiovascular Health (METRIC).

The 2-day meeting of the American Cough Conference will cover new developments in the treatment of cough, as well as insights into the mechanisms and management of cough, said Peter Dicpinigaitis, MD, chair of the American Cough Conference.

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the CDC's June 5, 1981, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describing rare instances of immunocompromised status among 5 homosexual men in Los Angeles. The American Journal of Managed Care® spoke recently with lead author Michael Gottlieb, MD, who was the first to describe what would come to be known as HIV and AIDS.

Nicotine replacement therapy can help with smoking cessation, but there are dangers of using e-cigarettes, said Laura Crotty Alexander, MD, ATSF.

Sonia T. Oskouei, PharmD, BCMAS, DPLA, from Cardinal Health, talks about the differences between provider and pharmacist concerns and whether health organizations giving more power to pharmacists causes conflict with physicians.

Rachael McCann, senior director at Willis Towers Watson, speaks of the greater need for mental health and well-being resources from employers to address caregiving demands amid the pandemic.

In the June 5, 1981, issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the CDC, a brief 3-page report appeared describing 5 rare cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia among 5 homosexual men in Los Angeles. Our full Q&A with the lead author on that report, Michael Gottlieb, MD, will appear next week. Below is a video preview.

Sonia T. Oskouei, PharmD, BCMAS, DPLA, from Cardinal Health, explains the ramifications that interchangeability designations will have on biosimilars and when we might see the first interchangeable biosimilar in the United States.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Gregory Harris, MD, MPH, DFAPA, senior medical director for behavioral health at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, about the challenges of meeting the demand for mental health service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michelle M Cloutier, MD, is professor emerita at UCONN Health in Farmington, Connecticut, and chair of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Coordinating Committee Expert Panel Working Group.

Injectable versions of HIV treatments and pre-exposure prophylaxis will be a game changer in terms of convenience over daily pills, noted Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health and director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies.

Now that racial and ethnic disparities of atopic dermatitis prevalence among children have been confirmed, the next step in research will be to discover the reasons why those disparities exist, said Jonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH.

Joe Zein, MD, PhD, from Cleveland Clinic, explains factors apart from sex and age that can have an impact on a patient's asthma.

Mark Trusheim, MS, BS, strategic director at the NEW Drug Development ParadIGmS program and visiting scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explains factors involved when considering whether a therapy would be suitable for performance-based contracting.

Sonia T. Oskouei, PharmD, BCMAS, DPLA, from Cardinal Health, highlights the important role that pharmacists can play in promoting uptake and expanding education efforts for biosimilars.

Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD, MS, describes her research on the impact of environmental factors on respiratory health among children.

Amy Abernethy, MD, PhD, a hematologist/oncologist and palliative medicine physician, and former Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA, discusses new collaborations in the health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) landscape.

Farrah Kheradmand, MD, explains the effects of vaping duration on lung function.

Fernando Holguin, MD, describes the relationship between comorbid metabolic syndrome and pulmonary disease.

We want to use artificial intelligence (AI) to promote the best-case scenario in patient care, emphasized James Januzzi, MD, staff cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.