Interviews

Although a vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now in the fold, Americans should expect to remain in their current work environment in the short term, with potential long-term implications spanning the next 5 years.

With the start of Oncology Care First (OCF) being delayed, practices participating in the Oncology Care Model have more time to set themselves up to success when they transition to OCF, said Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health.

The Caris Precision Oncology Alliance has brought together academic institutions and community practices with the goal of performing research and exchanging evidence and ideas for new types of tests, said W. Michael Korn, MD.

Insurance status can influence an individual’s ability to access care, stated Milena Murray, PharmD, MSc, BCIDP, AAHIVP, associate professor at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy.

Clarence Moore, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, assistant professor at Shenandoah University in Ashburn, Virginia, discusses how stem cell therapy and heart health can help patients manage beta thalassemia.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has a host of benefits in treating and managing patients with early-stage disease, noted Alexey Aleshin, MD, senior medical director of Oncology at biotech giant Natera.

A variety of factors contributed to discontinuation rates in FIDELIO-DKD, said George Bakris, MD, professor of medicine and director of the American Heart Association Comprehensive Hypertension Center at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Wayne Jonas, MD, executive director of Samueli Integrative Health Programs at H&S Ventures, discusses current nondrug therapies available to patients to manage chronic and acute pain.

Highlands Oncology Group has found the most success getting the word out about its lung cancer screening program by directly engaging with primary care physicians (PCPs), said Joanna Thompson of Highlands Oncology Group.

There are certain adjustments that CMS can make to Oncology Care First (OCF) during the delay that CMS is already doing successfully in other alternative payment models, said Mike Fazio, at Archway Health.

Throughout the Oncology Care Model (OCM), practices have dealt with a data lag, but in Oncology Care First (OCF) data is expected to be released more frequently, said Mike Fazio, of Archway Health.

The pandemic's effects on migraine need to be evaluated for the whole of 2020 and data from one specific time are not enough, said Faraidoon Haghdoost, MD, a general practitioner and PhD student at The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, Australia.

Rachel Jimenez, MD, radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, outlines the prevalence of cardiac toxicity, as well as the short-term and long-term impacts.

SEQUOIA arm D study results show better outcomes are possible for patients with 17p-deletion CLL, explained Ian Flinn, MD, PhD, director of lymphoma research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute.

With age comes a greater comorbidity burden, noted Milena Murray, PharmD, MSc, BCIDP, AAHIVP, associate professor at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy who practices at Northwestern Medicine's Infectious Disease Center in Chicago.

As more data have become available, we are seeing more and more patients receiving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in the community setting, noted Karl Kilgore, PhD, senior research scientist at Avalere Health.

Updated guidelines help to address which patients are most appropriate for biologic therapy, noted Anne Reihman, MD, University of Colorado, Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine.

Twelve-month maintenance data from this study demonstrate the survival and response benefits associated with daratumumab, noted Mark Wildgust, PhD, vice president of Global Medical Affairs/Oncology at Janssen.

Zanubrutinib has a cleaner kinome than ibrutinib in that it hits fewer off-target kinases, said Ian Flinn, MD, PhD, director of lymphoma research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute.

At the National Alliance’s 2020 Annual Forum, a chief focus was spotlighting issues within the workplace exacerbated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic such as mental health and disparities in availability of health care services.

Wayne Jonas, MD, executive director of Samueli Integrative Health Programs at H&S Ventures, discusses the unmet needs that still exist for patients with pain.

There have been exceptional results seen in CARTITUDE-1, stated Deepu Madduri, MD, assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and associate director of its cellular therapy program.

It’s important to get the medicine and the science right, but we must not lose sight of that human connection between patient and caregiver, emphasized Robert K. Massie, Jr, PhD, MA, of the Society for Progress. Massie will speak during the virtual ASH meeting.

The financial, physical, and social burdens of atopic dermatitis can be substantial, especially for patients who had the condition as children into adulthood, said David Pariser, MD, senior physician at Pariser Dermatology Specialists and professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School Department of Dermatology.

Adding daratumumab to standard-of-care regimens consistently improves outcomes among patients with multiple myeloma, noted Mark Wildgust, PhD, vice president of Global Medical Affairs/Oncology at Janssen.

Investigators will be presenting exciting data on several treatments for multiple myeloma at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting, noted Mark Wildgust, PhD, vice president of Global Medical Affairs/Oncology at Janssen.

At this year’s American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting, we will see more on new and different targets we can utilize in myeloma, noted Deepu Madduri, MD, assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City and associate director of its cellular therapy program.

Distance caregivers of patients with cancer often find it difficult to enlist adequate support, noted Sara L. Douglas, PhD, RN, associate dean for research at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.