Interviews

Emilie Aschenbrenner, PharmD, BCOP, highlights how measurable residual disease (MRD) testing can support value-based care in multiple myeloma by guiding personalized treatment intensity, potentially reducing costs and improving outcomes.

Clayton Irvine, PharmD, MBA, MS, emphasized that optimizing value-based access to cell and gene therapies requires standardized care protocols, coordinated transitions between care settings, careful evaluation of prior authorization and financial assistance options, and formulary decisions that balance clinical outcomes with both direct and indirect costs to patients and institutions.

Amir Fathi, MD, leukemia specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the importance of advocacy by both patients and their treatment team and key distinct toxicities that require vigilance.

Emilie Aschenbrenner, PharmD, BCOP, discusses how integrating CD38-targeted therapies into first-line treatment for transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma requires balancing clinical benefit, cost, and insurance coverage.

Clayton Irvine, PharmD, MBA, MS, discusses strategies to address payer-driven biosimilar and prior authorization challenges through integrated digital solutions, while advocating for flexible, regularly reviewed treatment pathways supported by molecular tumor boards and artificial intelligence to balance standardization with personalized, biomarker-driven oncology care.

Clayton Irvine, PharmD, MBA, MS, explains that leveraging high-quality, real-world data; cross-institutional collaboration; standardized care pathways; advanced technologies; and integrated academic–community oncology partnerships can improve treatment decision-making, reduce financial toxicity, address drug shortages, and optimize infusion center efficiency.

Jason Bergsbaken, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, highlights the growing role of real-world data in validating or de-implementing therapies, the need for vigilant postapproval outcomes monitoring, and the value of academic–community oncology partnerships.

Angel Qin, MD, identified the critical role of immunotherapy timing and shared decision-making in small cell lung cancer while also addressing the need for more broadly applicable treatments and personalized care.

Recent clinical trials like ADRIATIC and IMforte are shaping the future of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treatment, explained Angel Qin, MD. She also emphasized the growing role of immunotherapy in adjuvant and maintenance therapies.

At the recent regional Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event in Boston, Anasuya Gunturi, MD, PhD, Lowell General Hospital, was a panelist for the discussion, “Evolving Breast Cancer Care: Addressing Unmet Needs Across the Patient Journey.”

Michael Hassett, MD, MPH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, reflects on the impact of HER2 identification on the breast cancer treatment continuum.

Rebecca Chacko, MD, discussed exciting advancements in breast cancer care and the future role of emerging therapeutic strategies for early recurrence detection, as part of her panelist role at the Detroit Institute for Value-Based Medicine.

Rebecca Chacko, MD, discusses key breast cancer care challenges, including treatment access delays and the importance of open patient communication, as highlighted at the Detroit Institute for Value-Based Medicine session on unmet needs.

David Nguyen, MD, medical oncologist with Tufts Medicine and Lowell General Hospital, discusses the evolving landscape of advanced cancer treatments like chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy and bispecific antibodies

Amir Fathi, MD, discusses one of the biggest nonfinancial barriers to bispecific therapies: the expertise required to safely administer and manage them.

There is a great need to streamline the process from the tissue sample to the diagnostic lab, whether it's genomic or immunohistochemistry, Robert Kratzke, MD, says.

Caroline Vovan, PharmD, CDE, emphasized the expanding role of ambulatory clinical pharmacists in value-based care.

Ambulatory clinical pharmacists improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs by providing hands-on chronic disease management, patient education, and medication cost oversight, according to Caroline Vovan, PharmD, CDE.

Caroline Vovan, PharmD, CDE, highlights how ambulatory clinical pharmacists contribute to value-based care by managing chronic conditions, improving medication adherence, and reducing costs.

Robert Kratzke, MD, urged insurance providers to prioritize fast biomarker testing in non–small cell lung cancer, saying it’s both cost-effective and life-saving.

Tyler Sandahl, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist at Mayo Clinic, explains that sequencing novel multiple myeloma therapies with CAR T-cell therapy is generally prioritized first for eligible patients, while bispecific antibodies are reserved for later lines or for patients unable to tolerate CAR T.

Tyler Sandahl, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist at Mayo Clinic, discussed the complexities of alternative payment models for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell and bispecific therapies and the need for improved data sharing in cancer care.

Nicolas Ferreyros, managing director, Community Oncology Alliance, discusses key components of health equity and social determinants of health that need to be addressed in cancer care.

Jody Agena, PharmD, MBA, director of pharmacy operations, Virginia Cancer Specialists, discusses the various responsibilities of the pharmacist within community oncology settings.

Financial, family, and logistical challenges often lead patients to choose ongoing therapies over stem cell transplantation, says Mansi Shah, MD.

Mansi Shah, MD, explains how treatment sequencing and patient eligibility guide the use of these therapies in multiple myeloma.

Eric Lander, MD, discussed the difficulty that clinicians and pharmacists face in getting insurance coverage for category 2B treatments in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, which could affect how patients are treated for cancer.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing changes occur nearly every year, making consistent updates to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines important for clinicians to make decisions on the use of these methods of testing, says Eric Lander, MD.