US Oncology Network

The 2025 Community Oncology Conference empowered attendees with insights on advocacy, innovation, and practical strategies for enhancing community cancer care.

Experts at the Community Oncology Conference discuss innovative patient navigation programs, emphasizing technology's role and the importance of human connection in cancer care.

Lalan Wilfong, MD, of Thyme Care and Texas Oncology, discusses a session on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and shares insight as chair of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Payer Reform Committee.

These advances are designed to improve uptake of biomarker-driven cancer care and reduce treatment delays.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Public Policy and Strategy for Texas Oncology, said the practice received positive feedback from nurses and patients during a pilot that concluded in February.

Experts shared details on health care contracting, setting up a centralized prior authorization pilot, and use of advocacy to win pharmacy benefit manager reforms at the state level.

Some patients are better candidates than others for histotripsy to treat liver tumors, but ultimately, this treatment still requires a good multidisciplinary team, like any cancer treatment, said Shaun P. McKenzie, MD, FACS.

Histotripsy shows promise for treating liver tumors with minimal adverse effects, but limited long-term data and insurance hurdles hinder its adoption, says Shaun P. McKenzie, MD, FACS, of Texas Oncology.

Although histotripsy can successfully destroy tumors in the liver, longer-term data are still needed to see recurrence rates and overall survival, said Shaun P. McKenzie, MD, FACS, a surgical oncologist with Texas Oncology.

In an interview, Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, FASCO, discusses the priorities of the Community Oncology Alliance as she starts her term as president.

Travis Brewer, vice president of payer and public health strategy/relations at Texas Oncology, shared that value-based oncology care can achieve both cost efficiency and high-quality outcomes through integrated multidisciplinary teams, flexible payment models, and targeted treatment approaches.

The design of the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) was a perfect fit for Minnesota Oncology.

Martin Dietrich, MD, PhD, discusses how the FDA-approved combination therapy is transforming care for resectable early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Bispecific antibodies show strong initial uptake in community settings for multiple myeloma treatment, particularly among Black patients compared with clinical trials.

By reducing cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity, prophylactic tocilizumab could facilitate safe outpatient administration of bispecifics to treat multiple myeloma (MM), explained Robert Rifkin, MD.

Accompanying these findings is a call for refined treatment strategies that have potential to better outcomes among patients who have unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

In September, amivantamab (Rybrevant; Johnson & Johnson) received its fourth treatment indication from the FDA to treat non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Mabel Mardones, MD, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, discusses the future of HR+/HER2– breast cancer treatment, focusing on the importance of biomarkers and the potential of SERDs to improve patient outcomes.

Amivantamab's role in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been a highlight of the lung cancer space this year, with the 2 most recent approvals based on data from the MARIPOSA and MARIPOSA-2 trials.

Mabel Mardones, MD, board-certified medical oncologist and hematologist who specializes in breast cancer at Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, emphasizes the importance in identifying patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative (HR+/HER2–) breast cancer with unmet treatment needs.

The pharmacist is a critical member of the care team to help manage patients on treatment and contain costs of cancer care, said Kirollos S. Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FACCC, director of pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology.

On September 19, the FDA handed down its third amivantamab (Rybrevant; Johnson & Johnson) approval for 2024 in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), giving the third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor its fourth approval overall.

Demonstration projects to show accurate use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cancer care are important to prevent a loss of credibility in the technology, explained Glenn Balasky, executive director, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.