Oncology

One study showed small cell lung cancer (SCLC) tumors with higher DNA damage response (DDR) activity were initially more sensitive to chemotherapy but had worse overall survival.

In this discussion with Cathy Eng, MD, FACP, FASCO, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, she illustrates how Vanderbilt works to specify each individual patient’s cancer care regimen and treatment path.

Researchers of a Swedish study advise physicians to consult with their patients about these risks and take extra precautions, but did not recommend discontinuation of any of the drugs studied.

Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, addresses the importance of meeting patients where they are to expand clinical trial participation and remove barriers to trial access.

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.

As St. Patrick's Day brings global celebrations involving alcohol, Ireland looks forward to rethinking excess consumption with a new tool set to arrive next year: the world's most comprehensive alcohol warning label.

Jorge García, PharmD, MS, MBA, MHA, highlights the need for infusion pharmacy optimization to sustain oncology care amid rising costs and evolving value-based reimbursement models.

Patients expressed concern that overreliance on artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to clinicians losing their skills, both medical and interpersonal.

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.

A dermatology expert panel confirms image-guided superficial radiation therapy as a safe, effective first-line treatment for select nonmelanoma skin cancer cases.

Dosing has started in a clinical evaluating peluntamig, which targets DLL3 and CD47, combined with chemotherapy in patients with DLL3-expressing small cell lung cancer and neuroendocrine carcinoma.

Tislelizumab plus chemotherapy received FDA approval as a frontline therapy for individuals with unresectable or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) whose tumors express PD-L1.

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.

Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, addresses the importance of inclusive clinical trial participation and meeting patients where they are.

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.

When combined with chemotherapy, cetuximab shows promising efficacy for optimizing treatment strategies for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Health care institutions with large numbers of Medicare and Medicaid patients may be constrained from offering cancer therapies made available under the accelerated approval pathway.

The Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice works to overcome race, class, cultural, religious, and gender barriers that Black women and young women face in the rural South, specifically the Mississippi Delta and the Black Belt regions of Alabama and Georgia.

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.

Eligibility issues, a need for better multidisciplinary collaboration, and a lack of incorporation in community practices are all barriers to the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery for patients with primary urethral cancer, said Rohan Garje, MD.

Susan Escudier, MD, FACP, discusses the impact of insurance coverage gaps, transportation barriers, and financial hardships on cancer care access and emphasizes the need for payers to better support patients at high risk.

Accurate calculation of prostate-specific antigen doubling time can be crucial for prostate cancer treatment decisions but is often missed by doctors, impacting patient care.

In the wake of novel bispecific and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies for various cancers, geography still plays a big role in patients' abilities to receive such treatments.

In part 3 of this conversation, Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, executive director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, discusses why basic scientific research remains essential and how patient experiences contribute.