Latest Conference Content

Rebecca Spencer, PhD, professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and co-chair of SLEEP 2021, highlights takeaways from this year’s meeting and discussions she’s looking forward to.

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.

Daratumumab will likely become a part of most combination therapies for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) because it safely adds efficacy, according to Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, of the University of Miami and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

With 5 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies approved by the FDA, and 299 agents in the pipeline, it’s no surprise that the virtual meeting of the European Hematology Association (EHA) will have a heavy presence of CAR T research being presented in sessions and posters.

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.

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.

The study's lead author said researchers have searched for a generation for an effective therapy to give to high-risk patients with renal cell carcinoma after initial surgery for the tumor.

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.

Also, phase 2 results for atezolizumab presented during the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology could help patients in same setting who need another option.

Equality in cancer care is not sufficient, said Lori Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, a radiation oncologist from the University of Michigan and president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Equity—which means that patients have similar outcomes, regardless of circumstance—is harder to achieve.

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.

During the first day of the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, a discussion on disparities in women's cancer care highlighted challenges in the United States and overseas.

Robert Iannone, MD, MSCE, executive vice president of research and development for Jazz Pharmaceuticals, addresses findings of an abstract presented at ASCO 2021 which showed preliminary efficacy of lurbinectedin in combination with irinotecan in patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma.

Davey Daniel, MD, hematology/medical oncology specialist, Tennessee Oncology, discusses findings of an abstract presented at ASCO 2021 showing a lower total cost of care paid by Medicare for episodes of care for patients in the Oncology Care Model (OCM) enrolled in clinical trials vs those receiving routine care.

ASCO officials characterized the results as practice changing and said they highlighted the need for genetic testing in patients who receive a diagnosis of high-risk breast cancer.

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.

Treating cough can be difficult. There are no FDA-approved therapies on the market in the United States, and companies with drugs in clinical trials have to contend with a large placebo effect.

This year's SLEEP 2021 virtual conference offers a wide range of sessions on topics relating to sleep disorder treatment and management.

Matthew Reynolds, PhD, vice president of real-world evidence at IQVIA, discusses findings of a recent paper with the National Pharmaceutical Council on how COVID-19 affected real-world data and research, as well as implications for future studies.

As the cost of therapies increases, US health plans are utilizing tools like step therapy, to ensure patients try cheaper alternatives first, and value assessment frameworks, to assist with the decision-making process.

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.

It is already known that dual-eligible older adults are at an increased risk for death in the year following a stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), but it previously wasn't known whether dual-eligible status is linked with functional decline after an ICU stay.

With more than 3000 gene therapies in development, payers will have to grapple with the challenges of paying for these innovative but expensive therapies.

Patients with refractory or unexplained chronic cough are concerned about how they appear to others, and it takes them many years to get diagnosed, according to posters presented at the American Thoracic Society 2021 International Conference.

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.