COA’s “Innovation in Practice” Event Covers the Landscape, From AI to CAR T

If there were a phrase to sum up today’s challenges in community oncology, it might be “keeping up.” The science is breathtaking. The reimbursement and regulatory hurdles are daunting. Technology, from artificial intelligence (AI) to patient monitoring, offers solutions but raises new questions.

And figuring it all out while patients keep coming through the door—that’s where the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) comes in. From April 27-29, 2026, the annual COA Community Oncology Conference, with the theme, “Innovation in Practice,” takes place at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel near Orlando, Florida.¹ Following the innovation theme, COA’s keynote speaker Tuesday morning will be astronaut Scott Kelly, offering an address, “The Sky Is Not the Limit.”

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, FASCO, executive vice president of Texas Oncology, is in her second year as COA president, and meeting cochairs are Glenn Balasky, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers; Johnetta Blakely, MD, MS, MMHC, Tennessee Oncology; Moshe Chasky, MD, FACP, Alliance Cancer Specialists; Richard McDonough, MD, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute; Kathy Oubre, MS, Pontchartrain Cancer Center; and Emily Touloukian, DO, FASCO, Coastal Cancer Center. Oubre is associate editor of Evidence-Based Oncology™, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care^®.

Starting with Monday evening’s reception—one of the year’s must-attend events—the COA conference comes at a crucial time for the organization, which can point to the fruits of its long-term advocacy in pharmacy benefit management reforms, which were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026.² And yet, COA cannot rest, due to threats from the Inflation Reduction Act as well as a new challenge from commercial plans’ failure to reset payments to match coding changes in radiation oncology.³

All these items will be on the agenda, with several topics covered in the update set for 3:30 PM Tuesday, “The Impact of Politics & Policy on Community Oncology: Federal Policy Perspectives.” A special session on radiation oncology reimbursement is set for 1 PM Wednesday.

Innovation in Practice

This year’s theme reflects the wave of change both in technology and in the administration of novel therapies, as the push is on to bring bispecific antibodies, including bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs), and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy beyond the academic centers and into community practices. Here, these complex therapies can be delivered closer to patients and at a lower cost. But administration calls for new uses of AI and other technology to monitor patient symptoms and get ahead of effects such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS).⁴

New data released within recent weeks show the potential for both bispecifics and CAR T-cell therapy to reach larger groups of patients in earlier lines of care with effective monitoring,^5-7 and COA will have several sessions and 2 showcases highlighting both the possibilities and the payment challenges. These include:

• “AI as a Practice Partner: Operational & Clinical Wins in Community Oncology,” is set for 7:45 AM Tuesday after the conference cochairs open the meeting. Panelists are Larry Bilbrey, of OneOncology; Jeff Hunnicutt, of Highlands Oncology; and David Oubre, MD, of Pontchartrain Cancer Center.
• At 9:45 AM Tuesday is “CAR T Comes to Main Street: Expanding Access, Empowering Care, Advancing Community Oncology Practice,” which will feature Ralph V. Boccia, MD, FACP, of the Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders/American Oncology Network; Michael Byrne, DO, FACP, of Tennessee Oncology; Ameet Patel, MD, MMHC, of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute; Gary Simmons, MD, of Virginia Oncology Associates; and moderator Eve Stahl, MHA, RT (R), of McKesson/The US Oncology Network.
• Lalan Wilfong, MD, the new chief medical officer for Navista, the oncology alliance of Cardinal Health, will moderate the panel “Access & Affordability in the Era of Innovation: Cellular Therapies in Community Oncology,” featuring James Gilmore, PharmD, of American Oncology Network; Aaron Lyss, MBA, of OneOncology; and Barry Russo, MBA, of The Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders.

In an interview, Wilfong said the session would address the dichotomy between the scientific advances in today’s therapeutics and the barriers to access. “It’s at such a critical juncture right now—if you look at the number of cellular therapies, including bispecifics, there are almost 300 clinical trials of bispecifics ongoing right now. And still, there's extremely limited access to those [therapies], especially in the community oncology setting,” he said.

“It’s getting better, but we need to figure out ways to give those therapeutics in the community, because we're much more cost-effective, and we'll be able to provide much better 1-on-1 patient support for them.”

Administration of these therapies in the community also has the potential to reduce prior authorization and billing disputes that occur when step-up doses of a treatment course are given in the hospital and the rest of the regimen is given in a community clinic, Wilfong said.

Advocacy Is Front and Center

A full advocacy track will detail efforts to generate change at the state and federal levels, involving both patients and clinicians. This occurs as COA works to revive patient advocacy chapters that ceased in-person gatherings during the pandemic.

Rose Gerber, MS, a cancer survivor who is COA’s director of patient advocacy and education, will take part in 3 sessions: Tuesday sessions at 9:45 AM and 1:30 PM will address the “why” of advocacy as well as role-playing, with help from government affairs specialists. A 10:15 AM Wednesday session will focus on the COA Patient Advocacy Network, “CPAN Advocates in Action,” featuring Chelsea Klock, RN, of Hematology-Oncology Associates of CNY; Sunshine Maracle, of Hope Cancer Care of Nevada; and CPAN advocate Della Smith.

Conference cochair Blakely said in an interview that the policy and advocacy focus of this year’s meeting is essential, because despite the successes in areas such as PBM reform, new threats abound. “We can barely keep the government open, much less pass laws to protect community oncology practices,” she said. “So, we’ll definitely continue work on the federal level. But we really want to focus on the state level. We are getting real change in the states.”

A Focus on Practical Solutions

Blakely said that the meeting is designed for physicians who need solutions they can use today. “We’re focusing on practical innovations that help community oncologists to stay in practice, to stay competitive,” she said, citing in particular the early session on AI as a practice partner. “We continue to look at quality and value…I think practicing oncology today is so exciting, with BiTE therapy and CAR T therapy. Every time I see a myeloma patient, they’re always very worried, and I tell them right up front, ‘Look, you’re not going to have to have chemotherapy. Not one of these drugs that I'm going to give you is an actual chemotherapeutic agent. These are all targeted agents.’”

“For somebody who started practicing over 20 years ago, when I did use chemotherapy for myeloma, it was so different,” she said.

The Perfect Mix

By design, the Community Oncology Conference is a short meeting—just 2 days—and in recent years, COA has offered select clinical updates for busy community clinicians who may not be able to take time off for massive, multiday scientific conferences. The 2026 meeting will offer key updates for pharmacists in non–small cell lung cancer, operational workflows in bispecifics, prostate cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and the legal landscape. A business track will offer updates in revenue cycle management and transparency in contracting, among other topics.

Longtime attendees say COA offers a great blend of keeping up and catching up—it offers essential information plus lots of time with colleagues.

“For me, it's always just seeing the amazing people at the same place,” said Stephen Schleicher, MD, an oncologist with Tennessee Oncology and a member of COA’s board of directors. “It's the perfect sized conference. Everybody's in the same hotel, so we get to actually be together for every meal, and there’s time in the morning and afterwards to really catch up with old friends.… I love hearing the innovative things people are doing, both from the practice standpoint, and [the] innovative companies.”

Schleicher credited Patt for spearheading the focus on AI and bringing this theme into the meeting agenda. “I’m excited to see what's on the horizon and how we're going to continue to innovate forward in oncology,” he said.

With attendance forecast at well beyond 2000 people, Blakely said, “I think this is going to be the biggest COA yet.”

References

1. 2026 Community Oncology Conference. Accessed April 25, 2026. https://coaconference.com/
2. Caffrey M. PBM reforms, restoration of science cuts seen in $1.2T spending deal for 2026. Am J Manag Care. 2026;32(Spec. No. 2):SP80.
3. Caffrey M. Payers fail to reset radiation oncology payments to match coding changes—and some clinics may close, leading oncologist says. AJMC^®. April 15, 2026. Accessed April 25, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/payers-fail-to-reset-radiation-oncology-payments-to-match-coding-changes-and-some-clinics-may-close-leading-oncologist-says
4. Caffrey M. Canopy’s remote therapeutic monitoring cuts infection-related hospitalizations by half in patients with blood cancers. Am J Manag Care. 2026;32(Spec. No. 1):SP50.
5. Andorsky D, Lopez A, Vaidya R, et al. Epcoritamab monotherapy as outpatient treatment for patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: interim results from EPCORE NHL-6. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk. 2026;S2152-2650(26)00042-X. doi:10.1016/j.clml.2026.02.006
6. Budde LE, Kamdar M, Assouline S, et al. Mosunetuzumab plus polatuzumab vedotin in relapsed/refractory MCL after BTK inhibitor therapy: a phase 2 study. Blood. Published online April 21, 2026. doi:10.1182/blood.2025032422
7. Allogene Therapeutics reports interim futility analysis from pivotal ALPHA3 trial showing 58.3% MRD clearance with cemacabtagene ansegedleucel (cema-cel) vs. 16.7% in observation arm in first-line consolidation LBCL. News release. Allogene. April 13, 2026. Accessed April 23, 2026. https://ir.allogene.com/news-releases/news-release-details/allogene-therapeutics-reports-interim-futility-analysis-pivotal