Oncology Data Advisor

In January 2022, Dr. Morie Gertz, Professor and Chair of General Internal Medicine at the May Clinic in Minnesota, served as faculty for the Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) session of the Oncology Data AdvisorTM Hematologic Malignancies Symposium. With several significant updates in the treatment and management of WM since then, Dr. Gertz sat down with Oncology Data Advisor again to share all that has occurred in this evolving field.

Myelofibrosis is a rare myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by the buildup of scar tissue in the bone marrow, leading to decreased erythropoiesis, progressive bone marrow failure, and anemia. Currently, the discovery of the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway's role in the pathogenesis of myelofibrosis is transforming the landscape with novel agents that improve patients' outcomes. However, correctly diagnosing and managing this disease using novel therapies and strategies remains challenging for clinicians.

Dr. Jeremy Meier and Dr. Samuel Rubinstein of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill are the first and senior author, respectively, of a recently published review paper entitled Game of Clones: Diverse Implications for Clonal Hematopoiesis in Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma. In this interview for Blood Cancer Awareness Month, Oncology Data Advisor's Editorial Board member Dr. Rahul Banerjee speaks with Dr. Meier and Dr. Rubinstein about their work in this area and the future of clonal hematopoiesis research in hematologic malignancies.

In 2006, Lillie Shockney, Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University, launched a retreat program for patients with metastatic breast cancer, a weekend-long retreat in which patients, their spouses, and caregivers can focus on communication, support, relationships, personal reflection, and laughter. In 2016, Janie Metsker, Clinical Coordinator at the Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer at St. Luke's Hospital, launched these retreats at her own institution. In this interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Ms. Shockney and Ms. Metsker reflect on the impactful moments that take place during the retreats and their profound significance for the patients who attend.

In this interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Dr. Samuel Kareff, a Hematology-Oncology Fellow at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Miami, provides a comprehensive overview of the current and emerging therapies used in the treatment of breast cancer, serving as a valuable resource to share with patients who may be discussing these options with their oncology team.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Valerie Brutus, a Breast Surgical Oncologist at St. Vincent's Medical Center of Hartford HealthCare, spoke with Oncology Data Advisor about the risks for breast cancer in transgender individuals. Dr. Brutus shares the importance of starting the conversation about individualized risk assessment to provide the most appropriate screening recommendations and personalized care for every patient.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Valerie Brutus, a Breast Surgical Oncologist at St. Vincent's Medical Center of Hartford HealthCare, spoke with Oncology Data Advisor to raise awareness about the reality that men can get breast cancer too. Dr. Brutus explains the risk factors and the conversations that men can have with their health care providers to understand their individual risks for breast cancer.

In this latest Breast Cancer Awareness Month interview, Dr. Elizabeth Stirling Craig, Director of Microvascular Breast Reconstruction at St. Vincent’s Medical Center of Hartford HealthCare, explains the microsurgical techniques that she performs as a breast reconstructive surgeon and shares the importance of providing patients with a clear picture of the reconstructive options that are available to them.

Understanding the various subtypes of breast cancer is critical, as treatment selection and potential outcomes depend heavily on subtype. In this latest Oncology Data Advisor interview for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Jason Mouabbi, an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, sheds light on lobular breast, an often-understudied subtype. Dr. Mouabbi shares his passion for raising awareness about lobular breast cancer and his goal of better understanding it at the genomic level to develop novel therapeutic options.

Recently, Dr. Rahul Banerjee, Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and Editorial Board member for Oncology Data Advisor, spoke with Dr. Ajay Major, Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado, in a live interview discussion in honor of Blood Cancer Awareness Month. Dr. Banerjee and Dr. Major engaged in a riveting conversation about the role of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in lymphoma and myeloma, including how to interpret them and how to include them when designing research.

In this interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Blanca Ledezma, MSN, NP, elucidates the current landscape of therapeutically actionable biomarkers in lung cancer and the promising future of precision medicine in this field. In addition, she explains the clinical applications for lung cancer biomarkers in nursing practice, including unique toxicity management and patient education for novel therapies.

In this interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Dr. Joshua Sasine, Hematologist-Oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the factors that make patients suitable candidates for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, strategies to minimize the unique toxicities associated with these treatments, and the future of the use of CAR T-cell therapy in the outpatient setting.

At the recent International Myeloma Society (IMS) Annual Meeting, Donna Catamero, NP, Associate Director of Myeloma Translational Research at Mount Sinai Hospital, presented her abstract regarding increasing clinical trial accrual of minority patients. In this interview, Ms. Catamero discusses her presentation, the disproportionate burden that minority patients experience, and why she believes the health care team should take action to create an equal space for everyone in the clinic.

At the recent International Myeloma Society Annual Meeting, Beth Faiman, a Nurse Practitioner at the Cleveland Clinic, presented a poster about a clinical factor scoring system that she and her colleagues have developed to aid in these decisions. In this follow-up interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Dr. Faiman explains how this innovative system works and the next steps to validate it and implement it into practice in the future.

At the recent International Myeloma Society (IMS) Annual Meeting, Dr. Kashyap Patel, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates and President of the Community Oncology Alliance, spoke about practical solutions for addressing disparities in multiple myeloma in the United States. In this follow-up interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Dr. Patel digs deep into the multifaceted factors that contribute to cancer disparities and shares his pioneering work that aims to ensure that every patient with cancer receives equitable access to care.

In this interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Dr. Valerie Brutus, a Breast Surgical Oncologist at St. Vincent's Medical Center, discusses the significance of Magtrace™, a liquid tracer which has recently become a game changer in guiding surgical decisions for patients with breast cancer.

In this interview, Oncology Data Advisor Editorial Board member Dr. Rahul Banerjee speaks with Dr. Ben Derman, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, about his research regarding measurable residual disease (MRD) detection in multiple myeloma and its potential role in guiding treatment decisions.

Following the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Cherry Au, MD, of Rush University Medical Center, spoke with Oncology Data Advisor to discuss her abstract, Medical Student Clinical Cultural Awareness in Cancer Care of Sexual and Gender Minorities.

In this interview, Maura Abbott describes the current landscape of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia and the activity she co-led earlier this year.

On August 1st, Oncology Data Advisor hosted a live panel discussion in honor of World Lung Cancer Day, featuring Beth Sandy, MSN, CRNP, and Corey Langer, MD, both of the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center. Ms. Sandy and Dr. Langer discussed the improvements in survival that have occurred in recent years due to the development of novel therapies, groundbreaking developments in the fields of immunotherapy and targeted therapy, and exciting advances that lay on the horizon for patients with lung cancer in the coming years.