At the recent Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Congress in Anaheim, California, Bina Parekh, PhD, explained the concept of vicarious trauma and empowered nurses with positive personal growth strategies to deal with challenges, fears, and trauma that stem from dealing with patients with cancer. In this interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Dr. Parekh discusses the concept of vicarious trauma and how nurses, programmed to care for others, are often affected. She shares advice for nurses on how to ad...
Michael Bishop, MD.
In the phase 3 BELINDA trial, a team of researchers led by Dr. Michael Bishop, Director of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation at the University of Chicago Medicine, investigated tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, as second-line treatment for patients with relapsed/refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The investigators found that tisa-cel did not improve event-free survival compared with the standard of care, which consisted of platinum-based chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant in responders. Dr. Bishop recently presented the results of the trial at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. In this interview with Oncology Data Advisor, he explains how these results should be interpreted and their significance for the future of CAR T-cell therapy.
The outcomes of patients with lung cancer have improved significantly in recent years, largely due to the treatment targeting the cancer's specific genetic profile and the impact of immunotherapy, often in different groups of patients. In this interview, Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, Director of Thoracic Oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, discusses the importance of considering multiple factors when deciding on clinical trials for patients. Oncology Data Advisor: When would you recom...
Kathy Pratt, BSN, RN, OCN®, CBCN®, ONN-CG
To celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Kathy Pratt, BSN, RN, OCN®, CBCN®, ONN-CG, a genetic patient navigator at UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses her role in reaching out to patients identified to have a greatly increased risk of developing cancer in their lifetimes. In this interview, she shares her advice in helping individuals prevent cancer, as well as her answers to her patients' common questions about breast cancer.
An educational activity designed by i3 Health has demonstrated significant learning gains in the treatment and management of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and has been presented at the 2021 Greater Los Angeles Oncology Nursing Society (GLAONS) Oncology Care Summit. A group of myeloid clonal hematopoietic disorders with a relatively heterogeneous spectrum of presentation, MDS, is associated with clinical problems resulting from cytopenias, which can evolve into acute myeloid leukemia. The incid...
In the following interview, Dr. Paul Richardson, the Clinical Program Leader and Director of Clinical Research of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses some important factors in the development of drugs to target "the queen of immunological cancers," multiple myeloma, and why this disease is difficult to cure. Recently, he led the development and clinical trials of the novel targeted cytotoxic peptide-drug, melphalan flufenamide (Pepaxto®, Oncop...
Follicular lymphoma, an indolent, difficult-to-treat B-cell malignancy, is complicated by evolving disease subtypes. Patient outcomes can be hampered by the failure of the multidisciplinary team to establish consensus on the optimal timing, schedule, and length of follicular lymphoma treatment. In addition, the rapid pace of research makes it difficult to stay abreast of the latest and most clinically relevant therapies. This educational gap in the treatment and management of follicular lymphoma...
Melphalan flufenamide, a newly approved peptide-drug conjugate for multiple myeloma, specifically targets chemotherapy to tumor cells like a warhead on a guided missile. In the following interview, Dr. Paul Richardson, the Clinical Program Leader and Director of Clinical Research of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the use of melflufen (Pepaxto®, Oncopeptides AB) for multiple myeloma. Melflufen has its base in melphalan and the old technolo...
A shortfall in knowledge in the use of biomarkers and patient-related factors for the personalization of treatment for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma was identified in the baseline data collected from i3 Health's continuing medical education (CME)–approved visiting faculty meeting series titled New Thinking, New Strategies in Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma, led by Arjun V. Balar, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Genitourinary Medical Oncology Program at NYU Lan...
Recently, the FDA granted approval to lorlatinib (Lorbrena®, Pfizer, Inc.) for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–positive non-small cell lung cancer. This subset of lung cancers defined by their chromosomal rearrangements of the ALK gene are highly sensitive to small-molecule ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Lorlatinib is a novel third-generation small-molecule ALK TKI that was designed to cross the blood-brain barrier in an effort to better treat patients who...
When patients with hematological malignancies do not receive referrals for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), they may face a risk of poorer outcomes. Common reasons behind this lack of referrals include provider confusion over eligibility criteria for HSCT, overestimation of the risks associated with transplant, and confusion regarding the benefit of HSCT. This educational gap regarding the uses and risks of HSCT was identified in the baseline data collected from i3 Health's continuing ...
The FDA has approved yttrium-90 (Y-90) glass microspheres (TheraSphere™, Boston Scientific) for the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The most common type of primary liver cancer, HCC is often treated with surgery, liver transplantation, chemotherapy, or embolization. The radioactive Y-90 glass microspheres are delivered directly to the liver tumor through a catheter. The treatment, referred to as selective internal radiation therapy or embolization, minimiz...
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow plasma cells that causes the overproduction of monoclonal immunoglobulins, which can lead to organ damage. In this excerpt of the transcript from her nursing continuing professional development (NCPD)-approved activity, Multiple Myeloma: Enhancing Treatment Tolerability, Adherence, and Patient-Centered Care, Beth Faiman, PhD, MSN, APN-BC, AOCN®, FAAN, a nurse practitioner at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, discusses strateg...
Prostate cancer is the tumor type with highest incidence in men in the United States. Typically, the first line treatment for progressive disease is androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). However, most men eventually stop responding to ADT treatment and develop castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The therapeutic options for this highly heterogeneous disease process have expanded to include novel hormone therapies, second-generation taxanes, immunotherapy, and bone-targeted and bone metasta...
Recently, the FDA granted approval to cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo®, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small lung cancer cell (NSCLC) whose tumors express programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in at least 50% of their cells and whose tumors do not have aberrations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), or C-ROS oncogene 1 (ROS1). In this interview, Ahmet Sezer, MD, Professor in the Department of Medical Onco...
The FDA has approved lorlatinib (Lorbrena®, Pfizer, Inc.) for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A subset of NSCLCs defined by their chromosomal rearrangements of the ALK gene are highly sensitive to small-molecule ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Lorlatinib is a novel third-generation small-molecule ALK TKI that was designed to cross the blood-brain barrier in an effort to better treat patients whose disease has pro...
The FDA has approved melphalan flufenamide (Pepaxto®, Oncopeptides AB) in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who have received at least four prior lines of therapy and whose disease is refractory to at least one CD38–directed monoclonal antibody, one proteasome inhibitor, and one immunomodulatory agent. "Melphalan flufenamide (melflufen) is a first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate that targets aminopeptidases and rapid...
Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a heterogeneous disorder that involves a shortage of platelets, or thrombocytes, and can result in excessive bruising or bleeding. Diagnosis and treatment are challenging due to the lack of specific diagnostic criteria and the widely varying clinical features: some patients remain asymptomatic, whereas others experience troublesome bruising or even life-threatening intracranial hemorrhage. The optimal management of ITP necessitates an individualized approach that...
The FDA has approved cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo®, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor, for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small lung cancer cell (NSCLC) whose tumors express programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in at least 50% of their cells and whose tumors do not have aberrations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), or C-ROS oncogene 1 (ROS1). "An estimated 25% to 35% of advanced NSCLC ...
Waldenström macroglobulinemia is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder, with an estimated 1,500 new cases reported in the United States each year. This malignancy, which accounts for 2% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas, is characterized by lymphoplasmacytic bone marrow infiltration and the presence of serum monoclonal immunoglobulin M (IgM). It is important for health care professionals involved in the care of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia to remain up to date in their knowledge of risk stra...