Articles related to Oncology, Surgical

CLL affects more than 200,000 people in the United States, and it is responsible for approximately 4,410 deaths each year. Approximately two-thirds of patients require treatment at some point. BTK inhibitors such as acalabrutinib, zanubrutinib, ibrutinib, and pirtobrutinib, as well as BCL2 inhibitors such as venetoclax, are examples of highly effective novel targeted agents.

The panel discussion, titled “The Hospital Conundrum: A Gameplan for Fending Off Attacks and Coexisting,” was one of the sessions at the 2023 Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Annual Conference, where panelists also shared strategies to discourage hospitals from acquiring independent oncology practices. Hospitals and independent oncology practices have had contentious relationships at times. Some independent practices have claimed that 340B hospitals frequently engage in unethical business practices, such as acquiring or establishing satellite clinics near independent practices.

The 49-year-old breast cancer specialist typically sees patients two days per week and spends the rest of her time pursuing other interests such as research and public policy. Dr. Patt has testified before the Texas legislature and Congress on issues ranging from legislation aimed at reducing prior authorization hurdles to the need to reform the 340B Drug Pricing Program to ensure that more federal funds reach underserved populations in her role as executive vice president of policy and strategy at Texas Oncology, a large community-based practice with more than 500 physicians.

In this video, Dr. Robert Vonderheide, the Director of the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine, discusses cancer interception, an approach to cancer treatment that involves identifying and treating pre-cancerous cells before they develop into tumors. Dr. Vonderheide explains that cancer interception involves using genomic sequencing to identify cells that are at high risk of developing into cancer and then using drugs or other treatments to kill these cells before they become cancerous. He notes that cancer interception has the potential to be a highly effective form of cancer treatment, but that it requires a collaborative approach between researchers, clinicians, and patients. Dr. Vonderheide also discusses the role of immunotherapy in cancer interception and the challenges associated with developing effective interception strategies for different types of cancer.

The article reports that a new blood test, called the EasyM protocol, has been certified by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in detecting multiple myeloma relapse. The test works by detecting small amounts of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood, which can indicate the presence of residual disease. The EasyM protocol is reportedly more sensitive than existing tests for detecting ctDNA, and can provide results in just a few hours. The article notes that the test has the potential to improve patient outcomes by allowing for earlier detection of relapse and more personalized treatment options.

The article discusses the expanding landscape of targeted therapies for patients with advanced metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with nine targetable oncogenes and seven approvals within the last five years. With these emerging therapeutic options, the article emphasizes the importance of understanding the existing data on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for each oncogene-driven lung cancer to guide the selection and sequencing of therapeutic options. The article reviews the clinical data on ICIs for each of the driver oncogene-defined lung cancer subtypes, including efficacy, toxicities, and potential strategies to enhance ICI efficacy in oncogene-driven NSCLC.