Amar Gajjar, MD, who serves as the co-chair of the oncology department and chair of the pediatric medicine department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, answers questions from our friends at Cancer Therapy Advisor. Proton therapy, conventional chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and observed glioma progression are all topics covered by Dr. Gajjar when talking about treatment options for pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGG) that have relapsed or progressed.

The “super enhancer,” a complex region of DNA with a lot of transcriptional machinery that determines whether a cell is malignant, can be programmed by the environment around a colon cancer tumor for the first time, according to research. The PDZK1IP1 gene, which was not previously recognized as a cancer gene, is controlled by this super enhancer, which is the biggest 1-2% of all enhancers in the cell. Colon cancer growth was inhibited when PDZK1IP1 was deleted, indicating that PDZK1IP1 and its super enhancer may be targets for cancer treatments.

In this cohort study of 12,046 patients with cancer and COVID-19, it was discovered that the use of immunotherapy (IO) and other systemic anticancer therapies in combination with baseline immunosuppression was linked to worse outcomes and a higher incidence of cytokine storm in SARS-CoV-2-infected cancer patients.

This study provides evidence that older patients with Binet stage A CLL, including those in the oldest age groups, can receive the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia International Prognostic Index (CLL-IPI). Because of the high median age in our study, we were also able to identify a relationship between del(17p) and age, which raises the possibility that age-adjusted prognostic tools could enhance CLL prediction. In cardiology, risk stratifications and recommendations for antilipid treatment have long taken into account the interaction between age and other risk factors for fatal cardiovascular disease, but in CLL, age is typically only considered as an additive factor in prognostic models.

The median PFS and overall survival in the hormone receptor-positive cohort (494; 88.7%) were 23.9 months and 17.5 months, respectively, for the trastuzumab deruxtecan group and 10.1 months and 5.4 months, respectively, for the physician’s choice group. Overall survival was 23.4 months and 16.8 months, respectively, while the median PFS for all patients was 9.9 months for the trastuzumab deruxtecan group and 5.1 months for the physician’s choice group.

What is missing for Dr. Kristen Fuller now? Preserving life. Teaching sufferers and their families about chronic illness. Assisting individuals in changing their lifestyles to lead healthier lives. Observing patients make a full recovery from severe illness. The instinctive knowledge that she was making the world a better place. What doesn’t she miss? The way society views doctors, extreme stress, burnout, sleepless nights, emotional toll, and administrative work.