Oncology News Central Peer-Spectives

“Practice-Expanding” Data on Adjuvant Osimertinib in NSCLC: Steps to Take Now

Although findings have suggested that adjuvant osimertinib is beneficial in early-stage non-smallcell lung cancer (NSCLC), some concerns have persisted. Balazs Halmos, MD, MS, associate director of clinical science, and director of both thoracic oncology and clinical cancer genomics at Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center in New York, says that “all these doubts have been shifted away,” given recent data presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. Dr. Halmos speaks with Bob Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer in Los Angeles, about data from the ADAURA trial and other studies. Dr. Halmos says that the new evidence is “not just practice-affirming” butcan be considered “practice-expanding,” resulting in complicated questions that necessitate morethorough collaborations among oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, and radiologists.

“Don’t Just Throw Drugs Together”: How to Best Approach ESR1 Mutations in Breast Cancer

How should community oncologists best approach ESR1 mutations in breast cancer, given the latest findings? Recent data presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and elsewhere have shed light on issues related to ESR1 testing and treatment selection. Bob Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in hematology oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer in Los Angeles, speaks with Hope Rugo, MD, professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology, department of medicine, and director of breast oncology and clinical trials education at the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, about how to put new findings into practice. Dr. Rugo provides key recommendations, as she explains that “It’s really important that we don’t just throw drugs together in clinical practice.”

mRNA Cancer Vaccines: When to Expect FDA Approval, and What’s Next?

Recent results demonstrated that mRNA vaccination improved recurrence-free survival among patients with melanoma. This has led to questions about what’s next for this promising intervention. Bob Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in hematology-oncology at Cedars Sinai Cancer in Los Angeles, welcomes Jeffrey Weber, MD, PhD, deputy director, professor, and co-director of the melanoma research program at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, todiscuss potential timing for FDA approval and additional cancers that may see benefit from a vaccine strategy.

“Major Wins” in Lung Cancer Treatment: How “Explosion of Data” Is Changing Practice

Within the last few years, an “explosion of data” regarding adjuvant and neoadjuvant treatment for resectable lung cancer has contained “major wins” for patient care. Although exciting, the rapid advancement has led to questions about when chemotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy should be adopted or avoided. Bob Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in hematology-oncology at Cedars Sinai Cancer in Los Angeles, and Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, the Leslye M. Heisler Associate Professor for Lung Cancer Excellence at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia, discuss how to apply key recent findings. They also share “the special sauce” that allows Dr. Aggarwal’s team to make the best determination for surgical timing.  

“Great Therapies for All-Comers” in CLL: How Can Oncologists “Pick and Choose?”

As treatment options increase for patients with CLL, so do questions about which interventions, if any, are right for which patients and when. Bob Figlin, MD, and Nicole Lamanna, MD, discuss key considerations, ranging from cardiac toxicity to why Dr. Lamanna “won't just treat for a symptom.”

Pragmatica-Lung Tests a Treatment and a New Approach to Trials

The newly opened Pragmatica-Lung trial compares ramucirumab plus pembrolizumab versus usual care for treatment of stage IV or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer. The trial is designed to ease enrollment requirements and data collection needs, focusing on the key endpoint of overall survival. Listen as study lead Karen Reckamp, MD, professor and division director for Cedar Sinai Cancer and Medical Oncology, and Bob Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in hematology oncology at Cedar Sinai Cancer, talk about how the trial came about and why it could change how future studies are done across cancer types

The Best First Step in Metastatic NSCLC Care

With more than 10 known driver mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), testing is ever more critical, says Heather Wakelee, MD, division chief of medical oncology at Stanford University and president of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Listen as she and Peer-Spectives host Bob Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, talk about how she manages patients with metastatic disease or those who need adjuvant treatment, when she starts targeted therapy or immunotherapy, and more. “We can drastically change the course of disease for a patient by giving them the appropriate targeted treatment. So that testing is so critical,” Dr. Wakelee said.

Neo- and Adjuvant Treatments Are Changing Care in Early NSCLC

Treatment options are expanding quickly in early non-small cell lung cancer. Listen as Heather Wakelee, MD, division chief of Medical Oncology at Stanford University and president of the  International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, describes how she’s using new agents and incorporating trial findings into practice. She and host Bob Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, explore the growing roles for neo- and adjuvant therapy and how to select patients for each therapeutic approach.

NALIRIFOX Changes Care in Pancreatic Cancer: Here’s How

After a decade of limited gains in metastatic pancreatic cancer, Zev Wainberg, MD, professor of medicine and co-director of the GI oncology program at the University of California, Los Angeles, presented the results of the NAPOLI-3 trial at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium last month. The data showed an improvement in overall survival and usher in a new standard for the hard-to-treat disease. Listen as Dr. Wainberg talks with Bob Figlin, MD,Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, and host of OBR’s Peer-Spectives podcast, about those data and which patients should receive the regimen. They also talk about what advances might be coming next in the metastatic setting and in earlier disease, and what factors influence Dr. Wainberg’s treatment choices.    

Matching Breast Cancer Patients to Therapies: Here’s How

The landscape for breast cancer treatment is shifting quickly, with an ever-increasingemphasis on targeted and hormonal therapies. Listen as Virginia Kaklamani,MD, professor of medicine in the division of hematology oncology at UT Health San Antonio, and medical directorof the breast oncologyprogram at UT Health San Antonio, MD Anderson Cancer Center,talks with Bob Figlin, MD, Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-OncologyatCedars-Sinai Cancer,about key findings coming out of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. She shares how she’ll use elacestrant following updated results from the EMERALD trial, how to select patients for ovarian suppression, and the expanding role of CDK4/6 inhibitors. “[T]here's no role for combination chemotherapy in first-line [estrogen receptor]-positive metastatic breast cancer anymore –even in patients that are deemed to have visceral crisis,”she said.