In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you pearls and perspectives from the 2025 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting.

Mary A. O'Neal, MD, FAAN, and Ratna K. Bhavaraju-Sanka, MD, FAAN, discuss their efforts to address the lack of access to neurological care by partnering with primary care. :34

Merit E. Cudkowicz, MD, MSc, FAAN, speaks with Healio about being honored The American Academy of Neurology’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her extensive work in ALS research. 2:50

Read the full coverage here:

https://www.healio.com/news/neurology/20250417/partners-in-crime-neurologists-collaborate-with-pcps-to-improve-brain-health

https://www.healio.com/news/neurology/20250407/merit-e-cudkowicz-md-msc-receives-lifetime-award-for-als-research-im-not-done-yet

ACCORD-2: AXS-05 delays relapse time to Alzheimer’s disease agitation

Source: Grossberg G, et al. Efficacy and safety of AXS-05 in Alzheimer's disease agitation: Results from ACCORD-2, a phase 3 randomized withdrawal double-blind placebo-controlled study. Presented at: American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 5-9, 2025; San Diego.

Risk for ARIA driven by patient genotype, presence of hemorrhage in early Alzheimer’s

Source: Biffi A, et al. ARIA insights from the donanemab trials: Amyloid-targeted therapy in early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Presented at: American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 5-9, 2025; San Diego.

Microplastics in oceans may increase disability risk among coastal populations

Source: Ganatra S, et al. Marine microplastics levels and the prevalence of neurologic disability. Presented at: American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 5-9, 2025; San Diego.

Nightmares may increase risk for early death

Source: Otaiku A, et al. Distressing dreams and risk of premature mortality: A population-based multicohort study. Presented at: American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 5-9, 2025; San Diego.

Disclosures:

Bhavaraju-Sanka reports serving as a consultant for Amgen and Argenx.

Cudkowicz reports financial relationships with AB Science, AC Immune SA, Aclipse, Annals of Neurology, Biogen, Coya Therapeutics, Cytokinetics, Eli Lilly, Immunity Pharma, InFlectis, Locust Walk, Novartis, Ono Pharmaceutical, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Pasithea Therapeutics, Pontifax, Praxis Precision Medicine, Transposon, QurAlis, Regeneron, VectorY. She also reports receiving publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care. Her institution(s) received support from ALS Finding a Cure, ALS ONE, Biohaven, Calico, Clene Nanomedicine, Denali, ITB, Johnson & Johnson, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, PharmAust, Prilenia, Seelos, UCB/RA and Woolsley.

O’Neal reports serving as a consultant and excerpt witness for Circo; being an employee of Best Doctors; and receiving publishing royalties from a health care-related publication.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you expert insights from the ASH Annual Meeting and Exhibition with a focus on leukemia, as well as Healio’s top headlines from the meeting.

Aaron T. Gerds, MD, MS, discusses how socioeconomic disparities affect access to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for people with acute myeloid leukemia. :24

Hua Zhang, MD, PhD, reviews findings of bicistronic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy induced durable response for most children with relapsed or refractory B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 6:29

Moath Albliwi, MD, discusses the results of a study he co-presented examining treatment of elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia. 00:00

Alexey Danilov, MD, PhD, reviews the efficacy of epcoritamab among heavily pretreated patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia. 00:00

Lee Greenberger, PhD, discusses results of the AMPLIFY study. 16:30

Read the full coverage here:

Socioeconomic factors a barrier to HSCT for people with acute myeloid leukemia

Bicistronic CAR-T effective for children with relapsed B-ALL

VIDEO: Study probes treatment of elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia

First-line regimen improves PFS in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Epcoritamab exhibits ‘very encouraging’ efficacy in heavily pretreated CLL

Addition of blinatumomab to chemotherapy improves outcomes for children with B-cell ALL

Disclosures:

Albliwi reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Danilov reports research funding from and/or consulting roles with AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Genmab, Incyte, Janssen and other companies. Please see the abstract for all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.

Gerds reports consulting roles with AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Disc Medicine, GSK, PharmaEssentia and Rain Oncology. Please see the abstract for all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.

Greenberger reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Rau reports consulting/advisory roles with and/or honoraria from Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Servier. She also reports her spouse is employed by AbbVie. Please see the abstract for all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.

Zhang reports no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you the highlights and insights from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2024, as well as Healio’s top headlines from the meeting.

Judy Garber, MD, MPH, chief of the division of cancer genetics and prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, reviews results of the OlympiA trial. :25

Raza Hoda, MD, a pathologist at Cleveland Clinic and assistant professor of pathology at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, discusses results from the DESTINY-Breast04 and DESTINY-Breast06 trials. 1:55

Shimoli Barot, MD, medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute, examines the results of a study observing exceptional treatment response in patients with metastatic breast cancer. 6:02

Eleonora Teplinsky further discusses results of the COMET trial. 10:38

Jennifer A. Ligibel discusses an overview analysis looking at the relationship between body mass index at the time of breast cancer diagnosis and distant recurrence. 19:27

Read the full coverage here:

VIDEO: OlympiA trial shows ‘continued benefit’ in breast cancer survival

VIDEO: Study investigates HER2-low, ultralow eligibility for trastuzumab deruxtecan

VIDEO: Study investigates exceptional treatment response in metastatic breast cancer

Active monitoring safe for some patients with low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ

Source: Hwang ES, et al. Abstract GS2-05. Presented at: San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; Dec. 10-13, 2024; San Antonio.

Terminated study’s ‘challenges’ may guide future trials of MRD-guided breast cancer therapy

Source: Turner N, et al. Abstract GS3-01. Presented at: San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; Dec. 10-13, 2024; San Antonio.

Obesity elevates risk for distant recurrence, mortality in early-stage breast cancer

Source: Pan H, et al. Abstract GS2-09. Presented at: San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; Dec. 10-13, 2024; San Antonio.

Disclosures:

Barot reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Garber reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Hoda reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Teplinsky reports no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you expert insights from the ASH Annual Meeting and Exhibition, as well as Healio’s top headlines from the meeting.

Gwen L. Nichols, MD, reviews a panel discussion on how hematologists and oncologists can best address patients’ concerns as AI’s role in medicine invariably expands. :24

Thomas G. Knight, MD, addresses financial toxicity for people with blood cancer. 6:29

Charles S. Abrams, MD, discusses results of the HIBISCUS trial and its implications for vaso-occlusive events. 16:30

Read the full coverage here:

AI in hematology: ‘The good, the bad and the ugly’

Mitigating financial toxicity ’better than any drug’ for people with cancer

Etavopivat could offer ‘great benefit’ in sickle cell disease

ASH recognizes Judith Kleinerman, MD, with Exemplary Service Award

GLP-1s reduce thrombosis risk among people with diabetes, regardless of obesity

Disclosures:

Abrams reports he is chair of the ASH Research Collaborative's Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Trials Network Oversight Committee.

Knight reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Nichols reports no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you pearls and perspectives from the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2024 Meeting with a focus on AMD and retina.

David A. Eichenbaum, MD, discusses results from a phase 1 trial investigating axitinib for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration. :28

Douglas Love discusses the company’s phase 3 program in geographic atrophy. 2:37

Pravin U. Dugel, MD, discusses the next steps for the phase 3 SOL-1 and SOL-R studies. 3:54

Jeremiah Brown, MS, MD, presents results from the phase 4 Elevatum trial investigating faricimab for diabetic macular edema. 5:17

Read the full coverage here:

https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology/20241024/video-axitinib-shows-clinically-meaningful-treatment-burden-reduction-in-wet-amd

https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology/20241023/video-phase-3-geographic-atrophy-program-focuses-on-visual-acuity

https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology/20241021/video-ocular-therapeutix-shares-update-on-phase-3-axpaxli-studies

https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology/20241018/video-faricimab-shows-amazing-outcomes-in-underrepresented-patients-with-dme

Teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy beneficial

Source: Weng CY. The use of teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy. Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting; Oct. 18-21, 2024; Chicago.

Oral treatment aims to reduce GA progression by slowing vitamin A dimerization

Source: Melamud A. Gildeuretinol in geographic atrophy: Results from SAGA, a 2-year, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled Study. Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting; Oct. 18-21, 2024; Chicago.

Fas inhibitor shows benefit in some cases of macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

Source: Borkar DS. Fas inhibition with intravitreal ONL1204 for the treatment of macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment: Results from a phase 2 study. Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting; Oct. 18-21, 2024; Chicago. Disclosures: Brown reports being an investigator and speaker for Genentech and a researcher for EyeBio, Regeneron and Regenxbio. Dugel reports being executive chairman, president and CEO of Ocular Therapeutix. Eichenbaum reports being a consultant and investigator for Ocular Therapeutix. Love reports being president and CEO of Annexon Biosciences.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you pearls and perspectives from the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress with a focus on leukemia.

Douglas Tremblay, MD, highlights an abstract related to leukemia at the conference. :29

Douglas Tremblay, MD, discusses another abstract related to leukemia. 5:23

Noah M. Merin, MD, PhD, focuses on recent findings in AML, ALL and MDS presented at the Congress. 9:08

Rosalie Griffin, PhD, discusses her winning poster on biomarker testing in lymphoid malignancies. 12:57

Rosalie Griffin, PhD, also shares her thoughts on a presentation looking at point mutations in lymphoid malignancies. 17:13

Read the full coverage here:

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20241009/video-new-car-tcell-product-may-reduce-side-effects-in-all

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20241009/video-timdarpacept-examined-in-dedicated-chronic-myelomonocytic-leukemia-trial

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20241009/video-no-association-between-point-mutations-and-blood-cancer-precursors

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20241009/video-biomarkers-relationship-with-blood-cancers-examined-at-esmo

Disclosures: Griffin reports no relevant financial disclosures. Tremblay reports contracted research funding paid to his institution from Cogent Biosciences, Gilead, Sobi and Sumitomo, and consulting fees from AbbVie, Cogent Biosciences, GSK, Novartis, Pharmaessentia, Sierra Oncology and Sobi. Healio could not confirm relevant financial disclosures for Merin at the time of posting.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you pearls and perspectives from the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer, as well as Healio’s top headlines from the meeting.

Benjamin P. Levy, MD, discusses key takeaways from the meeting. 0:28

Read the full coverage here:

Ivonescimab extends PFS vs. pembrolizumab in advanced NSCLC, may be ‘a new standard’

Source: Zhou C, et al. Abstract 2700. Presented at: IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer; Sept. 7-10, 2024; San Diego.

Perioperative nivolumab improves outcomes in resectable NSCLC

Source: Forde PM, et al. Abstract 3589. Presented at: IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer; Sept. 7-10, 2024; San Diego.

Despite progress, barriers to lung cancer biomarker testing persist

Source: Smeltzer M, et al. Abstract 3000. Presented at: IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer; Sept. 7-10, 2024; San Diego.

Disclosures: Healio could not confirm relevant financial disclosures for Levy at the time of posting.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you pearls and perspectives from the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, as well as Healio’s top headlines from the meeting.

Andrew Hantel, MD, discusses results of a study on racial disparities in acute myeloid leukemia trials. :27

Christine McMahon, MD,  discusses results of the phase 3 ASC4FIRST study, which examined asciminib versus tyrosine kinase inhibitors for patients with newly diagnosed chronic-phase CML. 3:30

Andrew Hantel, MD, discusses researching inequities in acute myeloid leukemia treatment in historically marginalized communities. 4:35

Christine McMahon, MD, presents results of a randomized trial of a care model for patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. 7:09

Christine McMahon, MD, highlights the ACCESS study into post-transplant graft-versus-host disease, which produced “impressive” rates of post-transplant overall survival at 1 year. 10:22

Read the full coverage here:

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240625/video-a-patients-raceethnicity-affects-eligibility-for-acute-myeloid-leukemia-trials

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240620/video-strong-results-for-asciminib-in-chronic-myelogenous-leukemia

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240625/video-treatment-delays-do-not-lead-to-acute-myeloid-leukemia-survival-disparities

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240620/video-palliative-care-model-increases-quality-of-life-for-patients-with-leukemia

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240620/video-study-produces-impressive-posttransplant-graftversushost-disease-survival-rates

Disclosures:

Hantel reports no relevant financial disclosures.

McMahon reports receiving institutional funding from Syndax and Syros and serving on a safety monitoring committee for Kura Oncology.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you pearls and perspectives from the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting with a focus on leukemia, as well as Healio’s top headlines from the meeting.

Jorge E. Cortes, MD, discusses how asciminib demonstrated superior efficacy to standard first-line therapies for certain patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia. :27

Oreofe O. Odejide, MD, MPH, highlights the importance of this study. 3:30

Read the full coverage here:

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240531/asciminib-may-transform-treatment-paradigm-for-chronic-myeloid-leukemia

New approach ‘redefining what is a suitable donor’ for stem cell transplant

Source: Al Malki MM, et al. Abstract 6503. Presented at: ASCO Annual Meeting; May 30 – June 4, 2024; Chicago.

Disclosures:

Cortes reports research funding to his institution from or consultant/advisory roles with Gilead Sciences, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Pfizer, Takeda and other companies.

In this episode of Meeting Mic, we bring you pearls and perspectives from the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, as well as Healio’s top headlines from the meeting.

Joseph A. Greer, PhD, discusses how early palliative care via telehealth had an equivalent impact on quality of life as in-person visits for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. :27

Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, FASCO, further discusses these findings during a press briefing. 3:30

Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, shares his thoughts on the first-line immunotherapy combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab in colorectal cancer. 4:35

Fumiko Chino, MD, discusses findings on the need for a more effective and transparent prior authorization process to ensure patients receive timely access to essential pain management. 7:09

Suneel Kamath, MD, provides an overview of findings assessing how the microbiome profile of early-onset pancreatic adenocarcinoma is distinct from that of average-onset disease. 10:22

Julie R. Gralow, MD, FACP, FASCO, discusses the important implications of a prospective study on young breast cancer survivors who attempted pregnancy and became pregnant. 12:54

Read the full coverage here:

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240602/we-have-the-technology-telehealth-increases-access-to-palliative-care-for-cancer

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240602/practicechanging-data-support-firstline-immunotherapy-combination-in-colorectal-cancer

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240531/findings-highlight-need-to-improve-prior-authorization-process-for-cancer-pain-management

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20240603/tumor-microbiome-profiles-in-pancreatic-cancer-differ-by-age-of-onset

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20220611/intramuscular-recombinant-erwinia-asparaginase-active-safe-in-leukemia-lymphoma-subsets

Glucose-lowering drugs reduce risk for obesity-related cancers

Source: Lin CH, et al. Abstract 10508. Presented at: ASCO Annual Meeting; May 30 – June 4, 2024; Chicago.

Chemotherapy regimen improves survival in advanced esophageal cancer

Source: Hoeppner J, et al. Abstract LBA1. Presented at: ASCO Annual Meeting; May 31-June 4, 2024: Chicago.

Disclosures:

Chino reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Greer reports a consulting role with BeiGene; research funding from Blue Note Therapeutics and NCCN/AstraZeneca; and royalties from Oxford University Press and Springer Publishing Company. Please see the abstract for all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.[JJ1] 

Kamath reports no relevant financial disclosures. 

Lenz reports honoraria from, consulting/advisory roles with, or travel, accommodations or expenses from 3T Biosciences, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Fulgent Genetics, G1 Therapeutics, GSK, Isofol Medical, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Merck Serono, Oncocyte and Roche. Please see the abstract for all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.