We recently traveled to Chicago, Illinois for a State of the Science Summit™ on Hematologic Malignancies. At the meeting, faculty from Rush University Medical Center shed light on ongoing research that is poised to add new options to the armamentarium in myelofibrosis, highlighted the novel agents that have strengthened treatment options in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and discussed treatment considerations for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma. Moreover, faculty shared insights on the novels agents and combinations that have transformed the multiple myeloma treatment paradigm and provided perspective on ongoing research with blinatumomab and CAR T-cell therapy in new settings in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

We recently traveled to Nashville, Tennessee for a State of the Science Summit™ on Genitourinary Malignancies. At the meeting, faculty from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center shared insight on recent developments in prostate cancer. Specifically, panelists discussed selection criteria for androgen receptor-directed agents in nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and explained how a population-based study has the potential to inform decision making in localized prostate cancer.

Moreover, faculty assessed some of the long-anticipated treatment advances made in metastatic urothelial cancer and discussed the breadth of therapeutic options available in renal cell carcinoma, as well as the patient factors that are used to inform treatment selection.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Jaffer Ajani, MD, who discussed some of the investigational HER2-targeted treatment strategies with trastuzumab, antibody-drug conjugates, and bispecific antibodies that are under investigation in gastrointestinal malignancies. Listen on to hear Ajani discuss some of the HER2-targeted strategies that are under exploration in gastric/GEJ cancer and colorectal cancer, the potential downsides of bulk tumor testing, and the promise of liquid biopsies in the space.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Ian Chau, MD, FRCP, who discussed the state of HER2-directed therapy in gastric/gastroesophageal cancer. Listen on to hear Chau discuss HER2 testing in gastric/GEJ cancer and several HER2-targeted strategies under evaluation.

We had the pleasure of speaking with John L. Marshall, MD, who discussed the evolving treatment landscape of HER2-targeted treatment strategies in colorectal cancer. Listen on to hear Marshall discuss the necessity of identifying patients with HER2-positive colorectal cancer and the work being done to better elucidate effective targeted treatments for patients.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan Corcoran, MD, PhD, who discussed key takeaways regarding the use and investigation of HER2-targeted therapies in gastrointestinal malignancies. Listen on to hear Corcoran discuss the current testing standards and practice patterns surrounding the treatment of HER2-positive gastrointestinal malignancies and provide insight on the current understanding of acquired resistance to HER2-directed therapy.

We had the pleasure of speaking with John L. Marshall, MD, to discuss physician burnout in oncology. In our exclusive interview, Dr. Marshall provided his perspective on burnout in oncology, discussed the long-term personal and professional consequences of burnout, and shared ways to reduce oncology burnout on an individual and organizational level.

Today, we passed the mic to Petros Grivas, MD, PhD, who moderated a discussion on a multi-institutional registry that has been created to capture data from healthcare professionals on patients with cancer who have suspected or confirmed diagnoses of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Joining Dr. Grivas is Jeremy L. Warner, MD, MS, principal investigator of the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium Registry and an associate professor of medicine and biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as well as Ali R. Khaki, MD, a fellow at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who discussed the rationale for the registry and the impact it could have on the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic with regard to patients with cancer.

We recently traveled to Miami, Florida, for a State of the Science Summit™ on Gastrointestinal Malignancies. Targeted therapy has become an important fixture in oncogene-driven cancers, particularly in BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer and BRCA-mutant metastatic pancreatic cancer. Although the jury is still out on the actionability of a HER2 mutation versus HER2 overexpression or amplification in colorectal cancer, the importance of performing next-generation sequencing has become apparent with all of the data reported from pivotal phase III studies, such as BEACON CRC and POLO.  

This week, we sat down with Atif Hussein, MD, of Memorial Cancer Institute, and A. Craig Lockhart, MD, MHS, of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, to discuss the role of targeted therapy in colorectal and pancreatic cancer, the utility of regorafenib and TAS-102 alone and in combination, and the importance of conducting next-generation sequencing. 

We recently traveled to Summit, New Jersey for a State of the Science Summit™ on Lung Cancer. At the meeting, faculty from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center shed light on early-stage interventions in lung cancer, the use of up-front next-generation sequencing, and predictive and prognostic biomarkers that are enhancing treatment decisions in non–small cell lung cancer. Faculty also spotlighted the therapeutic additions that have enhanced treatment in ALK- and ROS1-positive disease, as well as ongoing research efforts dedicated to targeting rare mutations in lung cancer. Faculty also spoke to the potential use of immunotherapy as neoadjuvant therapy in earlier non–small cell lung cancer settings and highlighted the transformative effects of this approach in select patients with advanced non–small cell and small cell lung cancer.