Oncology - Hematology

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Guest: Aaron Logan, MD, PhD

Although acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a relatively rare disease with fewer than 7,000 people diagnosed each year in the US,1,2 there’s been a lot of progress in the management of B-cell ALL over the years. One key development comes from the E1910 Phase III trial, which explored the addition of blinatumomab to frontline consolidation chemotherapy for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative B-lineage ALL (B-ALL).3 Joining Dr. Charles Turck to discuss the impacts of this data on B-ALL clinical guidelines and practice is Dr. Aaron Logan. Dr. Logan is a Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the Hematologic Malignancies Tissue Bank at UCSF.

References:

1. National Cancer Institute. SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). Accessed at https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/alyl.html on March 31, 2025
2. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Accessed September 17, 2024. https://www.dana-farber.org/cancer-care/types/acute-lymphoblastic-leukemia
3. Litzow MR, et al. Blood. 2022;140(suppl 2):LBA-1

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Guest: Eric Klein, MD

With an urgent need to screen for cancer, clinical trials have shown that the multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test Galleri® can screen for more than 50 distinct cancer types in adults 50 and over and predict its origin. Questions have remained regarding the risk of cancer for those patients with a CSD MCED result, followed by a diagnostic evaluation that did not result in a cancer diagnosis and a second MCED test. Recent research was conducted to help address this gap, and now, Dr. Eric Klein joins Dr. Charles Turck to share the real-world outcomes following a Galleri MCED retest. Dr. Klein is a distinguished scientist at Grail and one of the elite investigators on the clinical studies that led to the development of the Galleri MCED test.

Guest: Nasser Altorki, M.D.

Nasser Altorki, MD, chief of thoracic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, shares the results of a first-of-its-kind study evaluating low-dose radiation combined with immunotherapy for neoadjuvant treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors. The dual-therapy treatment of durvalumab in combination with stereotactic body radiation was almost twice as effective at tumor killing compared to durvalumab alone.

© 2025 NewYork-Presbyterian

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Guest: Yi Bin Chen, MD

Guest: Olaf Penack, MD

For the past several decades, standard treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) has been systemic high-dose steroids.1 While essential in some ways to initially control aGVHD, steroids are not beneficial in the long run due to the immunosuppression and toxicities associated with high cumulative doses.1,2 So what can be done moving forward to improve first-line steroid response and minimize cumulative steroid exposure? Joining Dr Charles Turck to discuss the potential of nonimmunosuppressive steroid-sparing agents for the first-line treatment of aGVHD are Drs Yi Bin Chen and Olaf Penack. Dr Chen is the Director of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplant and Cell Therapy Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr Penack is a senior physician and principal investigator within Hematology and Oncology at Charité Berlin.

References:

1. Bell EJ, Yu J, Bhatt V, et al. Healthcare resource utilization and costs of steroid-associated complications in patients with graft-versus-host disease. Transplant and Cell Ther. 2022;28(10):707.e1-707.e7.
2. Martin PJ, Rizzo JD, Wingard JR, et al. First- and second-line systemic treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease: recommendations of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2012;18(8):1150-1163.

© 2025 CSL Behring
CMD-964-0016-JAN25

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Guest: Miguel-Angel Perales, MD

Guest: Anna Sureda, MD, PhD

Unfortunately, the treatment paradigm for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) has not changed for a couple of decades as steroids remain the first-line treatment.1 However, steroids are not a targeted therapy, and they have many side effects that are not well tolerated by patients, including life-threatening infections.1-3 Given these risks, it is important to know how to manage infections related to immunosuppression and optimize the care of patients with aGVHD. Joining Dr Charles Turck to discuss the current landscape of aGVHD management are Dr Miguel-Angel Perales and Dr Anna Sureda. Dr Miguel-Angel Perales is the Chief of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and Dr Sureda is the Head of Clinical Hematology at the University of Barcelona in Spain.

References:

1. Bell EJ, Yu J, Bhatt V, et al. Healthcare resource utilization and costs of steroid-associated complications in patients with graft-versus-host disease. Transplant Cell Ther. 2022;28(10):707.e1-707.e7. doi:10.1016/j.jtct.2022.04.014
2. Sullivan PW, Ghushchyan VH, Globe G, Sucher B. Health-related quality of life associated with systemic steroids. Qual Life Res. 2017;26(4):1037-1058.
3. García-Cadenas I, Rivera I, Martino R, et al. Patterns of infection and infection-related mortality in patients with steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease. Bone Marrow …

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

Guest: Virginia Kaklamani, MD

Guest: Anne O'Dea, MD

When caring for patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, there’s uncertainty on the optimal second-line sequencing of treatments after disease progression on first-line CDK4/6 inhibition and endocrine therapy. But the findings from the EMERALD trial, which led to the approval of ORSERDU® (elacestrant) for patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative ESR1-mutated metastatic breast cancer after disease progression on endocrine therapy,1 contribute to our understanding of second-line treatment options. Dive into the results from the EMERALD trial and subgroup analysis with Drs. Virginia Kaklamani and Anne O'Dea. Dr. Kaklamani is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the UT Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, and Dr. O'Dea is a breast medical oncologist at the University of Kansas Cancer Center.

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Guest: Steven Maron, MD, MSc

Given the recent identification of actionable biomarkers like PD-L1 and MSI-H,1-3 it’s important to test patients with gastroesophageal cancer for these biomarkers as they may provide insights into options for a patient’s treatment plan.4,5 To learn more about how we can detect biomarkers and other key considerations for biomarker screening in gastroesophageal cancer, Dr. Charles Turck speaks with Dr. Steven Maron, a gastrointestinal oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

References:

1. The Cancer Genome Atlas Network. Nature. 2014;513:202-209.
2. Fontana E, et al. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2016;8:113-125.
3. Yang B, et al. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2019;38:283.
4. American Cancer Society. https://www.fightcancer.org/sites/default/files/Improving%20Access%20to%20Biomarker%20Testing_FINAL.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2024.
5. Catenacci DVT, et al. Future Oncol. 2019;15:2073-2082.

©2024 Amgen Inc. All rights reserved. USA-OCF-82400 9/24

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Guest: Jamie Koprivnikar, MD

Patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) lack treatment options, specifically in treating anemia. However, the FDA approval of Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt) as a first-line therapy for treating anemia in ESA-naïve patients with lower-risk MDS presents an option for this patient population. Tune in to learn more about evaluating patients with MDS, the potential of Reblozyl, and where it fits into the treatment landscape with Dr. Charles Turck as he takes a deep dive with Dr. Jamie Koprivnikar, MD, Hematologist, Oncologist, at Hackensack Meridian Health.

REBLOZYL® is a trademark of Celgene Corporation, a Bristol Myers Squibb company.
REBLOZYL® is licensed from Merck & Co. Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA and its affiliates.
© 2024 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
2007-US-2300376 03/24