Guest: Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD

The complexity of managing squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) requires a multidisciplinary team. Support and services for the treatment of patients with SCCHN may include nutritional support, speech and swallowing therapy, and dental care, among others. Additionally, the American Cancer Society published new guidelines for head and neck cancer survivorship care in March 2016. Standard treatments for SCCHN include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. These options have shown to be very effective and safe; however, because SCCHN is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, with a poor prognosis, new treatment options are needed. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in more than 90% of cases of SCCHN, which has led to the development of EGFR inhibitors, such as cetuximab. Newer data regarding novel/new uses of cetuximab for SCCHN have been reported. In August 2016, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab, a checkpoint inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy. In November 2016, the FDA approved nivolumab for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN with disease progression on or after a platinum-based therapy. In addition, ...

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

Guest: Edward B. Garon, MD, MS

Based on CDC data, lung cancer represents 13% of all cancers diagnosed worldwide, and 19% of all cancer deaths. With almost 225,000 cases and more than 158,000 deaths anticipated in 2016 in the United States alone, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality. Non-small cell lung cancer represents approximately 85% of those cases, which makes the need to better identify and treat this disease a critical need. Join us as Dr. Caudle and Dr. Garon review data on non-small cell lung cancer presented at the 17th annual World Conference on Lung Cancer held in Vienna, Austria.

Host: Barnett Mennen, MD

Guest: Meenhard Herlyn, DVM, DSc

Melanomas are among the most genetically abnormal malignancies with hundreds or even thousands of mutations. In this activity, Dr. Meenhard Herlyn discusses updates on resistance from the 13th International Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research that took place recently in Boston, Massachusetts. Topics include, therapy strategies that benefit from many mutations, how melanomas adapt to growth outside of the human host, and their response to MAPK inhibitors. He will also discuss tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance and why checkpoint inhibitors and kinase inhibitors are ideal for combination therapies.

Host: Barnett Mennen, MD

Guest: Michael Postow, MD

Immunotherapy, notably overcoming checkpoint inhibition, has become an integral part of treatment for melanoma, if not a growing list of other cancers. In this activity, Dr. Michael Postow discusses major updates on the use of immunotherapy in melanoma as presented at the 13th International Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research that took place recently in Boston, Massachusetts. Topics include the general mechanistic principles behind immune checkpoint blockade in the treatment of metastatic melanoma; the current landscape of immune checkpoint inhibitors; and considerations for single agent vs. combination immunotherapy. Additionally, Dr. Postow will address the current value of immunotherapy biomarkers in patient selection and the independent and/or combined roles of immunotherapy and targeted therapy in the treatment of melanoma.

Host: Eileen M. O'Reilly, MD

Guest: Philip A. Philip, MD, PhD, FRCP, FABC

Pancreatic cancer is one of the common malignancies and one of the most lethal malignancies in the United States today. Currently treatment options are somewhat limited and often result in poor survival rates. Join us as Dr. Philip discusses the currently available and emerging frontline and second-line therapies for patients with advanced and metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Guest: Everett E. Vokes, MD

In this Grand Rounds recorded live at ASCO, Dr. Vokes introduces the concept of T-cell blockade and Checkpoint Inhibition as rationale for considering use of anti-PD-1 anti-CTLA-4 agents in the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Also discussed will be data reflective of the use of tumor biomarkers when selecting treatment strategies for patients with NSCLC, specifically those with elevated expression of PD-L1.

Guest: Richard S. Finn, MD

Hormone receptor–positive (HR+) disease is the most commonly diagnosed subset of breast cancer. Although endocrine therapy is the cornerstone of treatment for patients with HR+ advanced breast cancer, not all cases respond to first-line endocrine therapy, and disease that does respond eventually relapses. Because endocrine therapy–resistant HR+ disease is a significant problem, new therapeutic strategies to enhance the efficacy of endocrine therapy are being studied. Several CDK 4/6 inhibitors have shown promising results in the treatment of breast cancer, particularly HR+, HER2-negative metastatic disease. However, clinicians may not be familiar with the mechanisms of CDK 4/6 inhibition and why it is relevant in the treatment of breast cancer. Similarly, clinicians may not be familiar with the efficacy and safety of approved and emerging CDK 4/6 inhibitors in the treatment of breast cancer that is resistant to endocrine therapy. This Virtual Grand Rounds initiative is designed to close these knowledge gaps and provide clinicians with up-to-date information about approved and emerging therapies so that they can make informed choices regarding the management of breast cancer. Topics covered in this activity include the development of endocrine resistance in breast cancer; the significance of CDK inhibition; and the relevant clinical trial data about ...

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD

Guest: Everett E. Vokes, MD

Dr. Birnholz and Dr. Vokes will be discussing some of the exciting new data presented at ASCO 2016 on the management of non-small cell lung cancer. Since the recording of this interview, pembrolizumab was approved by the FDA on October 24, 2016 for use in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Guest: Warner K. Huh, MD

Guest: Thomas C. Wright, Jr., MD

HPV experts, Drs. Warner Huh and Tom Wright discuss the potential of extended HPV genotype testing in high-risk HPV screening for cervical cancer, and the impact that this may have on the current cervical cancer algorithms.

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD

Cannabis is gaining increased acceptance within the medical community for pain relief and other supportive care applications. But for oncology specialties, the use of cannabis may additionally extend into therapeutic purposes for patients.

From the floors of the A4M Conference in Las Vegas, Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with Constance Finley, Founder and CEO of Constance Therapeutics, a California-based cannabis collective. The two discuss cannabis and cannabis oil applications for cancer patients, and their potential therapeutic effects.