The HemOnc Pulse

"The HemOnc Pulse" goes on the road to Chicago with host Chadi Nabhan, MD, MBA, FACP. This podcast episode features a panel discussion on unanswered questions in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with Naval Daver, MD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Leukemia at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Sanam Loghavi, MD, of the MD Anderson Cancer Center; Rami Komrokji, MD, the Vice-Chair of the Malignant Hematology Department at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida; and Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS, a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hematology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Miami Health. 

Alan Skarbnik, MD, and Manni Mohyuddin, MBBS, discuss measurable residual disease (MRD) in blood cancers, highlighting controversies, implications of MRD negativity, harmonizing MRD thresholds, and testing MRD technology in trials. They explore the challenges in achieving and maintaining MRD negativity for long-term disease control, individualized approaches based on disease specifics, and the importance of overall survival benefits in chronic diseases like CLL.

On this episode of “The HemOnc Pulse,” Dr. Shammo, a Professor of Medicine in Hematology and Oncology at Northwestern Medicine, discusses how to approach treatment for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Dr. Shammo speaks on everything from low- to high-risk treatment of patients with MDS, including why hypomethylating agents are the cornerstone for treating high-risk patients with MDS. 

Dr. Krish Patel from the Swedish Cancer Institute discusses novel therapies for DLBCL, focusing on bispecific antibody gilteritinib. They compare bispecifics to CAR T-cell therapy, explore fixed duration therapy, step-up dosing, and sequencing therapy for optimal results.

In this episode of "The HemOnc Pulse," Dr. Goodman, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego, joins Chadi Nabhan, MD, MBA, FACP, to discuss Castleman Disease. Dr. Goodman explains why the rare disease is often mismanaged, how each subtype is diagnosed and treated, and how it's comparable to hematologic cancers like lymphoma or myeloma.

Discussing the role of measurable residual disease in ALL treatment, advancements in TKIs for Ph+ ALL, medication-based treatments for high-risk patients, innovative strategies for Ph- leukemia patients, and the importance of achieving MRD negativity in leukemia therapy.

In this podcast, Drs. Dahiya and Spiegel discuss the FDA's 'Black Box' warning on CAR-T therapies for blood cancer patients. They explore the risks of secondary malignancies post-treatment and the impact of shifting CAR-T therapies to frontline treatments. The speakers stress the importance of informed consent, patient counseling, and evaluating the benefit-risk ratio in oncology treatments.

In this season's fourth episode of "The HemOnc Pulse," Catherine Coombs, MD, an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, highlights recent studies in clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) presented at the 65th American Society of Hematology Meeting & Exposition. Dr. Coombs discusses research on reversing the adverse effects of CHIP, particularly its association with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, using interventions such as selective nuclear export inhibitors. She also illustrates another study that looks at the prevalence of CHIP in patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant in lymphoma, which showed an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and lower survival rates.  

Discussion on the risks of secondary malignancies from CAR-T therapy, challenges of attributing lymphomas to CAR-T, exploration of insertional mutagenesis impact, concerns about myeloid neoplasms, and unique aspects of filter cell CAR-T therapy.

Dr. Aditi Shastri, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses TP53-mutated MDS, treatment options, risk stratification tools, emerging drugs like IMETEL stat and sabatolimab, and the decision-making process of observing versus intervening in patients with MDS.