OncLive® On Air

In today’s episode, supported by Ascentage Pharma, we had the pleasure of speaking with Elias Jabbour, MD, a professor in the Department of Leukemia in the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In our exclusive interview, Dr Jabbour discussed the 1.5-year follow-up data from a phase 1b trial (NCT04260022) investigating olverembatinib (HQP1351) in patients with heavily pretreated chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), enrollment considerations for the registrational phase 3 POLARIS-2 trial (NCT06423911) that is further evaluating the agent in this population, and potential future research directions in CML.

Drs Dahiya and Patel discussed the pathobiology of SPCs that develop after CAR T-cell therapy, potential SPC prevention strategies, and how SPC research may help optimize CAR T-cell product development in the future.

In this insightful discussion, Dr. David Gerber, a professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and expert in hematology/oncology, explores the transformative role of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in treating non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). He highlights key findings from pivotal clinical trials, revealing the promising effectiveness of ADCs like datopotamab deruxtecan and patritumab deruxtecan. Dr. Gerber also addresses crucial issues on toxicity management and treatment sequencing, offering a glimpse into the future of targeted lung cancer therapies.

In today’s episode, supported by Amgen, we had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan Cassaday, MD, an associate professor in the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and an associate professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington.  In our exclusive interview, Dr Cassaday discussed insights from several trials investigating blinatumomab (Blincyto) in patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) that were reported at the 2024 ASH Annual Meeting, including subgroup analyses of the phase 3 ECOG-ACRIN E1910 trial (NCT02003222). He also shared how findings from the phase 3 AALL1731 trial (NCT03914625) of blinatumomab plus chemotherapy in children with newly diagnosed B-ALL may be extrapolated to the adult B-ALL patient population. 

In today’s episode, supported by Bristol Myers Squibb, we had the pleasure of speaking with Roxana S. Dronca, MD, about the FDA approval of subcutaneous nivolumab and hyaluronidase-nvhy (Opdivo Qvantig; subcutaneous nivolumab) for advanced or metastatic solid tumors. Dr Dronca is a professor of oncology, a consultant in the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine, and director of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Jacksonville, Florida. On December 27, 2024, the FDA approved subcutaneous nivolumab across approved adult, solid tumor nivolumab indications, including as monotherapy, monotherapy maintenance after completion of nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab (Yervoy), or in combination with cabozantinib (Cabometyx) or chemotherapy. This regulatory decision was backed by findings from the phase 3 CheckMate-67T trial (NCT04810078) and includes indications for melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, non–small cell lung cancer, urothelial carcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer, esophageal carcinoma, esophageal adenocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer, and gastroesophageal junction cancer. In our exclusive interview, Dr Dronca discussed the significance of this FDA approval across multiple solid tumor indications, pivotal findings from the CheckMate-67T trial, and how this approval represents a paradigm shift in modern cancer care delivery.

In this episode of Oncology Unplugged, a podcast series from OncLive and MedNews Week, podcast host Chandler Park, MD, a medical oncologist at Norton Cancer Institute in Louisville, Kentucky, and Yan Leyfman, MD, a resident physician at Mount Sinai in New York, New York, discussed the origins and mission of MedNews Week, a global platform designed to combat health care misinformation and advance medical education. Conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic, MedNews Week was created in response to widespread misinformation and a need for accessible, evidence-based information. Over the past 2 and a half years, the platform has expanded to reach over 100 countries, focusing on underserved regions and amplifying the voices of both established oncology leaders and early-career researchers.

In today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Alec Watson, MD, a thoracic oncology fellow in the School of Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. In our exclusive interview, Dr Watson discussed the rationale for and key findings from a retrospective analysis examining the ways that oncogene overlap could identify clinically relevant thresholds for MET, KRAS, and HER2 gene copy number gain in non–small cell lung cancer; next steps for this research; and the future implications of these findings.

In this Oncology Unplugged discussion, Chandler Park, MD, a medical oncologist at Norton Cancer Institute in Louisville, Kentucky, and Joshua Brody, MD, director of the Lymphoma Immunotherapy Program at The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai in New York, New York, explored the heterogeneity of lymphoma subtypes and the evolution of treatment paradigms across B-cell malignancies. They discussed the treatment challenges posed by the diverse spectrum of lymphomas, ranging from indolent subtypes, such as follicular lymphoma, to aggressive diseases like Burkitt lymphoma.

In today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD, about the phase 2 SU2C-SARC032 trial (NCT03092323) investigating the addition of pembrolizumab to preoperative radiotherapy and surgery in patients with soft-tissue sarcoma. Dr Mowey is a physician scientist and an associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center in Pennsylvania.  In our exclusive interview, Dr Mowery discussed unmet needs for patients with soft-tissue sarcoma that prompted the initiation of this research, key efficacy and safety findings from the trial, and potential next steps for investigating the treatment regimen in this patient population. 

In today’s episode, supported by Merus, we had the pleasure of speaking with Alison Schram, MD, about the FDA approval of zenocutuzumab-zbco (Bizengri) for patients with previously treated advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma or non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring NRG1 gene fusions. Dr Schram is an assistant attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York.  On December 4, 2024, the FDA granted accelerated approval to zenocutuzumab for the treatment of adult patients with advanced, unresectable, or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma harboring an NRG1 gene fusion who have disease progression on or after prior systemic therapy; and adult patients with advanced, unresectable, or metastatic NSCLC harboring an NRG1 gene fusion who have disease progression on or after prior systemic therapy. This regulatory decision was based on findings from the phase 2 eNRGy trial (NCT02912949), in which patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (n = 30) achieved an overall response rate (ORR) of 40% (95% CI, 23%-59%), and a duration of response (DOR) that ranged from 3.7 months to 16.6 months. In the NSCLC cohort (n = 64), the (ORR) of 33% (95% CI, 22%-46%), and the median DOR was 7.4 months (95% CI, 4.0-16.6).  In our exclusive interview, Dr Schram discussed the significance of this approval, key efficacy data from the pancreatic cancer and NSCLC cohorts of eNRGy, and the importance of using RNA-based testing to identify patients with NRG1 fusions.