Interviews

During the panel on precision medicine at the Quality Cancer Care Alliance (QCCA) Fall Leadership Summit, the speakers discussed testing every patient upfront with a broad molecular assessment and bringing clinical research to the patient.

Wayne Jonas, MD, executive director of Samueli Integrative Health Programs at H&S Ventures, discusses what new therapies are emerging in the world of pain management.

There is a lot of variation among commercial payers, but broadly speaking they are expected to start moving to adopt what Medicare does, said Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health.

Practices deciding whether to join Oncology Care First or another oncology alternative payment model (APM) will need a clear understanding of how big of a transformation they’ll need to make to their practice, said Mike Fazio.

Researchers are studying the blood of Robert K. Massie, Jr, PhD, MA, Society for Progress, who was born with severe factor VIII hemophilia and contracted HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated blood products. He did not require antiretrovirals until undergoing a liver transplant a decade ago.

When evaluating a patient’s response to a biologic for asthma, factors to consider include patient preference, safety, and symptoms, explained Nicola Hanania, MD, MS, pulmonary critical care physician and director, Airway Clinical Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

Robert Baird, RN, MSA, president of the National Cancer Treatment Alliance, discusses potential issues employers can avoid by direct contracting with providers.

When it comes to the next steps for anti-CGRP therapies, we need to discuss the concept of synergism, said Stephen Silberstein, MD, professor of neurology at Thomas Jefferson University and director of the Headache Center at Jefferson Health.

Clarence Moore, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, assistant professor at Shenandoah University in Ashburn, Virginia, discusses whether treatment methods for beta thalassemia are accessible to patients.

Wayne Jonas, MD, executive director of Samueli Integrative Health Programs at H&S Ventures, discusses what foods he recommends including and excluding from patients' diets to help manage pain.

Bradley Monk, MD, FACOG, FACS, clinician at Arizona Oncology, professor at the University of Arizona and Creighton University in Phoenix, discusses the reimbursement of PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer.

The treatment landscape for atopic dermatitis is beginning to change from the use of topical therapies to biologics and more, said David Pariser, MD, senior physician at Pariser Dermatology Specialists and professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School Department of Dermatology.

Patient plasma samples from this study show residual circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) correlates with a poor prognosis in women with early-stage breast cancer, explained Alexey Aleshin, MD, senior medical director of Oncology at biotech giant Natera.

There are several signs characteristic of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children and adolescents, but a sleep study interpreted according to pediatric standards is the only way to properly diagnose conditions such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or primary snoring in these populations.

Although a vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now in the fold, Americans should expect to remain in their current work environment in the short term, with potential long-term implications spanning the next 5 years.

With the start of Oncology Care First (OCF) being delayed, practices participating in the Oncology Care Model have more time to set themselves up to success when they transition to OCF, said Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health.

The Caris Precision Oncology Alliance has brought together academic institutions and community practices with the goal of performing research and exchanging evidence and ideas for new types of tests, said W. Michael Korn, MD.

Insurance status can influence an individual’s ability to access care, stated Milena Murray, PharmD, MSc, BCIDP, AAHIVP, associate professor at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy.

Clarence Moore, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, assistant professor at Shenandoah University in Ashburn, Virginia, discusses how stem cell therapy and heart health can help patients manage beta thalassemia.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has a host of benefits in treating and managing patients with early-stage disease, noted Alexey Aleshin, MD, senior medical director of Oncology at biotech giant Natera.

A variety of factors contributed to discontinuation rates in FIDELIO-DKD, said George Bakris, MD, professor of medicine and director of the American Heart Association Comprehensive Hypertension Center at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Wayne Jonas, MD, executive director of Samueli Integrative Health Programs at H&S Ventures, discusses current nondrug therapies available to patients to manage chronic and acute pain.

Highlands Oncology Group has found the most success getting the word out about its lung cancer screening program by directly engaging with primary care physicians (PCPs), said Joanna Thompson of Highlands Oncology Group.

The comorbidities associated with atopic dermatitis can be substantial, and the disease can have a significant burden on quality of life, but new biologics and other future treatments may help, said David Pariser, MD, senior physician at Pariser Dermatology Specialists.

There are certain adjustments that CMS can make to Oncology Care First (OCF) during the delay that CMS is already doing successfully in other alternative payment models, said Mike Fazio, at Archway Health.

Throughout the Oncology Care Model (OCM), practices have dealt with a data lag, but in Oncology Care First (OCF) data is expected to be released more frequently, said Mike Fazio, of Archway Health.

The pandemic's effects on migraine need to be evaluated for the whole of 2020 and data from one specific time are not enough, said Faraidoon Haghdoost, MD, a general practitioner and PhD student at The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, Australia.

Rachel Jimenez, MD, radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, outlines the prevalence of cardiac toxicity, as well as the short-term and long-term impacts.

SEQUOIA arm D study results show better outcomes are possible for patients with 17p-deletion CLL, explained Ian Flinn, MD, PhD, director of lymphoma research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute.

With age comes a greater comorbidity burden, noted Milena Murray, PharmD, MSc, BCIDP, AAHIVP, associate professor at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy who practices at Northwestern Medicine's Infectious Disease Center in Chicago.