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Interviews

John L. Marshall, MD, chief of the  Division of Hematology/Oncology at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancer, discusses the use of chemotherapy in patients with colorectal or other gastrointestinal cancers. He also highlights the importance of understanding each individual patient’s needs before making a treatment decision. 

Keith T. Flaherty, MD, professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, director of Clinical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the rationale for combining agents like dabrafenib with trametinib or binimetinib with encorafenib for patients with melanoma.<br /> &nbsp;

David Sallman, MD, assistant member, Department of Malignant Hematology, Moffitt Cancer Center, explains the significance of the initial results from a recent phase 1B/2 trial combining APR-246 and azacitidine (Vidaza) in patients with TP53-mutant myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia.

Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, discusses the results from a trial in HER2-positive breast cancer that was presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The study looked at the use of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor in patients that were either PD-L1-positive or negative.

Diane Simeone, MD, director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center and associate director of Translational Research at NYU Langone&rsquo;s Perlmutter Cancer Center, discusses the current state of the pancreatic cancer treatment paradigm. She says it is a very exciting time for this field as there is a large body of researchers now involved.

Brad S. Kahl, MD, professor in the department of medicine at Washington School of Medicine at Siteman Cancer Center, discusses the use of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in older patients with mantle cell lymphoma. This agent is currently being investigated in the frontline setting for patients not eligible for stem cell transplant.

Sagar Lonial, MD, professor and chair, Department of Hematology &amp; Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, chief medical officer, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, discusses the results from 2 large phase III trials presented earlier this year for triplet regimens including pomalidomide in multiple myeloma.

Susan M. O&#39;Brien, MD, associate director for clinical sciences at UC Irvine Health, shares her insights on why CAR T cells are not as successful in chronic lymphocytic leukemia as compared to lymphoma or acute lymphocytic leukemia. She also discusses what she believes must change in order for this therapy to move up in the treatment landscape for CLL.

Daniel A. Pollyea, MD, MS, associate professor of medicine&nbsp;and clinical director of Leukemia Services at the University of Colorado&nbsp;School of Medicine, discusses some of the recent advancements in acute myeloid leukemia. Pollyea says researchers have been able to create more personalized treatments for many patients by doing targeted sequencing of patient samples.

Paul G. Richardson, MD, clinical program leader and director of Clinical Research in the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses results from the phase III OPTIMISMM trial comparing treatment regimens for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. This data compares a regimen of pomalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone versus bortezomib and dexamethasone alone.&nbsp;

Thierry Andre, MD, professor of medical oncology at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UMPC) and Head of the Medical Oncology Department in St. Antoine Hospital, Assistance Publique H&amp;ocirc;pitaux in Paris, discusses the introduction of immunotherapy to the treatment landscape of metastatic colorectal cancer.

Robert &quot;Bo&quot; Gamble, director of strategic practice initiatives at Community Oncology Alliance, shares his perspective on the 340B Drug Discount Program and the implications of the program for the oncology community. He also provides his thoughts on possible solutions for imbalances created by the program.

Manish A. Shah, MD, director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine, discusses the need for targeted therapies beyond the second-line setting in esophageal cancer. While this is a deadly disease with most metastatic patients dying within a year, a recent clinical trial with pembrolizumab addresses an unmet need in the population, Shah says.

H. Jack West, MD, thoracic oncologist at the Swedish Cancer Institute of Swedish Medical Center, discusses the data with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). West says that the choice of treatment is likely best left to the judgement of the physician and patient.&nbsp;