Focus On Cancer

Host: John J. Russell, MD Guest: Richard Wender, MD From oncologists to primary care, physicians are witnessing an alarming trend in younger patients: the rising risk of colorectal cancer. To investigate this growing threat, Dr. John Russell speaks with Dr. Rich Wender, Chief Cancer Control Officer at the American Cancer Society. Dr. Wender discusses the new colorectal cancer screening guidelines set forth and the methods behind the conclusion. While comparing past guidelines, Dr. Wender considers changes in our society and environment that may be contributing to increased cancer risks in younger generations. For more information and to review the new guidelines, go to cancer.org

Oncologists Dr. Sanjeeve Bala and Dr. Abhilasha Nair from FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence discuss the recent approval of bevacizumab-awwb, a biosimilar to US-licensed Avastin, marketed as MVASI. MVASI is the first biosimilar approved in the US for the treatment of cancer. Released on December 21, 2017

Host: Shira Johnson, MD Guest: Robert Vonderheide, MD For years, the foundations of cancer treatment, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy were utilized with the objective of weakening cancer. But over the past several years, immunotherapy – therapies that enlist and strengthen the power of a patient’s immune system to attack tumors - has emerged as a new tool for fighting cancer. In August 2017, one such treatment approach, called Chimeric Antigen Receptor or CAR T-cell Therapy, received FDA approval for the treatment of children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Additionally, research is continuing to look at CAR-T therapy’s effectiveness for treating solid tumors as well. Host Dr. Shira Johnson sits down with Dr. Robert Vonderheide, Director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and the John H. Glick, MD, Abramson Cancer Center Director’s Professor, to talk about the potential of CAR-T therapy alongside other emerging immunotherapies in fight

Host: John J. Russell, MD Guest: Harish Lavu, MD Pancreatic cancer is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States by 2020. This is due, in large part, to its insidious onset and subtle presentation even at late stages, many symptoms of which are often attributed to common and less serious conditions in aging populations. Dr. Harish Lavu, Head of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery at Jefferson University, talks with host Dr. John Russell about the diagnostic and therapeutic priorities addressing pancreatic cancer, and why this disease is so hard to detect.

FDA medical oncologists discuss the approval of osimertinib for EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Released July 28, 2017

FDA medical oncologists discuss the FDA approvals of brigatinib and ceritinib for ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Released July 25, 2017

Host: Kathy King, RDN Guest: Lise Alschuler, ND Host Kathy King sits down with Dr. Lise Alschuler, naturopathic doctor, cancer survivor, and author of The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment, and Healing. Dr. Alschuler is co-founder of iTHRIVEplan.com, a web application providing personalized wellness plans tailored to cancer survivors. They talk about how integrative medicine specialists approach cancer: its causes, prevention strategies, and ways to include complementary therapies in patient treatments.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP It's widely known that genetics, family history, race, and other factors all play important roles in cancer risk. But what kinds of roles do they play, specifically, and how can we leverage these understandings into better primary care? Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Dr. Maureen Murphy, research scientist at the Wistar Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Murphy has spent the past twenty years studying how genes affect breast cancer risk in women, particularly for African American populations. She discusses her findings on the discovery of p53 protein variants and how this advances the role for precision medicine in treating breast cancer.

The D.I.S.C.O. hosts discuss the agency’s first approval of pembrolizumab, a cancer treatment based on a common biomarker rather than the location in the body where the tumor originated. Released May 30, 2017.

FDA medical oncologists discuss the agency’s March 23, 2017 approval of avelumab for the treatment of patients 12 years and older with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma. Released May 22, 2017

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Host Dr. Brian McDonough chats with Jennifer Singleterry, Senior Analyst of Policy and Legislative Support for the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network, about the organization's new report revealing monetary burdens for cancer patients.

FDA medical oncologists discuss the agency’s March 2017 approval of niraparib for the maintenance treatment of patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Released May 18, 2017

FDA medical oncologists discuss the agency’s accelerated approval of rucaparib for treatment of patients with deleterious BRCA mutation-associated advanced ovarian cancer who have been treated with two or more chemotherapies. Released May 17, 2017

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Several new screening tests have been developed to help doctors find colorectal cancer early when it's most treatable and can reduce the burden of this disease and the death toll nationwide. Host Dr. Matt Birnholz chats with Dr. John Kisiel, gastroenterologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, about new screening guidelines for detecting colorectal cancer.

Host: Caren Heller, MD Guest: Francis Farraye, MD Studies have shown that certain patients living with inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer. In fact, IBD ranks as the third highest risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer. Host Dr. Caren Heller, Chief Scientific Officer at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, sits down with Dr. Francis Farraye, gastroenterologist and Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the Center for Digestive Disorders at Boston University School of Medicine. The two talk about making guidelines on endoscopic screening, surveillance, and detection of dysplasia more beneficial to IBD patients.

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Guest: Taine Pechet, MD Dr. Taine Pechet, chief of surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and associate professor of clinical surgery at Penn Medicine joins host Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss his thoughts on who should be regularly screen for lung cancer and the various diagnostic techniques from his perspective as a thoracic surgeon. Dr. Pechet also discusses the surgical outcomes for these patient and his thoughts on what is on the horizon for the lung cancer field.

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Guest: Robin Zon, MD, FACP Value-based, patient-centered care has become the destination for all branches of medicine, and is the philosophy driving modern payment reform initiatives like MACRA. But the unique care delivery needs in each specialty challenge the notion that one payment model can serve everyone. And nowhere has this become more relevant than in the field of oncology. Dr. Matt Birnholz joins Dr. Robin Zon, practicing oncologist and vice president and senior partner at Michiana Hematology-Oncology in South Bend, Indiana. Dr. Zon serves as Chair-Elect of ASCO's Government Relations Committee was Past Chair of the Clinical Practice Committee, which alongside other stakeholders at ASCO developed a Patient-Centered Oncology Payment (PCOP) model. Recently, Dr. Zon presented this information at the recent AMA House of Delegates meeting in June. She speaks to the phases of this model, how it can function as a defined APM under MACRA, and its demonstrated positive impacts o

[Read the Article] The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force has updated the recommendations regarding colorectal cancer screening. The Task Force strongly recommends screening average risk adults age 50 to 75 for colorectal cancer, and then making individual screening decisions for adults age 76 to 85, taking into account the patient's overall health and screening history.Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and about one-third of adults in the United States have never been screened. [Watch more videos of The JAMA Report]

Host: Kathy King, RDN Guest: Diana Noland How can our dietary choices affect and even influence cancer outcomes? Host Kathy King talks with Diana Noland, dietitian and board-certified clinical nutritionist on the adjunct faculty of the University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, and in private practice in Burbank, CA. Ms. Noland specializes in nutritional health for complex metabolic conditions, oncology, gastrointestinal, and neurologic chronic diseases. She speaks to the importance of proper nutrition for cancer patients; namely the roles that nutrition play in cancer treatment and specific nutritional problems cancer patients face.

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO There are many widely circulated myths regarding breast cancer, such as: Beliefs that this disease affects women only. Fears that mammograms can cause cancers to spread. Assumptions that most patients with breast cancer have family histories positive for this disease. Host Jennifer Caudle talks with guest Dr. Monique Gary, a fellowship-trained breast surgical oncologist at Grand View Health in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. Together, they dispel myths about breast cancer and talk about what patients can expect during a surgical oncologist appointment.