Podcasts about asco annual meeting

Dr. Nilo Azad and Dr. Aparna Parikh discuss high-impact studies in gastrointestinal cancers and other novel treatment approaches that were presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT

In deze podcast kunt u luisteren naar het gesprek van internist-oncoloog Koos van der Hoeven en internist-oncoloog Debbie Robbrecht, werkzaam in het Erasmus MC te Rotterdam. Aan bod komen de laatste ontwikkelingen met betrekking tot de behandeling van blaas- en niercarcinoom gepresenteerd tijdens de 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Dr. Marc Braunstein and Dr. Adam Kittai highlight top research on hematologic malignancies from the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, including studies on lymphoid malignancies, multiple myeloma, and plasma cell disorders. LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT  

Dr. Christine Lovly and Dr. Vamsi Velcheti discuss practice-changing lung cancer data presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, including key studies on squamous cell lung cancer, NSCLC, and SCLC. LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT

Today we are recapping exciting GU data presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting in bladder cancer, kidney cancer, and prostate cancer.

In deze podcast kunt u luisteren naar het gesprek van internist-oncoloog Koos van der Hoeven en internist-oncoloog Agnes Jager werkzaam in het Erasmus MC te Rotterdam. Aan bod komen de laatste ontwikkelingen met betrekking tot de behandeling van borstkanker gepresenteerd tijdens de 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting.

In deze podcast kunt u luisteren naar het gesprek van internist-oncoloog Koos van der Hoeven en longarts Lizza Hendriks werkzaam in het Maastricht UMC+. Aan bod komen de laatste ontwikkelingen met betrekking tot de behandeling van longkanker gepresenteerd tijdens de 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting.

In this episode, recorded live at ASCO Annual Meeting, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, about the new and evolving ways cancer care is delivered, building networks through advocacy and more. ·       Who is Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell?  2:17 ·       Jain and Rathmell discuss the need for physician scientists in administrative leadership. 11:37 ·       How do you think networks and communities can impact careers? 17:08 ·       What are your thoughts on using social media in the cancer space? 22:35 ·       How do you think AI is going to transform the way we deliver care? 26:21 ·       As you have navigated your career, how have you approached challenges around being a woman in leadership roles? 29:29 We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD and on Instagram @shikhajainmd. Rathmell can be reached on LinkedIn. Jain reports no relevant financial disclosures. Rathmell reports a relationship with Interact Therapeutics, as well as institution relationships with Merck and Sitryx.

Welcome to the Patient from Hell podcast! Live from ASCO 2026, we explore breakthroughs in clinical oncology, cancer research, AI healthcare tools, and targeted therapy for advanced cancer.Samira Daswani, Founder and CEO of Manta Cares and host of The Patient From Hell, sits down with Dr. Doug Blayney, Chief Medical Officer of Manta Cares and former ASCO President, for a candid debrief in between sessions at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.With 45,000 oncology professionals in attendance, ASCO is the largest gathering of cancer researchers and clinicians in the world. In this episode, Samira and Dr. Blayney break down what actually mattered: the clinical findings, the shifting treatment landscape, and what the research trends mean for patients navigating cancer today.This episode is for oncologists, cancer researchers, and anyone who wants to understand where the field is heading.Topics covered, with more to come in our next episode:Key clinical findings from ASCO 2026Trends shaping experimental and clinical oncologyWhat high attendance and collaboration signals for the future of cancer researchWhat patients should know coming out of this year's conferenceCHAPTERS:0:00 - ASCO 2026 Annual Meeting Live from Chicago0:27 - Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Oncology & Patient Experience1:19 - Healthcare AI Challenges: Misinformation & Clinician Deskilling2:03 - Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough: New RAS/KRAS Targeted Therapy2:30 - Lung Cancer Advancements: ALK Mutations & PD-L1 Data3:01 - Breast Cancer Innovation: Oral SERDs & ESR1 Biomarkers3:41 - Next Episode Preview & Wrap UpSubscribe for frequent breakdowns of cancer research, treatment news, patient stories, and guidance and support for people in treatment for cancer. Drop a comment with the topics or trials you want us to cover next!

In Part 2 of the ASCO 2026 Highlights series, hosts Dr. Narjust Florez and Dr. Stephen Liu are joined by Dr. Julie Brahmer and Dr. Solange Peters to discuss some of the most notable immunotherapy advances presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. The conversation explores emerging data for PD-1/VEGF and PD-L1/VEGF bispecific antibodies, the growing role of antibody-drug conjugates in combination with immunotherapy, and promising new strategies targeting KRAS-mutant lung cancers, highlighting how these approaches may reshape the future treatment landscape. Guests: Julie R. Brahmer, MD, MSc, FASCO, FAIO The Marilyn Meyerhoff Professor of Thoracic Oncology Co-Leader, Cancer Immunology Research Program Co-Director, Upper Aerodigestive Cancers Program Director, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Bayview Campus Professor Solange Peters, MD, PhD Chair of Medical Oncology Director of Oncology Department - CHUV Lausanne University Hospital

Two Onc Docs, hosted by Samantha A. Armstrong, MD, and Karine Tawagi, MD, is a podcast dedicated to providing current and future oncologists and hematologists with the knowledge they need to ace their boards and deliver quality patient care. Dr Armstrong is a hematologist/oncologist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis. Dr Tawagi is a hematologist/oncologist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Illinois in Chicago.In this episode, OncLive On Air® partnered with Two Onc Docs to provide a comprehensive review of data from the phase 3 RASolute 302 trial (NCT06625320), a landmark study presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting that has established daraxonrasib (RMC-6236) as the new standard of care (SOC) for the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.The discussion began by highlighting the historical context of second-line treatment, where standard chemotherapy options like FOLFOX (leucovorin calcium, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) or gemcitabine-based regimens typically yielded a median overall survival (OS) of only approximately 6 to 7 months. Although RAS mutations drive approximately 90% of pancreatic cancers, they were historically considered undruggable. Daraxonrasib addresses this challenge with its mechanism of action of an oral, RAS(ON), multi-selective, tri-complex inhibitor that targets the active GTP-bound state of both mutant and wild-type RAS, covering variants at codons G12, G13, and Q61.The RASolute 302 trial was an international, open-label study that randomly assigned patients with progression after 1 prior line of therapy to receive either daaxonrasib or investigator's choice of chemotherapy. In the RAS G12–mutated subpopulation of patients, daraxonrasib generated a higher median OS compared with chemotherapy. Similar benefits were observed with daraxonrasib in the overall population, where the median progression-free survival nearly doubled.Drs Armstrong and Tawagi emphasized that the toxicities associated with daraxonrasib are highly clinically relevant and distinct from the myelosuppression seen with chemotherapy. Key adverse effects (AEs) include dermatologic events, diarrhea, and stomatitis. Management of these AEs is critical; the hosts recommended the use of prophylactic oral antibiotics and topical corticosteroids to manage rash, alongside standard oral care for mucositis. Despite being associated with these AEs, daraxonrasib was better tolerated than chemotherapy, with a low treatment discontinuation rate due to AEs.Daraxonrasib is currently accessible in the US through an Expanded Access Program and is undergoing accelerated review for full FDA approval. The experts noted that the agent is being further investigated in the frontline setting through the phase 3 RASolute 303 trial (NCT07491445) and in the adjuvant setting via the phase 3 RASolute-304 trial (NCT07252232), potentially expanding the agent's effect across the continuum of pancreatic cancer care.

In this Part 1 of 2 ASCO 2026 Highlights episodes, hosts Dr. Narjust Florez and Dr. Stephen Liu are joined by Dr. Alice Shaw and Dr. Jonathan Goldman to review some of the most impactful targeted therapy data presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. The discussion explores the practice-changing LIBRETTO-432 trial in early-stage RET-positive NSCLC, long-term outcomes with lorlatinib in ALK-positive disease, emerging data for neladalkib, and promising results for sunvozertinib in EGFR exon 20 insertion–positive NSCLC, highlighting how these findings may influence treatment decisions across disease stages. Guests: Dr. Alice Shaw. is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chair of Medical Oncology, and a thoracic oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer, having led landmark clinical trials that established crizotinib, ceritinib, and lorlatinib as standards of care. Dr. Jonathan W. Goldman is a Professor of Medicine and thoracic oncologist at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, where he serves as a principal investigator in the Phase I drug development program. Dr. Goldman has been at the forefront of early-phase oncology trials across multiple tumor types, with a particular focus on novel therapeutics in lung cancer, and he was the presenting author of Libretto 432 at the plenary session at the 2026 ASCO

Recorded in Chicago, Dr. Aly-Khan Lalani and Dr. Chris Wallis unpack a massive slate of prostate cancer data, fresh from the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. The conversation spans the entire disease spectrum, beginning with a deep dive into the PROTEUS trial. Shifting to advanced disease, Dr. Lalani and Dr. Wallis discuss the TALAPRO-3 and the A-DREAM/Alliance A032101 trials. Concluding with a review of sequencing chemotherapy and radioligand therapy in the PLUDO trial, this episode provides an excellent overview of the prostate cancer landscape presented at ASCO 2026.This podcast has been made possible through unrestricted financial support by Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Tolmar, AbbVie, Astellas, Eisai, Ipsen, Merck, Bayer, TerSera.The View on GU with Lalani & Wallis integrates key clinical data from major conferences and high impact publications, sharing meaningful take home messages for practising clinicians in the field of genitourinary (GU) cancers. Learn more about The View on GU: theviewongu.ca

Dr. Aly-Khan Lalani and Dr. Chris Wallis discuss how new data from the RAMPART trial strengthens the argument for administering  immune-boosting therapies to patients after surgery. This episode also touches on the human side of cancer care, exploring new ways to measure patient side effects and reduce post-treatment regret through improved  counseling. The doctors finish the conversation by highlighting a promising new combination of repurposed drugs that is offering renewed hope to young patients fighting Renal Medullary Carcinoma.This podcast has been made possible through unrestricted financial support by Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Tolmar, AbbVie, Astellas, Eisai, Ipsen, Merck, Bayer, TerSera.The View on GU with Lalani & Wallis integrates key clinical data from major conferences and high impact publications, sharing meaningful take home messages for practising clinicians in the field of genitourinary (GU) cancers. Learn more about The View on GU: theviewongu.ca

Dr. Aly-Khan Lalani and Dr. Chris Wallis dive into the latest bladder cancer breakthroughs, starting with crucial long-term updates from the landmark EV-302 trial. They share encouraging survival data for patients, while exploring which treatments work best if the cancer eventually progresses. The doctors also discuss the future of localized disease, reviewing strategies from the POTOMAC and SAKK trials. By highlighting a range of advanced monitoring tools, they map out how modern care is helping patients safely avoid major surgery while maintaining excellent disease control.The View on GU with Lalani & Wallis integrates key clinical data from major conferences and high impact publications, sharing meaningful take home messages for practising clinicians in the field of genitourinary (GU) cancers. Learn more about The View on GU: theviewongu.caThis podcast has been made possible through unrestricted financial support by Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Tolmar, AbbVie, Astellas, Eisai, Ipsen, Merck, Bayer, TerSera.

In deze podcast kunt u luisteren naar het gesprek van internist-oncoloog Koos van der Hoeven en internist-oncoloog Hanneke van Laarhoven, werkzaam in het Amsterdam UMC. Aan bod komen de laatste ontwikkelingen met betrekking tot de behandeling van upper GI-tumoren gepresenteerd tijdens de 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting.

In deze podcast kunt u luisteren naar het gesprek van internist-oncoloog Koos van der Hoeven en internist-oncoloog Jeanine Roodhart werkzaam in het UMC Utrecht. Aan bod komen de laatste ontwikkelingen met betrekking tot de behandeling van colorectale tumoren gepresenteerd tijdens de 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting.

In deze podcast kunt u luisteren naar het gesprek van internist-oncoloog Koos van der Hoeven en internist-oncoloog André Bergman, werkzaam in het Antoni van Leeuwenhoek te Amsterdam. Aan bod komen de laatste ontwikkelingen met betrekking tot de behandeling van prostaatcarcinoom gepresenteerd tijdens de 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting.

In deze podcast kunt u luisteren naar het gesprek van internist-oncoloog Koos van der Hoeven en internist-oncoloog Astrid van der Veldt werkzaam in het Erasmus MC te Rotterdam. Aan bod komen de laatste ontwikkelingen met betrekking tot de behandeling van melanoom gepresenteerd tijdens de 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Dr. Monty Pal shares highlights from Day 4 of the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, including a much-anticipated study in hepatocellular carcinoma, new data in non–small cell lung cancer, and a key update in the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma. LINK TO TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Monty Pal shares highlights from Day 3 of the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, including new research for the treatment of advanced CRC and mCRPC, TIL cell therapy in advanced non-uveal melanoma, and an ultra-low dose immunotherapy trial in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Monty Pal shares highlights from Day 2 of the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, including a practice-changing trial in renal cell carcinoma, advances in ER-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer, and the use of olanzapine as an effective steroid-sparing alternative for chemo-induced nausea and vomiting in pediatric cancer. LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT

In the first episode of a special daily series during the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, Dr. Monty Pal discusses 3 abstracts, including a follow-up on the EV-302 study in urothelial carcinoma, a potential new treatment option for patients with PD-L1-positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer, and a novel psychosocial digital application that improves fatigue and distress in patients with multiple myeloma. LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Lyudmila Bazhenova joins the podcast to share the update to the living guideline on stage IV NSCLC without driver alterations. Dr. Bazhenova discusses the evidence reviewed for both non-squamous NSCLC, including the POD1IM-304 and BAP BRAIN trials, and squamous cell NSCLC, including the HARMONi-6 trial. She shares how these results impacted the clinical practice guideline, what they mean for patients receiving immunotherapy and chemotherapy, and where the panel is waiting for additional evidence to clarify the role of therapeutic options. Dr. Bazhenova encourages listeners to stay tuned for future updates to the living guideline after publication of data from the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. Read the full living guideline "Therapy for Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer without Driver Alterations, ASCO Living Guideline Version 2026.3.1" LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT

Today we will be focusing on exciting data to come at the ASCO Annual Meeting in 2026 in Chicago, with a special focus on GU sessions, educational sessions & med ed sessions.

Dr. Monty Pal and Dr. Jo Chien preview new research, hot topics, and emerging innovations in oncology that will be presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT

Ahead of the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, Sabrina Serani, managing editor of Targeted Oncology, previews the late-breaking abstracts most likely to influence clinical practice across breast, colorectal, prostate, and lung cancer, as well as in metastatic uveal melanoma, a disease that has gone without an effective systemic therapy for decades. From VIKTORIA-1 in PIK3CA-mutant metastatic breast cancer to BREAKWATER's first look at overall survival in BRAF V600E-mutant colorectal cancer, this episode breaks down the science, the clinical context, and the questions that full data will need to answer.

O episódio 40 do EVA CAST, o podcast do Grupo Brasileiro de Tumores Ginecológicos, aborda o câncer de ovário resistente ou refratário à quimioterapia baseada em platina, um dos cenários mais desafiadores da Oncologia ginecológica. Em um contexto de alta incidência e mortalidade no Brasil, o episódio discute por que muitas pacientes ainda são diagnosticadas em estágios avançados e como isso contribui para recorrência frequente e limitação das respostas terapêuticas. Participam da conversa Alexssandra Lima, oncologista clínica do Grupo Oncoclínicas e pesquisadora do INCA; Lygia Soares, oncologista clínica e professora da UFRN; e Maria Eduarda Meyer, oncologista clínica do Centro Especializado em Oncologia de Florianópolis. As especialistas exploram a heterogeneidade do câncer de ovário, os fatores associados à recorrência e os critérios que definem sensibilidade ou resistência à platina, fundamentais para a organização do tratamento. O episódio detalha os mecanismos biológicos de resistência, como alterações no reparo do DNA e evasão da morte celular, além de discutir como esses processos impactam terapias subsequentes, incluindo os inibidores de PARP. Também apresenta avanços recentes, como terapias-alvo, imunoterapia e o uso de biomarcadores — BRCA, HRD, PD-L1, HER2 e receptor de folato alfa — na personalização do tratamento. A discussão inclui ainda os desafios do manejo clínico em múltiplas linhas de tratamento, o equilíbrio entre eficácia e qualidade de vida e as barreiras estruturais no Brasil, como desigualdade de acesso a diagnóstico, cirurgia especializada e terapias inovadoras. Como mensagem final, o episódio destaca que, apesar das limitações, a medicina de precisão abre caminho para melhores desfechos e maior individualização do cuidado.

Listen to JCO's Art of Oncology article, "Final Silence" by Dr. Ju Won Kim, who is an Assistant Professor at Korea University College of Medicine, Medical Oncology. The article is followed by an interview with Kim and host Dr. Mikkael Sekeres. Dr Kim explores the burden of silence when caring for dying patients. TRANSCRIPT Narrator: Final Silence, by Ju Won Kim  Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Welcome back to JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology. This ASCO podcast features intimate narratives and perspectives from authors exploring their experiences in oncology. I'm your host, Mikkael Sekeres. I am a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hematology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami. We are so thrilled to have joining us today, Dr. Ju Won Kim. She is Assistant Professor at Korea University College of Medicine, and she is here to discuss her Journal of Clinical Oncology article, "Final Silence." Ju Won, thank you for contributing to the Journal of Clinical Oncology and for joining us today to discuss your article. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Hello, Mikkael. It's really nice to be here. Thanks so much for inviting me. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: It's so nice to have you here today also. Thank you for also taking time so late in the evening because our time difference is so huge. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yeah, it's not that late. It's 9 o'clock in Seoul. 9:00 PM. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I wonder if I could start by asking you if you can tell us about yourself. Could you walk us through your career so far? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yes. I am Ju Won Kim from Korea University in Seoul. I was born and also raised here and never really left from Seoul. I did my residency in internal medicine and fellowship in oncology at the same hospital, and now I'm an assistant professor there. So you could say I've spent my whole life on the same campus, just moving from one side of the hallway to another. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: That's a beautiful way of describing it. Is that common in Korea for somebody to remain at the same institution for training and then to continue through your career? Dr. Ju Won Kim: It used to be common about a decade ago, but nowadays it is not that common. Most of my colleagues are from another campus or another hospital. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Well, I'm so curious, what is a typical week like for you? How many days do you spend seeing patients and how much time do you spend doing research or writing or have other responsibilities? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Usually, I spend four times for my outpatient clinic, but in Korea, there are so many cancer patients and so little number of medical oncologists. I usually treat so many patients in one clinic, like maybe 20 to 30 in one time. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Wow. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yeah, that's a burden. Most of the time I spend treating my patients, and rest of them I use to spend for my research with my lab students, and maybe with my colleagues, and I have to write something like documents or some kind of medical articles. That is about 10 or 20% of my working time, I think. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Okay, okay. That makes sense. So, and do you specialize within oncology, or do you see any person who has cancer? Dr. Ju Won Kim: I'm a medical oncologist, and I used to treat breast cancer or biliary pancreatic cancer or some kind of liver cancer or rare cancer, maybe, also. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Okay, okay. It's such a long trip. Are you able to make it to the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Actually, I've been Chicago for ASCO meeting just one time in this year. Actually, I gave birth to my son in March, and I was in the long vacation for my birth, and the last part of my birth vacation, I went to Chicago to participate in ASCO. It was a really good time. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Oh, fantastic. That's great. How about your own story as a writer? How long have you been writing narrative pieces and when did you start? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Actually, I've always thought of myself more as a reader than a writer. Reading was my comfort zone from childhood. Then I started a small book club with friends about 10 years ago, and we began writing short reflections after each meeting. That's how writing slowly became part of my routine. When reading feels heavy, I write. When writing feels tiring, I read. It's a rhythm that keeps me balanced. At first, it was only academic writing like medical articles, but a few years ago, I challenged myself to post one short reflection a month on my Instagram, usually a quote from a book and a few sentences on why it mattered to me. It was my life about writing. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: That is really remarkable. So, did you take any formal writing classes at university? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Not really. It was just a hobby of my own. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: It always impresses me when people come into writing organically like this, where they just discover it and start and don't have formal teaching because your writing is very, very good. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Oh, thank you. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: And how do you find the time to read and write when you have a busy career, academic career, and you have a child? Dr. Ju Won Kim: It was my old routine that I used to read it before going to bed, from my bedside with a small light, I used to read some novels and get to sleep easily. But after I started to work as a medical oncologist, it was a very busy job as you know. I used to sleep more and not have time for reading. I try to read more when I get some free time. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I love how you talk about alternating reading and writing and how when one gets too heavy, you go to the other, and then you switch back. One of the most common pieces of advice I've heard from writers is to read more. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yeah. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: You can see how other people put thoughts together and the cadence of their writing, and also it inspires your mind to develop new ideas for writing. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Actually, the new idea also comes from the book, I think, when I came into a new book and the idea bangs up with me, so I started to write and that's an easy way to have some idea about writing. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I'm always impressed by people who are facile with languages and bilingual or trilingual. I think I'm unfortunately a hopeless monoglot. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Maybe you can try Korean. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I'd be embarrassed to even attempt it. When you read, do you read in Korean or do you read in English or other languages? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Definitely in Korean. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Okay, okay. And when do you find the space to write? Do you need to be alone at home in a special room or at a special desk, or do you write at work, or do you just find any time to write? Dr. Ju Won Kim: I usually don't have much time on my own because I have my baby now and some family gathers frequently. So, I always write every free time I'm trying to, any short free time in my work maybe. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: If you feel comfortable doing so - this is a very heavy piece, and a lot of us have dealt with deaths of our own patients, of course, we see this unfortunately commonly in oncology, but many of us, myself included, have also dealt with patients or their family members who've committed suicide - can you tell us what prompted you to write this piece? Dr. Ju Won Kim: As an oncologist treating biliary and pancreatic cancers, I've witnessed many deaths, as you know. Most fade with time because I treat so many patients, but just one family stayed with me, I think. It was early in my career, just months after I started this specialty, and even 5 years later, I still think about them, the family I wrote about in the "Final Silence." The story eventually became the piece I wrote. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: And what is it about them that caused you to think about them so much even years later? Dr. Ju Won Kim: I'm not sure. That's the only experience I came into someone's suicide so closely in my life, I think, and also it happened in my very early career. That's the impact. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: It is amazing how certain patients stick with us even years or decades later, particularly when they're tied to an emotional response to illness, and that can be our patients' emotional response or our own. Can you talk some about Korean culture and how cancer is viewed? Is it discussed openly? Dr. Ju Won Kim: In Korea, death is still a quiet topic. Cancer equals death in many people's minds, and death equals grief. Even today, some families ask doctors not to tell their patients about the diagnosis, but Korea is aging so fast, so I see more older patients now, but culturally, we are still learning how to talk about dying openly. That's the big problem as a medical oncologist, especially treating biliary and pancreatic cancers. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I can just imagine. When you first meet a patient and their family is in the room, do you tell them that they have cancer, or do you need to check in with the family and with the patient how much they know about their diagnosis first? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Actually, I usually try to tell them there is a cancer, which can never be treated perfectly, because I used to treat patients with stage four, which is incurable, but I'm not sure is it okay to tell them that your life is about 3 months or 6 months or 1 year. It is not that okay for the Korean patients, especially the first time when they meet me in the clinic. I try to tell them about the truth just a few times later. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I think that's common. I think we do that in the United States also. We may not mention a number to patients during that very first meeting because when you're talking to somebody and once you mention that number, often people will shut down. They won't hear anything else that you say. And you need to build up a relationship and some trust with somebody and also get the sense how much they want to know about their cancer and their prognosis before entering that conversation. I've certainly had instances when I'm in a room with a patient, and that patient's spouse or children, and someone else in the room will say, "How long does Dad have to live?" And I've turned to my patient, "Dad", and said, "Is this a number that you want to know?" And the patient has said, "No, I don't." Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yeah, that happens. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: So sometimes we have to be careful and check in and remind ourselves in the high emotions around a cancer diagnosis that our first responsibility is always to our patient and what they want to know about their diagnosis and their prognosis. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Do you have any opposite cases where patients really want to know the numbers? Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Yeah, I do. And, you know, you can almost predict who that's going to be depending on what they did during their lives. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yes. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: So I have patients who are engineers or who have a math-based career like they're accountants and they'll come in and they write every number down and they want to know the number about their prognosis. I have other patients who are English professors and they want descriptively to know what the prognosis is but maybe don't want a number. So... Dr. Ju Won Kim: I think most Koreans want the number, the specific number. Yeah. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I'm curious, is cancer in a father or a son dealt with differently than cancer in a mother or a daughter? Dr. Ju Won Kim: I don't think there's much difference between sons and daughters, or maybe moms and dad, because every child is very precious in Korea now, but between husband and wives, I think the dynamic stands out. People often say when a husband gets cancer, the wife becomes his main caregiver, but when the wife gets cancer, sometimes the husband disappears. I've heard that from my colleagues, though not often in my own clinic. Now, what I do see is many middle-aged women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, women coming to treatment alone, strong and very independent. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Interesting. So I was going to follow up by asking if you've seen that in your own clinic. Have you seen- is it more likely that your female patients who have a cancer diagnosis come to clinic alone but the male patients come with their spouse and with family support? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yeah, it is not just because of their sex, but most of the breast cancer patients who are female are in good condition, but biliary pancreatic cancer male patients have very poor condition, so... Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Ah... Dr. Ju Won Kim: Maybe, I think that's the problem. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Interesting. The part of your essay in which you describe the attempted suicide of your patient's daughter is absolutely chilling. How did that affect you? Have you ever had a patient attempt suicide before? Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yes, the event I wrote in my essay was extremely shocking for me, but it's the only experience I have. It wasn't my patient, but I've heard a few cases where someone in the hospital tried to take their own life. I haven't had that happen directly, but I've seen patients fall into deep depression or break down in tears. In those moments, I always suggest psychiatry nowadays. That used to be taboo in here, but the stigma is fading, and many patients actually feel better afterwards. I also check in with close family members because their mental state affects the patients, too. It's something I hope never to experience again. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: It's so unsettling when that happens, and as I mentioned, I've had a patient who took his own life, and you go back and back and back to it to wonder if there's something you could have done to intervene quicker or to get that psychosocial support in place to help that patient so that you avoid it in the future. And, you know, you protect your patients and yourself. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yeah, I try to. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Speaking of protecting, you write, and I'm going to quote you to you, "I told myself I was protecting her, that to burden her in her final hours with such unthinkable news would be cruel. But a deeper truth is that I was protecting myself. I didn't know how to say it. I didn't know how to bear the weight of her devastation on top of my own shock and helplessness, so I avoided it." Do we owe it to ourselves sometimes to protect ourselves from the pain we sometimes impart to our patients? Dr. Ju Won Kim: That reflection came from realizing how doctors sometimes say we are protecting patients from pain, but really, we are protecting ourselves, I think. It's human. We can't hold every piece of suffering we see. Setting emotional boundaries isn't weakness. It's survival. What matters is recognizing when it's self-protection and being honest about it later. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Well, I think something that really helps with that is being able to talk to our colleagues about times when this happens and recognize we're in a shared experience and that we have the support of our colleagues, and they recognize how hard it is to be the bearer of bad news to other people and to bring pain to them sometimes. Dr. Ju Won Kim: That really works. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Dr. Ju Won Kim, it has been such a pleasure having you on this show. Dr. Kim has written just a fabulous essay called "Final Silence" for JCO Art of Oncology. Thank you so much for sharing your article with us and for joining us today. Dr. Ju Won Kim: Yeah, thank you so much for the conversation. It was a pleasure talking with you. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: If you've enjoyed this episode, consider sharing it with a friend or a colleague or leave us a review. Your feedback and support helps us continue to have these important conversations. If you're looking for more episodes and context, follow our show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen and explore more from ASCO at asco.org/podcasts. Until next time, this has been Mikkael Sekeres for Cancer Stories. The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. Show Notes: Like, share and subscribe so you never miss an episode and leave a rating or review. Guest Bio:Dr Ju Won Kim is an Assistant Professor at Korea University College of Medicine, Medical Oncology.

Dr. Monty Pal and Dr. Pauline Funchain discuss the latest efforts to diagnose, prevent, and treat the series of immune-related adverse events that have emerged in the era of immunotherapy. TRANSCRIPT Dr. Monty Pal: Hello, and welcome to the ASCO Daily News Podcast. I am Monty Pal, a medical oncologist, professor and vice chair of medical oncology at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles, California. Now, it is probably no surprise to this audience that immunotherapy has transformed the treatment landscape for multiple cancer types. It remains a pillar of modern oncology. Having said that, I think we have all been baffled by certain toxicities that we run into in the clinic. Today, I am delighted to be joined by Dr Pauline Funchain to discuss some of the checkpoint inhibitor toxicities that people struggle with most. And we will also touch on some side effects of immunotherapy beyond checkpoint inhibitors: CAR-T cells, bispecifics, so on and so forth. Dr Funchain is a dear friend, and she is an associate professor and associate director of cancer research training and education at the Stanford Cancer Institute. She is co-director of the Immunotherapy Toxicity Program and the Skin Cancer Genomics Program at Stanford, where she also serves as associate program director of hematology and oncology fellowship. Dr. Funchain is also the co-founder of ASPIRE, and we are going to talk about that a little bit today, the Alliance for the Support and Prevention of Immune-Related Events. FYI for listeners, if you are interested in our disclosures, they are available at the transcript of this episode. Pauline, thanks so much for joining us today. Dr. Pauline Funchain: Monty, thank you for this invitation. It is always great to talk. Dr. Monty Pal: So, for the audience, Pauline and I know each other from my days as a fellow at City of Hope. She was a resident at Harbor UCLA and a stellar resident at that. It has just been amazing to sort of see your career grow and blossom and to witness all the cool things that you are doing. ASPIRE, in particular, sort of caught my eye. So again, for listeners, this is the Alliance for the Support and Prevention of Immune-Related Events. Can you tell us a little bit briefly about the genesis of that, how that came about? Dr. Pauline Funchain: So, there was a bunch of us who were really struggling, I mean, all of us have struggled with these immune-related adverse events, these irAEs. You know, they are new disease states, and even though they look like autoimmune diseases, they tend to need a whole lot more steroid than autoimmune diseases do and they do not totally present in the same way. And in fact, you know, Triple-M, or Triple-M overlap syndrome, is a completely new irAE, a new immune state that we have never had before the advent of checkpoint inhibitor. And so a Triple-M, for those of you who are not as familiar, that is the constellation of myocarditis, myositis, and myasthenia gravis, something that never occurs as a natural autoimmune disease. So we were starting to realize that there were some major differences with these irAEs and autoimmune diseases. We could not treat them the right way. We really needed to learn more about them. And a bunch of us who had interest in this said, "Look, we really need to be all in one space to talk about what we are doing," because all of our treatments were our own little homegrown brews, and we needed to really get together and understand how to treat these things, how to diagnose them, and then learn more about them. So, Dr. Alexa Meara from Ohio State, Dr. Kerry Reynolds from Mass Gen, we put together this research consortium, brought together all of our irAE friends, got our best subspecialists together in a research consortium, which is now only about a year and a half old. And we made this research consortium, the Alliance for Support of Prevention of Immune-Related Events, and we reached out to ASCO, and ASCO was so kind to grant us a [Alliance for Support and Prevention of Immune-Related adverse Events (ASPIRE)] Community of Practice. So we met for the first time as a Community of Practice at the ASCO Annual Meeting just this past June and really got an ASCO community together to really think about how to again, diagnose, prevent, treat irAEs. Dr Monty Pal: This is interesting to me. The ASCO Community of Practice phenomenon is something that I was not super familiar with. Can you explain to our listenership what is the ASCO Community of Practice model? If you have particular interests, how do you sort of get one started? Dr Pauline Funchain: Yeah, so ASCO has an entire page on their Community of Practice. There are multiple Community of Practice groups or COPs. There are ones for Supportive Oncology and Survivorship. There is Women in Oncology. There is a group for International Medical Graduates. And there is about, I think 10 or 12 now that have a physical presence at ASCO but also a virtual presence on the ASCO Community of Practice site. So, if you were interested in any one of these, and you can see them on the ASCO Communities of Practice sites, you would ask to become a member. Once granted membership, then there is a whole webpage of postings and conversations that people can have. You can get email digests of conversations that happen on the website, and then you can anchor it with in-person participation at the Annual Meeting. Dr Monty Pal: That is awesome, and I can think of so many different foci within oncology that really sort of deserve a Community of Practice. This definitely being one of them. You know, it strikes me as being so interesting. I mean, the checkpoint inhibitors have been around for a while now. I think when you and I were in training, gosh, back then, these were just a little bit of a pipe dream, right? But having said that, I would probably say that more than half of my kidney cancer practice is either on checkpoint inhibitors, and the vast majority have been on one at some point in their past, right? With that in mind, you know, we have all treated a lot of patients with these drugs. Why is it that we still struggle to manage the toxicities? And just to take that one step further, what are some of the toxicities that, perhaps through ASPIRE or through your experience, people struggle with the most? Dr Pauline Funchain: So, I think we are still struggling with these because again, they are new disease states, right? This is what we all experienced with COVID, a brand-new virus and a brand-new syndrome. We now have 20-plus of these as irAEs. And what we have realized about them is the immune activation that happens with these is so much more than what we have seen with autoimmune diseases. So for instance, if you have a Crohn's or ulcerative colitis, you will top out at 40 to 60 milligrams of prednisone if a Crohn's flare or ulcerative colitis flare happens. But for our severe IR colitises, you know, it is at least 1 mg per kg, often goes up to 2 mg per kg. We, in some cases, have done 1 gram pulses if we are worried that somebody is going to perforate. So that was sort of like the first 5 years of treating irAE, and then now in the sort of second 5 years of treating irAE, we have realized that that is a lot of immunosuppression, and we might be able to get away with less with the newer biologics that are on board. So, we are struggling to try to get the data for some of these irAEs that we knew, we have known for a while, but to try to get newer treatments that may immunosuppress less so that you may still be able to retain that tumor response. And in fact, some of the preclinical studies suggest that some of these biologics may actually synergize with the immunotherapy and actually make the immunotherapy more effective from a tumor perspective and calm down the irAE as sort of the bystander effect. So we are still trying to optimize those. Getting up trials in the space has been very difficult. That is one of the reasons for the genesis of ASPIRE because we realized we needed to band together to have a bigger voice in that realm. Then there are other things that are brand new. So we talked about Triple-M. So Triple-M, again, with Triple-M or any myocarditis or myasthenia, I mean, there is about a 50% chance of death from irAE based on the literature. I think we are getting better at recognizing this, and so at Stanford we have some data to say that if you serially follow troponin, that maybe your outcomes are better. You can potentially lower the percentage of cases that are fatal because you can catch them early. I mean, this is all preliminary data, but again, these are all things that are evolving, and we do not all have the right answer. I mean, even the serial troponin thing, I think, is pretty controversial. And in fact, at one of our quarterly Zoom meetings that we are doing in ASPIRE in December is going to sort of flush out that controversy about serial troponin measuring and what is the best thing to use? Would you use something like abatacept or would you use ruxolitinib? Which one is better? I think there is a lot of controversy still about these things. Dr Monty Pal: You have really piqued my curiosity here because you think about the cons of treating irAEs, right? And I worry exactly about what you had mentioned, right, which is, "Gosh, what is going on with this tumor in terms of immunosuppression?" But you think about some of the newer agents, you mentioned ruxolitinib, I have heard of dasatinib, for instance, in this setting. Frankly speaking, a lot of these, as you point out, are really thought of as being also anticancer drugs. So you have really got me thinking about the potential synergy between perhaps suppressing an irAE and augmenting antitumor activity, which I think is very interesting. Am I on the right track with that? Dr Pauline Funchain: I think so, but you will find that a lot of people will not even go there because they are worried about how much immunosuppression you are going to cause. I am at heart a geneticist, but I think an immunologist will happily tell you that the immune system is very complex. There are multiple pathways, and these drugs do not all target the same immune pathways. So if we understand a little bit more about the pathways we are targeting and pick apart the pathways that are really, really tumor relevant and the other pathways that are not tumor relevant, you may be able to piece together a better marriage of tumor response and irAE control. Dr Monty Pal: Kind of on this topic, and again, leaning on your background in genetics, where are we in terms of predicting these irAEs? I mean, you would think the holy grail would be picking out a snip or something of this for it, right, that could potentially identify that patient who is going to get Triple-M or, you know, at the very least a significant high-grade irAE event. Are we anywhere closer to that in 2025? Dr Pauline Funchain: There have been data published. There have been some big GWAS studies. All of the effect sizes are pretty small. So there are some prediction algorithms, but none of them are clinically useful. And I think when you look at the odds ratios, they will increase risk by maybe 20%. I think one of the things that we found in a very small series and supported anecdotally is something as easy as family history of autoimmune disease is probably more predictive at this point than any of those types of markers. I think we will get there, but we are not anywhere near where we would like to be. Things like TMB also, actually, there is some good data about higher TMB, higher risk of irAE too. Dr Monty Pal: Interesting. I see all this data coming through, IL-8 polymorphisms, etc. And I just wondered if any of that was ready for prime time. But I mean, this is a good message for the practicing clinician. Sounds like we are not quite there yet. And I could probably keep you on for another entire podcast to talk about this topic, but let us see if we can at least skim the surface. I never thought I would see the day when BiTEs and CAR-Ts were entering into my kidney cancer practice, but in fact, it is really become central to a lot of our clinical trials in RCC these days. I would be lying if I did not say that I was not struggling with the toxicities and so forth associated with these drugs. Can you give us a quick primer, maybe just good resources that people can go to for managing toxicity with BiTEs and with CAR and with some of these novel therapeutic modalities that we are using in the oncology clinics? Dr Pauline Funchain: I know there is a recently published toxicity manual for BiTEs in hematologic malignancies, I think it was in Blood. CAR-T is covered in many irAE guidelines. So ASCO guidelines actually has a CAR-T [cell therapy guideline], and I would be remiss not to point out that actually ASCO has a, I am a little biased, but a wonderful guideline on irAE that is actually being updated as we speak. We are hoping for publication next year. I find the format of that, there are many guidelines out there, actually. There is ASCO, SITC, ESMO has a guideline for irAE, but I find the formatting of the ASCO guideline to be much easier to flip through during clinic, just because of the visual format of the tables. But that is going to be updated next year. And with CAR-T, there is now multiple publications also in terms of guidelines. But what I will say about bispecifics and CAR-T, so they have very similar toxicities in terms of the cytokine release and also with the ICANS, so the neurotoxicity. But what we have been finding that is really interesting with BiTEs and CAR-T, and actually even with TIL, cytokine release is very similar to some of the IL-2 toxicities but not identical that we see with TIL treatment. But now we are starting to see overlap. So patients who have been treated with immunotherapy and then go on to get a bispecific or then go on to get TIL, so I have seen some colitises that have occurred after the fact. Some of the newer CAR-Ts without checkpoint have been causing some really interesting, probably not in a good way, but interesting biologically, colitises that are really refractory. So we are starting to see some overlap, and again, I think this field is just evolving constantly. Dr Monty Pal: Yeah, no, I almost think I need to go back to that fellowship that you and I did together 20 years ago and, you know, and see if I could repeat some coursework on CAR-T management.  You know, Pauline, I could probably keep you on the horn for hours, but this has just been terrific. Thank you so much for sharing all of your insights with us today on the ASCO Daily News Podcast. Dr Pauline Funchain: Thank you for the invitation. It was wonderful to talk about this, and it was wonderful to catch up a little bit, Monty. Dr Monty Pal: Same here, same here. And thanks to our listeners too. If you value the insights you heard today on the ASCO Daily News Podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions.  Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. Find out more about today's speakers:      Dr. Monty Pal    @montypal   Dr. Pauline Funchain @FunchainMD Follow ASCO on social media:       @ASCO on Twitter      ASCO on Bluesky     ASCO on Facebook       ASCO on LinkedIn     Disclosures: Dr. Monty Pal:     Speakers' Bureau: MJH Life Sciences, IntrisiQ, Peerview    Research Funding (Inst.): Exelixis, Merck, Osel, Genentech, Crispr Therapeutics, Adicet Bio, ArsenalBio, Xencor, Miyarsian Pharmaceutical    Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Crispr Therapeutics, Ipsen, Exelixis    Dr. Pauline Funchain: Consulting or Advisory Role: Merck, Replimune, Sanofi/Regeneron, Immunocore, Tempus Research Funding (Inst.): Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, IDEAYA Biosciences, Linnaeus Therapeutics Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Merck

Send us a textIn our Season 11 opening episode, we're bringing you the latest updates from the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting on metastatic breast cancer. Dr. Ashley Schreier, breast oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, breaks down key research and explains what it could mean for people living with MBC.Topics include:Research results for hormone therapy options like camizestrantThe role of ESR1 mutation testingResults from treatment combinations like Enhertu and Perjeta, and Trodelvy and KeytrudaHow to navigate clinical trial accessTips for staying hopeful while exploring treatment optionsWhether you're a patient, caregiver, or advocate, this episode is packed with insights to help you stay informed and empowered.

Dr Sara A Hurvitz and Dr Sara M Tolaney summarize the treatment landscape for breast cancer and discuss the implications of clinical findings recently presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. CME information and select publications here.

In today's episode, supported by Sumitomo, we spoke with Tanya B. Dorff, MD, about the use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with prostate cancer. Dr Dorff is section chief of the Genitourinary Disease Program, as well as a professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research at City of Hope in Duarte, California. In our conversation, Dr Dorff discussed the role of ADT in prostate cancer management, highlighting where this class of agents fits into National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines and how this class has evolved with the development of LHRH antagonists and agonists. She explained how the observational OPTYX study (NCT05467176), a registry of relugolix (Orgovyx) use, aims to address safety and efficacy in combination with androgen receptor pathway inhibitors in patients with advanced prostate cancer. She also noted how early data from OPTYX presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting showed relugolix's use in localized and metastatic settings. Dorff also talked through relugolix's safety profile, particularly regarding cardiovascular risk, as well as the quality-of-life effects associated with ADT. She also addressed strategies to mitigate financial toxicity, along with the potential for future ADT-sparing treatments.

In this special edition episode, recorded live at the ASCO Annual Meeting, hosts Shikha Jain, MD, and Edward Kim, MD, honor Healio's 2025 Disruptive Innovators for their positive disruption in the field of hematology/oncology, and for pushing the status quo to improve clinical practice.  •    Welcome to the fourth annual Healio Disruptive Innovator Awards in hematology/oncology. 1:00 •    VK Gadi, MD PhD, presents the Health Equity Award. 3:56 •    The Health Equity Award winner, Ana Velázquez Mañana, MD, makes a speech. 6:00 •    Morgan Collier presents the Woman Disruptor of the Year Award. 7:38 •    Betty S. Pace, MD, accepts the Woman Disruptor of the Year Award. 9:19 •    The Social Media Influencer Award, presented by Eleonora Teplinsky, MD. 11:53 •    Amani Jambhekar, MD, also known as @ajvictorymd on Instagram and TikTok, accepts the Social Media Influencer Award. 13:13 •    Brenda M. Nevidjon, MSN, RN, FAAN, presents the Advanced Practice Trailblazer Award. 14:40 •    Ashley Leak Bryant, PhD, RN, OCN, FAAN, delivers her acceptance speech for the Advanced Practice Trailblazer Award. 16:19 •    Kamal Jethwani, MD, MPH, presents the Patient Voice Award. 18:44 •    Founder Kimberly Richardson, MA, accepts the Patient Voice Award for the Black Cancer Collaborative. 20:44 •    Healio's chief content officer, Joan-Marie Stiglich, ELS, presents the NextGen Disruptor Award to Nazli Dizman, MD. 22:22 •    The Clinical Innovation Award goes to UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center for their at-home symptom reporting, led by Ethan Basch, MD, MSc. 24:18 •    Hope S. Rugo, MD, wins the Lifetime Disruptor Award. 26:48 •    The Industry Breakthrough Award goes to Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel, or liso-cel) from Bristol Myers Squibb. 30:57 •    On behalf of Bristol Myers Squibb, Amy Corrao, MSN, NP-C, accepts the Industry Breakthrough Award. 32:33 •    Thanks to all of the winners, nominees and sponsors! 35:39 •    Thanks for listening. 36:21 We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Read the full coverage from Healio's Disruptive Innovators here.

  As a young person starting over in a new country—one where she didn't even yet know the language—young Yelena faced no shortage of challenges. But she also found opportunity she believes might not have existed in her native country.  “As an Armenian individual growing up in Azerbaijan, going by my parents' and my family's experience, I don't think I would have had an opportunity to be a physician there,” Dr. Janjigian says. “There was a clear limitation on who got to be a physician, and it's a prestigious position anywhere in the world. As a relative minority, I wouldn't have been able to do that. My parents certainly had the courage it took to leave and to come to a foreign country.”  That same brand of courage led Dr. Janjigian to her current work as a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. A specialist in esophageal and stomach cancer, she presented the results of her gastric cancer clinical trial during the plenary session of this year's ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago. The presentation was the culmination of more than eight years of work involving nearly 1,000 patients and collaborators. Much of that work, she says, started when she received her first grant from Conquer Cancer, a Young Investigator Award. Receiving that funding, she recalls, was a career-defining moment.      In this episode of Your Stories, Dr. Janjigian speaks with host Dr. Mark Lewis about her journey to become an oncologist, along with her vision for a world where a cancer diagnosis isn't nearly as frightening as it is today. 

Featuring perspectives from Dr Rashmi Chugh and Dr Mrinal Gounder, including the following topics: Introduction: Current Role of General Medical Oncologists in the Treatment of Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STS) (0:00) Incorporation of Novel Agents and Strategies into the Management of STS — Faculty Presentation (6:38) Incorporation of Novel Agents and Strategies into the Management of STS — Survey Questions (20:34) Evolving Treatment Paradigm for Locally Aggressive STS — Faculty Presentation (31:09) Evolving Treatment Paradigm for Locally Aggressive STS — Survey Questions (46:44) CME information and select publications

Featuring perspectives from Prof Laurence Albiges and Dr Tian Zhang, including the following topics: Introduction: Adjuvant Immunotherapy for Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) (0:00) Metastatic Clear Cell RCC — Faculty Presentation (9:22) Metastatic Clear Cell RCC — Survey Questions (20:24) Non-Clear Cell RCC — Faculty Presentation (36:02) Non-Clear Cell RCC — Survey Questions (45:46) ASCO 2025 (50:12) CME information and select publications

Dr Catherine Coombs and Dr William Wierda summarize major treatment advances in chronic lymphocytic leukemia presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and review ongoing clinical trials. CME information and select publications here.

Featuring perspectives from Dr Catherine C Coombs and Dr William G Wierda, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Selection and Sequencing of Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory (R/R) Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) — Dr Wierda (19:25) First-Line Therapy for CLL — Dr Coombs (44:18) Novel Agents and Strategies for R/R CLL — Dr Wierda (57:27) CME information and select publications

In this Editor's Special of The HemOnc Pulse, Tycel Phillips, MD, joins an editor of Blood Cancers Today to break down the latest research in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. The conversation spans follicular lymphoma, CLL, mantle cell lymphoma, and large B-cell lymphoma, covering key insights on BTK/BCL2 inhibitors, bispecifics, CAR T-cell therapy, and more.

Dr Ajay K Nooka from Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and Dr Paul G Richardson from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, discuss recent updates on available and novel treatment strategies for multiple myeloma. CME information and select publications here.

Featuring perspectives from Dr Ajay K Nooka and Dr Paul G Richardson, including the following topics: Introduction: ASCO 2025 Showstoppers (0:00) Up-Front Treatment of Multiple Myeloma (MM) — Survey Questions (5:50) Emerging Novel Therapies for Relapsed/Refractory (R/R) MM — Faculty Presentation (11:57) Emerging Novel Therapies for R/R MM — Survey Questions (26:19) Current Management of R/R MM — Faculty Presentation (38:34) Current Management of R/R MM — Survey Questions (49:20) CME information and select publications

Featuring perspectives from Prof Marina Chiara Garassino, Dr John V Heymach, Prof Solange Peters and Dr Jacob Sands, moderated by Dr Sands, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) without a Targetable Tumor Mutation — Prof Peters (2:07) Targeted and Other Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Relapsed Metastatic NSCLC — Prof Garassino (26:30) Potential Role of TROP2-Targeted Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Advanced NSCLC — Dr Sands (50:19) Evolving Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in the Care of Patients with Nonmetastatic NSCLC — Dr Heymach (1:12:36) CME information and select publications

Featuring perspectives from Dr Haley Ellis, Dr Sara Lonardi and Dr Kanwal Raghav, moderated by Dr Christopher Lieu, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Gastroesophageal Cancers — Dr Lonardi (1:54) Biliary Tract Cancers — Dr Ellis (39:20) Colorectal Cancer — Dr Raghav (1:07:10) CME information and select publications

Featuring perspectives from Dr Matthew D Galsky, Prof Andrea Necchi and Prof Thomas Powles, moderated by Dr Galsky, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Current and Future Management of Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer — Prof Powles (1:14) Novel Intravesical Therapies Under Evaluation for Nonmetastatic Urothelial Bladder Cancer (UBC) — Prof Necchi (24:48) Selection and Sequencing of Therapy for Metastatic UBC — Dr Galsky (44:52) CME information and select publications

Dr Jeremy Abramson from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Dr Joshua Brody from the Tisch Cancer Institute in New York, New York, Dr Christopher Flowers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Dr Ann LaCasce from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dr Tycel Phillips from City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California, discuss patient cases and provide their perspectives on clinical datasets informing the care of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. CME information and select publications here.

Featuring perspectives from Dr Jeremy S Abramson, Dr Joshua Brody, Dr Christopher Flowers, Dr Ann LaCasce and Dr Tycel Phillips, moderated by Dr Abramson, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Selection and Sequencing of Available Therapies for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma — Dr Flowers (2:24) Evolving Management Paradigm for Mantle Cell Lymphoma — Dr Phillips (31:53) Integration of Novel Therapies into the Management of Follicular Lymphoma — Dr LaCasce (54:51) Integrating Bispecific Antibodies into the Management of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) — Dr Brody (1:11:22) Current Role of CAR T-Cell Therapy in Various NHL Subtypes — Dr Abramson (1:37:55) CME information and select publications

Featuring perspectives from Dr Harold J Burstein, Dr Javier Cortés, Prof Rebecca A Dent, Dr Kevin Kalinsky, Dr Hope S Rugo and Dr Joyce O'Shaughnessy, moderated by Dr Rugo, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Optimizing the Management of HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer (mBC) — Dr Cortés (3:52) Individualized Selection of Up-Front Therapy for Patients with HR-Positive, HER2-Negative mBC — Dr Kalinsky (23:10) Available Therapies for Patients with HR-Positive, HER2-Negative Disease Progressing on CDK4/6 Inhibition — Dr Burstein (48:09) Current and Potential Future Role of HER2-Targeted Therapy for HER2-Low and HER2-Ultralow Disease — Dr O'Shaughnessy (1:04:00) Current and Future Strategies for Patients with Endocrine-Refractory HR-Positive mBC — Dr Rugo (1:22:28) Selection and Sequencing of Therapy for Patients with Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer — Prof Dent (1:42:51) CME information and select publications

Featuring perspectives from Dr Andrea Cercek, Dr Arvind Dasari, Dr J Randolph Hecht, Dr Pashtoon Kasi and Prof Eric Van Cutsem, moderated by Dr Hecht, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Role of Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) Evaluation in Nonmetastatic Colorectal Cancer (CRC) — Dr Dasari (2:20) Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in the Management of Nonmetastatic Microsatellite Instability-High (MSI-H) CRC — Dr Cercek (28:32) Management of Oligometastatic Disease and Hepatic-Only Metastases in CRC; Role of ctDNA Evaluation in Metastatic Disease — Dr Kasi (54:07) Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in the Management of MSI-H Metastatic CRC (mCRC) — Dr Hecht (1:14:34) Identification and Care of Patients with mCRC and Actionable Genomic Alterations — Prof Van Cutsem (1:38:17) CME information and select publications

Dr. Vivek Subbiah returns for another edition of Vivek's Takes, offering his expert insights on the standout science from the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. He breaks down key developments including trispecific antibodies, the growing role of radioligand therapies, a new standard of care in small cell lung cancer, and paradigm-shifting data in adjuvant therapy for colorectal cancer. The discussion also highlights a long-term exercise intervention, adjuvant vaccine studies, ctDNA and MRD integration, resistance mechanisms, artificial intelligence, and other emerging trends shaping the future of oncology. Check out Chadi's website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on YouTube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA