Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind

Today, we interview Dr. Erica Mayer as our first guest in the "On the Road" mini-series. Dr. Mayer is a renowned breast cancer oncologist at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Each week for the next seven weeks, Michael and Josh will introduce a new guest to share their wealth of experience, expertise and wisdom, covering all the essential topics from career development, mentorship and necessary tr...

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is back, and we have a blockbuster year ahead! Before we get there, we have our year in review 2023. Michael and Josh have poured over the treasure trove of pivotal trials from 2023 to bring you the best studies (in our opinion) from the last 365 days! We used various complex metrics involving no science or maths at all. Just when you thought you were free from on...

2023 has been a year of highs and lows, a calendar of peaks and troughs, an epoch of mountains and valleys (all right Michael, put the thesaurus away...). From standing ovations for enfortumab vedotin and vorasidenib, to the ongoing black hole that is effective treatments for pancreatic and hepatocellular carcinomas. However, through it all the brightest minds in the field have continued to stoke...

ASCO and ESMO are done, and soon, 2023 itself will be in the rearview mirror. And yet, there are still conferences happening around the world; yes, we know the World Conference on Lung Cancer occurred before ESMO, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Join Michael and Josh on their latest virtual journey abroad, this time to the equatorial island of Singapore, as they report on tw...

On this episode, their final of 2023, Michael and Josh return to the world of recent fan favourite, enfortumab vedotin (EV). Not content to sing its praises from every rooftop, our intrepid hosts take the necessary step of examining the common and sometimes severe manifestations of dermatological toxicity deriving from EV. With the assistance of a recently published guideline, they examine the pre...

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind would like to issue a formal mae culpa to our listeners. You have joined us for over 12 months and over 80 episodes and listened to our ramblings and bad jokes. And it has taken 80 episodes for us to realise we have neglected the crucial and exciting subject of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). But fear not! We will rectify this egregious oversight...

For patients with advanced cancer, early-phase trials may represent the last best hope of significant anticancer response. For clinicians, every early phase trial holds virtually unlimited promise and hope of becoming the next immunotherapy or hot antibody-drug conjugate. However, early-phase trials also come with significant uncertainty of efficacy, toxicity and even dosing. A recent Limbic artic...

San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is here, and this year, OFTIM (Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind) is bringing you the latest and greatest in all things breast cancer. With over 10000 attendees, the research and vibrant discussions did not disappoint, with updates, controversies and complexities. Taking centre stage were PIK3CA mutation treatments, updates on CDK4/6 inhibitors and the age-old q...

Today, OFTIM celebrates its 80th episode and presents its ESMO23 plenary session, including two practice-changing, paradigm-shifting trials. The first investigates the EGFR mutation Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer world with new drugs (amivantamab and lazertinib) to treat patients hose who progressed on osimertinib. The second trial is the EV-302/KEYNOTE-A39, which explores whether enfortumab vedotin (...

As Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind's coverage of ESMO 2023 winds down, we bring some of the best presentations covering gynaecological cancer. An area of oncology that in many cases remains mired in the pre-immunotherapy and pre-targeted therapy ages, ESMO brought some much-needed positive trials in the areas of cervical cancer, as well as an interesting (albeit negative) study of the PARP-inhib...

Since the early development of immunotherapy, metastatic melanoma has been the golden child of medical oncology. In recent years, similar outcomes have been seen with immunotherapy in non-melanomatous skin cancers. Cemiplimab is now a standard of care for patients with locally advanced, unresectable or metastatic cSCC, and is particularly effective in patients with cancer driven by UV-induced DNA...

Non-small cell lung cancer continues to show massive promise with new trials, better designs and exciting utilisation of existing therapies. Michael and Josh explore immunotherapy in a "sandwich setting" where nivolumab is given before and after surgery. Datopotamab deruxtecan, the new kid on the block, takes on the second-line champion docetaxel. Who will win, and will docetaxel finally be dethro...

Metastatic colorectal cancer has an average overall survival of three years. With limited treatment options as standard of care or effective targetable mutations, ESMO23 shined, providing answers to unanswered questions and a potentially brighter future for this cancer. Concerningly, we are seeing higher rates of colorectal cancer in lower and middle-income countries and those under the age of 50....

Colorectal cancer remains the bread and butter of many an oncologist, but its commonality belies its complexity. In early and advanced disease alike, there remain many permutations, considerations and controversies regarding optimal treatment. What is the best way to treat potentially-resectable colorectal cancer with liver metastases (CRLM)? Is there a way to increase the responsiveness to immuno...

Next up on the ESMO 2023 rollercoaster is an episode that is likely to be the shortest in our series: upper gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary oncology. As always, this remains a very challenging subarea of medical oncology, both in the clinical and trial spheres. However, our esteemed colleagues at ESMO remain undaunted by this challenge, and thus several studies of interest bear discussing. Will...

Genitourinary cancers come in all shapes and sizes, and this year, ESMO2023 takes the research up a notch. Prostate cancer is centre stage, and you might ask why, as it boasts extraordinary overall survival and progression-free survival. The issue lies in the sequencing of therapies and how to make treatment durable and better tolerated for all. Third, immunotherapy is not ready for primetime in t...

Welcome back to Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind's ongoing coverage of ESMO 2023. In the spirit of a worldwide oncology conference, here we present results from three very exciting trials in the early breast phase. Will immunotherapy begin to carve out a niche in early, high-risk, ER-positive breast cancer? Can atezolizumab demonstrate a benefit in early TNBC, and expand its own territory? Is abe...

Every so often, an area of medical oncology has so many interesting presentations at a seminal conference that it becomes impossible to leave them out. At such times, Josh and Michael merely shrug their shoulders and say "why don't we do all of them." ESMO 2023 is one such instance. Despite their best efforts, our intrepid duo were unable to narrow down their presentation of early breast cancer hi...

ESMO 2023 showcased several promising trials in the small-cell lung cancer space. A cancer that continues to send shivers down the spine of budding oncologists for decades. Today, we look at several different classes of drugs, the first being a novel immunotherapy agent, the second a well-known antibody-drug conjugate and the third a synthetic alkaloid analogue. Lurbinectedin and pembrolizumab, sa...

Michael and Josh continue their examination of the crème-de-la-crème of the European Society of Medical Oncology conference of 2023. Today they focus on metastatic breast cancer, with a particular focus on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). T-Dxd, Dato-Dxd and trastuzumab duocarmazine are just three of the many novel agents in this space, and likely represent part of the future (and the present) of...

Another year, another international oncology conference in a beautiful European locale. In 2023, the world's oncology community has descended on the Spanish capital Madrid to discuss the latest and greatest scientific developments in Medical Oncology. And as always seems to be the case, Michael and Josh remain at home listening to this avalanche of information virtually. Despite a distinct lack of...

Cisplatin is the mainstay for concurrent chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancers. What happens to that significant group of patients who cannot have cisplatin? Michael and Josh focus on this challenging subgroup of patients. Can docetaxel be used as an alternative? This week, they debut a small but significant segment of our humble podcast called "Spotlight", where we dive deep...

Cancer inherently increases the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pumlmonary Embolism. This is merely a nuisance for some, while others experience significant morbidity, leading to hemodynamic instability and potential death. Historically known as "the great masquerader" with pulmonary embolisms, we explore signs, symptoms, and different approaches to treatment. Warfarin remains the original and is...

Gynaecological malignancies are a diverse group of terrible malignancies. From ovarian to endometrial to cervical, these cancers are notorious not just for their mortality burden, but the significant morbidity that they can inflict. To explore how to combat these challenging clinical entities, Michael and Josh interview Dr Vish Boolell, a clinical oncologist who brings his vast practical and trial...

It is frequently said that it takes a village to treat a patient with cancer. However, beyond the nuts and bolts of medical and allied health treatment, there exists a whole other world of advocacy and education. Charitable and not-for-profit foundations, both nationally and internationally, have done incredible work for many years in raising awareness and funding for cancer treatment and preventi...