Project Oncology®

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Pasi Antero Jänne, MD, PhD Once we’ve confirmed a patient has EGFR-mutated lung cancer, how can we treat them? Joining Dr. Jacob Sands to discuss the current and future treatments for this mutation is Dr. Pasi Janne, a translational thoracic medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Benjamin Levy, MD What is genomic testing, and how has this advancement become such an important part of lung cancer treatment? Dr. Jacob Sands is joined Dr. Ben Levy, an associate professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to discuss targeted therapies and testing strategies in patients with lung cancer.

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Lawrence Nathan Shulman, MD How do challenges in our healthcare system and disparities in access to care impact cancer patients within our communities? Dr. Jacob Sands and Dr. Lawrence Shulman continue their important conversation on oncology around the world.

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Lawrence Nathan Shulman, MD Oncology is a rapidly evolving field, so what do you we need to know about developments in cancer care around the world? Dr. Jacob Sands joins Dr. Lawrence Shulman, the Deputy Director of Clinical Services, Director of the Center of Global Cancer Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and a senior oncology advisor to Partners In Health,...

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Cancer care has evolved since the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. What do we need to know about caring for our cancer patients during this winter season? Dr. Jacob Sands, Thoracic Medical Oncologist at the Dana-Farber Institute in Boston shares what cancer patients can do to take care of themselves during the winter season.

Host: Jacob Sands, MD How has cancer care changed from the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic? Dr. Jacob Sands, Thoracic Medical Oncologist at the Dana-Farber Institute in Boston, shares how he has been treating his patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guest: Mariana Chavez MacGregor, MD, MSC The healthcare disparity crisis in the breast cancer field has prevented the benefits of therapeutic advancements from being equally distributed throughout all populations. What can we do to overcome this obstacle? Dr. Mariana Chavez MacGregor, Associate Professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, talks about the disparities she's encoun...

Guest: Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH Healthcare professionals have found that zip code is a better indicator of health for many patients rather than cholesterol or genetics, highlighting a significant disparity in the field of medicine. What can we do to overcome this obstacle? Dr. Christopher Lathan, Associate Medical Director of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Network, explains how we can bet...

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH Oftentimes, a patient’s zip code is a better indicator of health than blood pressure or genetics, highlighting a significant disparity among communities. How are barriers such as systemic racism contributing to this disparity, and what can we do to change that? Dr. Jacob Sands is joined by Dr. Christopher Lathan to discuss medical dispar...

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, MSCR After years without new approvals, advancements in small cell lung cancer are at the forefront of oncology. But what do these therapeutic developments mean for the field? Dr. Taofeek Owonikoko, professor and vice-chair for faculty development in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine,...

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP Since head and neck cancer is still to a large extent a surgical disease, the COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate impact on its management. Here to share how he pivoted his approach and how the pandemic might impact the future of head and neck cancer care is Dr. Nabil Saba, a Professor and Vice Chair for Quality and Safety in the Department of He...

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP Emerging research on head and neck cancer has moved away from HPV-negative diseases upon the discovery of HPV-positive diseases, specifically HPV-positive oropharynx cancer. What do we know about managing and treating this disease? Dr. Nabile Saba dives into treatment considerations, specifically immunotherapy, for patients with HPV-positive hea...

Host: Jacob Sands, MD Guest: Therese T. Bevers, MD Fear of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to added safety precautions that have prevented patients from receiving much-needed cancer screenings. How will this impact the field of oncology, and what can we do to encourage patients to get their screenings? Dr. Therese Beavers, Medical Director of the Cancer Prevention Center at the University of Texas M...

Host: John Russell, MD Guest: Nabil Wasif, MD Image: Mayo Foundation For Medical Education and Research. All Rights Reserved. Short for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, HIPEC is a form of treatment for advanced cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, like metastatic appendix, colon, and ovarian cancers. And after a recent Mayo Clinic study investigated the survival rates of patients who r...

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection remains one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in both females and males, with about 9 in 10 people contracting HPV at some point in their lives. Host Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Samantha Gottlieb, medical anthropologist and author of Not Quite a Cancer Vaccine: Selling HPV and Cervical Cancer. They explo...

Host: Shira Johnson, MD Guest: Ronald DeMatteo, MD, FACS A Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) is a rare sarcoma that begins in the digestive tract or stomach, with an incident rate in the United States of approximately 4,000 to 6,000 cases per year. Since these tumors behave differently from other gastrointestinal cancers, they require a specialized treatment plan. Host Dr. Shira Johnson chats...

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 Augus...

Host: John 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 Hepatopan...

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: 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 Pennsylvan...

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.

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO Guest: Major Kenneth Lee, IV, MD, PhD Though a relatively rare disease, pancreatic cancer remains at the forefront of clinical discussion due to its highly aggressive nature. Dr. Major Kenneth Lee, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Penn Medicine, estimates that pancreatic cancer will become the number 2 cause of cancer death by the year 2020. This projected rise in mortal...

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