Leora Horn, MD, MSc, of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses the range of treatment options for people with lung cancer, including third generation inhibitors, and the key clinical trials studying alternatives for patients with acquired resistance.
Amy Cyr, MD, of the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, discusses advances made in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer: less radiation and a shorter course, the rising use of molecular profiling, and less invasive surgery and reduced amounts of surgery.
Although guidelines worldwide mandate fertility preservation for newly diagnosed patients within their reproductive window, most patients are still not referred or offered this option. Rebecca H. Johnson, MD, of Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, explains the steps that need to be taken when counseling patients.
Thomas A. D’Amico, MD, of Duke Cancer Institute, discusses the superior efficacy of thoracoscopic lobectomy. This minimally invasive procedure is used in only 50% of lung cancer surgeries in the United States, in 30% of procedures in Asia, and in as few as 10% to 20% of procedures in Europe.
Mario E. Lacouture, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the effect on patients of dermatologic toxicities associated with targeted therapies: their psychosocial impact, financial burden, physiological pain, and potential to alter therapy. But the side effects of targeted treatments can and should be addressed.
Clifford Goodman, PhD, of the The Lewin Group, and Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discuss the affordability of cancer care, the “financial toxicities” of high drug prices, and what could and should be done about it.
