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.
John A. Thompson, MD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses the latest immunotherapeutics for advanced melanoma, including pembrolizumab, trametinib, nivolumab, and dabrafenib.
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.
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.
Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and John A. Gentile, Jr, Chairman, Harborside Press, LLC, discuss the early days of NCCN, controversies that surrounded the first meeting, oncologists’ embrace of the guidelines, and how the organization has evolved over the past 20 years.
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.
