Audio Medica – Medical Audio News Interviews & Podcasts

Colorectal Cancer: KRAS-Driven Selection Of Molecular Therapy Could Save Millions: Bevacizumab, Cetuximab, Panitumomab, or Combinations?

April 27, 2009

John S. Macdonald MD FACP

11th Annual Palm Beach Cancer Symposium (April 3-4, 2009 Hollywood, Florida)—Peter Goodwin interviews John Macdonald, Chief Medical Officer of Aptium Oncology in Los Angeles about his data on the relevance of KRAS tumor status to the choice of molecular therapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Whether the gene is wild-type or mutant determines sensitivity of the tumor to anti-epidermal growth factor or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor therapy. Dr Macdonald also discusses the disappointing finding that blocking both of these proliferation pathways does not lead to improved efficacy when two targeted drugs are used in combination.

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Chronic Myeloid Leukemia ‘To Become A Very Indolent Disease’: Pregnancy Possible, Transplants Avoided—Mission Accomplished?

April 21, 2009

Hagop Kantarjian MD

11th Annual Palm Beach Cancer Symposium (April 3-4, 2009 Hollywood, Florida)—Peter Goodwin interviews Hagop Kantarjian MD from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston about his latest findings on treating CML in patients who have the T315I mutation. He also discusses the feasibility of patients becoming pregnant while having tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment (among those who have achieved stability for at least two years); and talks about the decreased need for allogeneic transplant.

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The Smartest Oncologist In The World?

April 16, 2009

Stanley H Winokur MD

11th Annual Palm Beach Cancer Symposium (April 3-4, 2009 Hollywood, Florida)—Peter Goodwin interviews Stanley H Winokur MD from Palm Beach, Florida, about his daily internet quiz that gives oncologists the chance to test their knowledge of cancer management by completing an on-line questionnaire taking only a minute. Dr Winokur discusses the role of the test—called ‘The Smartest Oncologist In America’—in helping doctors check up on how much they have learned from any source of new knowledge.

Multi-Gene Assays Now Recommended To Refine Chemotherapy Decisions in Breast Cancer

April 15, 2009

Kathy S Albain MD

11th Annual Palm Beach Cancer Symposium (April 3-4, 2009 Hollywood, Florida)—Peter Goodwin interviews Kathy Albain, Professor of Medicine at Loyola University, Chicago, on her return from the 2009 St Gallen consensus meeting which formulated updated recommendations about adjuvant therapy for breast cancer. The 21 gene recurrence score and the 70-gene profiling assay have now been endorsed by this Swiss meeting as significant contributors to the decision making process on cytotoxic chemotherapy for patients with estrogen receptor positive disease, including both node negative and node positive early breast cancer.

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Oropharyngeal Carcinoma: Better Outlook From Human Papilloma Virus-Directed Therapies— Different Patient Characteristics, New Therapeutic Opportunities

April 15, 2009

Marshall Posner MD

11th Annual Palm Beach Cancer Symposium (April 3-4, 2009 Hollywood, Florida)—Peter Goodwin interviews Marshall Posner MD from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston about the increased prevalence of oropharygeal cancers which are related to HPV infection. These tumors may be less aggressive than cancers testing negative for HPV, and have proved more responsive to the most effective modern therapies which use docetaxel along with cisplatin and fluorouracil for induction prior to standard chemo-radiotherapy. He discusses the need for biological agents and drugs directed against the human papilloma virus which is essential for maintaining malignant phenotype and the urgency of vaccinating 12 to 24 year olds to reduce the pool of infection.

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Oncology Times Broadcast News with the Audio Journal of Oncology – Insulin-Like Growth Factor Inhibition In Lung Cancer

April 6, 2009

Silvia Novello

Giorgio Scagliotti

Peter Goodwin interviews Silvia Novello, and Giorgio Scagliotti from the University of Turin about harnessing insulin-like growth factor receptor inhibition in a phase II study which has shown clinical activity of figitumumab at least as significant as inhibitors of other growth factors already being used in cancer.

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Oncology Times Broadcast News with the Audio Journal of Oncology – Bilateral Prophylactic Mastectomy For DCIS

April 6, 2009

Todd Tuttle

Abram Recht

Peter Goodwin interviews Todd Tuttle from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and Abram Recht from Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston about the increasing use of prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, already reported in breast cancer and now revealed from the SEER database in ductal carcinoma in situ.

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Oncology Times Broadcast News with the Audio Journal of Oncology – Cancer Related Fatigue Questionnaires Assessed

April 6, 2009

Paddy Stone

David Cella

Peter Goodwin interviews Paddy Stone of St George’s Hospital, University of London and David Cella from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Evanston Ilinois about the efficacy of questionnaires for assessing, screening and perhaps diagnosing cancer-related fatigue syndrome.

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Oncology Times Broadcast News with the Audio Journal of Oncology – February 2009

February 9, 2009

Mary Eapen

Peter Goodwin interviews more speakers from the 50th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, December 6-9, 2008

IN THIS EDITION:
Greater Role for Umbilical Cord Blood in Adult Transplants
Mary Eapen, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
COMMENT: Armand Keating, University of Toronto

Ex Vivo Expansion Of Cord Blood Derived Progenitor Cells: Patient Transplant Data
Colleen Delaney, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle
COMMENT: Armand Keating

Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents in Cancer Patients: Meta-Analysis Mortality Findings
Julia Bohlius, University of Bern
ON BEHALF OF: Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents Individual Patient Data (EPO IPD) Meta-Analysis Collaborative Group
COMMENTS: Linda Burns, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
George Canellos, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston

Imatinib: Durable Responses And Survival in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: 7-Year IRIS Study Results; Can Imatinib Be Stopped?
Stephen O’Brien, Newcastle University, England

Armand Keating

Colleen Delaney

Julia Bohlius

George Canellos

Stephen O’Brien

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Oncology Times Broadcast News with the Audio Journal of Oncology

January 7, 2009

Francesco Zaja

The exciting recent ASH conference reflected the vibrant mood of an America boldly tackling economic and political turmoil with post-presidential-election optimism. Peter Goodwin and George Canellos reflect on some of the big stories and talk with key investigators in San Francisco. Francesco Zaja recounts how rituximab has proved effective for treating immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP); Hannes Wandt presents compelling data suggesting that platelet transfusions can be withheld in many patients receiving stem cell transplants for their hematologic malignancies; and both Michael Hallek and Tadeusz Robak announce Phase III study findings of improved benefits for patients whose chronic lymphocytic leukemia has been treated by adding rituximab to standard chemotherapy. The ASH President, Kenneth Kaushansky, plus Linda Burns and George Canellos contribute their comments to put the new findings into clinical perspective for the busy oncologist.

Kenneth Kaushansky

George Canellos

Hannes Wandt

Linda Burns

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Oncology Times Broadcast News with the Audio Journal of Oncology

November 11, 2008

Robert Pirker

Scientific Editors:
George Canellos, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
Gordon McVie, European Institute of Oncology, Milan
Pat Price, Christie Hospital, Manchester
Gianni Bonadonna, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan

Sarah Maxwell and Peter Goodwin report on evidence that combining monoclonal antibodies with chemotherapy can extend life among patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Robert Pirker from the Medical University of Vienna tells Sarah Maxwell about his group’s findings in the FLEX study using the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) inhibitor cetuximab; Christian Manegold from Heidelberg University, Manheim gives Peter Goodwin data on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-R) bevacizumab; while Giorgio Scagliotti from Torino University, Nick Thatcher from the Christie Hospital, Manchester and Howard Sandler from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor discuss the clinical implications of these approaches to using molecular targeting to improve outcomes in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Michel Coleman from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Peter Goodwin about the findings of the CONCORD study looking at international differences between survival rates for breast, prostate and colorectal cancers.