Medical Oncology
Physician insights on cancer treatment protocols, immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and clinical trial updates.
Recent Discussions
Is there a difference in the incidence of serious immune-related adverse events with the lenvatinib + pembrolizumab combination vs pembrolizumab alone in endometrial cancer?
Yes, high risk of both hypertension and diarrhea. The diarrhea can be very difficult to manage. The lenvatinib definitely adds a level of complexity to the management of pembro side effects. This requires dose reductions and interruptions, maybe even hospitalization for dehydration/renal insufficien...
What is your preferred first line systemic treatment for recurrent, metastatic, low grade, ER/PR+ pMMR endometrioid endometrial carcinoma?
Given the data presented at the most recent SGO Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer, published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine, and recently endorsed by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), the standard of care for recurrent endometrial cancer, regardless of MMR statu...
Does the degree of ER/PR positivity influence your treatment option in the patient with newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer?
There is robust evidence showing that breast tumors with a low percentage of hormone receptor expression derive a smaller benefit from endocrine therapy compared to patients with strong hormone receptor expression. In fact, breast cancers that are only weakly hormone receptor-positive with <10% ER e...
What is your approach for treating locally-advanced gastric-type adenocarcinoma of the cervix?
We still treat with definitive chemo RT (cis) but if operable, then favor surgery first.
What is your approach to first line systemic therapy in metastatic PD-L1 positive cervical cancer?
Without question, pembrolizumab should be included in first line systemic therapy and not reserved as a second line option. The transformative results from KEYNOTE-826 led to FDA approval on 10/13/21 of pembrolizumab in combination with platinum and taxane therapy (+ bevacizumab) for first line trea...
Would you recommend adjuvant chemo+IO +/- olaparib for patients with occult stage III disease identified after staging surgery with no measurable residual disease?
Although most of those patients were not included in the trial, it is definitely a discussion I would have for patients with MMRd tumors and would recommend it to them. I would for MMRd patients although they were not included in the trial if they had stage 3 endometrioid histology. More data on thi...
What do you view as the future role for the combination of durvalumab + olaparib + chemotherapy in the management of patients with advanced/recurrent endometrial cancer following the DUO-E trial results?
The results of DUO-E are very exciting and will serve a number of purposes. I was encouraged to continue to see that the combo of chemo IO performed better than chemo alone confirming the class effect that was seen in GY018 and RUBY. I wish there was a pre-planned comparison of the chemo/IO/Olaparib...
How would you manage a cervical cancer patient with bulky PA LNs with direct extension and/or invasion into the lumbar vertebral bodies?
I would treat with definitive intent. May do chemo IO first and then definitive chemo RT.
Would you offer adjuvant therapy following successful resection of a solitary lung recurrence of leiomyosarcoma if no other evidence of recurrent disease on PET CT?
It is reasonable to observe this patient if no evidence of other disease and surgical margins were obtained, however, many would offer adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation to the bed of the resection. If the patient had a prior treatment at the initial diagnosis, another sarcoma chemotherapy regimen c...
What is trastuzumab deruxtecan's activity for patients with CNS+ disease?
The DESTINY-Breast04 trial excluded patients with active CNS metastases so the study does not provide information on the activity of this drug in HER2-low CNS disease. In HER2-positive disease, however, CNS activity has been observed with trastuzumab deruxtecan; among patients evaluated for CNS resp...