Topic: Clinical Advances in Oncology

There is so much debate about clinical pathways. Some propose that they are an excellent way to reduce variability in clinical care and reduce cost, but others contend that they take away from the clinical judgment and bind physicians into algorithms that do not represent all the patients they care for. To discuss the pros … Read more

Mark A Lewis, MD, director of GI oncology, Intermountain Healthcare, spoke with me on how to classify the AYA patient population; he explained the disconnect of clinical trial accrual in this population, and pose social media as a critical avenue for overcoming this barrier. But, did you know that you can be considered an adolescent … Read more

Pat Basu, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America and former Senior Advisor to President Obama in the White House, shares with me his unique experience of combining the clinical health care discipline with business and policy to help patients on a population level. I even ask Pat about the CTCA … Read more

Nathan Pennell, MD, PhD, Director of Thoracic Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic visits with me to deliberate on some timely topics in non-small cell lung cancer treatment just before the World Lung Conference convened. We discussed many topics such as screening, adjuvant therapy, metastatic disease treatments, and ensuring patient adherence to oral therapies. Amazing progress … Read more

Rebecca Berger, MD, a hospitalist in New York shares with me the dilemma of oncology patient handoffs as well as the physician-to-hospitalist relationship. I don’t vividly recall interacting with hospitalists when I started training in 1995, but the hospitalists movement has taken off after the year 2000 and I wanted to discuss with Dr. Berger … Read more

Jeremy Warner, MD, MS, sits down with me to discuss big data, explain how medical errors were part of the impetus toward EMR popularization, and project the future of EMRs and interoperability. So many daily complaints about EMR and I share many of these with my colleagues, but I charged Jeremy in finding us the … Read more

Matthew Katz, MD, a phenomenal radiation oncologist provides the distinguishing factors between all forms of radiation therapy used in oncology today, including brachytherapy, SBRT, hypofractionated radiation therapy, and proton therapy, among others. Understanding the different methods of delivering radiation therapy is important for patients and oncologists alike and the advances that have occurred in radiation … Read more

I host a conversation with geriatric oncology experts William Dale, MD, PhD, and Supriya Mohile, MD, MS, to explore geriatric assessment, challenges in training oncology fellows, and the perpetual conundrum of oncology clinical trials and inclusion of geriatric patients. I love caring for older patients; hear what two of the world leading experts in geriatric … Read more