Plumbing the Core and Nibbling at the Margins of Cancer

Cancer Commons Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, is the face and curator of this invitation-only column

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    Accuracy and Precision Define Radiation Oncology

    With: Eddy Yang, MD, PhD

    A Q&A with Eddy Yang, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Translational Sciences Department of Radiation Oncology; Deputy Director, Associate Director of Precision Oncology at the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute; Birmingham, AL; shyang@uabmc.edu Originally published December 5, 2017 Q: You are a radiation oncologist with a particular interest in cancer of the prostate. How does the molecular study of prostate, as well… Read more »

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    Options to Treat a Glioblastoma

    With: Al Musella, DPM

    Please see our updated version of this article from Oct 1, 2020. A Q&A with Al Musella, DPM, President, Musella Foundation For Brain Tumor Research & Information, Inc., Hewlett, NY; email: musella@virtualtrials.com, phone: 888-295-4740 Q: You direct an established foundation that supports research and information about brain tumors. What would you do if you yourself were diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)? A: Now… Read more »

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    Huge Progress in Palliative Care

    With: Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP

    A Q&A with Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP, Director, Center to Advance Palliative Care; Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; New York, NY; diane.meier@mssm.edu Originally published November 8, 2017 Q: You wrote in MedGenMed in 2007 that palliative care was the job of all hospitals. In October 2017 you were honored at the National Academy of Medicine for… Read more »

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    Patient-Reported Outcomes Could Transform Cancer Care

    With: Jared Adams MD, PhD

    A Q&A with Jared Adams MD, PhD, Chief Science Officer at Self Care Catalysts; jared@selfcarecatalysts.com Q: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are health care outcomes, such as symptoms or quality of life, reported directly by a patient. In recent years, PROs have emerged as a potentially powerful new way to understand cancer outcomes. Could PROs lead to the next breakthrough in our understanding of cancer? A: When biochemist and… Read more »

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    Do You Have Pain, Cancer, or Diabetes? Your PBM May Now Be Your Doctor for These Illnesses.

    With: Charles L. Bennett, MD, PhD, MPP

    A Q&A with Charles L. Bennett, MD, PhD, MPP; Smart State and Frank P and Jose M Fletcher Chair, Medication Safety and Efficacy, Smart State Center of Economic Excellence, University of South Carolina and the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Email: charlesleebennett@gmail.com Originally published December 27, 2017 Q: The opioid epidemic is now a public health… Read more »

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    Why the 21st Century Cures Act is a Good Thing

    With: Mary Woolley

    A Q&A with Mary Woolley, President and CEO of Research!America Q: You attended the December 2016 signing by President Obama of the 21st Century Cures Act and are recognized to be a strong supporter. Yet harsh criticism of it has quickly appeared in JAMA, BMJ, a variety of other venues, as well as on these pages. Please tell our readers why this is good legislation… Read more »

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    Q&A: Air Traffic Control for Cancer

    With: David K. Cundiff, MDJeff Shrager, PhD

    A Q&A with David K. Cundiff, MD, Retired internist and palliative care physician from LA County + USC Medical Center; Email: dkcundiff@whistleblowerdoctor.org. Jeff Shrager, PhD, Director of Research, Cancer Commons; Adjunct Professor, Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University; Email: jshrager@gmail.com. Originally published August 16, 2017 Q: After May 17, 2017, you and Jeff Shrager engaged in a robust discussion about the place, if any, for an “Air… Read more »

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    Forget Moonshots: Biomedicine Needs an Air Traffic Control System

    With: Jeff Shrager, PhD

    A Q&A with Jeff Shrager, PhD, Director of Research, Cancer Commons; Adjunct Professor, Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University Originally published May 17, 2017 Q: There never seem to be enough patients matched to cancer clinical trials to quickly test new cancer treatments. Might there be a better way, using new communication technology? A: Among the few things that everyone can agree upon, one is… Read more »

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    Proposed FDA “Conditional Approval”- More Details

    With: Marty Tenenbaum, PhDAl Musella, DPM

    A Q&A with Al Musella, DPM, President, Musella Foundation For Brain Tumor Research & Information, Inc., Hewlett, NY, and Marty Tenenbaum, PhD, Founder and Chair, Cancer Commons, Los Altos, CA Originally published May 10, 2017 Q: Your April 5, 2017 blog post that proposed a new “Conditional” category for FDA drug approval elicited a number of positive and negative responses. Please explain the proposal in more detail… Read more »

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    Conditional Approval: Right Solution for the Wrong Problem

    With: Shannon Brownlee, MS

    A Q&A with Shannon Brownlee, MS, Senior Vice President of the Lown Institute, a think tank in Boston. She is also co-founder of the Right Care Alliance, a social movement for transforming health care. Originally published April 26, 2017 Q: Musella and Tenenbaum recently proposed a new way, called conditional approval, for the American FDA to move potentially useful drugs to a patient market.… Read more »