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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    The Importance of Brain Tumor-Initiating Cells in Glioblastoma

    With: Anita Hjelmeland, PhD

    A Q&A with Anita Hjelmeland, PhD, Associate Professor of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine; hjelmea@uab.edu Q: The inner workings of malignant gliomas are mysterious to many of us. Why does the prognosis of patients with these tumors remain poor? A: Glioblastoma is a primary brain tumor that is treated with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. While… Read more »

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    Navigating Pancreatic Cancer—The Basics

    With: Lola Rahib, PhD

    A Q&A with Lola Rahib, PhD, Lead Scientist, Pancreas Cancer, at Cancer Commons, Los Altos, CA; lola.rahib@cancercommons.org Q: Navigating a pancreatic cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming and confusing for patients and their loved ones. How can patients and their caregivers ensure having the knowledge, support, and plan they need to be able to navigate treatment options and other aspects of the disease? A: Patients… Read more »

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    Can Preclinical Data Guide Clinical Cancer Therapy?

    With: Keith Flaherty, MD

    A Q&A with Keith Flaherty, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Director of Developmental Therapeutics, Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital; kflaherty@mgh.harvard.edu Originally published Aug 31, 2016 Q: Under what circumstances and to what extent are you willing to take clinical actions on a cancer patient based primarily on preclinical data? A: There are two scenarios that come to mind when thinking about… Read more »

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    New Glioblastoma Trial Adds Whole-Brain Irradiation to Plerixafor

    With: Lawrence Recht, MDMartin Brown, D.Phil, FASTRO

    A Q&A with Martin Brown, D.Phil, FASTRO, Emeritus Professor (mbrown@stanford.edu), and Lawrence Recht, MD, Professor, at Stanford University’s Department of Neurology (lrecht@stanford.edu) Q: The treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a serious challenge. Recurrence after initial surgery is common and subsequent treatment almost always unsuccessful. Just as “an army marches on its stomach,” GBM growth depends on blood supply. Successful use of the FDA-approved… Read more »

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    Serious Caveats in Screening for Pancreatic Cancer

    With: Rama Gullapalli, MD, PhD

    A Q&A with Rama Gullapalli, MD, PhD; a physician-scientist in the departments of Pathology, Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of New Mexico. His research lab focuses on the role of the environment in hepatobiliary cancers. He is also a practicing molecular pathologist with an interest in emerging molecular diagnostics, next generation sequencing and bioinformatics. Email: rgullapalli@salud.unm.edu  Q: A recent New York Times… Read more »

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    Encouraging and Paying for Clinical Trials, Right to Try, and Expanded Access: Part Three

    With: Mark Shapiro, PhD

    A Q&A with Mark Shapiro, PhD,Vice President of Clinical Development at xCures, Inc., Partner at Pharma Initiatives; mshapiro@xcures.com. This is the final installment in a three-part series in which Dr. Shapiro has shared his thoughts on the question below. Read part 1 and part 2. Q: Treatment of Americans with advanced cancer is complex and challenging and can be very expensive. Many urge greater participation of such patients… Read more »

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    Encouraging and Paying for Clinical Trials, Right to Try, and Expanded Access: Part Two

    With: Mark Shapiro, PhD

    A Q&A with Mark Shapiro, PhD,Vice President of Clinical Development at xCures, Inc., Partner at Pharma Initiatives; mshapiro@xcures.com. Last week, Dr. Shapiro shared his initial thoughts on the question below. Today, he discusses issues of cost and equitable access to care. Q: Treatment of Americans with advanced cancer is complex and challenging and can be very expensive. Many urge greater participation of such patients in clinical trials. In… Read more »

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    Encouraging and Paying for Clinical Trials, Right to Try, and Expanded Access: Part One

    With: Mark Shapiro, PhD

    A Q&A with Mark Shapiro, PhD, Vice President of Clinical Development at xCures, Inc., Partner at Pharma Initiatives; mshapiro@xcures.com Q: Treatment of Americans with advanced cancer is complex and challenging and can be very expensive. Many urge greater participation of such patients in clinical trials. In general, who pays the expenses of clinical trials? And, specifically, how are the costs for Right to Try and expanded-access approaches… Read more »

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    At Diagnosis, What Do Cancer Patients Want?

    With: Laura Benson, RN, MS, ANP

    A Q&A with Laura Benson, RN, MS, ANP, president of Conversations in Care, LLC; LauraBensonRN@Gmail.com Q: In our digital communication world of 2019, some patients may receive the initial message that YOU HAVE CANCER by cell phone, text, email, or even voice mail. When this happens, what do patients most want, and how can that best be accomplished? A: When I first read your question, I… Read more »

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    Capturing Patients’ Real-World Experiences to Improve Cancer Research and Care

    With: Grace Castillo-Soyao

    A Q&A with Grace Castillo-Soyao, founder and CEO of Self Care Catalysts; grace@selfcarecatalysts.com Q: You are well known as a visionary in the field of Real World Experience-Evidence (RWEE). As the founder and CEO of Self Care Catalysts, headquartered in Toronto, how do you see RWEE evolving to favorably impact the field of oncology? A: I started Self Care Catalysts with some very basic… Read more »