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

  • February 11, 2019  

    The Crucial 90% Missed by Doctors on Computers

    With: Kevin Knopf, MD, MPH

    A Q&A with Kevin B. Knopf MD, MPH, chairman of hematology and oncology at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California; kevinbknopf@gmail.com Q: A successful patient-physician relationship depends upon effective bidirectional attention and mutual understanding. Many patients and physicians believe that common current versions of mandated electronic health records (EHRs) severely impede that interaction, especially eye contact. How can a competent and caring clinical oncologist overcome… Read more »

  • February 4, 2019  

    Challenging Oncology Therapies With Moonshot Price Tags

    With: Pramod John, PhD

    A Q&A with Pramod John, PhD, CEO of VIVIO Health, a specialty drug management company in San Leandro, CA, that aims to provide better outcomes at lower costs; pramod@viviohealth.com Originally published December 13, 2017 Q: Some American pharmaceutical companies are well-known for pricing drugs at “whatever the market will bear.” In oncology, some specialty drugs seem to have price tags completely unrelated to the… Read more »

  • December 3, 2018  

    Best Uses of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Patients with Cancer

    With: Val Jones, MD

    A Q&A with Val Jones, MD, Medical Director of Admissions, Saint Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, Spokane, WA Originally published February 1, 2017 Q: Your principal practice in Spokane, Washington is physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). What do you find to be the best uses of PM&R in patients with cancer at your facility? A: Rehabilitation medicine is one of the best-kept secrets in healthcare. Although the… Read more »

  • November 13, 2018  

    The Promise of Plerixafor in Glioblastoma Treatment

    With: Adan Rios, MD

    A Q&A with Adan Rios, MD; Professor in the Division of Oncology-Department of Internal Medicine of The University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Texas Medical Center; adan.rios@uth.tmc.edu Q: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains a scourge with a typically rapid fatal course resistant to most therapy. All solid tumors must receive sufficient blood supply to grow. Plerixafor is an FDA-approved drug that may inhibit… Read more »

  • November 5, 2018  

    Who Owns Patient Data in Clinical Research?

    With: Charlotte J. Haug, MD, PhD, MSc

    A Q&A with Charlotte J. Haug, MD, PhD, MSc, International Correspondent, New England Journal of Medicine; Senior Scientist, SINTEF Techology and Society; Adjunct Affiliate, Stanford Health Policy; Oslo, Norway; charlottejohanne@gmail.com Originally published October 25, 2017 Q: Many people are coming to believe that active patient participation will be a key to more rapid movement forward in cancer research. Data sharing can help. But who owns the… Read more »

  • October 31, 2018  

    Might Cancer Be a Metabolic Disease?

    With: Thomas N. Seyfried, PhD

    A Q&A with Thomas N. Seyfried, PhD, Professor of Biology, Boston College Q: As a geneticist, you know that the genomic makeup of cancers recently has captivated much of the scientific community with new knowledge and new treatments. And yet, cancer outcomes remain dismal for many patients. You have written about cancer from a very different perspective. Why do you consider cancer to be… Read more »

  • October 8, 2018  

    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 »

  • September 17, 2018  

    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 »

  • September 14, 2018  

    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 »

  • September 4, 2018  

    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 »