Oncology Knowledge into Practice Podcast

In today's episode, we welcome Dr. Sandip Patel, who is a Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of California, San Diego, to discuss the evolution of molecular profiling technology, focusing on how next-generation sequencing can help support patients with advanced thyroid cancer, but also how to integrate molecular profiling into clinical practice.

Learning Objective(s):

After completing this educational activity, learners will be able to discuss precision medicine and new technologies, including liquid biopsy

Funding Information:

This independent educational activity is supported by an educational grant from Eli Lilly. The educational content has been developed by Liberum IME in collaboration with an independent steering committee; Eli Lilly had no influence on the content of this educational activity.

Accreditation:

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the ACHL and Liberum IME. ACHL is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL) designates this enduring material for up to 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits with the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), the accreditation body for European countries. Physicians interested in converting AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM to UEMS-European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education CME credits (ECMEC®s) should contact the UEMS at [email protected]

The content for this activity was developed independently of the ineligible companies. All materials are included with permission. The opinions expressed are those of the faculty and are not to be construed as those of the publisher or grantors.

This educational activity was planned and produced in accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Recommendations involving clinical medicine in a continuing medical education (CME/CE) activity must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients. All scientific research referred to, reported, or used in CME/CE in support or justification of a patient care recommendation must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.

Faculty disclosures

Dr. Sandip Patel:

Scientific advising (Ongoing): Amgen, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Certis, Eli Lilly, Jazz, Genentech, Illumina, Merck, Pfizer, Rakuten, and Tempus

Institutional research funding (Ongoing): Amgen, AstraZeneca/MedImmune, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Fate Therapeutics, Gilead, Iovance, Merck, Pfizer, Roche/Genentech, SQZ Biotechnologies"

Other disclosures

Liberum IME staff, ACHL staff and others involved with the planning, development, and review of the content for this activity have no relevant affiliations or financial relationships to disclose.

Despite available treatments, many patients with acute myeloid leukaemia, or AML, are in need of additional therapeutic options. Thankfully, there hundreds of clinical trials for new interventions that could rectify this, but which options can we start to consider, for which patients and when? To answer our questions on this topic, we’ve invited the expertise of Dr Navel Daver, Associate Professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

References:

• Swords, et al. Blood. 2018;131(13):1415-1424
• Stahl, et al. Curr Oncol Rep. 2019;21(4):37
• Yee at al. Blood (2014) 124 (21): 116.
• Montesinos et al. Future Oncol. 2020 May;16(13):807-815.
• Ades, et al. ASCO 2020. Abstract 7506
• DeAngelo, et al. Blood (2017) 130 (Supplement 1): 894.
• Ravandi, et al. Lancet Haematol. 2019 Sep; 6(9): e480-e488
• Hofmann, et al. J Clin Med. 2019 Feb; 8(2): 200.

This series is supported by educational grants from Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC and Takeda, who have had no influence on the content or choice of faculty

Precision medicine is a promising field that’s opening doors to novel therapeutics for many patients. But how does it fit into thyroid cancer specifically? What treatments are available or in the pipeline, for which patient subgroup, and what are the potential benefits? We’ll start off our series by exploring these questions, and we’ve invited Dr Eric Sherman, medical oncologist and thyroid cancer expert at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, to provide his insights.

Funding statement:

This independent educational activity is supported by an educational grant from Eli Lilly. The educational content has been developed by Liberum IME in conjunction with an independent steering committee; Eli Lilly has had no influence on the content of this education.

References:

American Cancer Society. Key Statistics for Thyroid Cancer. Updated January 12, 2021. Accessed November 23, 2021. American Cancer Society website. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/thyroid-cancer/about/key-statistics.html.

Araque KA, Gubbi S, Klubo-Gwiezdzinska J. Updates on the Management of Thyroid Cancer. Horm Metab Res. 2020;52(8):562-577. doi: 10.1055/a-1089-7870.

Cancer Connect. Therapies Show Initial Effectiveness in Subset of Papillary Thyroid Cancer. Cancer Connect website. Published July 18, 2018. Accessed December 14, 2021. https://news.cancerconnect.com/thyroid-cancer/therapies-show-initial-effectiveness-in-subset-of-papillary-thyroid-cancer?redir=1.

ClinicalTrials.gov website search results: pembrolizumab / Thyroid Cancer / Phase 2. Accessed December 14, 2021. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=pembrolizumab&cond=Thyroid+Cancer&age_v=&gndr=&type=&rslt=&phase=1&Search=Apply

Dabrafenib With or Without Trametinib in Treating Patients With Recurrent Thyroid Cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01723202. Updated February 25, 2021. Accessed December 14, 2021.

Drilon A, Laetsch TW, Kummar S, et al. Efficacy of Larotrectinib in TRK Fusion-Positive Cancers in Adults and Children. N Engl J Med. 2018;378(8):731-739. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1714448.

Pekova B, Sykorova V, Mastnikova K, et al. NTRK Fusion Genes in Thyroid Carcinomas: Clinicopathological Characteristics and Their Impacts on Prognosis. Cancers. 2021;13(8):1932. doi: 10.3390/cancers13081932.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration. FDA approves selpercatinib for lung and thyroid cancers with RET gene mutations or fusions. FDA website. Updated May 11, 2020. Accessed November 23, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-approves-selpercatinib-lung-and-thyroid-cancers-ret-gene-mutations-or-fusions.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration. FDA approves pembrolizumab for adults and children with TMB-H solid tumors. Updated June 17, 2020. Accessed December 14, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/fda-approves-pembrolizumab-adults-and-children-tmb-h-solid-tumors#:~:text=The%20recommended%20pembrolizumab%20dosage%20regimen%20for%20TMB-H%20solid,pediatric%20patients.%20View%20full%20prescribing%20information%20for%20KEYTRUDA.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration. FDA approves larotrectinib for solid tumors with NTRK gene fusions. FDA website. Updated December 14, 2018. Accessed November 25, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/fda-approves-larotrectinib-solid-tumors-ntrk-gene-fusions.

Weaver CH. Precision Cancer Medicine Treatment of Thyroid Cancers. Cancer Connect website. Published October 24, 2020. Updated September 20, 2021. Accessed November 23, 2021. https://news.cancerconnect.com/thyroid-cancer/precision-cancer-medicine-treatment-of-thyroid-cancers.

At the ASCO and EHA conferences, there were many interesting posters and presentations in the field of haemato-oncology. To share their conference highlights, we’ve invited our ALL expert Dr Dieter Hoelzer, director of internal medicine at the University of Frankfurt in Germany, and our MDS and AML expert Dr Amer Zeidan, Associate Professor Of Internal Medicine at the Yale University School Of Medicine in the US.

Funding statement:

This series is supported by educational grants from Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC and Takeda, who have had no influence on the content or choice of faculty

Although most commonly a disease of the old, Acute Myeloid Leukaemia is also a significant burden for younger patients, but it can present in different ways and they should not be treated equal. So how should younger and older patients be classified and treated? To help answer some of our questions on this topic is Dr. Tapan Kadia, Associate Professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

References

• Public Health England. NCIN. 2015: 2013548
• Tarlock, et al. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2015 Feb;62(1):75-93
• Vakiti and Mewawalla. StatPearls: StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan
• PDQ Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board. Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia/Other Myeloid Malignancies Treatment (PDQ®): Health Professional Version. 2020 Aug 20
• Bolouri. et al. Nat Med. 2018 Jan; 24(1): 103–112
• Silva, et al. Leukemia. 2017 Jul;31(7):1640-1644
• Nagal, et al. Ann Hematol. 2017; 96(12): 1993–2003
• Creutzig, et al. Blood. 2012 Oct 18;120(16):3187-205
• Sekeres, et al. Blood Adv. 2020 Aug 11;4(15):3528-3549
• Heuser et al. Ann Oncol. 2020 Mar 17;S0923-7534(20)36079-8
• Joon Im. Blood Res. 2018 Mar; 53(1): 1–2

This series is supported by educational grants from Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC and Takeda, who have had no influence on the content or choice of faculty.