Mike Lattanzi, MD, genitourinary medical oncologist, Texas Oncology, discusses recent findings from studies he participated in on targeted therapies for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Mike Lattanzi, MD, genitourinary medical oncologist at Texas Oncology, participated in 2 recent studies on bladder cancer.
You were a coauthor on a paper published last year on treating patients with Tecentriq and chemotherapy before surgery in muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Can you discuss these findings?
I was fortunate enough to be part of a large group effort of an investigator-initiated trial led by Sam Funt[, MD, urologic oncologist] and Jonathan Rosenberg[, MD, chief of the Genitourinary Oncology Service] at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center using combination platinum-based chemotherapy with gemciatbine and cisplatin with the addition of the PD-L1 antibody and atezolizumab for patients with muscle invasive urothelial cancer.
The study was a positive trial and hit the primary end point of pathologic downstaging, which we achieved in over half of patients. And we look further to additional combinations of immunotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting.
You've also explored the impact of human epidermal growth factor recepter (HER) alterations in bladder cancer. What are the treatment options in this area?
Bladder cancer actually has the highest rate of all HER2 alterations among the solid tumors. That includes, of course, both driver mutations, as well as genomic amplification. And there's increasing interest in the use of novel HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugates for this subset of patients.
However, further work remains to be done to identify the optimal biomarker to select patients for benefit from these novel her to antibody-drug conjugates. And it's not clear at this time, if IHC [immunohistochemistry] is the optimal biomarker, or if we should be looking at other things like amplification or mutation.
Bringing Connectivity to the Specialty Pharmacy Workflow
May 2nd 2024In a session during the final full day of conference activity at AXS24, experts from CVS Health and Surescripts emphasized the need to simplify the prescribing workflow for specialty medication through proactive messaging, automation, and interoperability.
Read More
Tackling Health Inequality: The Power of Education and Experience
April 30th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our final episode of this limited series and our conversation with Janine Jelks-Seale, MSPPM, director of health equity at UPMC Health Plan.
Listen
Industry Experts Tackle Specialty Drug Access Challenges for Employer Benefit Plans
May 2nd 2024Representatives from ICON plc and Symphony Health joined forces at AXS24 to discuss the challenges of managing high-cost specialty drugs and how they influence self-funded employer benefit plan design and employee access to specialty medications.
Read More
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
Joanne Mizell: Lifestyle Modification Programs Take Holistic Aim at Metabolic Disease
May 1st 2024Joanne Mizell shares insurer strategies in addressing the escalating rates of metabolic diseases, highlighting the importance of holistic treatment methods like lifestyle modification programs, which integrate nutrition, physical activity, and community engagement.
Read More
Latest Advances and Updates of Treatment in the Real World at AUA
May 1st 2024The annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) not only presents the newest therapies coming out but showcases the latest in how treatments are being used in the real world, said Stephen Freedland, MD, of Cedars Sinai.
Read More