, which provides oncology professionals with the resources and information they need to provide the best patient care. In both digital and print formats, 

 covers every angle of oncology practice, from new technology to treatment advances to important regulatory decisions.

In today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Justin Taylor, MD, an associate professor in the Division of Hematology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, about the growing role of artificial intelligence in cancer information–seeking and what this means for clinicians caring for patients with hematologic malignancies. Dr Taylor’s recent work explores how patients are increasingly turning to AI tools to better understand their diagnoses and treatments, and why oncologists must be aware of the accuracy, limitations, and clinical implications of these technologies.

In our exclusive interview, Dr Taylor discussed the methodology behind his assessment of AI-generated responses to both general and highly disease-specific hematology questions; key findings regarding where chatbots performed reliably and where accuracy declined; and how these insights should inform patient education, communication, and shared decision-making. He also highlighted opportunities and safeguards for integrating AI tools into clinical encounters—from helping patients frame informed questions to supporting documentation workflows—while underscoring the continued need for physician oversight, especially when patients seek information about newly approved therapies or nuanced clinical scenarios.

That’s all we have for today! Thank you for listening to this episode of 

. Check back throughout the week for exclusive interviews with leading experts in the oncology field.

For more updates in oncology, be sure to visit 

 is also on social media. On X and BlueSky, follow us at @OncLive. On Facebook, like us at OncLive, and follow our OncLive page on LinkedIn.

, please consider subscribing to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many of your other favorite podcast platforms,* so you get a notification every time a new episode is posted. While you are there, please take a moment to rate us!

*OncLive On Air is available on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, RadioPublic, and TuneIn.

 podcast is supported by funding, however, content is produced and independently developed by 

Podcasts

Justin Taylor, MD discusses how patients use AI to seek cancer information, its accuracy and limitations, and the implications for hematologic malignancy care.

Insights and Implications of AI’s Expanding Role in Hematologic Malignancy Care: With Justin Taylor, MD

taylor

“We saw, even amongst experts, there was a bit of difference in opinions about some of the specific questions. We did find that the experts disagreed more with [ChatGPT] on the specific questions as opposed to the general questions, where most of the experts agreed that the information was pretty accurate.”

Justin Taylor, MD, an associate professor in the Division of Hematology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, discussed findings from a study that evaluated the ability of ChatGPT to offer specific information in hematologic malignancies.

Taylor was the coauthor of a study that was published in 

 which evaluated the ability of ChatGPT version 3.5 to provide current and specific information in terms of patient-specific queries and novel therapies compared with more general inquiries in the management of hematologic malignancies. Taylor explained that although a literature review revealed some prior research on this topic, most existing studies were either conducted outside of the field of oncology or focused on other solid tumors, leaving an unmet need for data examining how large language models perform within the context of hematologic malignancies.

Additionally, Taylor highlighted that previously conducted studies often asked broad questions that did not reflect the specific, treatment-focused questions patients typically have about their disease, further underscoring the need for a more nuanced approach, which was employed in this study.

Study authors observed a difference in opinions about some of the specific questions, Taylor said. Experts disagreed with ChatGPT on more specific questions compared with the general inquiries. 

 showed that ChatGPT’s responses in terms of general questions regarding hematologic malignancies received a higher average score (3.38) compared with questions on novel therapies and specific mutations (3.06), according to 4 human reviewers who were hematologic oncologists.

Videos

Justin Taylor, MD, discusses findings from a study that evaluated the ability of ChatGPT to offer specific information in hematologic malignancies.

Dr Taylor on Assessing ChatGPT's Ability to Offer Specific Information in Hematologic Malignancies

Justin W. Taylor, MD, assistant professor, lab head/PI, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System, discusses the evolution of frontline treatment options for patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), including the integration of tagraxofusp-erzs (SL-401; Elzonris) into the treatment armamentarium in this disease space.

On December 21, 2018, the first-in-class CD123-targeted therapy tagraxofusp gained FDA approval for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older with BPDCN.

Prior to this approval, there were no agents specifically approved for the treatment of patients with BPDCN, Taylor begins. Instead, therapeutic approaches utilized in other hematologic malignancies were often applied to BPDCN treatment, he says. This included induction chemotherapy, which is administered in acute myeloid leukemia, or more intensive chemotherapy regimens administered for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Taylor elaborates. Elderly patients or those who could not tolerate these intensive regimens were treated with a steroid and the antineoplastic agent vincristine, he adds. This regimen is commonly used for treatment in lymphoma.

Several retrospective studies demonstrated that these regimens all provide a median overall survival between 1 and 2 years, indicating the need for better therapeutic options in this disease setting, Taylor notes. The approval of tagraxofusp addressed this unmet need, and provided patients with a unique, targeted approach for BPDCN, he states.

Tagraxofusp consists of the naturally occurring cytokine IL-3, which is linked to a partial diphtheria toxin , Taylor explains. The resulting immunotoxin binds to the IL-3 receptor on CD123-expressing cells with high affinity, and is subsequently brought into the cell through receptor-mediated endocytosis.

The agent’s initial approval was based on efficacy data from the single-arm STML-401-0114 trial (NCT02113982) of patients with BPDCN, Taylor continues. In the pivotal cohort of this trial, patients with treatment-naïve BPDCN receiving tagraxofusp monotherapy had a complete response rate of 53.8%, and median duration of response was not reached at a median follow-up of 11.5 months. An exploratory analysis of the second cohort showed similar response rates for patients with relapsed or refractory BPDCN, supporting the agent’s approval for both patient subsets, Taylor concludes.

Justin W. Taylor, MD, discusses the evolution of frontline treatment options for patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, including the integration of tagraxofusp-erzs into the treatment armamentarium in this disease space.

Dr Taylor on the Integration of Tagraxofusp Into the Frontline Treatment Armamentarium for BPDCN

Justin W. Taylor, MD, assistant professor, lab head/ PI, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System, discusses findings from a genomic analysis on BTK inhibitors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

This analysis examined a cohort of 55 patients from the phase 1/2 BRUIN study (NCT03740529) treated with pirtobrutinib (LOXO-305), Taylor says. The analysis identified 9 patients in the cohort who had resistance to the therapy, meaning most patients were still responding to pirtobrutinib, Taylor explains. However, further studies will need to be conducted to identify what the resistance in 9 patients might signal, Taylor adds.

Among the 9 patients who developed resistance, 7 of them had them had 

, Taylor continues. The most common mutations were 

, which clustered within the drug binding pocket and prevented pirtobrutinib from binding, Taylor concludes

Justin W. Taylor, MD, discusses findings from a genomic analysis on BTK inhibitors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. 


Dr. Taylor on Findings from a Genomic Analysis on BTK Inhibitors in CLL

Justin Taylor, MD, attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the design of an ongoing phase II clinical trial evaluating the combination of frontline vemurafenib (Zelboraf) plus obinutuzumab (Gazyva) in patients with hairy cell leukemia, in an interview during the 

2019 Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation Annual Conference

The phase II trial had a 2-fold design. Nine patients were treated in the first stage with the vemurafenib combination. Taylor explains they would cut off treatment and end the trial if the responses were not as high as researchers expected, but that didn’t happen. More patients are being enrolled currently to fulfill the second stage of the trial, which has expanded to include 24 patients.

Vemurafenib is administered for a limited duration. Patients received the oral pill twice daily for 4 cycles, which is approximately 4 months of treatment. Obinutuzumab is given as an injection starting in the second cycle. Patients receive obinutuzumab once monthly.

View more from the 2019 Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation Annual Conference

Justin Taylor, MD, discusses the design of an ongoing phase II clinical trial evaluating the combination of frontline vemurafenib plus obinutuzumab in patients with hairy cell leukemia.

Justin Taylor, MD

Articles

Insights and Implications of AI’s Expanding Role in Hematologic Malignancy Care: With Justin Taylor, MD

Dr Taylor on Assessing ChatGPT's Ability to Offer Specific Information in Hematologic Malignancies

Dr Taylor on the Integration of Tagraxofusp Into the Frontline Treatment Armamentarium for BPDCN

Dr. Taylor on Findings from a Genomic Analysis on BTK Inhibitors in CLL

Dr. Taylor on Ongoing Phase II Trial of Frontline Vemurafenib Combo in Hairy Cell Leukemia