OncLive On Air

In case you missed any, below is a recap of the episodes of OncLive On Air® that aired in February 2025. Check out our podcast page for a full episode lineup and to stay up to date with all the latest releases!

Olverembatinib Research Signals a New Era of CP-CML Management: With Elias Jabbour, MD

In this episode of OncLive On Air, Elias Jabbour, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, discussed follow-up data from a phase 1b trial (NCT04260022) of olverembatinib (HQP1351) in patients with heavily pretreated chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), factors colleagues should consider when looking to enroll patients to the registrational phase 3 POLARIS-2 trial (NCT06423911), and where the future of CML research may be headed.

“[Olverembatinib] is quite safe and effective, and I think it’s one of the best TKIs available for CML,” Jabbour said.

How Academia and Industry Intersect to Improve Oncology Research and Patient Care: With D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD; and Tim Eisen, MB BChir, PhD

In this episode of How This Is Building Me, host D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, was joined by Tim Eisen, MB BChir, PhD, of Roche and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, to talk about Dr Eisen's dual career in academia and industry, the significance of combining academic and clinical strengths, and Dr Eisen’s passions for health research and welcoming the field to up-and-coming drug developers.

“One of the things that differentiates a scientist from a clinician is I think you do need to accumulate some knocks and some failures and some tragedies to become a functional physician, because you’re facing people who are going through difficult times,” Camidge shared. “I do think we have to become worldly to become physicians.”

“The things that I love about industry are the can-do attitude, the urgency, the drive to get things done,” Eisen explained. “What I don’t like is that there’s a tendency to have rather bland, high-level things…If the drive [behind those ideas] is strong enough, you can go seriously wrong, and nobody will do anything about it until it’s late in the day. It’s completely different from academia, where somebody senior says something and instantly two-thirds of people actively disagree. Both have strengths and weaknesses.”

Advances in RAS-Mutant PDAC Management Emphasize the Importance of Biomarker Testing: With Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD

In this episode of OncLive On Air, Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, of the University of Southern California (USC) and the USC Norris Center for Cancer Drug Development in Los Angeles, talked through the considerations regarding RAS mutations in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the significance of biomarker testing in this patient population, current treatment strategies for this population, and where the future of RAS-mutant PDAC may be headed.

“Do your genetic testing in the tumor with next-generation sequencing, and do your germline testing so you have the full scope of the genetic makeup and can accordingly prioritize treatment options and potential enrollment and access to clinical trials,” Lenz emphasized.

Ponatinib-Based Regimens Strengthen the Ph+ ALL Treatment Paradigm: With Mark B. Geyer, MD, and Elias Jabbour, MD

In this episode of OncLive On Air,Mark B. Geyer, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York, and Elias Jabbour, MD, highlighted findings with ponatinib (Iclusig) in patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) from the phase 3 PhALLCON trial (NCT03589326), how this agent has performed when combined with blinatumomab (Blincyto) and key considerations regarding ponatinib’s safety profile.

“Ponatinib is becoming a crucial element of the treatment landscape for patients with Ph-positive ALL,” Geyer summarized.

“Ponatinib should be offered for all-comers…this is the best route upfront,” Jabbour added.

How Behavioral Science Informs Empathetic and Effective Lung Cancer Prevention Strategies: With D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD; and Jamie L. Studts, PhD

In this episode of How This Is Building Me, host D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, was joined by Jamie L. Studts, PhD, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Aurora, to talk through Dr Studts' behavioral science career, which has a focus on lung cancer prevention and control; challenges regarding the implementation of lung cancer screening; and the crucial importance of supportive messaging when communicating the lung cancer risks associated with smoking.

“At least in the field of some cancers, even though [they are] still incurable, as we have lengthened the time that people can live with their diagnoses, it does allow people time to get their head around it,” Camidge noted.

“We don’t necessarily want to be pushing positive psychology on people [who are diagnosed with cancer], but we want to remain open and receptive to it and supportive of it when folks are experiencing it themselves and maybe have that [positivity] blossom and help them as they navigate,” Studts explained. “Trying to be all positive…isn’t necessarily helpful or adaptive coping-wise for most folks. But there is a balance between being receptive.”

FDA Approval Insights: Dato-DXd for HR+/HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer: With Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, FASCO

In this episode of OncLive On Air, Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, FASCO, of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, highlighted the significance of the FDA approval of datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk (Dato-DXd; Datroway) for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic, hormone receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who have received prior chemotherapy and endocrine-based therapy for unresectable or metastatic disease; findings from the pivotal phase 3 TROPION-Breast01 trial (NCT05104866), and the importance of using this agent to prolong progression-free survival (PFS) and improve quality of life.

“It's good to have treatment options, and now, with dato-DXd being approved as well, it's another therapeutic option that's available for patients with metastatic breast cancer and has a different adverse effect [AE] profile [than other agents approved in this setting],” Bardia spotlighted.

Inavolisib Has a Favorable Risk-Benefit Profile for PIK3CA-Mutant, HR+ Metastatic Breast Cancer: With Komal Jhaveri, MD, FACP

In this episode of OncLive On Air, Komal Jhaveri, MD, FACP, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, talked through considerations for the use of inavolisib (Itovebi) for patients with HR-positive, PIK3CA-mutated, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer; tips for managing AEs associated with this agent, and the importance of early biomarker testing in patients with breast cancer.

“With [the phase 3 INAVO120 trial (NCT04191499)] dataset now in the first-line setting, it has become important that we remind ourselves, given this unprecedented near doubling of PFS and now overall survival, that we absolutely not miss a patient who is otherwise a candidate for, say, fulvestrant [Faslodex] with a CDK4/6 inhibitor,” Jhaveri noted.

How Complementary Roles in Clinic and Industry Illuminate Avenues for Patient-Centered Cancer Care: With D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD; and Geoff Oxnard, MD

In this episode of How This Is Building Me, host D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, was joined by Geoff Oxnard, MD, of Blossom Hill Therapeutics and Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts, to discuss Dr Oxnard's dual career path in industry and clinical practice; precision medicine developments that have increased the necessity for early cancer detection; and how Dr Oxnard’s multiple career passions converge to help him deliver patient-centered care.

“Some of the things I’ve really enjoyed about you [are] both your ability to get enthused about research to an academic audience and to a patient audience,” Camidge said to Oxnard.

“My goal is to…be out there taking care of patients with cancer…and fundamentally, I’m just trying to keep learning,” Oxnard shared. “This is an amazing environment. It’s super evolving. It feels so different today than 5 years ago, and how different could it be 5 years from now? It’s fun to be in a space that’s shifting that quickly. It keeps me on my toes, keeps me learning, and keeps me thinking about how I can make a difference today and tomorrow.”

FDA Approval Insights: Mirdametinib for NF1-Associated Plexiform Neurofibromas: With Christopher L. Moertel, MD

In this episode of OncLive On Air, Christopher L. Moertel, MD, of the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in Minneapolis, highlighted the significance of the FDA approval of mirdametinib (Gomekli) for adult and pediatric patients 2 years of age or older with neurofibromatosis type 1 with symptomatic plexiform neurofibromas not amenable to complete resection, top findings from the pivotal phase 2 ReNeu trial (NCT03962543), and how this agent may be integrated into clinical practice.

“We're grateful for the approval of [mirdametinib,” Moertel reported. “It's going to…provide an alternative for [pediatric patients], and having approval for adult [patients is important. Trying to get insurance approval for off-label medications has been a huge headache in the treating community for many years. [Having] an approved drug [for these adult patients] is going to be great.”

Triplet Chemo Trial Raises Importance of Accurately Defined Subgroups in Biliary Tract Cancer Research: With Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, FASCO

In this episode of OncLive on Air, Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, FASCO, of The University of Arizona Cancer Center and The University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, explained the rationale, key findings, and future implications of the phase 3 SWOG S1815 trial (NCT03768414) investigating the addition of nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) to gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with newly diagnosed, advanced biliary tract cancer.

“Putting all patients with biliary tract cancer together [in 1 study] is probably not the best way to move the needle in this disease,” Shroff explained. “Gallbladder cancer is different than cholangiocarcinoma. Locally advanced patients are different than metastatic patients. Looking at some of these subsets and understanding the role that gemcitabine plus cisplatin and nab-paclitaxel could play will be important, specifically in locally advanced patients.”

Neoadjuvant MVAC/Pembrolizumab Generates Unprecedented pCR Rates in Non-Urothelial MIBC: With Chandler Park, MD; Petros Grivas, MD, PhD; and Ruben Raychaudhuri, MD

In this episode of MedNews Week’s Oncology Unplugged, host Chandler Park, MD, of Norton Cancer Institute in Louisville, Kentucky, sat down with Petros Grivas, MD, PhD and Ruben Raychaudhuri, MD, both of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, to highlight data from a pilot trial of neoadjuvant accelerated methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin combined with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with non-urothelial muscle-invasive bladder cancer; the importance of performing research in bladder cancer patient populations with variant histologies; and how certain biomarkers may improve the bladder cancer treatment paradigm.

“Since we have been extrapolating data from classical, conventional urothelial carcinoma to patients with [different] histologic subtypes, we all agree we need to do dedicated trials in this patient population,” Grivas said. “The challenge has been low accrual, as well as heterogeneity because of a different variety of subsets with different histologies and tumor biology.”

“Whenever I see patients with bladder cancer, the assumption is it’s all urothelial, but I’ve had patients with plasmacytoid…pure squamous T2…well-differentiated high-grade neuroendocrine, and…rhabdoid [disease],” Park noted. “There’s just so much variance.”

“Stay tuned for some of the results of the translational component of the study,” Raychaudhuri emphasized.

FDA Approval Insights: T-DXd in HER2-Low/-Ultralow Metastatic Breast Cancer: With Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, FASCO

In this episode of OncLive On Air, Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, FASCO, spotlighted the FDA approval of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) for patients with unresectable or metastatic, HR-positive, HER2-low or -ultralow breast cancer that has progressed on 1 or more endocrine therapies in the metastatic setting; key data from the pivotal DESTINY-Breast06 trial (NCT04494425), and how this approval may change HER2 testing practices in breast cancer.

“This is a drug that can be used in HR-positive metastatic breast cancer, and it can be used in earlier lines compared with [its previous indications],” Bardia emphasized.