Videos

Circulating tumor DNA can be a valuable tool in gastric cancer, but unanswered questions remain, an expert said.

“In my career of almost 30 years, I've never seen a liver cancer patient that did not have a chronic underlying liver disease,” Dr. Mindie H. Nguyen told CURE®.

Older adults with gastric cancer tended to have better outcomes when they walked 2,500 steps per day or more.

The use of FOLFOXIRI for metastatic colorectal cancer was lower than one what expert was expecting.

Patients with myelofibrosis should reflect on their personal priorities and quality of life goals, understand the range of available JAK inhibitor treatment options, and openly communicate with their doctor to arrive at a shared decision for managing their disease.

When it comes to bladder cancer, it’s important to note the differences between muscle-invasive and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, as it can affect the staging of the cancer.

For most JAK inhibitors dosing starts at the maximum safe dose, while ruxolitinib often requires lower initial doses and dose reductions over the first 12 weeks when cytopenias typically worsen before partially improving, warranting consideration of earlier switching to alternative JAK inhibitors instead of pushing through transfusions.

Reasons to switch JAK inhibitors include worsening blood counts and insufficient symptom or spleen response at maximum doses, with the goal of avoiding gaps in treatment by stopping one JAK inhibitor when ready to start the next to prevent symptom rebound while still allowing for potential increased efficacy from an alternative mechanism of action.

More facilitation is needed to ensure that clinicians can connect patients with breast cancer to clinical trials they may be eligible for.

An expert stressed the importance of finding a patient support group and asking questions after being diagnosed with kidney — or any other form — of cancer.

Response is assessed in patients starting a JAK inhibitor by monitoring symptoms on a severity scale, spleen size, blood counts, and overall patient impression of change, with the goal being reduction of symptoms and stabilization of blood counts to improve quality of life.

The JAK inhibitors approved for myelofibrosis have common side effects of cytopenias and gastrointestinal issues, with additional risks of weight gain and cardiac effects and diarrhea; momelotinib and pacritinib show improved tolerability compared to earlier JAK inhibitors.

An expert discusses the four FDA-approved JAK inhibitors for myelofibrosis - ruxolitinib, fedratinib, pacritinib, and momelotinib.

Christine Cooper, RN, BSN, explains anemia in myelofibrosis is managed by stimulating red blood cell production with medications, transfusions, and newer therapies that may stabilize red cell counts.

A doctor reflected on what it was like treating patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms years ago and how much treatments have improved.

New treatments and ongoing trials are providing more options and better outcomes for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms, an expert explained.

After being diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia, Marilyn Kay Edwards was not told much about her disease.

Key patient goals for managing myelofibrosis include improving quality of life by addressing low blood counts and constitutional symptoms, considering disease-modifying therapies and transplant to maximize longevity based on predicted survival, and incorporating personalized priorities through shared decision-making with their doctor when choosing treatments.

Patients should be directed to resources like the NCCN guidelines and ClinicalTrials.gov and provided with thorough discussions covering frequency of visits, required testing, medication administration, side effects to enable fully informed decisions.

An expert spoke with CURE® about telehealth when it comes to ostomies within patients with bladder cancer, and overall within patients and survivors.

To determine risk level in myelofibrosis, prognostic models are used which assign points to various clinical and pathological factors to calculate a risk score that categorizes patients as low, intermediate, or high risk; additional information like mutations and chromosomes can further refine risk stratification.

Patients with myelofibrosis commonly present with fatigue, weight loss, night sweats, bone pain, low blood counts, and concentration issues, with diagnosis requiring bone marrow biopsy.

Where a patient lives may affect what kind of treatment they are offered for their CLL or SLL. However, second opinions and learning about one’s cancer diagnosis can help.

An artificial intelligence platform was able to tell the difference between patients with prefibrotic primary myelofibrosis and essential thrombocythemia. However, an expert says that there are considerations that patients must remember when it comes to the use of such programs.

A triple-negative breast cancer survivor discussed disparities she faced when undergoing cancer care.

The panel concludes their discussion with a conversation about the myths surrounding the treatment of cervical cancer.

Experts on cervical cancer offer provide comprehensive insights on the challenges patients experience and discuss ways to improve care.

Cervical cancer survival and Cervivor ambassador Kate Weissman provides advice on conversations patients with cervical cancer should be having with their care teams.

Patients with metastatic breast cancer receiving HER2-targeted therapies should promptly report any respiratory symptoms or signs of lung and heart disease to their oncology care team to facilitate early intervention and management of side effects.

Patients on HER2-targeted therapies for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer should be vigilant about potential side effects like heart toxicities and interstitial lung disease and should undergo regular heart function monitoring and lung scans to catch these side effects early.