Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind – Details, episodes & analysis

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind has been privileged to interview some truly brilliant specialists, and this week's guest is no exception. Professor Anthony Joshua is the Head of Oncology at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre and St Vincent's Health in Sydney. He is a globally recognised expert in genitourinary cancers and melanoma, with a special interest in ocular melanoma.

Professor Joshua completed his PhD in prostatic carcinogenesis under the supervision of Dr Jeremy Squire and a clinical fellowship under Dr Ian Tannock. He worked at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre before returning down under and has helped reshape cancer care at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, making it one of the largest trial centres in New South Wales. Today, Professor Joshua discusses his journey, the landscape of prostate cancer, and some of his research in the area of ocular melanoma.

Professor Anthony Joshua is not a professional British boxer. To find out more about Professor Anthony Joshua's research portfolio, click here

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Spotify Link to Prof Joshua's podcast, Dangerous Ideas in Drug Development: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/necta

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from Pfizer, Gilead Pharmaceuticals and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have no editorial rights or early previews, and they have access to the episode at the same time you do.

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oncolytic viruses thrive in cancer cells and can replicate rapidly, destroying the cells and enabling the immune system to attack tumours. This week, we interview Dr Malcolm McColl and Prof Darren Shafren, a dynamic duo in Australian biotechnology and part of the leadership team of ImmVirx, a viral oncolytic company. Prior to creating ImmVirx, they successfully launched the product Cavatak, used in melanoma and other malignancies.

ImmVirx has developed a proprietary bio-selected RNA virus that is showing promising pre-clinical and phase 1 results as monotherapy in hard-to-treat cancers, including colorectal, gastric hepatocellular and ovarian cancers.

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from Pfizer, Gilead Pharmaceuticals and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have no editorial rights or early previews, and they have access to the episode at the same time you do.

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ASCO 2024 beat many attendees' expectations with interesting and thought-provoking lung cancer and mesothelioma studies. While not all of these will change the face of patient treatment, they will add to a body of evidence for biomarkers and build on the blocks of tailoring treatment to patients.

Links to studies discussed in this episode (subscription may be required):

BEAT-meso: Link

Checkmate 816 4 year update: Link

MIST5: Link

ctDNA-Lung-DETECT: Link

BEAT-SC: Link

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from Pfizer, Gilead Pharmaceuticals and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have no editorial rights or early previews, and they have access to the episode at the same time you do.

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every feast needs a palate cleanser. Every great work of theatre needs an intermission. Every sports event needs a half-time show. In this way, Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is no different to Hamilton or the Super Bowl. Here, we provide a little deviation from our ongoing Prostate Cancer Saga to interview Dr Jenny Liu, Oncologist and early drug development (EDD) researcher extraordinaire. Our discussions range from her slightly unusual path to oncology, her previous research and how it is still making waves in the oncological community, and her other great passion: mentorship. Suppose you are interested in Phase One trials, mentorship opportunities (especially in Australia), or simply enjoy Josh dredging up dirt on highly accomplished clinicians. In that case, this is the episode for you!

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of Music Unlimited: https://pixabay.com/users/music_unlimited-27600023/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second episode of our prostate-cancer series, we investigate the inevitability of castration resistance: the biochemical, radiological and clinical progression of prostate cancer despite the best efforts of the heroic MDT. While this space will likely change in the coming years, with many novel anti-androgen agents displaying efficacy in the HSPC space, the current standards of care for patients include docetaxel and the dynamic duo of abiraterone + prednisolone and enzalutamide. These latter two agents are frequently used in the first line when a patient cannot or is unlikely to tolerate docetaxel chemotherapy.

However, there can only be one Lord of the Anti-Androgens, and today Josh and Michael will reveal their preferred agent. Listen on to find out which, and please, contain your excitement.

Links to studies discussed in this episode (subscription may be required):

1. PREVAIL: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1405095
2. COU-AA-302: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1209096
3. TAX-327 (cameo only): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa040720

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of Music Unlimited: https://pixabay.com/users/music_unlimited-27600023/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Endocrinopathies in immunotherapy-related cancer treatment are common! Most of us will experience patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism regularly and recurrently in everyday practice. The incidence is variable, with some sources stating as high as 40% and others as low as 10%; either way, oncologists and trainees are likely to be close allies with their friendly neighbourhood endocrinologist. This week on Oncosnacks, Michael and Josh are interviewing Dr Dahlia Davidoff, an endocrinologist at North Shore Private Hospital in Sydney. Dahlia completed her specialist training through the prestigious Alfred Health and is currently a PhD student researching endocrine cancers at the Kolling Institute of the University of Sydney.

They focus predominantly on thyroid disorders and how to diagnose and optimise these conditions with patients receiving immunotherapy

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Dahlia Davidoff details:

https://www.davidoffendocrinology.com/

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of:

- Music Unlimited: https://pixabay.com/users/music_unlimited-27600023/

- SoulProdMusic: https://pixabay.com/users/soulprodmusic-30064790/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

J.R.R. Tolkien. George Lucas. Steven Spielberg. With such seminal trilogies as Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones achieving a permanent place in the psyche of everyday life, who would have thought there would be room for more? But fear not, because Michael and Josh are here with their take on the age-old formula, with the first in a trilogy of episodes on prostate cancer. Just as Luke Skywalker discovered his heritage and embarked on an epic quest against the Empire, so too do our heroes take their first steps in a fight of their own, examining two studies that pave the way for the future in hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC) treatment. Gone are the days of ADT-alone, fading to give way to a newer, brighter future, like the end of Tolkien's Third Age. In summary, one may say of the old vogue of HSPC treatments: "It belongs in a museum!"

Have we mentioned that we are MASSIVE nerds recently?

Links to studies discussed in this episode (subscription may be required):

1. ARASENS: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2119115
2. PEACE-1: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00367-1/fulltext

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of Music Unlimited: https://pixabay.com/users/music_unlimited-27600023/

Note: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ageism is an inherent bias seen throughout medicine, with cancer adding complexity to an already difficult set of circumstances. Despite our best efforts, we all must face growing older, with time itself being that unstoppable force. Over 50% of all new cancer diagnoses are in the over-65 age bracket, which will climb as ageing populations become a reality across the globe.

This week, Michael and Josh interview the charismatically delightful Dr Michael Krasovitksy, a staunch supporter and advocate of self-empowerment, geriatric oncology and self-determination in the oncological world. Multiple thought-provoking topics are covered, including ageism, toxicity, symptom management, geriatric oncology, holistic medicine and how to combat the creeping presence of frailty. We also debate the age-old question: When do we not treat, and how does one have this conversation with the outcome being a guaranteed ticket to "shuffle off this mortal coil"?

This is one episode where Michael and Josh might find themselves with more questions than answers.

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of Music Unlimited: https://pixabay.com/users/music_unlimited-27600023/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of OncoSnacks pays homage to the lack of eyebrows, eyelashes and hair many patients face when undergoing cancer treatment and the resultant alopecia. While chemotherapy is the most wanted agent, it alone is not to blame. Michael and Josh explore the hairy situation of hair loss that faces many of our patients as they navigate a new world of outpatient clinic appointments, infusion centres and a new reality in how they live and look.

No eyebrows were injured during the making of this episode.

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of:

- Music Unlimited: https://pixabay.com/users/music_unlimited-27600023/

- SoulProdMusic: https://pixabay.com/users/soulprodmusic-30064790/

Note: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, our intrepid trio once more plunge down 20,000 leagues, exploring the confusing depths, hoping to answer one question: is there any evidence to support using systemic therapy in patients with potentially resectable oligometastatic colorectal cancer? The answer will take them to many dark, barely-explored corners of their profession and will raise more questions than answers. Following in the forebears of many explorers, it may drive them completely mad, or at least madder than they already are. But, to paraphrase Captain Nemo of the Nautilus: "the Earth does not want new continents, but new evidence for patients with resectable metastatic colorectal cancer."

Links to studies discussed in this episode (subscription may be required):

OLIVIA: https://www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(19)31451-6/fulltext#ec0035

Falcone et al.: https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2006.09.0928?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

TRIBE: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(15)00122- /fulltext#:~:text=TRIBE%20was%20an%20open%2Dlabel,were%20recruited%20from%2034%20Italian

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of:

- Music Unlimited: https://pixabay.com/users/music_unlimited-27600023/

- SoulProdMusic: https://pixabay.com/users/soulprodmusic-30064790/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.