Welcome to this episode of Physician’s Weekly podcast. I am your host Dr Rachel Giles, from Medicom Medical Publishers in collaboration with Physician’s Weekly. This week, we have 2 really interesting interviews about very different topics.
I will start with the second interview. The 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, was held 3 -7 June 2022 in Chicago, IL. One of the most covered topics talked in the hallways and you may have read in newspapers, was about precision treatment in aggressive breast cancer. It all started 24 years ago, when a drug called Herceptin changed how doctors treat breast cancer. Its approval in 1998 made it possible to target the aggressive breast tumors tied to a gene called HER2. Other drugs quickly followed Herceptin and, over the years since, have substantially improved survival for people with the disease.
A quarter of a century later, another shift in treatment could be on the horizon. At the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, researchers presented results proving that, for the first time, a targeted medicine, called trastuzumab deruxtecan (or T-Dxd for short) can help metastatic breast cancer patients whose tumors express only low levels of HER2. Because many more patients may soon be eligible for treatment with T-Dxd, we focused on a safety follow-up analysis of the randomized phase 3 DESTINY-Breast03 study reinforced the risk-benefit profile of trastuzumab deruxtecan compared with trastuzumab emtansine in patients with HER2-positive unresectable or metastatic breast cancer. We speak with Prof. Guiseppe Curigliano (University of Milan, Italy) to learn the latest results.
But first, we speak with Sonya M. Sloan, MD, better known as #OrthoDoc, has established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the male-dominated field of Orthopedic Surgery. Licensed to practice medicine in several states, she travels the country as a locum tenens physician. There’s a shortage of doctors in America, and all types of facilities need locum tenens providers to relieve physician burnout, maintain patient satisfaction, and stay fully staffed during busy times, or while searching for a permanent doctor. Furthermore, locum tenens helps more people see a provider and receive care, offsetting the physician shortage in underserved areas—especially rural communities, urban areas with health professional shortages, VA hospitals, and Indian Health Service facilities. A 2021 survey indicated that 72% of healthcare facility managers are seeking locum tenens physicians. This is up from 47% in 2016 and up from 39% in 2012. Physician’s Weekly senior editor Martta Kelly interviews Dr. Sloan.
Dr. Sloan is the author of a book titled The Rules of Medicine: A Medical Professionals Guide to Success
Extra reading:
Modi S, Jacot W, Yamashita T, Sohn J, Vidal M, Tokunaga E, Tsurutani J, Ueno NT, Prat A, Chae YS, Lee KS, Niikura N, Park YH, Xu B, Wang X, Gil-Gil M, Li W, Pierga JY, Im SA, Moore HCF, Rugo HS, Yerushalmi R, Zagouri F, Gombos A, Kim SB, Liu Q, Luo T, Saura C, Schmid P, Sun T, Gambhire D, Yung L, Wang Y, Singh J, Vitazka P, Meinhardt G, Harbeck N, Cameron DA. Trastuzumab Deruxtecan in Previously Treated HER2-Low Advanced Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2022 Jun 5. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2203690. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35665782.
Let us know what you thought of this week’s episode on Twitter: @physicianswkly
Want to share your medical expertise, research, or unique experience in medicine on the PW podcast? Email us at editorial@physweekly.com!
Thanks for listening!