Cedars-Sinai Experts Present Cancer News at ASCO Annual Meeting

Newswise — LOS ANGELES  -- Cedars-Sinai Cancer physician-scientists and thought leaders will discuss scientific advances, new therapies, and the future of cancer care at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting being held May 31-June 4 in Chicago.

“The ASCO Annual Meeting is an important opportunity for us to examine the latest clinical developments and translational research that holds promise for improving patient outcomes in the future,” said Robert Figlin, MD, deputy director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer. “This annual gathering is also an opportunity to spotlight the newest advances and scientific discoveries coming from our institution.”

During the conference, Figlin, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology, will be interviewing other leaders in the field as part of the Oncology Peer-Spectives Podcast he moderates for Oncology News Central.

Several other investigators from various specialties within Cedars-Sinai Cancer also will be attending the conference and are available for media interviews.

Prostate Cancer

Stephen Freedland, MD, Warschaw Robertson Law Families Chair in Prostate Cancer and director of the Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle, will present quality-of-life results from the EMBARK clinical trial, a study of enzalutamide treatment plus hormone therapy, versus hormone therapy alone, in patients with recurrent prostate cancer.

Edwin Posadas, MD, medical director of the Urologic Oncology Program, will present initial results from a trial testing the addition of anti-androgen therapy to salvage radiation therapy (SRT) to improve outcomes in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer.

Skin Cancer

Omid Hamid, MD, chief of Translational Research and Therapy and director of Melanoma Therapeutics at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, a Cedars-Sinai affiliate, will present Phase I safety and efficacy results of a trial of a bispecific antibody therapy in patients with immune checkpoint-resistant cutaneous melanoma.

Lung Cancer

Karen Reckamp, MD, director of the Division of Medical Oncology and associate director of Clinical Research, can discuss recruitment outreach to increase clinical trial representativeness, and the innovative trial design of Pragmatica-Lung, a unique, streamlined clinical trial of a therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer design intended to simplify participation for patients and clinicians.

Kamya Sankar, MD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology, will present a study characterizing disruptions of DNA repair mechanisms in the microenvironment surrounding non-small cell lung cancer tumors.

Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancer

Arsen Osipov, MD, program lead of the Pancreas Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic and Precision Medicine Program, can discuss research presented by resident Murtaza Ahmed, MD, investigating pre-surgical therapy in patients with pancreatic cancer who also have genetic mutations that prevent DNA damage repair.

Andrew Hendifar, MD, medical director of Pancreatic Cancer Medicine, will present results from a phase 1/2 study assessing the safety and therapeutic benefit of azeliragon, a therapy that works to disrupt tumor progression and metastasis in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer that has not responded to first-line treatment.

Jun Gong, MD, medical director of Colorectal Cancer, can discuss clinical trials and emerging therapies for patients with metastatic pancreatic and colorectal cancers, as well as the value of wearable activity monitors among prostate cancer survivors undergoing hormone therapy.

Brain Cancer

LJ Amaral, RD, clinical research dietitian with the Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle, will present a randomized, multi-center, phase 2 trial of a ketogenic diet versus standard dietary guidance for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma—an aggressive form of brain cancer—as a trial in progress.

Sarcoma

Leo Mascarenhas, MD, director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Childrens, medical director of the Adult and Pediatric Sarcoma Program, can discuss “liquid biopsy” testing as well as emerging therapies in adult and pediatric sarcoma – cancer of the bones and soft tissues.

Breast Cancer

Yuan Yuan, MD, director of Breast Medical Oncology, can discuss triple-negative breast cancer, including new information on the role of immune cells in the microenvironments of primary and metastatic cancers.

To arrange interviews, contact Christina Elston, [email protected], 626-298-0702