Alana Hippensteele is lead editor at Pharmacy Times®, Contemporary Clinic, and Pharmacy Times Oncology Edition®. She has a master's in Critical Theory and Creative Research from Pacific Northwest College of Art and a bachelor's degree in English and Art History. She has worked as an English instructor at Temple University and held editorial positions at American Cleaning & Hygiene and Tin House.
AACP 2025: From Research to Action on Representation Gaps in Pharmacy Education
July 21st 2025Omolola (Lola) Adeoye-Olatunde, PharmD, MS, discusses findings from a multi-year analysis of American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) institutional data on faculty and graduate student representation in pharmacy education, highlighting persistent disparities and offering actionable strategies to improve equity and inclusion in the academic pipeline.
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ASCO 2025: Stratifying NSCLC Treatment by HER2-Alteration Subtype
Nikita Dahake, MD; Hossein Borghaei, DO, MS; and Yasmine Baca, MS, PhD candidate, MB(ASCP)CM, explore how distinct HER2-alteration subtypes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) impact survival outcomes, co-mutation profiles, and treatment response to immunotherapy-based regimens.
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EHA 2025: BMS-986458 Shows Clinical Promise in FL and DLBCL
July 21st 2025Franck Morschhauser, MD, PhD, discusses the novel cereblon-dependent bifunctional degrader BMS-986458, highlighting its selective targeting of BCL6, promising early efficacy in relapsed/refractory lymphoma, favorable safety profile, and future potential in combination regimens and earlier treatment lines.
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NCCN Flash Update: Updated CML Guidelines Emphasize Distress Screening, Drug Interactions, and Cost
July 18th 2025The updated version 1.2026 NCCN Guidelines for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) emphasize individualized treatment strategies, TKI-specific considerations, drug interaction management, and pregnancy safety, highlighting the critical role of oncology pharmacists in optimizing therapy selection, patient counseling, and cost-effective care.
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The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has released multiple myeloma guidelines version 2.2026 to include linvoseltamab as a preferred treatment for heavily pretreated patients, highlighting its intravenous formulation, dosing options, and streamlined Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program.
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The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has updated its ovarian cancer guidelines version 3.2025 to recommend niraparib as maintenance therapy for patients with BRCA wild-type or homologous recombination (HR)–deficiency who did not receive bevacizumab during primary treatment.
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ATOPP 2025: Navigating Biosimilar Adoption and Operational Strategies in Oncology
July 14th 2025Laura R. Bobolts, PharmD, BCOP, shares actionable strategies for oncology pharmacists to navigate biosimilar and 505(b)(2) drug implementation, manage payer and formulary complexities, and optimize cost-effective care delivery across oncology service lines.
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ATOPP 2025: Pharmacy Innovation at the Intersection of EOM and Patient Access
July 10th 2025Kirollos S. Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FACCC, FAPO, discusses how oncology pharmacists can lead value-based care efforts under the Enhanced Oncology Model (EOM) by improving care coordination, managing costs, aligning with performance metrics, and leveraging clinical data systems to enhance patient outcomes.
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ATOPP 2025: Kirollos S. Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FACCC, FAPO, Highlights Must-See Sessions
July 9th 2025Kirollos S. Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FACCC, FAPO, discusses the value of the 2025 ATOPP Summit in advancing oncology pharmacy through collaboration, innovation, and actionable strategies aligned with evolving value-based care models.
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Highlights From NLA 2025: Early LDL-C Reduction and Emerging Therapies
July 9th 2025The 2025 National Lipid Association (NLA) Scientific Sessions highlighted a strategic shift toward early, aggressive cardiometabolic intervention, underscoring the vital role of pharmacists in implementing emerging therapies and optimizing cardiovascular risk reduction.
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Building a Sustainable Pharmacogenomics Program: A Pharmacist’s Perspective at Ochsner Health
July 7th 2025Serena Mitaly, PharmD, outlines how Ochsner Health is building a sustainable pharmacogenomics program by integrating clinical decision support tools into the EMR, educating providers, addressing reimbursement barriers, and expanding the role of PGx pharmacists in personalized medicine.
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Precision and Protection: Inside Cone Health’s Robotic Compounding Program
July 2nd 2025Pharmacy leaders from Cone Health discuss how robotic compounding technologies have improved safety, accuracy, and reliability in hazardous and sterile medication preparation across oncology and acute care settings.
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Integrating Emotional Healing Through Psychedelics Into Everyday Oncology Practice
July 2nd 2025Manish Agrawal, MD, discusses the implementation of psilocybin-assisted therapy in a community cancer setting, highlighting its potential to provide sustained relief from depression and anxiety and its significant efficacy advantage over selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for patients with cancer.
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Case-Based Insights on Managing Steroid-Refractory cGVHD After Haploidentical Transplant
July 1st 2025Gianni Scappaticci, PharmD, BCOP, outlines a personalized, evidence-based approach to managing steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) in a post–haploidentical transplant patient, highlighting the rationale for using ruxolitinib, belumosudil, or their combination based on disease progression and fibrotic features.
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ASCO 2025: Using Discrete Choice Data to Support Personalized Pharmacy Counseling in ALK+ NSCLC
June 30th 2025Christopher Danes, PhD, discusses how discrete choice experiment data reveal key differences in patient and caregiver treatment preferences for ALK-positive (ALK+) non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and how pharmacists can use these insights to guide shared decision-making, optimize supportive care, and personalize adherence strategies.
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ASCO 2025: How AI-Powered Tools Are Reshaping Oncology Data Capture and Clinical Decision-Making
June 30th 2025Gayathri Namasivayam, PhD, discusses how large language models are being used to extract structured oncology data from unstructured electronic health records to improve clinical efficiency, support real-world evidence generation, and enhance oncology pharmacy workflows.
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Navigating the Complexities of cGVHD Treatment in Pharmacy Practice
June 30th 2025Gianni Scappaticci, PharmD, BCOP, discusses key considerations in therapy selection, limitations of current treatments, and the evolving role of pharmacists in managing chronic graft-vs-host disease (cGVHD) through patient education, adherence support, and integration of emerging therapies.
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Jaume Capdevila, MD, PhD, discusses phase 1 data showing promising efficacy and manageable safety for obrixtamig in patients with high DLL3-expressing extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas, along with ongoing trials evaluating its use in both monotherapy and combination settings.
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Psilocybin, Ketamine, and MDMA in Cancer Care: Next Steps in Psychedelic Research
June 24th 2025Manish Agrawal, MD, explores the evolving role of pharmacists in psychedelic-assisted therapy, highlighting ongoing efforts to develop standardized protocols and the emerging involvement of pharmacy teams in patient education and safety.
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Psychedelic Group Therapy Expands From Cancer Care to Treat PTSD in Active Duty Military
June 23rd 2025Manish Agrawal, MD, discusses the expanding influence of his group-based psychedelic therapy model in oncology and beyond, highlighting its adaptation in military posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research, the sustained benefits of long-term patient integration, and growing institutional interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
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OPC 2025: Key Studies Shaping Lung Cancer Therapy From ASCO 2025
June 20th 2025At the 2025 Oncology Pharmacists Connect (OPC) meeting, Kevin Chen, PharmD, MS, BCOP, CPP, reviewed several key studies from the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, highlighting significant advancements in the treatment of small cell and non–small cell lung cancer.
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OPC 2025: Early and Metastatic GI Cancers See Practice-Changing Trial Results
June 20th 2025At the 2025 Oncology Pharmacists Connect (OPC) meeting, Courtney Cavalieri, PharmD, BCOP, presented clinical trial findings in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers—including colon, gastric, pancreatic, and metastatic colorectal cancer—that highlight the expanding role of immunotherapy and targeted treatments.
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OPC 2025: Advancing Precision Oncology Through Pharmacy-Led Innovation
June 19th 2025At the 2025 Oncology Pharmacists Connect (OPC) meeting, Mya Tran, PharmD, BCOP, highlights the clinical promise, operational challenges, and evolving role of pharmacists in implementing precision medicine and genomics-driven cancer care.
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Zahra Mahmoudjafari, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, FHOPA, Highlights Key Reasons to Attend OPC 2025
June 16th 2025Zahra Mahmoudjafari, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, FHOPA, co-chair of the 2025 Oncology Pharmacists Connect (OPC) meeting, discusses what makes the event unique, highlights key sessions, and shares her excitement for the educational and networking opportunities.
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