Supporting Women During Menopause: When to Suggest That a Woman Consult a Physician
February 27th 2025Panelists discuss how health care professionals recommend physician consultations for persistent symptoms, complex medical histories, diagnostic uncertainties, specialist needs, urgent conditions, preventive care, medication management, and comprehensive health assessments.
Fostering Open Discussions With Women About Menopausal Symptoms
February 27th 2025Panelists explain how health care professionals evaluate menopause symptoms using validated questionnaires, symptom tracking, clinical interviews, hormonal tests, and patient-reported outcome measures to comprehensively assess severity and quality-of-life impact.
Beyond HER2: Expanding the Biomarker Testing Landscape in Metastatic Breast Cancer
February 27th 2025Panelists discuss how HER2 testing optimization requires multisite sampling and quantitative assessment methods to account for intratumoral heterogeneity. Beyond HER2, biomarkers such as PI3K mutations, hormone receptor status, and tumor mutational burden can guide therapy selection for metastatic breast cancer (mBC), enabling more personalized treatment approaches.
How ADC Design Influences Efficacy and Safety
February 27th 2025Panelists discuss how antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) show varying efficacy and adverse event (AE) profiles based on their payload potency, linker stability, and drug-to-antibody ratio. Cleavable linkers enable targeted drug release but may increase toxicity, while noncleavable designs offer better stability. Payload selection impacts both therapeutic index and AEs, with more potent warheads requiring careful optimization of targeting and release kinetics.
Key Considerations for Pharmacists in Hemophilia B Treatment With Etranacogene Dezaparvovec
February 24th 2025Etranacogene dezaparvovec offers a long-term, cost-effective solution for hemophilia B by providing sustained factor IX expression but requires careful patient selection and post-infusion liver monitoring.
Dosing and Titration Considerations
February 24th 2025Panelists discuss how pharmacists must carefully consider factors like age-related changes in drug metabolism, comorbid conditions, concurrent medications, fall risk, and individual patient response when dosing and titrating VMAT2 inhibitors in older adults, typically recommending a "start low, go slow" approach while closely monitoring for both efficacy and adverse effects.
Patient Counseling and Management of Adverse Events
February 24th 2025Panelists discuss how pharmacists serve as essential medication experts by providing comprehensive counseling on VMAT2 inhibitors, including proper administration, expectations for symptom improvement, potential side effects, and drug interactions, while playing a vital role in monitoring older adult patients through regular check-ins, medication therapy management services, and collaboration with the healthcare team to optimize treatment outcomes.
Intestinal Microbiome May Play a Role in CAR T-Cell Therapy Outcomes
February 21st 2025Melody Smith, MD, MS, discusses how the intestinal microbiome influences CAR T-cell therapy outcomes, highlighting the negative impact of certain antibiotics and the potential role of dietary interventions in improving treatment efficacy.
Educating Women About Changes and Symptoms Associated With Menopause
February 20th 2025Panelists discuss how menopause represents a complex physiological transition characterized by hormonal fluctuations, reproductive system changes, and multifaceted symptoms affecting physical, psychological, and metabolic health. Comprehensive patient education, personalized management strategies, and holistic support are crucial for navigating this transformative life stage.
Transforming Breast Cancer Treatment Through ADC-Targeting Mechanisms
February 20th 2025Panelists discuss how antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) combine monoclonal antibodies with cytotoxic payloads, enabling precise targeting of breast cancer (BC) cells through specific antigen recognition. Upon binding, the ADC-antigen complex is internalized, releasing the toxic payload inside cancer cells while largely sparing healthy tissue. This targeted approach offers improved efficacy and reduces systemic toxicity compared with traditional chemotherapy's broad cytotoxic effects.
Pharmacists’ Role in Optimizing Outcomes for Women With Complex Health Needs
February 20th 2025Panelists discuss how pharmacists play a crucial role in optimizing health outcomes for women with complex health needs through comprehensive medication management, personalized consultations, and interdisciplinary collaboration. They provide targeted medication therapy, monitor drug interactions, offer medication counseling, manage chronic conditions, support reproductive health, and help patients navigate complex treatment regimens with expertise and compassionate care.
Patient Journey and the Role of the Pharmacist
February 17th 2025Panelists discuss how the TD patient journey often begins with subtle symptoms that may go unrecognized, particularly in older adults who face unique challenges with diagnosis and treatment, while emphasizing the crucial role pharmacists play in early identification through medication reviews, regular monitoring of patients on antipsychotics, coordination with healthcare providers, and ongoing assessment of treatment response and adherence.
Strategies for Optimizing Therapy
February 17th 2025Panelists discuss how barriers to optimizing TD therapy include insurance coverage limitations, high medication costs, delayed diagnosis, lack of provider awareness, and stigma associated with movement disorders, while highlighting strategies like patient assistance programs, early screening protocols, provider education initiatives, and collaborative care models to overcome these obstacles and improve access to effective treatment.