The OJC 65: Two Professors and A Kiwi (It’s a Manel!)

We’ve a surprise guest for this special episode… Join Craig Underhill, Hans Prenen and their favourite Kiwi sidekick yes, it’s Chris Jackson from New Zealand.

Whilst Eva relaxes on a European beach somewhere the boys have taken over with a dedicated Manels episode. Papers cover unconscious bias in speaker introductions at conferences, BRCA testing in men, Respectful Discourse, Sex Differences in Risk of Severe Adverse Events and much more.

You’ll also hear about ‘gongs galore’ and being ‘’Too male, too pale, too stale’ in this week’s quick bites.

This Week’s Papers:

1. Duma N, et al. Evaluating Unconscious Bias: Speaker Introductions at an International Oncology Conference. J Clin Oncol. 2019 Dec 20;37(36):3538-3545. doi: 10.1200/JCO.19.01608. Epub 2019 Oct 11. PMID: 31603705. Access online here..
2. Stewart CL, et al. Data-Driven Respectful Discourse in the Society of Surgical Oncology. Ann Surg Oncol. 2022 Feb;29(2):821-826. doi: 10.1245/s10434-021-10808-2. Epub 2021 Sep 26. Erratum in: Ann Surg Oncol. 2022 Mar 13;: PMID: 34564772. Access online here.
3. Unger JM, et al. Sex Differences in Risk of Severe Adverse Events in Patients Receiving Immunotherapy, Targeted Therapy, or Chemotherapy in Cancer Clinical Trials. J Clin Oncol. 2022 May 1;40(13):1474-1486. doi: 10.1200/JCO.21.02377. Epub 2022 Feb 4. PMID: 35119908. Access online here.
4. Joffe JK, et al. Imaging Modality and Frequency in Surveillance of Stage I Seminoma Testicular Cancer: Results From a Randomized, Phase III, Noninferiority Trial (TRISST). J Clin Oncol. 2022 Mar 17:JCO2101199. doi: 10.1200/JCO.21.01199. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35298280.  Access online here.

This Week’s Quick Bites:

1. Cortés J, et al. Trastuzumab Deruxtecan versus Trastuzumab Emtansine for Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2022 Mar 24;386(12):1143-1154. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2115022. PMID: 35320644. Access online here.
2. Smit KC, et al. Physical Activity Is Associated with Improved Overall Survival among Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Feb 16;14(4):1001. doi: 10.3390/cancers14041001. PMID: 35205748; PMCID: PMC8870120. Access online here. 
3. Ou SI, et al. First-in-Human Phase I/IB Dose-Finding Study of Adagrasib (MRTX849) in Patients With Advanced KRAS^G12C Solid Tumors (KRYSTAL-1). J Clin Oncol. 2022 Feb 15:JCO2102752. doi: 10.1200/JCO.21.02752. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35167329.Access online here. 
4. Cha E, et al. Bias in Patient Experience Scores in Radiation Oncology: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis. J Am Coll Radiol. 2022 Apr;19(4):542-551. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2022.01.013. Epub 2022 Mar 2. PMID: 35247326; PMCID: PMC9017791. Access online here.
5. Mellor K, et al. Gongs galore: phaleristic study of the relative risk of a healing art related New Year Honour. Postgrad Med J. 2022 Apr;98(1158):252-257. doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139368. Epub 2021 Feb 9. PMID: 33563714. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33563714/
6. Annoni AM, Longhini C. Investigating men’s motivations to engage in genetic screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. PLoS One. 2022 Mar 18;17(3):e0265387. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265387. PMID: 35303741; PMCID: PMC8932559. Access online here.
7. Eymech, Omar et al. An exploration of wellbeing in men diagnosed with prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance: a qualitative study. Supportive care in cancer: official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 1–10. 19 Mar. 2022, doi:10.1007/s00520-022-06976-w Access online here.
8. Brown MEL, et al. ‘Too male, too pale, too stale’: a qualitative exploration of student experiences of gender bias within medical education. BMJ Open. 2020 Aug 13;10(8):e039092. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039092. PMID: 32792453; PMCID: PMC7430333.Access online here.

Blow Your Own Trumpet Paper:

Conduit, C, et al. GUIDE: a randomised non-comparative phase II trial of biomarker-driven intermittent docetaxel versus standard-of-care docetaxel in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (clinical trial protocol). Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology. Volume: 14 First Published April 18, 2022. Access online here.

This Week’s Team:

Professor Craig Underhill

Craig Underhill

Professor Craig Underhill completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 1987 at Melbourne University. He completed medical oncology training in Melbourne and worked as the Senior Clinical Research Registrar at Guy’s Hospital, London.

In 1998 arrived in Albury-Wodonga and established a medical oncology practice and clinical trials unit which has developed expertise and infrastructure to ensure the initiation of high quality trials. The research Unit lead by Dr Underhill has twice been awarded NSW Premier’s Award for Innovation in Cancer Clinical Trials, the inaugural award in 2009 and then again in 2012.

Dr Underhill is the VCCC Regional Oncology Lead and advocates for the increased access to clinical trials for regional Victorians and leads the VCCC teletrials program. You can find Craig on Twitter here: @CraigUnderhill 

Professor Hans Prenen

Hans Prenen

Professor Hans Prenen is a medical oncologist and head of the phase 1 – early clinical trials unit at the Antwerp University Hospital in Belgium. He is a member of several scientific organisations, published many scientific oncology papers in prestigious journals and is regularly invited for lectures at national and international meetings.  His interests are clinical trials and translational research with a focus on digestive oncology. You can find Hans on Twitter here: @HPrenen

Dr Christopher Jackson

MERVE… Chris Jackson

Chris Jackson is a Medical Oncologist with special interest in gastrointestinal cancers, melanoma and urological cancers. Chris holds a national role in the research and management of colorectal cancer.

Chris is currently the clinical leader for oncology research at Dunedin Hospital, and has strong links with cancer trials within New Zealand. In 2015 Chris was appointed as Medical Director of the Cancer Society of New Zealand.

Chris was born and raised in Otago and is strongly committed to the region. He is a cofounder of Mercy Cancer Care, with Mercy Hospital in 2011 ensuring that patients affected by cancer are offered a full range of systemic treatments that may not otherwise be available. You can find Merve on Twitter here: @drkiwicj

Rachael Babin

Rachael Babin is Editor-in-Chief of The Oncology Newsletter, Publisher of Oncology News Host of The Oncology Podcast and Producer of The Oncology Journal Club. For regular oncology updates for healthcare professionals, please join The Oncology Network – its free! 

With thanks to Craig Underhill, Hans Prenen, Chris Jackson and Graham Knowles.

Connect with us on Twitter @OncologyNewsAus