The July issue of The Oncology Pharmacist (TOP) contains important information for today’s oncology pharmacist, including highlights from several presentations made during the 2021 Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) Annual Conference and other key oncology meetings. Topics include recent advances in the treatment of several types of malignancies and ongoing efforts by stakeholders to address social, economic, and policy issues affecting the optimal delivery of healthcare.
We are also excited to announce a new feature called “Sarlis Says,” written by Nicholas Sarlis, MD, PhD, FACP (see here). As Chief Science Officer at The Lynx Group, LLC, Dr Sarlis will be providing his insights on topics that affect the delivery of high-quality oncology care.
In a noteworthy presentation at HOPA, Heidi D. Finnes, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, RPh, discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way in which clinical trials are conducted and outlined efficiencies in pharmacy practice that should be enacted to accommodate these changes (see here).
“We need to embrace technology, be innovative in delivery of investigational product, and collaborate with government and industry partners. If we do that, we’ll be able to mobilize and expand the breadth at which patients can receive life-saving therapies for clinical trials,” she said.
Lakesha M. Butler, PharmD, BCPS, who gave the John G. Kuhn Keynote Lecture at HOPA 2021, discussed the impact of racism on social determinants of health and identified strategies for attaining health equity and providing optimal care for all patients (see here).
“We must actively oppose racism, not just in word, but in action and deed,” she said.
Additional HOPA 2021 presentations covered in this issue of TOP explore the topics of optimizing opioid therapy for patients with cancer pain (see here); the advantages and challenges of using anticoagulants to treat cancer-related thromboembolism (see here); recent advances in immunotherapy for patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (see here); and the role of novel agents in the treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (see here), metastatic urothelial cancer (see here), and multiple myeloma (see here).
We also feature details from a session at the virtual National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2021 Annual Conference, where a panel of experts discussed strategies for helping patients and healthcare workers overcome various challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including delayed and missed cancer screenings (see here).
As always, we hope you will enjoy this issue of TOP, and we invite you to visit www.TheOncologyPharmacist.com to share your feedback about this issue with us or send comments to