Posts By: Julie Flanery

Heather Greene, a nurse practitioner at West Cancer Center, discusses common treatment-related toxicities in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In terms of anti-VEGF tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), healthcare providers should be aware of potential diarrhea, hypertension, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, as well as skin and hair depigmentation, says Greene. Patients who are receiving mTOR inhibitors should be… Read more »

Bradley G. Somer, MD, associate professor of hematology/oncology, head of strategic expansion/development, University of Tennessee West Cancer Center, discusses the potential for immunotherapy combinations in patients with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma (mRCC). In the CheckMate-214 study, the combination of Nivolumab (Opdivo) and Ipilimumab (Yervoy) showed a clear survival advantage over the frontline standard-of-care Sunitinib (Sutent)… Read more »

Daniel Vaena, MD, medical oncologist and hematologist, West Cancer Center, discusses the importance of risk stratification in prostate cancer. It is important to remember that patients need to be carefully selected for treatment based on risk stratification, says Vaena. There are many new therapeutic agents available to patients with metastatic disease and castration-naïve disease; however,… Read more »

Holger L. Gieschen, MD, assistant professor, Department of Radiology, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, radiation oncologist, West Cancer Center, discusses patient selection for radiation in the treatment of prostate cancer. There are several patients who are considered eligible to receive radiation therapy, Gieschen says. Patients ranging from low-risk to high-risk disease can be… Read more »

Bradley G. Somer, MD, an associate professor of hematology/oncology and head of strategic expansion/development at the University of Tennessee West Cancer Center, discusses treatment selection considerations in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In addition to a patient’s risk status, physicians should look at other clinical criteria such as the general health of the patient and their… Read more »

By risk stratifying patients with prostate cancer, the growing armamentarium of available therapies can successfully be navigated, explained Daniel Vaena, MD, a medical oncologist and hematologist at West Cancer Center. “Treatment for these patients needs to be carefully selected based on their risk stratification,” said Vaena. “That way, we can understand what the benefits are… Read more »

Despite recent advances in the treatment of men with prostate cancer, radiation therapy remains a staple in multiple settings of this malignancy, said Holger L. Gieschen, MD. Patients ranging from low- to high-risk disease can be treated with radiation; however, prostatectomy is a competing modality. While high-risk patients are often treated with surgery, they can… Read more »

Nearly 1 in 5 women who undergoes ovarian cancer surgery is readmitted for complications, but a web-based app may improve patient monitoring so complications and adverse events can be addressed quickly by the patient’s care team. A feasibility trial to evaluate patient use of the Patient Care Monitor (PCM) app, which provides real-time symptom monitoring,… Read more »

Harsha Ranganath, MD, a fellow in the Division of Hematology & Oncology at the University of Tennessee West Cancer Center, discusses treatment considerations in nonmetastatic prostate cancer. Patients with prostate cancer are living longer, says Ranganath. As such, their quality of life and overall life expectancy have to be considered when choosing an appropriate treatment… Read more »

Heather Greene, a nurse practitioner at West Cancer Center, discusses the toxicities that are associated with VEGF TKIs and checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). For patients on VEGF TKIs, providers should be aware of the possibility of grade 3 hypertension, which would require a patient to stop therapy. Grade 1/2 diarrhea is… Read more »