Dr. Jack West reviews emerging new information and controversial topics in health care in general, cancer treatment in particular.

Latest episodes of the podcast The Beacon

• Dr. David Spigel, Part 2: Identifying the Optimal Duration for Immunotherapy in Responding Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer (BMIC-075)
• Dr. David Spigel, Part 1: Clinical Research and the Growing Complexity of Cancer Care in a Community Setting (BMIC-074)
• Top 5 Most Influential Trial Findings in Lung Cancer Management in 2018 (BMIC-073)
• What does the CheckMate-331 trial of nivolumab vs. chemo for relapsed SCLC tell us? (BMIC-072)
• The IMpower130 Trial of Carbo/Nab-Paclitaxel +/- Atezolizumab: Does this Positive Trial Change Management? (BMIC-071)
• Overall Survival Benefit for Local Ablative Therapy as Consolidation for Oligometastatic Stage IV NSCLC: Where Does it Fit in Practice Now? (BMIC-070)
• The IMpower132 Trial: Does This Change the Advanced NSCLC Landscape? (BMIC-069)
• The MYSTIC Trial has Failed on Overall Survival in Advanced NSCLC: What Does and Doesn't This Tell Us? (BMIC-068)
• Pembrolizumab for Patients with Advanced NSCLC and a Performance Status (PS) of 2: Results of the PePS2 Trial (BMIC-067)
• Long-Term Management of Patients Doing Well on Immunotherapy for Advanced NSCLC: Insights from KEYNOTE-010 (BMIC-066)
• Updated Results on PACIFIC Trial: Should we Revise Who Should Receive Consolidation Immunotherapy after Chemo/Radiation? (BMIC-065)
• IMpower133: Is there Finally a New Standard of Care for Extensive Stage SCLC? (BMIC-064)
• "Best Treatment First": Implications for front-Loading Combinations in Lung Cancer (BMIC-063)
• Local Therapy for Advanced NSCLC: Revising Outdated Principles for Selected Patients (BMIC-062)
• TIP or BEP for Intermediate or Poor Risk Testicular Cancer?: Highlights in GU Oncology from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-061)
• Adjuvant Docetaxel for Intermediate or High Risk Prostate Cancer After Radiation: Highlights in GU Oncology from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-060)
• What is Positive Predictive Value of PET PSMA in Biochemical Recurrence of Prostate Cancer? Highlights in GU Oncology from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-059)
• New Data & Context for a PARP Inhibitor/Abiraterone Combination in Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Highlights in GU Oncology from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-058)
• Is PROSTVAC the Vaccine Therapy We've Been Waiting for in Advanced Prostate Cancer? Highlights in GU Oncology from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-057)
• Is More Better with Radium-223 for Metastatic Prostate Cancer? Highlights in GU Oncology from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-056)
• Immunotherapy with Pembrolizumab in Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Highlights in GU Oncology from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-055)
• Quality of Life on the Atezolizumab/Bevacizumab Combination for Metastatic Kidney Cancer: Highlights from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-054)
• Pembrolizumab in First Line Clear Cell RCC & the Evolving Role of Immunotherapy in Metastatic RCC: Highlights from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-053)
• Does Adjuvant Sunitinib Offer a Benefit after Oligometastasectomy for Kidney Cancer? Highlights from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-052)
• Is There Still a Role for Cytoreductive Nephrectomy for advanced Kidney Cancer in the Wake of the CARMENA Trial? Highlights from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-051)
• Can We Effectively Target FGFR with the Novel Agent Erdafitinib for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer? Highlights from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-050)
• Novel Agent Enfortumab, a Nectin-4 Inhibitor, for Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder: Highlights from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-049)
• Does Nab-Paclitaxel Improve Outcomes Compared to Paclitaxel in Second Line Treatment of Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder (or other cancers)? Highlights from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-048)
• Could Immunotherapy Replace Neoadjuvant Chemo for Muscle-Invasive Transitional Cell Carcinoma? Highlights from ASCO 2018 (BMIC-047)
• How do Patients with Advanced NSCLC on Daily Steroids Do on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors? (BMIC-046)
• Is Chemo the Key to the Best Combination for EGFR Mutation-Positive NSCLC? The Data Too Good to Overlook (BMIC-045)
• Is the Survival Benefit from Dacomitinib on the ARCHER-1050 Trial Enough to Make it a Contender as First Line Treatment for EGFR Mutation-Positive NSCLC Today? (BMIC-044)
• The Erlotinib/Bevacizumab Combination in EGFR Mutation-Positive Advanced NSCLC: Is Progression-Free Survival without Overall Survival Benefit Enough? (BMIC-043)
• Small Trial Shows Big Risks of Giving First Line Pembrolizumab to EGFR Mutation-Positive Patients, Even with High Tumor PD-L1 Expression (BMIC-042)
• IMpower131: What is the Role for the Carbo/Nab-Paclitaxel/Atezolizumab Combination for Advanced Squamous NSCLC? (BMIC-041)
• Is Nivo/Ipi the Treatment of Choice for Patients with Advanced NSCLC, Tumor PD-L1 Under 1%, & High TMB? New Data from CheckMate 227 (BMIC-040)
• KEYNOTE-407: Practice-Changing Positive Trial for Advanced Squamous NSCLC (BMIC-039)
• KEYNOTE-042: Should Pembrolizumab Replace Chemo for a Broader Population of Patients with Advanced NSCLC? (BMIC-038)
• My Top 5 ASCO 2018 Abstracts in Stage I-III NSCLC, Small Cell Lung Cancer, & Mesothelioma (BMIC-037)
• My Top 5 ASCO 2018 Abstracts in Advanced NSCLC (BMIC-036)
• Are Tumor Mutation Burden and Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Ready for Clinical Use? Insights from CheckMate 227 (BMIC-035)
• Nivolumab/Ipilimumab vs. Chemo in High TMB Advanced NSCLC: Key Results from CheckMate 227 (BMIC-034)
• KEYNOTE-189: Clinical Implications in Patients with Advanced Non-Squamous NSCLC and Negative (sub 1%) Tumor PD-L1 Expression (BMIC-033)
• KEYNOTE-189: Clinical Implications in Patients with Advanced Non-Squamous NSCLC and Low (1-49%) Tumor PD-L1 Expression (BMIC-032)
• KEYNOTE-189: Clinical Implications in Patients with Advanced Non-Squamous NSCLC and High (≥50%) Tumor PD-L1 Expression (BMIC-031)
• KEYNOTE-189: Key Summary of a Practice-Changing Trial in Advanced Non-Squamous NSCLC (BMIC-030)
• Is Chemotherapy More Effective After Prior Immunotherapy? (BMIC-029)
• New Insights on Acquired Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for NSCLC: Implications for Treatment Options (BMIC-028)
• Is immunotherapy ineffective in patients with driver mutation-positive advanced NSCLC? Time to walk that back. (BMIC-027)
• Chemo/Immunotherapy in Advanced Squamous NSCLC: What is the Impact of IMpower131? (BMIC-026)
• Is Durvalumab (Imfinzi) in Stage III NSCLC Curing Patients or Just Treating Metastatic Disease Earlier? Importance of Overall Survival and Implications for Duration of Treatment (BMIC-025)
• Durvalumab (Imfinzi) FDA Approved for Stage III NSCLC: Should It Become Standard of Care Without Overall Survival Benefit Demonstrated? (BMIC-024)
• A New Treatment Option for Uncommon EGFR Mutations (BMIC-023)
• Chemo-Immunotherapy in Non-Squamous NSCLC: Has the KEYNOTE-189 Trial Defined a Clear Standard of Care? (BMIC-022)
• T Effector Gene Signature on IMpower150: Is There a Better Biomarker than PD-L1 for Immunotherapy? (BMIC-021)
• Atezolizumab in First Line NSCLC: Early Clinical Results from the IMpower150 Trial (BMIC-020)
• Genomic Sequencing for All Solid Tumors: Where Will This Lead Us? (BMIC-019)
• New Target & Treatment in Advanced NSCLC: Dabrafenib/Trametinib for BRAF V600E Mutation-Positive NSCLC (BMIC-018)
• Should Osimertinib Become First-Line Treatment of Choice for EGFR Mutation-Positive Advanced NSCLC, or Should it Be Saved for Later? (BMIC-017)
• Dacomitinib: Dark Horse EGFR TKI Charges into a Crowded First Line Setting for EGFR Mutation-Positive Advanced NSCLC (BMIC-016)
• Are the PD-1/PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Completely Interchangeable in Lung Cancer Management? (BMIC-015)
• Will Immunotherapy Shift the Balance of Treatment for Borderline Resectable Stage III NSCLC Away from Surgery? (BMIC-014)
• Research Question or Standard of Care: The Barriers to Broad Adoption in Cancer Care (BMIC-013)
• Hyper-Progressive Disease on Immunotherapy in Advanced NSCLC (BMIC-012)
• Tumor Mutational Burden in Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Valuable Biomarker for Immunotherapy? (BMIC-011)
• How Should We Monitor Patients After Potentially Curative Surgery for Lung Cancer? Some Actual Evidence, at Long Last (BMIC-010)
• Chemo/Immunotherapy Data Increasingly Compelling with Additional Follow-Up (BMIC-009)
• Do Patients with Advanced NSCLC Doing Well on an Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Reach a Point of Diminishing Returns after a Fixed Duration of Treatment? (BMIC-008)
• The FLAURA Trial: Practice-Changing Results for Patients with EGFR Mutation-Positive NSCLC (BMIC-007)
• Immunotherapy in Stage III NSCLC: The Practice-Changing Results of the PACIFIC Trial Usher in a New Standard (BMIC-006)
• Is There Still a Value in Testing for PD-L1 Expression in Advanced NSCLC Today? (BMIC-005)
• Better Communication Leads to Better Outcomes for Cancer Patients (BMIC-004)
• Are Two Immunotherapy Agents Better than One? Will the MYSTIC Trial Prove to Be a Mistake? (BMIC-003)
• Early Returns on the FLAURA Trial: Should Osimertinib be a First Line Agent in EGFR Mutation-Positive NSCLC? (BMIC-002)
• Importing Immunotherapy into the Curative Setting for NSCLC: The Potential Implications of the PACIFIC Trial (BMIC-001)