Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of cognitive impairment and dementia in older individuals (≥ 65 years) throughout the world. In the United States (U.S.), more than 6 million individuals carry this diagnosis, with many yet to be diagnosed. AD follows a prolonged, progressive disease course that begins with pathophysiological changes years before any clinical manifestations are observed. Individuals harboring such changes may have no symptoms or may exhibit clinical manifestations varying from memory lapses to severe and debilitating loss of memory and cognitive function. There are several clinical gaps including the use of biomarkers in AD diagnosis, knowledge of new and emerging disease-modifying treatments, and multidisciplinary care coordination in early AD. Through an interactive educational initiative bringing together AD experts and clinicians involved in AD care, we aim to educate all those involved to improve the care of patients with early AD.
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Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been reservations regarding the risks of using immunosuppressive or immunomodulating agents to treat patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in case these treatments increase infectious disease risk or reduce vaccine efficacy. Many MS patients take disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) to prevent new symptoms such as muscle weakness, poor coordination, and/or impaired vision while mitigating disease progression.
For many years, the treatment paradigm has been to “treat early and never stop”, but given issues that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, this idea became much more challenging. While it appears we are in a nadir with respect to COVID infections, the risk of COVID remains and is of particular concern for our patients with MS.
MS treatment in the context of COVID-19 risk or infection has been exceptionally challenging. Accordingly, healthcare providers have had reservations and concerns regarding deciding what are the safest and most effective treatment strategies taking into consideration all of the risks and potential complications when addressing both MS and COVID-19.
Clinicians caring for patients with MS require educational programs to stay informed of the recommended best use of DMTs and to be aware of the latest guidelines for safely treating MS in the context of COVID-19.
This collaborative social learning platform establishes a network of providers who can support each other locally, as well as those from different communities, with the goal of learning and sharing best practices that will improve outcomes for patients with MS in the context of COVID-19.
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Endometrial cancer is among the few cancers increasing in incidence and mortality in the United State and remains the most common gynecologic cancer diagnosed. To improve clinical outcomes, clinicians treating patients with endometrial cancer need to understand the molecular classification of the disease, the newest guidelines on management, and the evidence underlying these recommendations.
Along with this, clinicians must be aware of the most effective ways to manage possible adverse events as well as be cognizant of how best to address racial disparities in care. This educational initiative will allow clinicians to learn and discuss these crucial points in diagnosing and managing these patients to increase long-term survival.
Given the rapid shift in best practices occurring in this area and the fact that current NCCN Guidelines classify endometrial cancers into 1 of 4 molecular groups, as opposed to the traditional 2 groups, it is important for clinicians to stay up to date as advances in areas such as biomarker research continue to be made.
This educational activity allows clinicians to engage in interprofessional discussions with knowledgeable experts and peers to more fully understand how to integrate these new treatment approaches into their day-to-day practice and establish actionable plans to improve outcomes for their patients.
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This collaborative social learning platform establishes a network of providers who can support each other locally, as well as those from different communities, with the goal of learning and sharing best practices that will improve outcomes for patients with non-metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (nmHSPC). Prostate cancer is the most common solid cancer in men worldwide. Most men are diagnosed as having localized disease because of the widespread use of prostate-specific antigen screening. Men diagnosed as having clinically localized prostate cancer have multiple disease management options, including active surveillance, surgery, or radiotherapy. After local therapy, the treatment of early-stage non-metastatic biochemical recurrence (BCR) in hormone-sensitive (or castrate-sensitive) prostate cancer (HSPC) is not clear cut and options are limited. Treatment options also differ based on whether the patient has a low-risk or high-risk prostate cancer.
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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have learned valuable lessons pertinent to MS care. This includes knowledge about COVID-19 severity and infection risk (especially as it relates to DMT selection), a much greater understanding of how DMTs affect SARS-CoV-2 vaccine responses, ways to potentially optimize vaccine responses, and the role of telemedicine. This program covers some of these major lessons learned about MS care. The Gather-ed collaborative social learning platform establishes a network of providers who can support each other with the goal of learning and sharing best practices that will improve outcomes for patients with MS.
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With the increase in the lifespan of patients with beta thalassemia and demographic shifts in the U.S., hematologists are treating more patients with this condition. As such, more education is needed on key topics including disease fundamentals, transitioning patients to adult care, new and emerging therapies, and issues around transfusion.The goal of this educational curriculum, Improving Beta-thalassemia Outcomes, is to establish impactful small group interactions between members of the hematology care team that will, through a variety of collaborative educational experiences, help them to improve disease management and care coordination to yield better outcomes for their patients with Beta-thalassemia.
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Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains the most common variety of renal cancer, representing 90% of the diagnoses. Within the United States (US), it is a relatively common malignant caner, ranking as sixth and tenth most common for men and women respectively. Yet, the incidence has been slowly but steadily rising over the past thirty years. While localized RCC has a high survival rate, metastatic RCC only has a 5-20% 5-year survival rate. Previous forms of therapy at this stage had variable efficacy and poor tolerability in these advanced stages. The development of several agents has improved RCC outcomes and have improved tolerability: vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors (VEGFi), mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors, and immunotherapies. Of note, two main combinations of are approved in patients with RCC: (1) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) with immuno-oncology (I-O) therapies and (2) two I-O agents. Educational programs that focus on this new and emerging approach are needed to aid clinicians in understanding the proper and safe use of I-O combinations. This collaborative social learning platform establishes a network of providers who can support each other locally, as well as those from different communities, with the goal of learning and sharing best practices that will improve outcomes for patients with renal cell carcinoma.
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Colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to be the second most lethal cancer in the United States (US) with approximately 149,500 new cases and 52,980 deaths per year. Patients diagnosed at an advanced/metastatic stage have a five-year survival rate of roughly 14%. For these patients, initial treatment is usually chemotherapy based. With this treatment, patients have a median survival of 30 months. Through further research, targeted therapies have been developed to fight metastatic CRC (mCRC), these include antibodies against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). These agents have increased overall survival (OS) in mCRC.
Several biomarkers are used in the diagnosis of mCRC, including KRAS and MRAF mutations as well as microsatellite instability assessment. Testing for and targeting BRAF mutations is recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. Still BRAF testing is underused, especially at community centers. While BRAF V600E mutation is associated with poorer prognosis, there are now targeted treatments available. After first-line treatment, subsequent systemic therapy recommendations from the NCCN include the combination of encorafenib in addition to EGFR inhibition with cetuximab or panitumumab. Dermatologic adverse events (AEs), among others, may occur with these treatments, but there is detailed guidance available for their management.
This educational program will help clinicians understand the importance of BRAF testing and treatment with practical guidance on managing AEs to keep patients on effective doses of their needed medications.
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Clinically heterogeneous presentation, with only intermittent symptoms and long latent periods for some patients, along with manifestations that overlap with other skin conditions make the diagnosis of atopic dermatitis difficult for clinicians, resulting in delays in diagnosis and treatment. Current therapies such as topical corticosteroids, emollients, supportive care and biologics have limited efficacy and are not adequate for treating many patients with moderate to severe AD across different skin types. To bridge this gap, novel targeted therapies are needed. Investigational therapies such as Janus Kinase 1 (JAK 1) inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, and membrane IgE inhibitor when approved will transform the treatment approaches for AD. These advancements will provide more treatment options for patients and will allow clinicians to specifically treat underlying causes of AD with more certainty. However, substantial accumulation of new data from these advances creates knowledge and practice gaps that affect patient care. This collaborative social learning platform establishes a network of providers who can support each other locally, as well as those from different communities, with the goal of learning and sharing best practices that will improve outcomes for patients.
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Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clonal plasma cell disorder arising from the bone marrow and is the second most common hematologic malignancy in the United States (US), with an incidence of approximately 35,000 new cases per year. While progression-free survival (PFS) benefit is often seen with MM therapeutics, overall survival (OS) benefit is rarely seen with novel therapies, and improvements in PFS are still associated with adverse events and long-term disease refractoriness. Over the past few decades, rigorous pre-clinical and clinical research has led to the discovery of novel therapies that have dramatically changed the treatment landscape of MM in the frontline as well as in the relapsed/refractory setting. Despite implementing multimodal approaches to treat MM, the major challenge remains that the vast majority of patients eventually relapse and become refractory to multiple drug classes. Additionally, patients require continuous treatment throughout the disease course, which can negatively affect their quality of life due to potential therapy-related side effects. This collaborative social learning platform establishes a network of providers who can support each other locally, as well as those from different communities, with the goal of learning and sharing best practices that will improve outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma.
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