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Articles by Eliz Baloyan
Natalia Vilcu-Bajurean at LeukO 2026: A Mother’s Powerful Promise to Change Childhood Cancer Care
Key takeaways No family should have to cross a border for essential cancer testing Small parent organizations can drive national change, helping turn the needs of children with cancer into healthcare priorities and policy commitments. Parents bring expertise that healthcare systems cannot afford to overlook, because their lived experiences reveal problems that may be invisible to policymakers.
The True Strength of The UICC Lies with Its Members: C S Pramesh’s Vision for UICC
C S Pramesh, Director of Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai and Convener of India’s National Cancer Grid, is among the three candidates for President-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) for the 2026–2028 term. A surgical oncologist, researcher, and global cancer health leader, Dr Pramesh currently serves on the Boards of Directors of UICC and ASCO.
Otávio Al-Alam at COGC 2026: Why Guideline Deviation Can Still Be Good Medicine
Key takeaways Guidelines should support clinical judgment, not replace it. Treatment decisions must account for the evidence, the patient, the healthcare system, and the physician’s clinical context. Deviation from a guideline is not always poor-quality care when patient factors, access barriers, or newer evidence justify adaptation. The same guideline can lead to very different care depending on where a patient is treated and what resources are available.
Chandan Kumar at LeukO 2026: What Happens After a Child Survives Cancer?
Key takeaways Surviving cancer is only the beginning, as many childhood cancer survivors continue to face stigma, emotional distress, and challenges returning to everyday life. Where a child is born can determine their chances of survival, with unequal access to diagnosis, treatment, and essential medicines. Compassionate care can prevent treatment abandonment by helping families overcome financial, emotional, and practical barriers.
Episode 1 of gastrochat: H. pylori, TikTok, and a Whole Lot of Drama
What do a pot of soup, a breaking cancer study, and a TikTok weight-loss trend have in common? Apparently, quite a lot. At least if you’re Margaret-Ann Simonetta. Welcome to “gastrochat”, a new podcast created in partnership with OncoDaily, where gastrointestinal (GI) health meets pop culture, scientific research, and the occasional unexpected internet obsession.
Zhemal Rakhmanova at LeukO 2026: SOS/VOD – The Deadly Complication of Life-Saving Treatment
Key takeaways SOS/VOD is often a severe complication, not a mild setback. Very severe disease accounted for 42% of cases, highlighting the importance of prevention and early recognition. Disease status at transplantation matters beyond leukemia control. Advanced disease was the strongest independent predictor of SOS/VOD, making pre-transplant disease control an important consideration in reducing complications. Children may be particularly vulnerable to busulfan-related liver toxicity.
Wajeeha Aiman at COGC 2026: How Can Shared Care Expand Access to CAR-T and Bispecifics?
Key takeaways Refer early at relapse or refractoriness, ideally before another line of therapy is started. Age, performance status, or organ dysfunction should not automatically exclude referral for advanced cellular therapy evaluation. Shared care works best when community and academic centers clearly define who is responsible at each phase of treatment. Community teams need to recognize CRS and ICANS and know exactly where patients should go and whom to contact if toxicity develops.
Huyong Zheng at LeukO 2026: Two Decades of Progress, a New Future for Pediatric AML
Key takeaways Pediatric AML is not simply adult AML in younger patients. Its distinct genetic landscape demands treatment strategies designed specifically for children. Replacing etoposide with homoharringtonine made a measurable difference. The CCLG-AML 2015 trial demonstrated improved remission rates and survival with homoharringtonine-based induction. 95% remission in high-risk pediatric AML.
Marc Braunstein at COGC 2026: The New Era of Hematologic Cancer Treatment
Key takeaways Survival is improving across several major hematologic malignancies, although substantial unmet need remains, particularly in AML. CAR T-cell therapy is becoming increasingly important, and early referral matters most for patients with refractory or high-risk disease. Molecular profiling helps identify higher-risk patients and can guide decisions about treatment intensity and advanced therapies.
Brian Grieb at COGC 2026: How Fast Can Testing Really Be? A Powerful Look at Rapid Precision Oncology
Key takeaways Standardized biomarker order sets can help clinicians start with the right testing from the beginning. Pathology coordination is critical to turnaround time, especially when tissue is controlled by multiple hospitals and outside pathology groups. Biomarker results are most useful when they are integrated into the EMR and linked directly to treatment guidance. Molecular data can also support faster clinical trial pre-screening and patient identification across community networks.
Hesham Elghazaly and the Vision of One World Against Cancer
In 2019, the breast cancer picture in Egypt was defined by late diagnosis. More than 60% of patients were presenting with stage III or IV disease. The time to diagnosis exceeded 240 days. Multidisciplinary tumor-board discussion was not routinely built into the patient pathway. And although mammographic screening efforts had been attempted, the maximum reach had been around 200,000 women in a country with a population well above 100 million. Several years later, the numbers look very different.
Brooke Peters at COGC 2026: What Should Community Oncology Ask Before Adopting Complex Therapies?
Key takeaways Community oncology must build the infrastructure, monitoring, and expertise needed to deliver increasingly complex therapies safely. A practical approach is to build, buy, and partner - with the strongest emphasis on developing internal teams and external clinical partnerships. Oncology pharmacists can bridge clinical and operational workflows, helping with treatment pathways, EMR tools, REMS requirements, patient selection, toxicity management, and education.
Janet Abrahm at COGC 2026: Grief, Guilt, and the Emotional Burden of Cancer Care
Key takeaways Recognize and mitigate your moral distress. Debrief your grief. Master the difficult conversations. And partner with palliative care or supportive oncology. At the Community Oncology Global Congress (COGC 2026), organized by OncoDaily, Janet Abrahm, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Institute Physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, shifted the conversation from cancer treatment to the clinicians delivering it.
Viviane Basílio at COGC 2026: The Critical Shift From Age to Vulnerability
Key takeaways Chronological age alone should not determine systemic therapy intensity in older adults. Geriatric assessment can uncover vulnerabilities that ECOG performance status may miss. Assessment only matters if the findings lead to action, such as nutritional support, medication review, caregiver involvement, or closer monitoring. Both overtreatment and undertreatment should be avoided by matching treatment intensity to vulnerability, goals, and expected benefit.
Vinona Bhatia at COGC 2026: The Smart Way to Avoid AI That Creates More Work
Key takeaways AI should solve a specific workflow problem, not simply add another tool or dashboard. Practices should ask whether AI truly reduces work or merely shifts it to someone else. Useful AI can improve prior authorization, documentation, molecular testing, patient navigation, and trial matching. Integration with the EMR and a clear fallback when AI is wrong are essential. Clinical trial AI can support pre-screening, but final eligibility decisions must remain clearly defined.
Iyad Sultan at COGC 2026: The Hidden Risk – Why a Good AI Model Can Still Fail
Key takeaways Clinical AI needs rigorous validation before deployment and continuous monitoring afterward, because performance can change as patient populations and clinical environments shift. A model that performs well in one population may fail in another, making local validation and representative data essential. Governance must include real authority to monitor, retrain, or stop a model when it no longer performs safely.
Fernando Maciel Barbosa at COGC 2026: Centralize Expertise, Not the Patient
Key takeaways Precision oncology only works when the pathway connects testing, interpretation, treatment access, and clinical trials. Community and academic centers can share expertise through tumor boards, telehealth, pathology review, and clinical trial matching without moving all care to the academic center. A molecular result is only useful when it is interpreted in the context of the patient’s cancer, prior treatment, evidence, germline implications, and available therapies or trials.
Fred Ashbury at COGC 2026: Why AI Needs Better Workflows, Not More Tools
Key takeaways AI is most useful when it is built into the clinical workflow, not added as another separate tool. The biggest opportunity is to move care from reactive to proactive, using AI to prioritize risk, triage symptoms, and trigger follow-up. Safe use of AI requires human oversight, clear accountability, privacy, equity, and explainability. Agentic AI may be especially useful in community oncology because it can connect tasks such as triage, documentation, and scheduling within one workflow.
Esther G. Chong at COGC 2026: Beyond Age – Geriatric Assessment for Safer Cancer Treatment
Key takeaways Chronological age alone is not enough to predict how an older patient will tolerate cancer treatment. G8 or VES-13 screening can help identify which patients aged 65 and older need a full geriatric assessment. A comprehensive geriatric assessment looks beyond ECOG to function, cognition, comorbidities, nutrition, social support, medications, and frailty. CARG, CRASH, and CARG-BC can help estimate chemotherapy toxicity risk and support more informed treatment decisions.
Clement Adebamowo at COGC 2026: Prevention, Access, and the Real Work of Community Care in Africa
Key takeaways Community oncology in Africa is not primarily a treatment site; it is where interpretation, permission, financing, navigation, follow-up, and palliation often happen before and after formal cancer care. Task shifting only works when it is designed, certified, and funded; otherwise, it simply transfers costs and responsibility onto unpaid workers and families.
Andrea Ferrari: The Rhabdomyosarcoma Paradox – Better Treatment, Persistent Survival Gaps
Key takeaways Rhabdomyosarcoma is most common in children, but it can occur at any age, and outcomes generally worsen in adolescents, young adults, and adults. Modern classification goes beyond histology, with fusion status and molecular subtypes such as MYOD1-mutated disease adding important prognostic information. Pediatric-style treatment improves outcomes in AYA patients, but it does not fully eliminate the survival gap compared with children.
Foluke Sarimiye at COGC 2026: From Equality to Equity in Community Cancer Care
Key takeaways Community oncology should connect specialist cancer expertise with the full care pathway, from prevention and diagnosis to treatment, survivorship, palliative care, and end-of-life support. Equity means bringing cancer care closer to patients who face geographic, financial, or system-level barriers, rather than expecting everyone to navigate the same pathway. Screening alone is not enough; early detection must be linked to timely diagnosis, pathology, treatment, and follow-up.
Debra Patt at COGC 2026: Community Oncology Is Changing Fast – Can Practices Survive?
Key takeaways Small independent oncology practices are becoming harder to sustain as administrative burden, reimbursement pressure, and technology demands continue to grow. Value-based care has not expanded as broadly as expected, while declining reimbursement and shrinking margins continue to pressure community oncology.
Brazil’s Clinical Trial Reforms Take Center Stage at Brazil Unlocked
More predictable regulatory review and a single ethical assessment for multicenter studies are changing how sponsors plan clinical trials in Brazil. At Clinical Development in LATAM: Brazil Unlocked, speakers examined the reforms behind that shift and the work still needed to implement them consistently. Organized by ODC Life Sciences with MassBio on September 24, 2026, at MassBio Hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and online, the event was covered by OncoDaily.
Anu Agrawal Named Candidate for UICC Board of Directors 2026–2028
Anu Agrawal (Anurag K. Agrawal), Vice President of Global Cancer Support at the American Cancer Society (ACS), has been named a candidate for the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) Board of Directors for the 2026–2028 term. A pediatric hematologist-oncologist and bone marrow transplantation physician, Dr Agrawal brings experience spanning clinical oncology, global cancer support, patient navigation, quality improvement, and health disparities.
OncoDaily Heads to Dubai to Cover the 7th EOS Annual Conference
On 3–4 October 2026, the 7th Emirates Oncology Society Annual Conference 2026 will bring that conversation to the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City, UAE. Oncology specialists, researchers, healthcare professionals, and industry representatives will gather for two days of scientific exchange, education, and professional collaboration.
Carlos Barrios at COGC 2026: Why Pragmatic Trials Are a Powerful Tool Across the Americas
Key takeaways Community oncology is where most cancer care happens, making it a critical setting for identifying real-world problems and research priorities. Major gaps across the Americas include late diagnosis, unequal access to technologies and treatments, workforce shortages, fragmented care, and limited clinical trial access.
Benjamin Bleiberg at COGC 2026: Why Comprehensive Profiling Needs More Than Tissue
Key takeaways Comprehensive molecular profiling impacts both treatment selection and outcomes for patients with advanced cancers, particularly non-small cell lung cancer. Liquid biopsy can increase the detection of actionable genetic alterations and can be incorporated into routine diagnostic workflows. Barriers to broader liquid biopsy use, especially cost and availability, are improving and are likely to continue improving over time.
Samvel Bardakhchyan at COGC 2026: New EGFR-Targeted Therapy Is Reshaping NSCLC
Key takeaways EGFR-mutated NSCLC is not a single disease entity; exon 19 deletions, L858R, uncommon point mutations, and exon 20 insertions can have different therapeutic implications. Real-time PCR and NGS both have important roles in EGFR testing: PCR is fast and sensitive for common mutations, while NGS provides broader detection of rare and low-level alterations.
Kathleen Schmeler Named Candidate for UICC Board of Directors 2026–2028
Dr Kathleen Schmeler, Associate Vice President of Global Oncology and Professor of Gynecologic Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been named a candidate for the UICC Board of Directors for the 2026–2028 term. Dr Schmeler currently serves on the UICC Board and is seeking a second term. She is among 24 candidates running for 14 Board seats. UICC full-member organisations will elect the new Board during the 2026 UICC General Assembly, which will take place virtually on October 20, 2026.
Inside Setidegrasib’s Phase 3 Development: Targeting KRAS G12D Through Protein Degradation
Astellas announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 3 trial evaluating setidegrasib, an investigational KRAS G12D-targeted protein degrader, against docetaxel in previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study includes patients with KRAS G12D-mutated, locally advanced unresectable or metastatic NSCLC whose disease has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
Debanjan Kundu at COGC 2026: Why Technology Is Not Enough to Build Digital Oncology Networks
Key takeaways Digital oncology is most useful when it improves information flow and connects patient-reported symptoms to timely clinical action. A functioning regional MDT needs more than videoconferencing; it requires complete diagnostic information, structured communication, and clear responsibility for each patient. Technology cannot compensate for missing pathology, radiology, research staff, pharmacy support, or other infrastructure needed to act on clinical decisions.
Christian Ntizimira Named Candidate for UICC Board of Directors 2026–2028
Christian Ntizimira, Founder and Executive Director of the African Centre for Research on End-of-Life Care (ACREOL Global) in Rwanda, has been named a candidate for the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) Board of Directors for the 2026–2028 term. UICC lists Dr Ntizimira among the 24 candidates competing for 14 Board seats. UICC The new Board will be elected by UICC full-member organisations at the 2026 UICC General Assembly, which will take place virtually on October 20, 2026.
Amitabh Ray at COGC 2026: Low-Tech, High-Trust Solutions for Community Oncology
Key takeaways Patient-flow data showed that many oncology patients were traveling long distances for routine visits or opinions that could be managed closer to home. Telemedicine alone was not enough because language barriers, low health literacy, and limited trained staff affected the quality of remote consultations. A physical hub-and-spoke model with a trusted local partner made multidisciplinary decision-making and triage possible within the community.
José W. Avitia at COGC 2026: Pluvicto or Triplet Therapy? New Frontline Decision in Prostate Cancer
Key takeaways Pluvicto has moved into the frontline setting for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, but the overall survival data are still maturing. Choosing between Pluvicto and triplet therapy should be individualized using disease burden, PSMA status, chemotherapy fitness, comorbidities, renal function, baseline blood counts, toxicity, and patient preference.
Allen Chen at COGC 2026: The New Era of Tumor-Agnostic Cancer Therapy
Key takeaways Biomarker-based therapy has evolved from early cancer markers to targeted therapies, next-generation sequencing, immunotherapy, and liquid biopsy. Liquid biopsy can complement tissue testing by offering a minimally invasive way to capture molecular information from multiple tumor sites and subclones. The same biomarker does not always predict the same treatment response across different tumor types, making biological context and tumor heterogeneity important.
Atlal Abusanad at COGC 2026: Less Testing, Better Decisions – The Power of Precision Oncology
Key takeaways Precision oncology works only when molecular testing is connected to interpretation, treatment decisions, trial access, and follow-up - not treated as a standalone test. Every step in the pathway needs a clear owner, from patient selection and tissue assessment to result review and documentation of what happens next.
Jenny Ahlstrom at COGC 2026: A Smarter New Path to Clinical Trial Access
Key takeaways Patient-owned health records can bring fragmented oncology data from multiple centers into one place. AI matching can narrow hundreds of open studies down to the trials a patient may actually be eligible for. HealthTree’s model has supported large-scale recruitment, including more than 600 tissue samples for one myeloma study. The central goal is to make trial participation less dependent on geography.
Ilya Tsimafeyeu at COGC 2026: Emerging Real-World Evidence in Metastatic Urothelial Cancer
Key takeaways Access remains a major part of community oncology because newer standards are not available in every country or practice. Avelumab maintenance showed encouraging real-world effectiveness in patients who were more heterogeneous than those typically enrolled in randomized trials. Oligoprogression may not always require abandoning a systemic therapy that is still controlling most of the disease. VOLGA 2 is testing this strategy prospectively.
Abena Yeboah Aduse-Poku at COGC 2026: Stronger Cancer Care Through Collaboration
Key takeaways Cancer care improves when referral pathways are connected, not fragmented. OncoKids shows how digital tools can link rural facilities with specialist pediatric oncology care. Strong multidisciplinary teams depend on communication across institutions and levels of care. Virtual communities such as Africa Cancer ECHO can extend learning, coordination, and specialist support beyond individual hospitals.
Ruiling Yuan at COGC 2026: How Rural Oncology Can Turn Limits Into Better Care
Key takeaways Rural patients need more cancer services close to home, especially when travel and workforce shortages make referral difficult. New programs should start with unmet needs and strong relationships. At Self Regional, this approach led to high-risk breast, cardio-oncology, exercise oncology, and supportive-care services. Community outreach and health literacy are part of cancer care, not extras. Patients need understandable information, screening, and support where they live.
Kseniia Bolharina at COGC 2026: Toward a Stronger Oncology Ecosystem in Ukraine
Key takeaways OncoHub is built around three practical pillars: education, professional connection, and opportunities for oncology professionals across Ukraine. The OncoHub Congress brings the national oncology community together not only around clinical topics, but also around issues such as bioethics, burnout, legal protection, and the role of oncology nurses.
Alice Indini at COGC 2026: When Immune-Related Toxicity Becomes an Emergency
Key takeaways Most toxicities can be managed with corticosteroids, but rare events such as cardiac and neurologic toxicities require rapid recognition and specialist input. ICI-related myocarditis is rare but potentially lethal, especially when associated with myositis or myasthenia gravis overlap. Early escalation matters: acting quickly, using the right steroid dose, and adding second-line immunosuppression when needed can reduce mortality.
Gustavo Fonseca at COGC 2026: Making Community Clinical Trials Truly Work
Key takeaways The right study has to be both scientifically meaningful and realistic for the clinic to execute without protocol deviations. Trial matching should be proactive, with patients identified before they urgently need another treatment option. Electronic medical records and AI can help identify candidates earlier, but they support rather than replace physician and coordinator review.
Daiichi Sankyo and Merck Withdraw Ifinatamab Deruxtecan BLA for Previously Treated Extensive-Stage SCLC
Daiichi Sankyo and Merck have voluntarily withdrawn the U.S. Biologics License Application (BLA) seeking accelerated approval of ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) for adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) whose disease progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.
Melissa Johnson at COGC 2026: Which Bispecifics Safely Belong in the Outpatient Setting?
Key takeaways All bispecifics are not created equal. There may be some that cannot be given as an outpatient, but there are some that can be. Think about the adverse events that you are looking for and in what window they are likely to occur. Define algorithms for a local hospital safety pathway, so that the patients who do need evaluation already know exactly what to do.
Irene Chidothe-Chisale at COGC 2026: Malawi’s Experience With Essential Cancer Medicines
Key takeaways In Malawi, cancer drug access improved gradually through advocacy, procurement reform, dedicated budgeting, stronger pharmacy involvement, and inclusion of cancer medicines in the national essential medicines list. Even when a medicine is considered essential, special procurement procedures can still create long delays and make treatment unpredictable.
Soumen Das and Deepak Poudel at COGC 2026: Earlier Detection, Faster Referral, Better Cancer Care
Key takeaways Late presentation is rarely just a patient problem; delays can build at every step from symptom recognition to diagnosis, referral, and treatment. In settings where breast tumors still present at 3–4 cm, strengthening clinical examination may have a greater immediate impact than relying only on population-wide mammographic screening.
Matti Aapro Named Candidate for UICC Board of Directors 2026–2028
Dr Matti Aapro, medical oncologist at Genolier Cancer Centre in Switzerland, President of Sharing Progress in Cancer Care (SPCC), and a current member of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) Board of Directors, has been named a candidate for the UICC Board of Directors for the 2026–2028 term. Dr Aapro is among 24 candidates running for 14 seats on the UICC Board.
Pranshu Bansal at COGC 2026: Precision Lung Cancer Care Starts Before the First Dose
Key takeaways Broad molecular testing needs to happen upfront because the result can completely change first-line treatment. In lung cancer, DNA and RNA testing complement each other and help avoid missing actionable alterations and fusions. Protecting tissue and coordinating biopsy, pathology, and NGS from the beginning can prevent testing failures later. ctDNA can speed up molecular profiling, especially in metastatic disease, but it should complement rather than replace tissue testing.
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