Why Toxicity and Time Matter in Blood Cancer Care

Описание: In this episode of The HemOnc Pulse, host Rahul Banerjee, MD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center sits down with Ajay Major, MD, MBA, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, for a thoughtful discussion on the growing role of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in lymphoma and other blood cancers.

Recorded during Blood Cancer Awareness Month, the conversation centers on why elevating the patient voice is essential to modern clinical research. Dr. Major explains how PROs add critical context to traditional trial endpoints—such as overall survival and progression-free survival—by capturing toxicity, symptom burden, and the lived experience of patients throughout treatment.

The episode explores emerging and often underrecognized domains, including financial toxicity, time toxicity, and treatment-related impacts on daily life, all of which are becoming increasingly important in shared decision-making and quality-of-life assessments. Drs. Banerjee and Major also discuss how PROs can guide more meaningful conversations between clinicians and patients as treatment options expand.

The discussion concludes with a focus on innovation and mentorship, highlighting how junior investigators can advance the field by designing studies that better capture underreported symptoms and patient experiences. Together, they examine how PROs can inform care in an era of increasingly complex therapies, including CAR T-cell therapies and bispecific antibodies.

🎧 Tune in for a clinician-focused conversation on how patient-reported outcomes are reshaping research, care, and communication in blood cancers.

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