Dr. Stephanie Graff explains details and results of the landmark Destiny Breast 04 Trial – which has changed the way that doctors treat patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, and helped determine if patients can be treated differently with early diagnosis. The Trastuzumab Deruxtecan T-DXd) (brand name: Enhertu) drug finds HER2-positive breast cancer in a targeted fashion and delivers chemotherapy to it, known as “smart chemo.” 

Research results received a standing ovation at a plenary session presentation before 42,000 oncologists at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

Topics discussed include Destiny Breast 06 and 07 Trials, various stages of cancer, the role of cellular protein and the hormone estrogen, how often T-DXd is delivered intravenously, its side effects and availability, and how participation in clinical drug trials should be the first step for patients after cancer diagnosis. Dr. Graff also talks about her Woman Disruptor of the Year award in the field of medical oncology and her Brown Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Mentor of the Year Award.

Special guest in the studio is Dr. Stephanie Haddad, a second-year Brown Internal Medicine resident interested in oncology with experience as a breast cancer clinical trial research coordinator.

Brown Medicine is pleased to be on the forefront of cutting-edge science and exciting research such as this particular study.

Dr. Khan talks about the dangers of cigarette smoking and tobacco use. 

Getting screened for lung cancer can help save a person’s life. This simple, non-invasive CT scan test, done annually, can increase the chance of finding cancer early. People whose lung cancer is diagnosed early are nearly 10x more likely to live longer.

In this episode, Dr. Hina Khan, a thoracic oncology physician with Brown Medicine’s Division of Hematology and Oncology, discusses her latest research and public education study aimed at improving awareness of lung cancer screening, particularly among ethnic and minority populations in Rhode Island. 

Topics discussed include who is most at risk for lung cancer, what the screening test involves, risk factors, who is eligible to participate in this study, what barriers exist to getting screened, and how patients can enroll.

For more information, contact Dr. Khan at 401-893-7126 or hina_khan@brown.edu.

Dr. Hina Khan is also a thoracic oncologist at the Brown Cancer Center at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence; assistant professor in hematology and oncology at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine, and has led several research projects as principal investigator related to the needs of diverse, underserved communities.

In addition to her research, she works in a lab doing translational lunch cancer research and sees patients will all stages of lung cancer.