Alana Hippensteele, Lead Editor

Manish Agrawal, MD, explores the evolving role of pharmacists in psychedelic-assisted therapy, highlighting ongoing efforts to develop standardized protocols and the emerging involvement of pharmacy teams in patient education and safety.

These changes are creating operational challenges for oncology infusion centers.

Manish Agrawal, MD, discusses the expanding influence of his group-based psychedelic therapy model in oncology and beyond, highlighting its adaptation in military post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research, the sustained benefits of long-term patient integration, and growing institutional interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Oncology pharmacists are increasingly shaping patient care by integrating remote care, medication reconciliation, and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as by addressing drug shortages.

At the 2025 Oncology Pharmacists Connect (OPC) meeting, Kevin Chen, PharmD, MS, BCOP, CPP, reviewed several key studies from the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, highlighting significant advancements in the treatment of small cell and non–small cell lung cancer.

At the 2025 Oncology Pharmacists Connect (OPC) meeting, Courtney Cavalieri, PharmD, BCOP, presented clinical trial findings in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers—including colon, gastric, pancreatic, and metastatic colorectal cancer—that highlight the expanding role of immunotherapy and targeted treatments.

At the 2025 Oncology Pharmacists Connect (OPC) meeting, Mya Tran, PharmD, BCOP, highlights the clinical promise, operational challenges, and evolving role of pharmacists in implementing precision medicine and genomics-driven cancer care.

Janet Espirito, PharmD, discusses real-world outcomes from a large community oncology study showing that patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma—including those with brain metastases—experienced similar benefit from frontline immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy.

Zahra Mahmoudjafari, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, FHOPA, co-chair of the 2025 Oncology Pharmacists Connect (OPC) meeting, discusses what makes the event unique, highlights key sessions, and shares her excitement for the educational and networking opportunities.

Manish Agrawal, MD, discusses emerging research on psychedelic-assisted therapy for patients with cancer, including innovative dyadic treatment models, challenges in capturing meaningful outcomes, and growing interest in integrating psychedelics into oncology and palliative care.

Juan Ovalles, MD, PhD, discusses how high placebo response rates driven by background therapy complicate lupus drug trials, and outlines evolving strategies in trial design, clinical practice, and pharmacist-led care to ensure investigational biologics are fairly evaluated and appropriately used in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Vincent Chung, MD, discusses key findings from the NAPOLI-3 trial and offers guidance for pharmacists on managing toxicities, adjusting dosing, and supporting patients receiving NALIRIFOX for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Laura Momoko Asakura, PharmD, BCOP, BCSPS, discusses the equitable use of oncology treatment pathway tools, highlighting that their utilization remains consistent across patient groups regardless of race, ethnicity, or insurance status.

Frank Qian, MD, MPH, discusses the integration of omega-3 fatty acid therapy alongside statins and PCSK9 inhibitors in cardiovascular risk management, highlighting the distinct mechanisms of benefit and lack of significant drug interactions.

Bempedoic acid is an effective option for statin-intolerant patients or those needing additional low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction, with clinical trials showing cardiovascular benefits, key drug-drug interaction considerations, and special management factors in patients with comorbidities.

Kausik K. Ray, MD, discussed the importance of early, aggressive, and sustained LDL-C lowering for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease prevention, highlighting that the magnitude of cardiovascular risk reduction is independent of the specific lipid-lowering therapy used.

Børge G. Nordestgaard, MD, DMSc, discussed the role of remnant cholesterol as an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and the emerging therapies that may help manage residual cardiovascular risk beyond low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction.

Incretin-based therapies, including GLP-1 and dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists, are transforming the management of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular risk.

Frank Qian, MD, MPH, discusses clinical considerations for omega-3 fatty acid therapy, such as the patient populations who may benefit most and important safety concerns.

Frank Qian, MD, MPH, discusses the clinical indications, dosing strategies, and cardiovascular outcomes data for prescription omega-3 fatty acids, including the ongoing debate about EPA vs EPA-DHA formulations and the implications of recent trial findings.

GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide and tirzepatide, significantly reduce cardiometabolic risk factors such as dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular events, with evidence suggesting that some of these benefits may occur independently of weight loss.

At the 2025 National Lipid Association (NLA) Scientific Sessions, Marlys L. Koschinsky, PhD, FNLA, discusses the role of Lp(a) in cardiovascular risk and the emerging therapies designed to target and lower Lp(a) levels.

Emerging therapies targeting apolipoprotein C-III (ApoC3) are demonstrating significant promise in lowering triglycerides and reducing cardiovascular risk for patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia and rare disorders, such as familial chylomicronemia syndrome.

Sander Kersten, PhD, discusses the distinct roles of ANGPTL3 and ANGPTL4 in lipid metabolism, their interactions with key enzymes, the therapeutic potential of targeting these pathways in lipid-lowering strategies, and important considerations for pharmacists counseling patients on emerging ANGPTL-targeted therapies.

Katherine H. Saunders, MD, DABOM, explores the role of pharmacists in supporting long-term weight management with GLP-1 therapies, including strategies for counseling on lifestyle interventions, managing adverse effects, and ensuring patients receive individualized, evidence-based care.

Two abstracts from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting demonstrate that pretreatment DPYD genotyping improves the safety and cost-effectiveness of fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy, with oncology pharmacists playing a pivotal role in implementing and optimizing genotype-guided dosing strategies.

Corrine Stahura, PharmD, and Sophia Gilardone, PharmD, BCOP, discuss recent clinical trial data and evolving guideline recommendations for HER2- and HER3-directed antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), highlighting differences in efficacy, safety, and patient selection criteria.

Hope Rugo, MD, discusses a multi-institutional real-world analysis showing that rechallenging trastuzumab deruxtecan after grade 1 interstitial lung disease (ILD) is generally safe and effective.

Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, emphasizes the importance of whole-food dietary patterns over macronutrient percentages for improving lipid profiles and cardiovascular health.

Pre-treatment DPYD genotyping significantly reduces hospitalizations and costs for patients with cancer, enhancing safety and efficiency in oncology care.