For the second time in 2023, Josh and Michael discuss some of the hardest-hitting highlights from a conference; in this case, they dive into five studies that caught their eye at the recent ASCO GU Conference in, in Michael's words, "sunny California." We think he is simply jealous of the fact that Melbourne barely has sunshine for most of the year. Never fear: the amount of grousing about the weather pales in comparison to the clinical pearls, future projections and terrible puns.

Concluding their Journey to the Centre of the Brain, Michael and Josh tackle one of the most challenging and difficult cancers in modern oncology: high-grade gliomas. All of the usual suspects are here: irrevocable, progressive disease, limited treatment options and a gulf in evidence so large it makes the Grand Canyon look like a muddy footprint. All in all, not the most optimistic of OftiM episodes, but Josh and Michael will tackle it anyway so you don't have to. And remember: always refer your fit GBM patients to a friendly neighbourhood trials unit near you!

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind finally embarks on the treacherous journey of neuro-oncology. While researching for this episode, Michael and Josh realised that effective treatments are limited but do not reduce neuro-oncology's complexity. This is a hefty episode covering low-grade gliomas, oligodendroglioma, astrocytomas and the important molecular markers and how these influence survival and prognosis for our patients. It also talks about the new WHO classification of primary brain tumours and how it has affected the interpretation of prior research.

Tune in for part one of this special mini-series covering neuro-oncology

In our second bite-sized episode, Michael and Josh explore the challenge of chemotherapy-induced diarrhoea, a common problem for patients leading to morbidity, hospital admissions, and potentially stopping curative treatments early. While immunotherapy and targeted therapy are not innocent bystanders regarding colitis and bowel problems, chemotherapy has long been the most prominent protagonist of this story. It is essential to identify warning signs, investigate adequately and see the treatment options available to you, the saviour and potential part-time plumber. Tune in and find out more!

In the grand, six-month-long tradition of Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind, Josh and Michael provide an update from an international meeting to keep you right up to date with the latest and greatest developments in their field. This week's special is the ASCO GI Symposium, held in Moscone, California, and brought to your ears from Melbourne. From two guys in their pyjamas. Who would much rather be in Moscone, California.

At any rate, updates abound in this OftiM special. Listen on so you too can crest the wave of Gastrointestinal Oncology!

Studies Discussed: NAPOLI 3, CHECKMATE 648 and 649 updates, SPOTLIGHT, Pemigatinib in FGFR mutant mCRC

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind returns to its regular broadcasting schedule and discusses metastatic renal cell cancer (ccRCC). As not to be outdone, Josh takes a cultural tangent exploring the world of opera after seeing "The Hours" broadcast through Met: Live in HD. While Josh doesn't sing this episode, he highlights this opera's parallels with cancer patients undergoing treatment. To avoid losing sight of this podcast's purpose, Michael and Josh soon find their way. They discovered that metastatic renal cell carcinoma has many treatment options, including targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or even combining these two modalities! Tune in to find out where the evidence currently stands.

This is OncoSnacks, a new, fortnightly OftIM spinoff!

In this new bite-sized series, Michael and Josh try to sink their teeth into more slice-of-life topics, all to help you, our beloved listeners, digest some of the most common problems your patients will serve to you on a platter. This week, a treatment side effect that actually stops people eating (and making lame food-based puns as well): mucositis.

This common side effect of anti-cancer systemic therapy can have a major impact on patients quality of life, frequently leading to hospitalisations, significant morbidity and nasogastric tubes galore. But how do we manage such a troublesome problem? Listen on to find out!

This week on Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind, Michael dons his cultural hat and begins with an Ode to the Kidneys, organs that are as much a muse for poets worldwide as the heart (probably). However, you didn't come to this podcast for excellent poetry being delivered with all the panache and misguided enthusiasm of a walrus stepping on a piece of LEGO, and Michael and Josh aim to deliver on this front. Our intrepid pair examine the controversial world of adjuvant treatment of clear cell renal cell cancers (ccRCC), an area of research littered with the ghosts of negative or equivocal studies. But, not every study can be a FLAURA or a DESTINY, and negative studies are just as important, so listen on to find out exactly what NOT to do. Truly, an OftIM first!

As the southern hemisphere basks in summer's beautiful warmth, Michael and Josh skip the beach to explore skin cancer. While melanoma usually takes centre stage in the oncological world, it is far less common than basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma now has a viable and effective treatment option called cemiplimab. At the other end of the spectrum, Michael investigates the very rare cancer type Merkle Cell Carcinoma and how Avelumab has changed its treatment paradigm. Once again, it's immunotherapy at its best. So remember, while listening to our podcast, don't forget to wear a hat and apply sunscreen generously!

New year, new episode of Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind! After enjoying their holiday break, Josh and Michael dive right into 2023 with an episode especially aimed at trainees just about to start their new professional journey in Medical Oncology. Joined by an old friend, the wise-beyond-his-years Dr Andrew Jensen, they discuss life as a trainee, balancing work and life, and how to navigate the tough first few years of life in training, which can so often feel like being a bottle cast into a storm. Join us for an episode that may be light on hazard ratios and p values, but heavy on practical tips and wisdom, delivered in the tone of three dads drinking beer by a campfire...

Oncologists love pushing the limits of what is possible for our patients. To celebrate this and the 20th episode of Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind, Michael and Josh explore the heights of pioneering treatment for early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). A notoriously resistant cancer with no known targetable lesions that affect younger women on average, The BrighTNess trial, Keynote 522 and Create-X show just how far the treatment landscape has changed in the last five years.

Tune into our final episode for the year! We will return in early 2023 with more content, interviews and hilarious banter.

On a final note, Dr Michael Fernando has been admitted to the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP), the equivalent of being board certified! Michael has completed this arduous training and is now a fully-fledged Medical Oncologist! Do not distress listeners. Despite no longer being a trainee, Michael will continue on as presenter and host extraordinaire for this podcast.

"I'm not in danger; I AM the danger!" So said Bryan Cranston's Walter White, and so too said early-stage lung cancer when confronted with adjuvant chemotherapy (maybe). In this episode, however, Josh and Michael follow in the footsteps of Hank Schrader, Steve Gomez et al., discussing ways to tackle one of the biggest killers in oncology. While we may not have found a way to control early-stage lung cancer, new developments are on the horizon, such as neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy and adjuvant osimertinib. So listen on, with the disclaimer that any similarities between Walter White and Jane Eyre are purely coincidental, no matter what Josh may argue...

In this episode, Josh and Mikey travel back millions of years to a time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, as recent research has demonstrated, unmolested by cancer. Then they come crashing back to the present to discuss this week's topic, metastatic colorectal cancer. Will they discover secrets hidden across the aeons? Was the secret to cancer treatment hidden in the bones of our scaled precursors? No, of course not. But there will be a lot of information on the improving treatment of colorectal cancer, which has not taken millions of years to advance. Oh, and Michael does a passable Richard Attenborough.

After looking at early upper gastrointestinal cancers last week, Michael and Josh take the logical next step and discuss the management of their metastatic cousins, the most unsavoury collection since Cassius and Brutus teamed up to assassinate their erstwhile friend Julius. And while our weapons against these cancers are limited, that will not stop our intrepid podcasting pair from taking a deep, rambling and irreverent dive into the dirty details. Friends! Oncologists! Countrymen! Lend us your ears!

Movember is an important event focussing on men's health, including cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer diagnosed in Australia and the second most common in American men. To highlight this and explore the pioneering treatments available, Michael and Josh interviewed the esteemed Dr Megan Crumbaker. Megan is a medical oncologist specialising in genitourinary cancer and works at The Kinghorn Cancer Centre and St. Vincents Health in Sydney, Australia. Dr Crumbaker completed her undergraduate at Rice University, Texas, before completing her medical training in Sydney and a PhD in prostate genomics through The Garvan Research Institute.

We discussed all things prostate oncology with Megan, including research, career, pioneering treatment options and all things prostate cancer. These treatment pearls are not to be missed by any budding oncologist!

As we CROSS into another episode, Michael and Josh explore the world of early gastric cancer and esophageal cancer. Interestingly both these cancers have a higher incidence in Asia and North Africa. Your podcast hosts soon find early detection of these cancers can be difficult, often leading to treatment challenges not seen by other cancer streams, such as bowel or breast cancer. Unlike previous episodes, FLOT4 looks at perioperative chemotherapy and its benefits over the previous incumbent chemotherapy. Before we give anything more away, make sure to listen to this episode to understand the gold standard of care for these cancers. Likes to the trials below!

After the highs of their special interview with Dr Belinda Yeo on all things breast cancer, Josh and Michael crash back to their usual programming with a banter and dad-joke-filled journey through the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. A notoriously insidious disease, ovarian cancer is responsible for not just significant mortality but soul-crushing morbidity as well. However, for some very special people, ovarian cancer does not stop them from reaching their goals, up to and including completing a triathlon! Listen on for the full, inspiring story

To celebrate the end of breast cancer awareness month, Michael and Josh are joined by Dr Belinda Yeo, an experienced oncologist specialising in treating breast cancer. Belinda trained at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia, followed by the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. She now works at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute as a Clinician Scientist with a specific interest in breast cancer and the prestigious Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

We discussed all things breast oncology with Belinda, including career path, research, patient-centred care and, of course, all the breast cancer treatment pearls for any budding oncologist!

This is one episode not to miss!

In part two of their HER2 breast cancer dive, Josh and Michael explore the optimistic world of metastatic breast cancer. Once a desolate space with limited options, HER2 metastatic breast cancer represents the frontier of targeted therapy, like the industrial age or landing on the moon. While neither Josh nor Mikey have been to the moon, these researchers have landed among the stars bringing hope and effective treatments to an aggressive tumour time that a decade ago would have had a very different story.