Testing PD-1 Inhibition With Neoadjuvant Anti-HER2 Therapy in Breast Cancer
At the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, researchers reported on a multicenter, phase II trial exploring the efficacy and safety of adding pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to the standard-of-care treatment of paclitaxel (Taxol), trastuzumab (Herceptin), and pertuzumab (Perjeta; THP) in chemotherapy-naive patients with invasive, HER2-positive breast cancer. In this exclusive MedPage Today video, Jin […]
PD-1 Inhibition in First-Line Prolongs Survival in Cervical Cancer
Updated findings of KEYNOTE-826, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, continued to demonstrate a significant survival benefit with the addition of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to standard treatment for previously untreated recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. In this exclusive MedPage Today video, Deanna Gerber, MD, of the NYU Long Island School of […]
AMA to Amp Up Hospital Consolidation Scrutiny
CHICAGO — Physicians pressing for the American Medical Association (AMA) to do more on healthcare consolidation pushed through a resolution to produce in-depth annual reports on the topic that could be used to advocate for legislative change. At the association’s annual House of Delegates meeting this week, its Private Practice Physicians Section made the case […]
AMA Urged to Do More to Safeguard Adolescent Gender-Affirming Care
CHICAGO — How should the American Medical Association (AMA) respond to the rapidly increasing number of state prohibitions on gender-affirming care for adolescents? Delegates considered the topic during committee discussions at the AMA House of Delegates meeting Saturday. The AMA already has a policy in place for gender-affirming care, and a new draft resolution moves […]
Outgoing AMA President Calls for Unity in the Relay That Is Medicine
Jack Resneck Jr., MD, conveyed a message of hope, progress, and unity in his final speech as American Medical Association (AMA) president, but without ignoring “very real” threats to the profession. During the AMA House of Delegates (HOD) meeting Friday, he quipped “You got to hear from ‘angry Jack’ back in November,” referring to his […]
Opinion | What Happens When We Classify Kids’ Weight as a ‘Disease’?
Kim Dennis, MD, is a psychiatrist specializing in eating disorders. On January 9 of this year, the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) published their “Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Obesity.” With this guidance, the AAP is advising doctors and other providers that the “monitoring” and “watchful waiting” […]
The Drug Company That Prospered Without Creating Any Drugs
The new drug looked so promising — except for that one warning sign. At the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting in 2008, Duke University’s John Sundy, MD, proudly announced that pegloticase (Krystexxa), a drug he helped develop, was astoundingly effective at treating severe gout, which affects perhaps 50,000 Americans. In about half of those […]
ACOG Responds to Clashing Abortion Pill Rulings
Leaders of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and legal experts weighed in on the implications of a federal judge’s decision to suspend the FDA’s decades-old approval of mifepristone (Mifeprex), the most commonly used drug for medication abortion nationwide. “Please understand that this judge’s decision does not mean that medication abortion is not […]
Opinion | ‘There’s Just No Place That’s Deemed to Be Safe’: What We Heard This Week
“There’s just no place that’s deemed to be safe.” — Ryan Mire, MD, president of the American College of Physicians, who practices medicine near Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, where a shooting took place Monday. “You should not have to get healthcare with a side of bias.” — Ashley Denmark, DO, MS, CEO and founder […]
Lone star tick bites may be to blame for unexplained digestive problems
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released new clinical guidance to help physicians and patients identify if unexplained digestive symptoms are due to alpha-gal syndrome, a food allergy that is caused by lone star tick bites. The AGA Clinical Practice Update was published today in Gastroenterology. Alpha-gal syndrome is an allergy that causes your body […]