Increased Public Assistance Tied to Better Cancer Survival in Black Patients
CHICAGO — Overall survival (OS) in Black patients with cancer improved significantly, and racial disparities in cancer survival decreased, with increased state-level spending on public welfare programs, a large retrospective review showed. Every 10% increase in public welfare spending was associated with an 8.6% improvement in cancer survival among Black patients, almost four times greater […]
Opioid Use Disorder Training in Med School Improves Awareness of Patient Needs
NEW ORLEANS — Adding opioid use disorder (OUD) training to the third-year medical school curriculum improved students’ understanding on how to manage these patients, according to a study presented at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting. Third-year students’ knowledge of OUD treatments significantly increased from a pre-training assessment (mean score 18.34/23) to a post-training assessment […]
Chronic Total Occlusion PCI Is Getting Safer — At Least Until the Pandemic
ATLANTA — Percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic total occlusion (CTO PCI) has improved in success rates, but the pandemic might have impacted complication rates, a registry study showed. Technical and procedural success rates steadily improved over time from 2016 to 2021, rising from 81.6% to 88.1% and 80.0% to 87.0%, respectively (both P<0.0001). And the […]
Osilodrostat Resolves Most Physical Signs of Cushing’s Disease
SAN DIEGO — Osilodrostat (Isturisa) improved many physical features associated with Cushing’s disease, according to additional findings from the phase III LINC-3 study. Among 137 adults with Cushing’s disease, a 39.5% improvement in central obesity scores was observed from baseline to week 72 with osilodrostat, reported Alberto Pedroncelli, MD, PhD, of Recordati AG in Basel, […]
Novel Drug Cuts Proteinuria in APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease
An investigative treatment targeting APOL1 activity significantly improved proteinuria APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD), a proof-of-concept phase IIa study found. In a single-arm, open-label study, treatment with oral VX-147 — a small molecule acting as an APOL1 function inhibitor — significantly reduced urine protein to creatinine ratio (UPCR) by 47.6% (95% CI -60 to -31.3%) by […]
Even With CKD, Patiromer Helped Heart Failure Patients Keep Hyperkalemia at Bay
Regardless of chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage, the potassium-binding agent patiromer (Veltassa) improved serum potassium levels in patients with heart failure, according to a prespecified CKD subanalysis from the DIAMOND trial. In a subgroup of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction plus CKD, and hyperkalemia due to renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASi), patiromer significantly […]
100g of cranberries a day improves cardiovascular health, study finds
A new clinical trial found daily consumption of cranberries for one month improved cardiovascular function in healthy men. The new study, published today in Food & Function, included 45 healthy men who consumed whole cranberry powder equivalent to 100g of fresh cranberries per day (9 g powder) or a placebo for one month. Those consuming […]
Another China-Developed PD-1 Inhibitor Makes Its Case in NSCLC
Adding the investigational PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor toripalimab to chemotherapy in first-line significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients without EGFR/ALK mutations, according to results from a study conducted in China. Median PFS improved from 5.6 months with chemotherapy alone to 8.4 months with the toripalimab-based combination (HR 0.49, 95% […]
Darolutamide Improves OS in Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Darolutamide (Nubeqa) combined with standard treatment significantly improved survival in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), the phase III ARASENS trial found. At data cutoff, patients who received darolutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and docetaxel had a 32.5% lower risk of death compared with the group who received placebo plus the standard (HR […]
Ripretinib Continues to Demonstrate Benefit in Advanced GIST
An updated analysis of the phase III INVICTUS trial showed improved survival in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) treated with ripretinib (Qinlock) as later-line therapy, a researcher reported. At 19 months after the primary analysis, median progression-free survival (PFS) with the fourth- or later-line therapy remained stable, at 6.3 months with ripretinib versus […]