Medical Thoracoscopy Not the Only Good Way to Biopsy Complex Pleural Effusion
For the diagnosis of people with pleural effusion, an initial image-assisted Abrams needle biopsy (IA-ANPB) can match medical thoracoscopy (MT) in diagnostic accuracy in some cases, a small randomized controlled trial found. IA-ANPB diagnosis had a sensitivity of just 69.7% with a negative likelihood ratio of 0.30 in patients with pleural effusion only, underperforming when […]
Bilateral Mastectomy Not Tied to Better Survival in BRCA1-Positive Breast Cancer
SAN ANTONIO — Bilateral mastectomy as initial treatment for women with breast cancer and a pathogenic BRCA1 variant was not linked to better survival, according to an international analysis. Compared with breast-conserving treatment (BCT), bilateral mastectomy was not significantly associated with a reduction in mortality in this population of patients (HR 0.83, P=0.52), reported Kelly […]
Are You Dealing With A ‘Long Cold’? Here Are The 2 Biggest Signs.
Westend61 via Getty Images So-called long colds can persist for weeks after an initial infection. Cold and flu season is here, and as we barrel toward winter, it’s only going to get worse. Many of us will likely encounter some sort of illness, but our expectation is that we’ll shake it off after a few […]
FDA Staff Not Sold on Broad Olaparib Indication in Metastatic CRPC
Olaparib (Lynparza) plus abiraterone (Zytiga) as initial treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is only clearly effective in patients with BRCA mutations, FDA staff contended in a briefing document released ahead of an advisory committee meeting. On Friday, the FDA is asking its Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) to weigh in on whether a […]
Add-On Olaparib Continues to Show Benefit in First-Line Treatment of mCRPC
SAN FRANCISCO — Adding the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) to standard-of-care abiraterone (Zytiga) as initial treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) extended median progression-free survival (PFS), according to final results of the double-blind phase III PROpel study reported here. There was also a trend toward an improvement in median overall survival (OS). At the […]
How Will Medicare’s New Drug Rebate Law Work?
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration issued initial guidance yesterday on how it plans to implement the Medicare drug rebate program, which will affect doctors who administer drugs under Medicare Part B. The program, passed in August 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, requires manufacturers who raise their drugs’ prices faster than the rate […]
Patients With Head/Neck Cancer See Lower Stroke Risk With Initial Surgery
In oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), the type of initial treatment appears to influence the likelihood of stroke in the years afterward, researchers said. A population-based study of U.S. veterans treated for OPSCC found 23% lower stroke risk for those who underwent up-front surgery compared with patients who received definitive (chemo)radiotherapy, reported Lova L. Sun, […]
Specific brain responses to traumatic stress linked to PTSD risk
Results from the largest prospective study of its kind indicate that in the initial days and weeks after experiencing trauma, individuals facing potentially threatening situations who had less activity in their hippocampus — a brain structure critical for forming memories of situations that are dangerous and that are safe — developed more severe posttraumatic stress […]
Opinion | ‘Would You Like to Keep This Pregnancy?’ I Asked My 13-Year-Old Patient
“Dr. Zha, for the new OB initial visit I put on your schedule next week, is it possible to schedule the patient with you sooner?” the OB coordinator asked me. “Why is that?” I responded, as there is usually no urgency for this type of visit. “Well, she is only 13. And she didn’t sound […]
Researchers identify biomarker panel that could help predict gestational diabetes in early pregnancy
UCLA researchers have taken the initial step in identifying what may be an effective way to detect gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) earlier in pregnancy, potentially improving diagnosis and treatment for what is the most common disorder of pregnancy. The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE. Gestational diabetes causes blood sugar levels to […]