Sleep Apnea Tied to Risk for Severe COVID-19
Sleep-related hypoxia was associated with worse outcomes in COVID-19 patients, a retrospective study found. In the case-control study involving patients in the Cleveland Clinic Health System, sleep-related hypoxia was linked with greater COVID-19-related hospitalization and mortality (adjusted HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.08-1.57, P=0.005), reported Reena Mehra, MD, MS, of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute […]
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 […]
Immunotherapy Combo in Advanced RCC Led to More Time Off Treatment
Nearly one-fifth of patients with intermediate- or poor-risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treated with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in the CheckMate 214 trial were alive and treatment free beyond 3 years. Among the phase III trial participants, the treatment-free survival (TFS) rate at 42 months was 18% for those who were randomized to […]
Vaccinated Blood Cancer Patients Still at Risk for Severe COVID-19
Patients with hematologic malignancies who had breakthrough COVID-19 infections still had high risk for severe or critical disease, according to a registry-based study. Out of 113 reported cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection post-vaccination in people with blood cancers, 79 (60.4%) experienced severe or critical disease, with 75 requiring hospitalization, reported Livio Pagano, MD, of the Università […]
Short DAPT Just as Good for High-Bleeding Risk Stenting After MI
For high-bleeding risk patients, a shorter duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) appeared just as safe for those getting novel stent after acute myocardial infarction (MI) in the MASTER-DAPT trial. Stopping anticoagulant at 30 days didn’t yield significantly different outcomes whether patients had a prior MI or not, reported Pieter C. Smits, MD, PhD, of […]
Multiple sclerosis drug improves memory in mice modeling Alzheimer’s disease
Losing memory is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, a symptom of the disease that depletes a patient’s quality of life. Improving memory and slowing cognitive changes caused by the disease is an ongoing challenge for researchers seeking to develop novel therapies. In a newly published paper in Frontiers in Neuroscience, researchers at the Del Monte Institute […]
Worse COVID-19 Outcomes for Disabled MS Patients
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who were disabled were more likely to be hospitalized, end up in the intensive care unit (ICU) or on a ventilator, or die if they developed COVID-19, North American registry data showed. Of non-ambulatory MS patients with COVID-19, 14.0% died, 8.3% were in the ICU or on a ventilator, and 24.6% […]
Two Doses of mRNA COVID Vax Not Enough for the Immunosuppressed
COVID-19 vaccines worked fairly well in keeping immunocompromised patients out of the hospital from the infection, but still less than for those with a competent immune system, a study showed. After two vaccine doses, immunocompromised patients saw 77% vaccine effectiveness (95% CI 74%-80%) against hospitalization for confirmed COVID-19, with a 3.9% rate of SARS-CoV-2 test […]
Texas Medical Association Sues Feds Over Surprise Billing
The Texas Medical Association (TMA) is challenging a federal law designed to shield patients from surprise medical bills, arguing in a new lawsuit that regulators have stacked the deck against healthcare providers in their implementation of the No Surprises Act. Essentially, TMA takes issue with the arbitration process for settling out-of-network bills, arguing that the […]
Pediatric Sarcoma Patients Face Late Amputation Risk Decades Later
BALTIMORE — Pediatric patients who underwent limb salvage surgery (LSS) for lower extremity sarcomas had a substantial risk of undergoing late amputation, a researcher reported. In a retrospective analysis of data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), the cumulative incidence of late amputation at 20 years after LSS was almost one out of every […]