Study results show 25% of pregnant people are not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids from their diet or dietary supplements
Results from a new nationwide cohort study show that, despite strong recommendations in favor of consuming omega-3 fatty acids for optimal pregnancy outcomes and offspring health, 25% of participants reported rarely, or never eating fish during pregnancy, with fewer taking omega-3 supplements. The study, “Demographic and health characteristics associated with fish and n-3 fatty acid […]
Improved Fitness May Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk
Improving cardiorespiratory fitness may lower men’s prostate cancer risk, results from a Swedish study suggested. The retrospective study showed that an overall increase in absolute cardiorespiratory fitness (as measured by changes in VO2max) was associated with a 2% reduced risk of prostate cancer incidence (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-0.99), when adjusted for baseline fitness, age, […]
Liquid Biopsy Has Mixed Performance for Predicting Colon Cancer Outcomes
SAN FRANCISCO — In separate studies, liquid biopsy produced mixed results for guiding colon cancer treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy guided by postoperative circulating tumor (ct) DNA did not lead to higher rates of DNA clearance as compared with patients who did not get chemotherapy. However, ctDNA did show promise for identifying patients with molecular residual disease […]
TULSA Effective in Controlling Prostate Cancer Long-Term
WASHINGTON — Results from a long-term follow-up of the pivotal TACT trial showed that MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) was effective and durable in men with localized prostate cancer. The median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level at 5 years was 0.63 ng/mL — a 90% reduction from the median PSA at baseline, reported Scott Eggener, MD, […]
Americans Struggling With Addiction, Mental Health, SAMHSA Survey Shows
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the results of its 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) on Tuesday, which showed that nearly one in five Americans ages 12 and older reported having a substance use disorder in the past year, and roughly one in four adults reported having […]
Novel Therapies Show Early Promise in Advanced Gastroesophageal Cancers
Results of two early-phase trials offered a glimpse of promising new agents in the pipeline for advanced gastroesophageal cancer. In a phase II study, incorporating an investigational PD-1 inhibitor and anti-T-cell immunoglobulin and ITM domain (TIGIT) monoclonal antibody into standard first-line chemotherapy showed promising activity in advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, reported Yelena Janjigian, MD, from Memorial […]
Exercise-mimicking drug sheds weight, boosts muscle activity in mice
A brand-new kind of drug, tested in mice, shows promising new results that could lead to the development of a new weight-loss drug that mimics exercise. The new compound, developed and tested by a University of Florida professor of pharmacy and his colleagues, leads obese mice to lose weight by convincing the body’s muscles that […]
Chatbots Not Always Reliable for Cancer Treatment Advice
Chatbots had mixed results when it came to providing direct-to-patient cancer-related advice and treatment strategies for a wide variety of cancers, according to two studies in JAMA Oncology. When testing GPT-3.5 (OpenAI) with prompts designed to obtain treatment strategies for different kinds of cancers, they found that while most answers were in accordance with National […]
Is Getting Test Results Online Right Away a Good Idea? Yes, Patients Say
Patients who receive test results online before their physician has had a chance to review them should have immediate access to resources to help them adjust to bad news, an expert suggested. “We need to do more to wrap patients in support and information tools and technology when that result is scary, when that result […]
Rucaparib a Winner for PFS, But Not for OS, in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
NEW YORK — Rucaparib (Rubraca) turned in mixed results for survival outcomes in patients with recurrent ovarian carcinoma, according to an ARIEL3 trial update. There was a benefit for progression-free survival (PFS), as treatment with the PARP inhibitor was tied to longer time-to-second disease progression (PFS2) in patients with BRCA-mutated disease (26.1 months versus 18.4 […]