Adjuvant Everolimus Falls Short in High-Risk Renal Cancer
Adjuvant everolimus (Afinitor) failed to significantly improve recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who were at high risk for recurrence after nephrectomy, according to results from a randomized phase III trial. The so-called EVEREST study showed that among 1,545 patients with histologically confirmed RCC who had undergone a full surgical resection, […]
MIND Diet Trial Reports Brain Findings
AMSTERDAM — Changes in cognition and brain MRI outcomes did not differ significantly over 3 years in overweight or obese people with a family history of dementia who followed the MIND diet — a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet — compared with those who followed a […]
Donanemab Slows Progression in Early Alzheimer’s
AMSTERDAM — Investigational donanemab significantly slowed clinical progression at 76 weeks in people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease who had amyloid and tau pathology, the phase III TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 trial showed. The drug, which targets a modified form of beta amyloid known as N3pG, showed significant slowing versus placebo on measures of cognition and daily […]
NAFLD and T2DM Bodes Higher Risk of Liver Decompensation, Cancer
Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes may be at significantly higher risk of hepatic decompensation and liver cancer, researchers reported. In a meta-analysis of six studies that included 1,737 patients with NAFLD followed for approximately 3 years, those with diabetes had twice the risk for developing hepatic decompensation (HR 2.15, […]
Vitamin D for Cardiovascular Prevention Runs Into Another Wall
Monthly super-sized vitamin D supplements failed to significantly reduce major cardiovascular events in older adults, the Australian D-Health Trial found. Over up to 5 years of treatment, incident myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and coronary revascularization turned up in 6% of the vitamin D group and 6.6% of the placebo group (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.81-1.01), […]
Novel IDH1/2 Inhibitor Shows ‘Dramatic Effect’ in Low-Grade Glioma
CHICAGO — Oral vorasidenib monotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS), and delayed the time to next therapy, in patients with mutated, low-grade glioma, according to an interim analysis of the INDIGO trial. Among 331 patients with grade 2 isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutant glioma, who received no prior treatment other than surgery, those randomly assigned to receive […]
CDK4/6 Extends Reach Into Early-Stage Breast Cancer
CHICAGO — Adding ribociclib (Kisqali) to adjuvant endocrine therapy significantly improved invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) in patients with early-stage, high-risk breast cancer and hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-negative disease, an interim analysis of a large phase III study found. In the NATALEE trial, which included patients with node-negative disease, the CKD4/6 inhibitor plus endocrine therapy combination resulted […]
Maternal Mortality Rose Significantly in 2021, CDC Says
Maternal mortality in the U.S. significantly increased in 2021 compared with the previous year, the CDC reported Thursday. A total of 1,205 women died of maternal causes in 2021, compared with 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019, according to the report from Donna Hoyert, PhD, of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The […]
Assessing the risk of excess folic acid intake
It is well established that folic acid supplementation can significantly reduce the risk of birth defects, including neural tube defects like spina bifida, the most common birth defect of the central nervous system and the second most common of all structural birth defects. More than 80 nations, including the U.S. 25 years ago, have established […]
Rucaparib Gets a Win in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
SAN FRANCISCO — Imaging-based progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer with the PARP inhibitor rucaparib (Rubraca) compared with physician’s choice of therapy in patients with BRCA or ATM-associated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), the phase III TRITON3 study showed. All patients in the study had already progressed after treatment with a second-generation androgen receptor-pathway inhibitor […]