Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 17 2023 A regimen of pre-surgical immunotherapy and chemotherapy followed by post-surgical immunotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) and pathologic complete response (pCR) rates compared to chemotherapy alone for patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Phase III trial results presented today by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023. The AEGEAN trial evaluated durvalumab given perioperatively, meaning therapy is given both before and after surgery. Participants on the trial received either pre-surgical (neoadjuvant) durvalumab and platinum-based chemotherapy followed by post-surgical (adjuvant) durvalumab or neoadjuvant placebo and chemotherapy followed by adjuvant placebo. These represent the first data presented on the benefits of perioperative immunotherapy for resectable NSCLC and adds to the growing evidence supporting the benefits of both neoadjuvant and adjuvant immunotherapy for these patients. Our goal is to increase cures for lung cancer. ...
Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 17 2023 Normal aging is associated with progressive cognitive decline. But can we train our brain to delay this process? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), HES-SO Geneva and EPFL has discovered that practicing and listening to music can alter cognitive decline in healthy seniors by stimulating the production of grey matter. To achieve these results, the researchers followed over 100 retired people who had never practiced music before. They were enrolled in piano and music awareness training for six months. These results open new prospects for the support of healthy ageing. They are reported in NeuroImage: Reports. Throughout our lives, our brain remodels itself. Brain morphology and connections change according to the environment and the experiences, for instance when we learn new skills or overcome the consequences of a stroke. However, as we age, this ”brain plasticity” decreases. The brain also loses grey ...
A man in Chile is infected with a bird flu that has concerning mutations, but the threat to people from the virus remains low, U.S. health officials said Friday. Past animal studies suggest these mutations could cause the virus to be more harmful or spread more easily, health officials said. But they also said there is no evidence that the mutations would make it easier for it to take root in a person’s upper lungs—a development that would raise concerns about spread among people. The mutations do not change public health officials’ assessment of the overall risk to people from the H5N1 virus, which “continues to be low,” said Vivien Dugan of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mutations, which have appeared only in the one hospitalized patient, may have occurred after the man got sick, CDC officials said. There’s no evidence that the mutated virus spread to other people, mixed with ...
The combination of an experimental mRNA vaccine with an immunotherapy reduced the likelihood of melanoma recurring or causing death by 44% when compared to immunotherapy alone, a new clinical trial shows. Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center, the randomized phase 2b trial involved men and women who had surgery to remove melanoma from lymph nodes or other organs and were at high risk of the disease returning in sites distant from the original cancer. Among 107 study subjects who were injected with both the experimental vaccine, called mRNA-4157/V940, and the immunotherapy pembrolizumab, the cancer returned in 24 subjects (22.4%) within two years of follow-up, compared with 20 out of 50 (40%) who received only pembrolizumab. “Our phase 2b study shows that a neoantigen mRNA vaccine, when used in combination with pembrolizumab, resulted in prolonged time without recurrence or death compared with pembrolizumab alone,” said study senior investigator ...
The copycat version of AbbVie’s blockbuster still has court clearance to launch on July 1, but only if regulators have approved it. For a second time, the Food and Drug Administration has rejected Alvotech’s Humira biosimilar, citing deficiencies spotted during a March inspection of its manufacturing facility in Iceland, the company said Thursday. The agency’s decision comes less than three months before Alvotech is free to launch the drug in the U.S. under a settlement with AbbVie, Humira’s manufacturer. Alvotech has a second FDA application pending that, if approved by June 28, would make it one of the first “interchangeable” Humira biosimilars, meaning pharmacists could directly substitute it for the branded product. An expected launch on July 1 could be delayed if the FDA doesn’t grant the main approval, which would clear the biosimilar for sale in the U.S. In a statement Thursday evening, Alvotech said it provided ...
Caris Life Sciences and Flare Therapeutics have announced a partnership to advance the precision oncology pipeline of the latter into clinical trials. The multi-year strategic partnership will leverage latest molecular profiling approaches guiding patient selection and participation to accelerate precision medicine approaches across five of the therapeutic programmes of Flare. It will use the comprehensive molecular tissue and liquid profiling services of Caris including whole transcriptome sequencing and whole exome sequencing for participants in Flare’s clinical trials. Additionally, the partnership will apply Caris’ data and analytics tools to strengthen future enrolment programme for trials and companion diagnostics capabilities. Flare Therapeutics chief development officer Michaela Bowden said: “We understand the importance of shaping translational insights early on as a major area of focus to help ensure efficient drug development at scale and clinical trial preparedness. “With access to Caris’ robust clinico-genomic real-world data, comprehensive molecular profiling and ...
Medicare Advantage, the private-sector alternative to original Medicare, now enrolls nearly half of all Medicare beneficiaries. But it remains controversial because — while most of its subscribers like the extra benefits many plans provide — the program frequently costs the federal government more than if those seniors remained in the fully public program. That controversy is becoming political, as the Biden administration tries to rein in some of those payments without being accused of “cutting” Medicare. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has signed a bill to declassify U.S. intelligence about the possible origin of covid-19 in China. And new evidence has emerged potentially linking the virus to raccoon dogs at an animal market in Wuhan, where the virus reportedly first took hold. Among the takeaways from this week’s episode: The Biden administration recently changed the formula used to calculate how much the federal government pays private Medicare Advantage ...
In a recent study published in the JAMA Health Forum, researchers in the United States estimated the reduction in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates after the Paxlovid rollout. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections were the third largest cause of mortality in the United States in 2022, and after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), the test-to-treat strategy became a pillar of the US pandemic response. Treatment with Paxlovid necessitates testing and medication initiation within five days after COVID-19 symptoms start. However, the population-level effect of the Paxlovid rollout has not been evaluated. About the study In the present study, researchers estimated the simulated influence of the Paxlovid rollout on COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths. The team modeled COVID-19-related hospitalization and death rate reductions after Paxlovid introduction as the product of (1) the number of symptomatic patients diagnosed within five ...
Infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the causal agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has claimed more than 6.8 million lives worldwide. It remains imperative to understand the immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, particularly in high-risk groups, to formulate better vaccination and treatment strategies. The immune response to COVID-19 during pregnancy Immunological assessment related to COVID-19 has been performed largely in healthy individuals across varied age groups. After contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection, patients typically develop robust and transient immune responses that include an abundance of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, T-cells, B-cells, and long-lasting immune memory. Severe SARS-CoV-2 infection has been characterized by the presence of blood hypercytokinemia and hyperactivation of innate/adaptive immune responses. Limited studies have been performed on the immune response after SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women. Pregnant women are considered to be highly susceptible to COVID-19 due to immunological and physiological changes ...
Although smoking rates for adults in the US are at their lowest recorded levels, more must be done to stop children from using tobacco, according to a new set of policy statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The statements, published Monday, are the association’s first tobacco policy update since 2015. They’re based on newer science and better reflect how many children now use e-cigarettes as more kid-friendly products have flooded the market. AAP policy statements are created by expert pediatricians to help leaders craft more effective public health policy and to guide physicians on how to keep kids safe – in this case, from tobacco. High rates of tobacco use Researchers have been telling Americans for generations that tobacco products are bad for them, yet nearly 200 US children take up smoking every day, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco ...
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