Articles related to Oncology, Medical

Publication: JAMA Oncology Objective: With NSCLC having relatively poor outcomes and the significant data supporting the use of metformin as an antineoplastic agent, the researchers wanted to compare overall or progression-free survival in chemoradiation alone vs. chemoradiation + metformin stage III NSCLC patients. Design: Randomized clinical trial, open-label, phase 2 study; 167 eligible patients

The additional approval expands immunization coverage to the most at-risk group for acquiring shingles – the immunocompromised. It also shortens the time to the second dose in the 2-dose Shingrix schedule.  Decision support based on the Zoster Efficacy Study in Patients Undergoing HSCT (ZOE-HSCT) phase III trial (JAMA).

In this systematic review to evaluate the clinical outcomes associated with molecular tumor board (MTB) review in patients with cancer, 14 studies were included with a total of 3,328 patients. As the number of targetable mutations continues to increase and cancer care becomes even more complex, consultation with an interdisciplinary MTB can help guide therapy selection for patients with cancer.

Trilaciclib (Cosela, G1 Therapeutics), a cyclin dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor, is already approved in the United States to reduce frequency of chemotherapy-related bone marrow suppression among adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Now, the FDA has granted fast track designation to the drug for use in combo with chemo for treatment of locally advanced or metastatic TNBC.

In a study in the journal Nature Cancer, the researchers found that in laboratory cell lines and tumor models novobiocin selectively killed tumor cells with abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which help repair damaged DNA. The drug, developed in the 1950s and largely supplanted by newer drugs, was effective even in tumors resistant to agents known as PARP inhibitors, which have become a prime therapy for cancers with DNA-repair glitches.

According to a study of 135,000 doctors by Doximity, male physicians made, on average, 28% more than females in 2020, a 3% increase from the 2019 numbers. The survey, along with Medscape’s poll in 2021 that showed male specialist physicians overall making 33% more than females, points to a few other large gender pay gaps, as well as some in which women doctors make salaries closer to those of men.