Articles related to Oncology, Medical

This review and commentary from the ESMO Virtual Congress 2020 features a look at the following trials: ASCENT (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy), IMpassion130 (atezolizumab + nab-paclitaxel), IMpassion131 (first-line paclitaxel +/– atezolizumab), IPATunity130 (ipatasertib + paclitaxel), SEASTAR (rucaparib + sacituzumab govitecan), FLIPPER (fulvestrant/palbociclib), SOLAR-1 (alpelisib + fulvestrant), and FURVA (vandetanib + fulvestrant).

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) published a guideline update about the selection of optimal adjuvant chemotherapy regimens and targeted therapy for early breast cancer, namely trastuzumab emtansine. In a second recommendation, the ASCO guideline addressed the use of biosimilar forms of trastuzumab—five of which have been approved by the FDA.

The British Medical Journal’s executive editor, Kamran Abbasi, pens a commentary about DANMASK-19, the first trial of mask use during COVID-19 and its controversial “negative” results. Abbasi claims that disagreement among experts, especially about interpretation of a study, is a common occurrence and “the usual business of science,” but the influence of social media has created a major challenge for science.

From MedPage Today comes this story about Cliff Willmeng, a registered nurse who was fired from United Hospital in St. Paul, MN, in May 2020. Willmeng believes the hospital board is investigating his conduct due to his standing up for his own safety and that of other nurses when he pressed for hospital scrubs over using and reusing his own, fearing he may bring the virus home.

According to a study published in The Journal of Physiology in 2020, even passive stretching can provide health benefits. Instead of focusing on peak performance, pushing yourself to the limit, or “feeling the burn,” here are four other exercises that have been scientifically proven to produce serious benefits without a serious commitment.

Although the 2020 numbers will look much different, the 2019 Merritt Hawkins survey – representing 93 hospitals — shows significant increases over prior years in revenue driven for hospitals by a range of specialties, including internal medicine, cardiology, neurosurgery, and gastroenterology. How will the pandemic affect the financial outlook in 2020 and beyond, and where did oncology land?