Articles related to MEDICAL MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i) have been found to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in men with both coronary artery disease (CAD) and erectile dysfunction (ED), with tadalafil showing greater cardiac benefits compared to sildenafil, according to a study presented at the American Urological Association’s annual meeting. The retrospective study analyzed over 41,000 men with CAD and ED and found that those who took tadalafil or sildenafil had significantly lower 5-year risks of heart failure, myocardial infarction, and overall mortality compared to those who received no PDE5i treatment. Tadalafil recipients had even lower risks than sildenafil recipients across all categories. The study suggests that understanding the specific differences among PDE5i medications is crucial for addressing cardiac outcomes in patients with ED and CAD, with tadalafil potentially offering superior benefits due to differences in pharmacokinetics and longer duration of efficacy. However, further research is needed before definitive conclusions can be made regarding preferential prescription of tadalafil over other PDE5i medications.

The investigational combination therapy of extended-release pramipexole and extended-release rasagiline controlled symptoms similar to pramipexole alone in this phase 3 trial, but with less sleepiness and orthostatic hypotension. Pramipexole mimics dopamine activity in the brain, and rasagiline increases dopamine levels by blocking dopamine reuptake.

Dr. Jyoti Mayadev, a professor of Radiation Medicine at University of California San Diego, discussed the treatment of patients with 1B3 cervical cancer at the Society of Gynecological Oncology’s Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. The discussion centered around whether to treat patients with primary chemoradiation and brachytherapy or radical surgery. Dr. Mayadev recommends a multidisciplinary approach, but notes that level 1 evidence data from Landoni et al. in 1997 showed no difference in progression-free survivals or overall survivals between radiation therapy and radical hysterectomy in patients with bulky disease, 1B3, and no lymph node disease. Dr. Mayadev discusses the benefits of chemoradiation, including potential toxicity reduction if a patient needs adjuvant therapy after surgery. She also notes that with technologically advanced radiation and brachytherapy, long-term toxicities can be minimized, including genitourinary toxicities at 6-8%, vaginal toxicities at 5%, and fistula at less than 2%. Dr. Mayadev believes that adaptive radiation therapy may further decrease toxicities and increase cure rates for patients with 1B3 cervical cancer. There are ongoing trials for novel therapeutics and adaptive radiation therapy, such as the ARTIA Cervical Trial, which aims to decrease toxicities and collect patient reported outcomes.

New findings from an open-label clinical trial show that by 12 weeks into the maintenance phase, daily off time had decreased by an average of about three hours. Daily “good on” time consistently increased by an average of three hours per day when symptoms are under control without bothersome dyskinesia. By week 12, 62.1% had less free time—at least two hours less per day. The amount of levodopa taken on average every day during the research significantly decreased, which was consistent with improved symptom control. At week 12, just over two-thirds (65%) of patients said they had “much improved” or “very much improved” since beginning SPN-830. Patients reported that their overall health had improved by about 90%.

This course is intended to provide information from an unbiased viewpoint on managing headaches while treating Chiari malformation with either medication or surgical therapy. This course will combine lectures, patient insights, and expert panels. It will be offered in person, digitally through Microsoft Teams, and on-demand for all paid attendees for one month following the conference. After completing this course, participants will be able to identify more precise headache care techniques and understand when surgery is necessary, use logic and reason when treating patients with Chiari malformation and headaches, and determine the prevalence of headaches and Chiari malformation in the general population.

The phase 2 L-MIND trial presented at the AACR 2023 conference showed that tafasitamab plus lenalidomide and tafasitamab maintenance resulted in durable responses for patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The trial treated patients with DLBCL who were not eligible for an autologous stem cell transplant with tafasitamab plus lenalidomide for 12 cycles, followed by tafasitamab alone until disease progression. With a median of 44 months of follow-up for the entire cohort, the objective response rate (ORR) was 57.5%. The ORR was higher among patients who had received only one prior line of therapy at 67.5%, whereas 47.5% of patients who had received multiple prior lines of treatment experienced a response. The complete response rate was 41.3% overall, with the median duration of response (DOR) not reached in all cohorts. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 11.6 months for the entire cohort, while the median PFS of the cohort with one prior line of therapy was 23.5 months, whereas patients with multiple prior lines of therapy demonstrated a median PFS of 7.6 months. The frequency of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) decreased over time, and diarrhea and peripheral edema were the most common TEAEs during the initial treatment period […]