Presented at the virtual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, the findings from the S1404 clinical trial demonstrated that, although the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) came up short in both the intent-to-treat (ITT) population and PD-L1-positive subgroup, relapse-free survival (RFS) was significantly improved compared with those who received either ipilimumab (Yervoy) or high-dose interferon.

The results of the trial, known as the RELATIVITY-047 study, were presented at the virtual ASCO Annual Meeting that took place June 4-8, 2021. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Investigators who co-led the study were thrilled to present that, despite PD-1 blocker nivolumab revolutionizing the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma, this fixed-dose combination of nivolumab and LAG-3 target relatlimab holds the cancer in check significantly longer than nivolumab alone.

It’s a battle of two heavyweights in this trial report from the Journal of Clinical Oncology, sharing the results of acalabrutinib (Calquence) compared to ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Selected events of clinical interest included cardiac events, atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachyarrhythmias, hypertension, bleeding and major bleeding events, infections, and second primary malignancies excluding non-melanoma skin cancers.

The action comes after observational evidence associating the HeartWare left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with increased neurological adverse events and mortality, as well as more than 100 complaints involving delay or failure to restart. First approved in November 2012, the LVAD has been implanted in approximately 2,000 US patients experiencing end-stage heart failure.

The DASH diet is not a new fad or trend in wellness; it’s a lifelong approach to healthy eating, developed to lower blood pressure without medication. DASH – Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension – is all about limiting sodium in your diet while encouraging the intake of potassium, calcium, and magnesium – nutrients that help lower blood pressure. A valuable resource to share with your patients!

Are you biased toward certain types of patients? “Sometimes” is likely your answer, but there are implicit biases that doctors may not be aware they have. To help answer this question, Medscape put together a survey to weigh these biases, with emotional problems coming in at No. 1. Whether they are implicit or explicit, here are the other patient characteristics that commonly trigger a predisposition in doctors.