In this issue of JAMA Oncology, two groups investigate the immune response to SARS-CoV-2, by proxy of antibody assays, in patients with solid malignant neoplasms who were undergoing active cancer therapy. With the concern that patients with cancer may not mount a robust protective immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination, the studies attempt to discover what seropositivity can tell us.

In this JAMA Original Investigation, the researchers studied 19,529 patients with Medicare coverage who initiated first systemic therapy for advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using 1 of 4 regimens of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and combined chemoimmunotherapy. The goal? To gauge the uptake and effectiveness of immunotherapy among older patients outside clinical trials.

Despite the pandemic interrupting trials and drug development in 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims it is “full speed ahead” on the approval of novel cancer drug therapies. The authors of this Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study wanted to verify these remarks, reviewing the FDA Hematology/Oncology Approvals website to ascertain all hematology/oncology drugs approved in 2020.

Since April 2021, there have been reports of myocarditis and/or pericarditis after receipt of an m-RNA COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . Most cases have been among male adolescents and young adults ages 16 and older, typically occurring within several days after the second dose of m-RNA COVID-19 vaccine.

MedPage Today presents this illuminating conversation with Daniel Gibbs, MD, PhD, a retired neurologist and author of the book, A Tattoo on my Brain: A Neurologist’s Personal Battle against Alzheimer’s Disease. In the question-and-answer session, Dr. Gibbs discusses his early diagnosis, his participation in clinical trials, and his experiences and unique perspectives as a neurologist with the disease.

You may know a few of the foods that have been shown to limit or slow down inflammation and relieve the pain that plagues many of your patients – and even possibly you! – in their joints. Here’s a great list from our friends at Healthgrades, which provides information on eight foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, anthocyanin compounds, oleocanthal, and other inflammation-soothing substances that could be the key to a pain-free day.