Dead may be the wrong word – antiquated, maybe? – as the white-color 9-to-5 office job is becoming a thing of the past. According to this article, a new workforce and new work demands require a fresh approach to work/life balance. A 2019 Mayo Clinic Proceedings article detailed this approach for physicians, transforming work/life into three categories to consider: Work, Yourself, and Others.

The research, taken from the CLARITY study and published in GUT, found that 865 people given the Pfizer/BioNTech or the Oxford/AZ COVID-19 vaccine and treated with infliximab (Remicade) had significantly lower concentrations of antibodies when compared to 428 people on an alternative treatment, vedolizumab (Entyvio). Infliximab is prescribed to around two million people worldwide.

Baby steps. It’s what it sometimes takes to just get started in changing habits or building the momentum needed to push through. Although five minutes a day doesn’t seem like much, the benefits of doing these incremental activities will make a profound difference in your professional life. From tried-and-true exercise habits to practice mindfulness, learn what you can start today to become a better doctor tomorrow.

This Research Article from Blood – available as a PDF – discusses two main points. First, antibody response to BNT162b2 mRNA COVID19 vaccine in CLL patients is markedly impaired and affected by disease activity and treatment. The second point shows that, in patients treated with either Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) or venetoclax ± anti-CD20 antibody, responses are relatively low.

From the pages of Blood Advances comes this Clinical Trials & Observations piece discussing the IDEAL trial. Backed by visual abstracts, tables, and charts supporting the data, the article explores two key points in augmenting chemotherapy efficacy: caloric restriction and using insulin and adiponectin as potential biomarkers of B-ALL chemosensitivity.

In this Q&A with Dr. Jorge Cortes, the Director of the Georgia Cancer Center, the drug asciminib is discussed based on its utility as a third-generation TKI as well as its favorable, unique characteristics. Early data has shown promising results with few adverse events, possibly illuminating the drug as a potential first-in-class agent.