According to the results of a new clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), a simple treatment that combines four heart medicines in one pill—a “polypill”—was able to cut the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular events by 21% in people at risk of heart disease, and by 31% when taken with aspirin. But is it a “terrible idea,” as one physician puts it?

The first doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be arriving in a few weeks, both of which use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology to induce an immune response. Biologically, mRNA is transcribed from DNA and travels into a cell’s cytoplasm where it is translated by ribosomes into proteins. For those who want more information on the history and science of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics, here’s a primer.

The possible answer was presented during the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting, bringing into question whether current recommendations for prophylactic intravenous high-dose methotrexate — the most widely adopted method for CNS relapse prevention — are appropriate for all patients at high risk of a CNS relapse.

The year 2020 has been long and trying, and MDLinx conducted a COVID-19 survey of US physicians and found that nearly half of doctors are rethinking their careers. Still, it is important to consider that many physicians still find joy and fulfillment in practicing medicine. But who are the happiest? Here is what the Medscape Physician Lifestyle & Happiness Report 2020 had to say.

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.