Talking about the limitations of the International Workshop on CLL (iwCLL) response criteria for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the era of novel medications is Dr. Alexey V. Danilov, Professor and Co-Director of the Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California.

Reversal of HLA-I loss is crucial for an effective antitumor cytotoxic T cell response. Thus, HLA-I–upregulating drugs could augment immunotherapy response. The authors describe here a small-molecule USP7 inhibitor as a promising avenue for pharmacologic upregulation of HLA-I in MCC.

MDM2 is an important regulator of p53 and can be an effective therapeutic target in cancers. Pharmacological inhibition of MDM2 for stabilization of p53 has been of interest for several years and several MDM2 inhibitors targeting the MDM2-p53 interaction are currently in clinical trials. Approximately 80% of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) tumors have wild type p53 and could potentially respond to treatment with MDM2 inhibitors. In this study, milademetan showed a dose-dependent inhibition of tumor growth in MKL-1 xenograft and patient-derived xenograft models and is a potent MDM2 inhibitor in MCC.

The authors engaged in research to attempt to identify circulating biomarkers for pancreatic NETs, to improve tumor surveillance and quality of life. They examined the expression of circulating miRNA in the serum of MEN1 patients and found an inverse relationship between miR-3156-5p and MORF4L2 expression, representing a potential serum biomarker that could facilitate the detection of NET occurrence in MEN1 patients.

According to two lawsuits filed late last month, a New Jersey hospital is suing an anesthesiology staffing company for what it claims are major personnel shortages, while the company is suing the hospital for stealing its doctors and other professionals.

There are other methods to push learners, according to hospitalist Dr. Benjamin Kinnear. “If you want to make them feel more stressed, give them more difficult assignments or test their clinical judgment; don’t try to make them feel challenged by making them feel inferior.”