Latest news with #HealthRounds
Reuters
4 days ago
- Health
- Reuters
Health Rounds: Roche's Tecentriq reduces recurrence, deaths for certain colon cancer patients
June 6 (Reuters) - (This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here.) Adding Roche's (ROG.S), opens new tab immunotherapy drug Tecentriq to chemotherapy after surgery in certain patients whose colon cancer had spread to the lymph nodes led to a 50% reduction in cancer recurrence and death compared to chemotherapy alone, according to trial data presented at recent medical meeting. Patients in the study had tumors with a genetic defect known as deficient DNA mismatch repair, or dMMR. About 15% of colon cancer patients have dMMR tumors, which do not respond well to chemotherapy. "The findings from our study represent a major advance in the adjuvant treatment of dMMR stage 3 colon cancer and will now change the treatment for this type of cancer," study leader Dr. Frank Sinicrope of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said in a statement. The data, opens new tab were presented at the ASCO meeting that concluded earlier this week. The trial enrolled 712 patients with dMMR stage 3 colon cancer that had been surgically removed and who had cancer cells in their lymph nodes. Half of the study participants received chemotherapy along with Tecentriq, which activates the immune system to attack and kill cancer cells, for six months, followed by the immunotherapy alone for another six months. The other half of the patients received chemotherapy for 12 months. The benefit of Tecentriq was seen even in the oldest patients and those at particularly high-risk. "It's extremely rewarding to be able to offer our patients a new treatment regimen that can reduce the risk of recurrence and improve their chances of survival," Sinicrope said. As patients recover after a minimally invasive heart procedure, they might be better off continuing to take a certain type of blood-thinning drug to help prevent a heart attack or stroke, instead of continuing with the traditional aspirin, a new study suggests. Early after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) - a procedure to prop open blocked arteries either after a heart attack, or to prevent one - patients often receive dual anti-clotting therapy with both a P2Y12 inhibitor such as clopidogrel, the generic version of Plavix, or AstraZeneca's (AZN.L), opens new tab Brilinta (ticagrelor), and aspirin. After several months, patients are usually switched from dual therapy to lifelong daily aspirin use. But pooled data looking at patients who took part in five earlier clinical trials found that continuing to prescribe the P2Y12 inhibitors and stopping the aspirin was associated with lower rates of death, heart attack and stroke compared with continuing the aspirin, with no increased risk of major bleeding, researchers reported in The BMJ, opens new tab. Overall, the trials involved 16,117 patients who received either a P2Y12 inhibitor or aspirin after completing dual therapy following PCI. After an average follow-up period of around 4 years, P2Y12 inhibitor therapy was associated with a 23% lower risk of a composite of heart-related death, heart attack, or stroke, compared with aspirin, with no significant difference in major bleeding. That translates into one prevented cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke for every 46 patients taking a P2Y12 inhibitor instead of aspirin after dual therapy. Overall, the findings suggest that P2Y12 inhibitor drugs should be preferred over aspirin 'due to reductions in major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events without increasing major bleeding in the medium term,' according to an editorial published with the study. But the editorial said that since patients are advised to continue the post-PCI therapy for life, large trials directly comparing the different strategies with longer follow up are needed. Some diabetes and weight-loss drugs from the class known as GLP-1 agonists were linked with a small but elevated risk for an age-related eye disease in patients with diabetes, according to a study published on Thursday in JAMA Ophthalmology, opens new tab. In 139,000 patients with diabetes, including 46,334 who had been using the GLP-1 drugs semaglutide or lixisenatide, researchers identified 181 new cases of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, also known as wet AMD. Wet AMD is a degenerative eye disease marked by the abnormal growth of blood vessels under the retina that leak fluid or blood and can lead to blindness. The risk of developing AMD during up to three years of follow-up was low, at 0.2% in GLP-1 users versus 0.1% in non-users. Still, the researchers point out, after accounting for patients' individual risk factors, the odds of AMD were doubled with at least six months of GLP-1 use and tripled in patients with the longest duration of use. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in the widely used Novo Nordisk ( opens new tab drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, while lixisenatide is the main ingredient in Sanofi's ( opens new tab discontinued Adlyxin. GLP-1 drugs have also been associated with higher risks for an eye condition known as nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION. Researchers did not have information about the dose, route of administration, or frequency of administration of the medications used in the study. Even with that information, the study could not have proved cause and effect. At least one earlier study with longer follow up reported that GLP-1 use was linked with a lower, rather than higher, risk for AMD. 'Our findings are not directly contradictory' with that earlier report, said study leader Dr. Reut Shor of the University of Toronto. 'Factors such as timing and duration of exposure, disease stage, and patient characteristics may all influence outcomes," Shor said. "Our results add another layer to the emerging understanding of this complex relationship and emphasize the need for further research to clarify these trends.' (To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here)
Reuters
25-04-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Health Rounds: Exposure to bacterial toxin may explain earlier age colon cancer rise
April 25 (Reuters) - (This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here) Childhood exposure to a bacterial toxin in the colon may be triggering the increase in colorectal cancer cases among younger patients, a new study suggests. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. Once considered a disease of older adults, colorectal cancer is now on the rise among young people in at least 27 countries. Its incidence in adults under 50 has roughly doubled every decade for the past 20 years. Looking for clues as to why, the researchers analyzed genes of 981 colorectal cancer tumors from patients with varying colorectal cancer risk levels who had early- or late-onset disease in 11 countries. DNA mutations in colon cells that are known to be caused by a toxin produced by Escherichia coli, called colibactin, were 3.3 times more common in adults who developed colon cancer before age 40 than in those diagnosed after age 70. The patterns of mutations are thought to arise when children are exposed to colibactin before age 10, researchers reported in Nature, opens new tab. The mutation patterns were particularly prevalent in countries with a high incidence of early-onset cases. 'If someone acquires one of these... mutations by the time they're 10 years old, they could be decades ahead of schedule for developing colorectal cancer, getting it at age 40 instead of 60,' study leader Ludmil Alexandrov of UC San Diego said in a statement. 'Not every environmental factor or behavior we study leaves a mark on our genome,' said Alexandrov. 'But we've found that colibactin is one of those that can. In this case, its genetic imprint appears to be strongly associated with colorectal cancers in young adults.' The researchers have found other mutational signatures in colorectal cancers from specific countries, particularly Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Russia and Thailand. This suggests that local environmental exposures may also contribute to cancer risk, they said. 'It's possible that different countries have different unknown causes,' study co-author Marcos Diaz-Gay of the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Madrid said in a statement. 'That could open up the potential for targeted, region-specific prevention strategies.' DRUG MAY AVERT LIVER TRANSPLANTATION FOR BILE DUCT DISEASE A recently approved Ipsen ( opens new tab drug has the potential to become the first pharmaceutical alternative to liver transplantation for an autoimmune disease that destroys the bile ducts inside and outside the liver, the company said on Thursday. The company plans to report the results of its mid-stage trial of Irqirvo in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis at the European Association for the Study of the Liver, opens new tab meeting in Amsterdam next month. In a 12-week study, 68 patients with PSC received Irqirvo in daily doses of 80 milligrams or 120 mg, or a placebo. Patients on Irqirvo had significant improvement in liver enzyme levels, starting as early as four weeks after treatment began, with greater effects seen with the higher dose. Blood tests also showed liver scarring stabilized to a greater degree in the Irqirvo group, and those on the higher dose of the drug also had significant relief from the itchiness characteristic of the disease. Rates of adverse events were similar in the three groups. Irqirvo, already approved for treating a similar condition known as primary biliary cholangitis, is thought to act by stimulating molecules in the body that regulate the processing of fatty acids and by inhibiting bile acid synthesis. The data are encouraging, study leader Dr. Cynthia Levy of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine said in a statement. 'PSC is a serious liver disease and currently, liver transplantation is the only treatment that can significantly improve the prognosis,' Levy said, adding that larger trials are needed to further evaluate the potential of Irqirvo in PSC. SMOKING CESSATION PILL HELPS YOUNG VAPERS QUIT The quit-smoking drug varenicline, typically used by tobacco smokers, is safe and helpful in teens and young adults addicted to vaping, researchers reported in JAMA, opens new tab. In their 12-week trial, 261 vapers ages 16 to 25 who wanted to reduce or quit vaping received varenicline, originally sold under the brand name Chantix by Pfizer (PFE.N), opens new tab, or a placebo, in addition to weekly counseling and text message support. All of them had vaped nicotine daily or near daily and did not regularly smoke tobacco. Continuous abstinence rates in the last month of treatment were 51% with varenicline compared versus 14% with placebo. At six months -- some two months after they stopped treatment -- abstinence rates were still 28% in the drug group vs 7% among those who had received the placebo. Adverse event rates were similar in the two groups. 'To our knowledge, this is the first pharmacotherapy trial for nicotine vaping cessation in youth,' the researchers wrote. 'Most youth who develop addiction to vaped nicotine have never regularly smoked tobacco and wish to quit vaping," they added, "highlighting the importance of these findings that an available pharmacotherapy is effective and well tolerated for vaping cessation in this population.'
Reuters
11-04-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Health Rounds: Incontinence after stroke closer to being correctable
April 11 (Reuters) - (To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here) (This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays.) Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. Brain-imaging studies are giving researchers a better understanding of the cause of incontinence after a stroke that could lead to therapies for restoring bladder control in these patients, according to a report published on Thursday. Urinary incontinence affects up to 79% of patients in the immediate aftermath of a stroke and persists in nearly 40% of survivors one year later, the researchers wrote in the journal Stroke, opens new tab. 'The brain plays a crucial role in regulating the bladder, allowing people to sense bladder fullness and giving them the ability to delay urination until it is socially appropriate or initiate it at will,' study leader Dr. Evgeniy Kreydin of the Keck School of Medicine at USC said in a statement. 'Stroke survivors often struggle to suppress unwanted bladder contractions and may even lose bladder sensation and awareness entirely. Since a stroke impacts the brain, it disrupts the normal (nerve) pathways that govern bladder control,' he explained. His team recruited stroke patients with incontinence and healthy volunteers and obtained MRI scans of their brain functions during repeated bladder filling and voiding. When participants consciously decided when to empty their bladder, both healthy individuals and stroke survivors showed significant activation in brain regions associated with sensorimotor control and executive decision-making. In contrast, during involuntary or incontinent bladder emptying in stroke survivors, researchers saw minimal cortical activation, suggesting a failure to engage key brain networks necessary for urinary control. This finding opens doors for potential therapeutic interventions, the researchers said. These might include non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation or direct current stimulation, to target the necessary network, or the development of medications that enhance activation in critical continence control regions in the brain. USUAL ESOPHAGUS MONITORING PROTOCOL FOR CANCER PROVIDES LITTLE BENEFIT People with an esophagus condition that can be a precursor to cancer do not generally benefit from the periodic endoscopic screening that is the current standard of care, a new study shows. In the first-ever randomized trial to test the routine monitoring protocol employed for patients with Barrett's esophagus, nearly 3,500 participants were assigned to undergo surveillance endoscopy at regular intervals or 'at need' endoscopy upon development of symptoms suggestive of cancer. In the surveillance group, the average interval between endoscopy was three years. In the 'at need' group, roughly 60% of patients had at least one endoscopy. With half the patients followed for more than 13 years, there were no differences in overall survival, cancer-specific survival, time to diagnosis of esophageal cancer, or cancer stage at diagnosis, researchers reported in Gastroenterology, opens new tab. Overall in the study, the risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma was 0.23% per patient per year. 'Guidelines suggest that all patients with Barrett's esophagus should have surveillance every 3-5 years,' the authors wrote. 'Our data indicate this may be too aggressive as any benefit is likely to be modest for (certain) low-risk patients.'
Reuters
27-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Walgreen to pay more than $2.85 million to settle US overbilling charges
March 27 (Reuters) - Walgreen (WBA.O), opens new tab will pay more than $2.85 million to settle whistleblower allegations that the pharmacy overbilled Medicaid programs in Georgia and Massachusetts for generic medications, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday. The settlement partially resolves claims against the Walgreens Boots Alliance unit brought under the federal, Georgia and Massachusetts False Claims Act. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. Walgreen pharmacies were accused of having from 2008 to 2023 submitted elevated "usual and customary" prices for some generic medications to the MassHealth and Georgia Medicaid programs, causing those programs to pay more for the medications than they should have.
Reuters
21-03-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Health Rounds: Experimental antibiotic kills drug-resistant fungi
March 21 (Reuters) - (To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here) A experimental antibiotic can kill dangerous drug-resistant fungi that are spreading around the world, Chinese researchers reported in Nature, opens new tab. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. Antibiotics are usually ineffective against fungal infections. Unlike conventional antibiotics, the new drug, mandimycin, targets the lipid membrane that encases the fungus, disrupting its physiological processes and circumventing resistance mechanisms. Mandimycin belongs to a class of drugs known as glycosylated polyene macrolides, which also includes the last-resort antifungal amphotericin B. In test tubes, mandimycin killed multiple types of drug-resistant fungi including species of Candida, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus, researchers from China Pharmaceutical University reported. All of the tested fungi were resistant to at least two existing drugs, and all are on the World Health Organization's fungal priority pathogens list, which includes infectious fungi with significant unmet need and public health importance, the researchers noted. In mice, mandimycin was effective against a strain of Candida auris that is resistant to all major types of antifungals, the researchers said. A commentary, opens new tab published with the report called mandimycin 'a probable treasure trove of actionable intelligence in the battle against drug-resistant fungal infections.' The new antifungal molecule is so radically different from existing drugs that it 'breaks the mold,' the commentary authors said. EARLY BREAST CANCER MIGHT NOT WARRANT LYMPH NODE SURGERY The practice of removing armpit lymph nodes in patients with early breast cancer may not be necessary or particularly beneficial, a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine, opens new tab suggests. Early-stage breast cancer has traditionally been treated with removal of the primary tumor and nearby lymph nodes. Pathologists then examine the nodes that were closest to the tumor for evidence that cancer cells have started to spread to other parts of the body. So-called axillary nodal status has long been regarded as one of the most important prognostic factors in breast cancer and is used to guide therapy. But lymph node removal often comes with pain, swelling, numbness, and risks of infection and fluid buildup. As medical therapies for breast cancer have improved, the need for lymph node removal is being questioned. To learn more, researchers recruited 5,502 patients with breast tumors no greater than 5 centimeters and normal-appearing lymph nodes and randomly assigned half of them to skip armpit lymph node removal. At five years, 91.7% of the retained-lymph node group and 91.9% of the removed-lymph node group were still free of invasive disease, and 98.2% and 96.9%, respectively, were still alive. Patients whose lymph nodes were removed were less likely to eventually have a recurrence found in a lymph node, but that did not afford them any benefit in terms of survival without invasive disease, or overall survival. An editorial, opens new tab published with the study notes that the findings are in line with those of a similar trial reported in 2023. While noting that more study is needed, Dr. Eric Rubin, Editor-in-Chief of the journal, said in a statement, "We are beginning to see a future where many women with early-stage breast cancer are going to be able to avoid axillary-node dissection and its attendant complications.' OVARIAN CANCER SCREENING MISSES CASES IN MINORITY GROUPS Current blood test thresholds for patients with possible ovarian cancers are likely contributing to underdiagnosis in U.S. minority groups, according to a new study. International guidelines use blood levels of a protein produced by ovarian cancer cells, called cancer antigen 125, to recommend which patients with pelvic masses should undergo evaluation for ovarian cancer. The thresholds were developed from studies in white patients, according to a report in JAMA Network Open, opens new tab. When researchers reviewed data on 212,477 U.S. patients with ovarian cancer diagnosed from 2004 through 2020, they found that Black patients and Native American patients had significantly lower odds of having an elevated CA-125 level when their ovarian cancer was diagnosed. After accounting for individual risk factors, Native American and Black patients were 23% less likely to have an elevated CA-125 level at diagnosis. Ovarian cancer patients with misleadingly low CA-125 levels started chemotherapy an average of nine days later than patients with elevated CA-125 levels, the researchers also found. Earlier studies found that Black patients are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer than white patients, the authors noted. 'Current CA-125 thresholds may miss racially and ethnically diverse patients with ovarian cancer,' they said. 'With 19,000 new ovarian cancer diagnoses annually in the U.S. and 314,000 worldwide, if the CA-125 thresholds were updated to have similar sensitivity for Black patients as White patients, we estimate that at least 60 patients each year would be diagnosed at an earlier stage in the U.S. and 1,500 worldwide.'
