Laura Joszt, MA

Immunotherapy and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy are new and important treatments revolutionizing care of some cancers; however, their side effects can be very different than what is seen in traditional approaches, such as chemotherapy.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency has led to an increased use of telemedicine services as CMS instituted reimbursement parity with in-person services. In a new position statement, the American College of Rheumatology has stated support for continuing to use telemedicine once the COVID-19 emergency passes.

Treating children with aggressive B-cell lymphoma with rituximab can improve cure rates to up to 95%.

Among patients with rheumatic diseases, medication nonadherence remains a significant problem because of a lack of standardization and guidance on terminology, measurement, and outcome selection, according to an abstract presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology of the European League Against Rheumatism.

Patients with steroid refractory acute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) have a better overall response rate (ORR) when treated with ruxolitinib compared with the best available therapy, according to results from a phase 3 trial presented at the European Hematology Association’s annual meeting.

In its first briefing in 2 months, the White House Coronavirus Task Force addressed rising cases of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and positive test rates across states in the South, as well as the new data that show the majority of new cases are occurring in younger Americans.

While biologics may have improved outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), they also have higher costs and adverse events, and patients are more likely to request dose reductions or drug holidays.

There are thousands of rare diseases, but they each affect so few patients that diagnosis and treatment can be delayed by years. Researchers examined how machine learning has been studied in rare diseases and identified areas of opportunity where future studies can improve care and treatment of rare diseases.

Despite advances in therapeutics and treatment strategies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that impact well-being, patients in clinical remission still report reduced well-being, according to an abstract presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology of the European League Against Rheumatism.

The FDA granted accelerated approval to selinexor (Xpovio, Karyopharm Therapeutics) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The oral treatment is to be used after at least 2 lines of systemic therapy.

Inflammatory skin diseases are often diagnosed by "first impression" and can be easily misdiagnosed. A new smartphone app using artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to assist with the diagnosis of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and eczema.

Technology has made it easier to deliver health care in the home in recent years, but the financing models have not caught up just yet.

In 90% of patients, psoriasis precedes psoriatic arthritis by an average of 7 years, providing a window of opportunity for early intervention and possible prevention of psoriatic arthritis.

Based on the safety and efficacy outcomes from the PREVENT phase 3 study, the FDA has approved secukinumab (Cosentyx) from Novartis for the treatment of active nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

In the real-world, ruxolitinib's approval to treat myelofibrosis has improved overall survival (OS) for elderly patients.

Measuring disease activity is a key aspect of rheumatologic care, but the creation of tools designed specifically for disease areas of interest has resulted in fragmentation and multiple disease activity scores, sometimes even just for a single disease.

Two abstracts presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology of the European League Against Rheumatism reviewed long-term safety data and real-life effectiveness and safety of secukinumab for ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis.

Patients with psoriasis often have other physical diseases, and these somatic comorbidities can have a bigger effect on the patient’s mental health than the skin symptoms from their psoriasis, according to a study published in JAMA Dermatology.

Recommendations that patients with rheumatoid arthritis see an expert within 6 weeks of symptom onset can provide challenges for practices.

American Medical Group Association (AMGA) is asking CMS to permanently extend the telehealth flexibilities it instituted as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The incidence of rare cancers is higher in the United States than in Europe, but so is the survival rate, according to a study published in Cancer Medicine.

Drugs used to treat rheumatic conditions suppress the rogue immune system, but it has been unclear whether patients using immunosuppressants have an increased risk of a more severe course if they are infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

A global epidemiological study on psoriasis has found that the prevalence, incidence, and burden of suffering caused by the disease has risen over the last 3 decades.

Use of biologics to treat psoriasis may impact prevalence of comorbidities like depression and obesity, according to an abstract presented at the Virtual 2020 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research meeting.

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cost can play a role in patient adherence to medication, but the presence of comorbidities does not impact cost of care for patients, according to 2 abstracts presented at the Virtual 2020 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research meeting.

Discontinuation of ruxolitinib was associated with increased morbidity burden and worse outcomes among patients with myelofibrosis.

Rebecca Kaul, MBA, vice president and chief innovation officer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said the best technology improves the patient experience.

During a discussion at The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Patient- Centered Oncology Care® meeting in Philadelphia, panelists outlined the efficacy of the 2 FDA-approved therapies, Medicare reimbursement for CAR T-cell therapies, and the pace of innovation in healthcare.

Joshua Ofman, MD, MSHS, gave his keynote address during Patient-Centered Oncology Care, the annual multistakeholder gathering presented by The American Journal of Managed Care® in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Interviews with researchers and opinion leaders that took place during the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, Florida, December 7-10, 2019.