Maggie L. Shaw

“We find ourselves in a very unusual situation, and now is a good time for me to lay some common denominator principles that I think can be applicable to many, if not all, the countries beset with an HIV epidemic,” said Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in a special live session on day 2 of AIDS 2020.

Higher rates of HIV can be seen within specific communities, particularly minority communities, along with a systematic bias taking place in policy and medical settings, noted Greg Millet, vice president at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) and director of amFAR’s Public Policy Office, on day 2 of AIDS 2020.

The US government's Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America, is founded on 4 pillars: diagnose, treat, prevent, respond. The goals of this program are to reduce new HIV infections by 75% by 2025 and by 90% by 2030.

Following implementation of several major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, health insurance coverage for HIV-positive individuals increased, leading to sustained viral suppression in some instances and improving their ability to increase access to often life-saving services.

This year marks the 23rd International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2020, and the 30th anniversary of the first conference held in San Francisco in 1990 amid the first few years of the AIDS epidemic. The theme for this year’s conference is “Resilience,” and that certainly holds true for this global undertaking, which is happening in a virtual setting for the first time in the conference’s history due to the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Previously associated with elite controller status, having an inherent low viral reservoir is now possibly linked to individuals with chronic HIV infection who initiate treatment with antiretrovirals more than 6 months after becoming infected.

At the 5-year mark, half of patients hospitalized for heart failure typically have died. These study authors set out to determine if a wearable sensor can better predict who is at risk for heart failure so that the risk can be modified.

Despite ongoing disparities in the use of health care services among races/ethnicities and ages, as well as by insurance status, African American women with advanced breast cancer benefited the most following implementation of the Affordable Care Act in states that chose to expand Medicaid coverage.

Plant-based diets have been shown to improve both ejection fraction and cardiac remodeling in patients with heart failure among a recent review of interventional studies, thereby lessening the adverse effects of obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes.

The FDA approved Phesgo (pertuzumab/trastuzumab/hyaluronidase-zzxf) as a subcutaneous (SC) treatment for adult patients with metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer or early-stage HER-2 positive disease. The treatment combines 2 monoclonal antibodies in a single SC injection.

Being on an antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimen of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine may lower the risk of HIV-positive individuals contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Results from an analysis of patients with breast cancer and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), from Institut Curie hospitals in France, show that mortality is determined more by comorbidities than previous or current treatment for the cancer.

A worse prognosis in patients with heart failure has possibly been linked to having at least 1 anemic episode, or a drop in hemoglobin levels, as was a greater risk of hospitalization and mortality.

Individuals who self-report a problem with drugs, especially opioids, are more likely to have uncontrolled HIV, to not be adherent to antiretroviral therapy, and to engage less in primary care for their infection but more in risky behaviors, including sharing needles and having multiple concurrent sexual partners.

Elevated insulin levels, which have been shown to promote tumor growth, due to insulin resistance may be linked to a greater prevalence of invasive breast cancer among black women compared with white women.

Compared with amoxicillin, azithromycin was shown in a recent study to increase both the relative and absolute risks of cardiovascular death among patients being treated on an outpatient basis.

There is a positive association between having at least 1 chronic disease and adhering to guidelines for breast cancer screening, according to recently published study results.

The decade spanning 2007 through 2017 saw an intensified focus on reducing hospital readmissions among patients with heart failure receiving care in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

Despite the CDC’s recommendation, which has been in effect since 1998, study results show that just half of HIV-positive individuals choose to get tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the 12 months following the receipt of their diagnosis.

Coverage from the Community Oncology Alliance Virtual Meeting, held April 23-24, 2020.

Known as a gene therapy pioneer, Zaia has spent almost 40 years at City of Hope, in Duarte, California. He was first drawn by the promise of studying cytomegalovirus. Over the decades, his groundbreaking research has encompassed HIV/AIDS, cellular gene transfer therapy, immunotherapy, bispecific antibodies, and now hyperimmune globulin for workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Cases of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) account for up to 20% of all cases of the disease, the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States.

Study results out of Denmark show that 0.08% of patients with heart failure received a diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the time after a country-wide lockdown began on March 12.

Despite initiating antiretroviral therapy, overall and comorbidity-free–associated survival remain below that of the population without HIV.

Study results show a 4% mortality rate among HIV-positive patients who have coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared with approximately 17% of patients who also have COVID-19 but are HIV-negative.

Three abstracts presented at this year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology focused on cardiotoxic effects of cancer treatment and how cardiac disease remains a barrier to effective cancer therapy among patients with cancer and survivors.

Self-reported high levels of physical activity shared a positive correlation with improved mortality and care for patients who underwent chest CT scans for atherosclerosis.

A 20-year follow-up comprising a secondary analysis to an original study shows that high-dose chemotherapy plus hematopoietic stem cell transplant benefit patients with high-risk stage III disease with 10 or more axillary lymph nodes involved.

When used correctly, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective more than 90% of the time, saving upward of $400,000 per averted HIV transmission.

Close to 6 million Americans live with heart failure, and each of their hospitalizations for the condition carries an average cost of $11,500, or $11 billion in total costs each year.