Clinical

Ravindra Uppaluri, MD, PhD, lead investigator of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-689 trial (NCT03765918), highlights the potential of pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) to improve outcomes following head and neck cancer treatment.

Panelists discuss how managing patients with mild cognitive impairment using amyloid-targeting therapies faces significant barriers including limited healthcare infrastructure for complex diagnostic testing and monitoring, insufficient insurance coverage and high out-of-pocket costs, challenges in patient selection and risk stratification, logistical hurdles of regular infusions and imaging, shortage of specialists in many regions, and the need for comprehensive patient education about realistic treatment expectations.

Panelists discuss how newer urinary tract infection (UTI) therapies such as pivmecillinam, sulopenem etzadroxil/probenecid, and gepotidacin demonstrate significantly lower resistance rates (below 5%) compared with traditional first-line antibiotics (10%-30% for trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole), with improved clinical and microbiological cure rates particularly for resistant pathogens, anticipating their integration into treatment algorithms as second-line options after nitrofurantoin and fosfomycin for patients with risk factors for resistance, prior treatment failures, recurrent infections, or confirmed resistant pathogens, although limited by higher costs and need for antimicrobial stewardship until more real-world effectiveness data become available.

Panelists discuss how sulopenem etzadroxil/probenecid, approved in October 2024, functions as an oral β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor effective against extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers per SURE 1 and REASSURE trial findings whereas gepotidacin works through a novel mechanism as a triazaacenaphthylene bacterial topoisomerase inhibitor targeting resistant pathogens via unique DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV binding sites, with EAGLE trial findings demonstrating noninferiority to nitrofurantoin with approximately 90% cure rates.

Panelists discuss how developing effective management protocols for amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) requires implementing robust baseline and follow-up MRI monitoring schedules, establishing clear symptom recognition guidelines, creating severity-based management algorithms, ensuring rapid radiological assessment capabilities, preparing standardized response plans for different presentations of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), educating patients and caregivers on warning signs, and maintaining close multidisciplinary collaboration between neurologists, radiologists, and infusion staff.

Christine Funke, MD, discusses how the treatment of glaucoma has evolved in her decade of experience.

Benjamin K. Chen, MD, PhD, discussed the next steps after the results of his study in genetic tagging showed promise in targeting HIV cells.

Panelists discuss how significant gaps in immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy patient care persist, including delayed diagnosis, limited access to nephrology expertise, inadequate disease monitoring, and insufficient psychosocial support throughout the disease journey.

Panelists discuss how current immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy treatments primarily target downstream inflammatory pathways of the 4-hit cascade, with emerging therapies now beginning to address specific upstream mechanisms including abnormal IgA1 production, autoantibody formation, and immune complex deposition.

Panelists discuss how immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy treatment has evolved to include supportive care with optimized blood pressure control and renin-angiotensin system blockade as first-line therapy, with increasingly targeted immunomodulatory approaches for higher-risk patients showing persistent proteinuria.

A panelist discusses how real-world data presented at the 2025 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting (AAD 2025) demonstrates that initiating ruxolitinib cream therapy for atopic dermatitis (AD) significantly reduced patients’ reliance on other topical treatments, oral corticosteroids, and biologics in both biologic-experienced (n = 125) and biologic-naive (n = 431) populations, suggesting this Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor may serve as an effective steroid-sparing agent with potential for long-term disease management across different patient subgroups.

Panelists discuss how immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy significantly impacts patients’ quality of life through chronic symptoms, treatment burden, psychological effects, and the looming threat of progressive kidney function decline.

From Crohn disease to uncomplicated urinary tract infections and beyond, the FDA issued several high-impact drug approvals last month.

Panelists discuss how treatment continuation decisions for amyloid-targeting therapies involve comprehensive assessment of multiple factors including cognitive and functional changes measured through standardized tools, occurrence and severity of adverse events, treatment adherence capabilities, impact on patient/caregiver quality of life, disease progression rate, emerging safety signals, and ongoing dialogue about evolving treatment goals and expectations.

Panelists discuss how American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines for recurrent uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women recommend culture-confirmed diagnosis, prophylactic antibiotics, nonantibiotic prevention, self-initiated treatment, and behavioral modifications while noting pivmecillinam’s recent FDA approval. Pivmecillinam features a penicillin-binding protein 2 inhibition mechanism with 85% to 95% efficacy against gram-negative uropathogens, including extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers; minimal intestinal flora disruption; low resistance rates; and primarily mild gastrointestinal adverse effects.

Panelists discuss how treatment failure in uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) creates substantial economic burden through direct costs of additional health care visits, repeated diagnostic tests, and rescue medications alongside indirect costs from productivity losses, with implications including progression to complicated infections such as pyelonephritis, increased emergency department use, antimicrobial resistance development threatening broader public health, psychological impacts on patients, and strain on health care resources that could be mitigated through more effective initial treatment strategies.

Panelists discuss how effective communication about amyloid-targeting therapies requires transparent discussions of modest cognitive benefits alongside potential risks, particularly events related to amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), while addressing practical considerations including treatment burden, infusion center logistics, monitoring requirements, costs, insurance coverage, and caregiver involvement to help patients and families make fully informed decisions aligned with their values and circumstances.

Intellectual disabilities, food allergies, and asthma were all more common in children who took multiple courses of antibiotics before the age of 2 years.

Recurrence-free survival rates were similar, even when patients quit adjuvant immunotherapy early, according to a new report.

Black and American Indian women with ovarian cancer were less likely to have elevated cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) levels at diagnosis, resulting in delayed chemotherapy initiation and highlighting the need for more inclusive guidelines.

Systemic immune inflammation index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and systemic inflammation response index levels may offer a noninvasive method to identify individuals at increased risk of developing overactive bladder.

Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, MSCI, highlights the long-term effectiveness of lebrikizumab across diverse patients, including those with prior biologic use, positioning it as a potential first-line treatment for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

The electronic health record (EHR)–based symptom inventory identified symptom prevalence and associated comorbidities, but no ovarian cancers were diagnosed during the study period.

Abstracts featured at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meeting highlighted the renoprotective benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure and diabetic kidney disease while emphasizing the need for strategies to increase their uptake in primary care.

Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria experienced a long delay in diagnosis, a substantial impact on their quality of life, and often received inadequate treatment, highlighting the need for better management and understanding of the condition.

Galen Shearn-Nance, BS, and Johnie Rose, MD, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University, acknowledge key limitations of their study and prioritize areas for further research.

Panelists discuss how diagnostic challenges in immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy lead to delayed identification, missed treatment windows, and increased risk of irreversible kidney damage due to the requirement for invasive biopsy, nonspecific symptoms, and variable disease presentation.

A panelist discusses how real-world evidence from a large cohort study (n = 31521) presented at AAD 2025 reveals notable differences in treatment patterns, discontinuation rates, persistence, and adherence among psoriasis patients treated with different biologics including tildrakizumab, risankizumab, guselkumab, and ustekinumab, with implications for clinical decision-making based on early versus late disease onset and prior biologic exposure.

Panelists discuss how patients with immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy typically present with microscopic or gross hematuria, often during upper respiratory infections, along with variable proteinuria and sometimes hypertension or decreased kidney function.

No significant differences in treatment or outcomes were found between most Medicare Advantage (MA) and fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries with breast cancer, but Black patients with FFS Medicare were less likely to receive standard treatment.