Clinical

The FDA decision on Xywav in idiopathic hypersomnia is expected in the third quarter of 2021.

The current treatment landscape of polycycthemia vera (PV) hinges on treatments like hydroxyurea and ruxolitinib, the latter having emerged as an effective second-line therapy in patients with severe pruritis, symptomatic splenomegaly, or post-PV myelofibrosis symptoms.

According to the researchers, attempting to target the tumor microenvironment leads the way to an array of potential targetable pathways in the disease, including through the use of combination therapy.

Authors of a global meta-analysis concluded that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who are generally at a higher risk for lung cancer, may gain some protection from inhaled corticosteroids.

Dostarlimab, for patients with recurrent or advanced deficient mismatch repair endometrial cancer, and a companion diagnostic, were recently approved by the FDA.

Besides demonstrating noninferiority in objective response rates, zanubrutinib also showed a statistically significant lower risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter compared with ibrutinib.

All-cause graft failure in kidney transplant recipients with Fabry disease was about 30%, and improved when enzyme replacement therapy became available.

Patients with long COVID-19 at Veterans Health Administration facilities are being prescribed more addictive medications; indoor social distancing may provide a false sense of security; a drug for inflammatory bowel disease may blunt COVID-19 vaccine efficacy.

Researchers identified gene expression signatures associated with risk of type 1 diabetes (T1D).

The authors suggest that assessment of patient-centered care may be improved by flagging probable discordance between a patient’s preferences and their treatment care plan.

Skin cancer is one of the most common diseases dermatologists deal with on a daily basis, and as global rates increase, it is clear that climate change is a contributory factor, said Eva R. Parker, MD, FAAD, assistant professor of dermatology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, during her session at the American Academy of Dermatology Virtual Meeting Experience.

With immunosuppression, self-regulatory mechanisms may start to decrease, and these are the patients who develop skin cancers more frequently, said Rajiv Nijhawan, MD, UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Posters presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Virtual Meeting Experience show ruxolitinib cream was effective at treating atopic dermatitis (AD) regardless of previous treatments and in patients with more severe disease.

Guidelines on the use of biologic drugs in patients with psoriasis were mostly seen as having medium-to-high quality; however, investigators said that more work needs to be done to ensure applicability to clinical practice.

There are a number of new biologic options for treating psoriasis, but undertreatment is still a concern, and more long-term data are needed, according to Junko Takeshita, MD, PhD, MSCE, at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians Virtual Spring Managed Care Forum.

Until now, treatments for atopic dermatitis have had safety concerns, but a new understanding of the disease has led to novel and exciting agents being developed, according to Emma Guttman, MD, PhD, of Mount Sinai.

Now that investigators have a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of migraine, new treatment and prevention options are making their way to patients and fueling an exciting time for the field, according to a presenter at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians Virtual Spring Managed Care Forum.

Posters presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Virtual Meeting Experience highlighted that ruxolitinib cream is effective in patients with more severe atopic dermatitis, and even showed clinically relevant improvements in patients who only had a partial response.

With the costs of biologic drugs increasing, biosimilars have emerged as an attractive option for containing costs and expanding access to treatment. However, some barriers to wider uptake still need to be addressed, according to a presentation at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians Virtual Spring Managed Care Forum.

While the introduction of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors has benefitted patients with type 2 diabetes and impacted guidelines globally, these expensive therapies have managed care implications, explained Richard E. Pratley, MD, of AdventHealth Diabetes Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The long-term findings come from a subgroup analysis of 120 patients in Japan taking part in an extension of the 3-part, double-blind, randomized, controlled reSURFACE 1 trial.

Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) who received ruxolitinib cream experienced a rapid, clinically meaningful, and sustained improvement in their itch.

A study analyzes the effects of homelessness on childbirth; some states report drops in demand for COVID-19 vaccines; researchers examine long-term risks of severe COVID-19.

Mitigating the burden of HIV in the United States means taking a more comprehensive approach to diagnosis, testing, and treatment of the disease, said a speaker at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians Virtual Spring Managed Care Forum.

Washout periods are necessary to flush out any lingering effects of drugs that patients are taking before a study, explained Jonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of dermatology, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The findings come from the group’s review of over 30 years’ worth of research of the presence of autoimmune cytopenias and autoimmune diseases in lymphoid and myeloid neoplasms.

Metastatic breast cancer has a poor prognosis, but emerging targeted therapies are providing some progress in the treatment of the disease, explained Filipa Lynce, MD, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.

While bosentan and sildenafil is a common combination therapy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), patients may need to transition to alternative therapy because of the potential for drug-drug interactions with this combination.

These national and regional barriers, which range from cost of screening to patient education, have hindered the widespread use of screening, say the researchers.

With persons living with HIV increasingly succumbing to age-related diseases, a group of investigators looked into the greater risk of coronary artery disease among these individuals.