The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new treatment regimen that includes Pfizer’s ADCETRIS® (brentuximab vedotin) for patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This is an important development as it provides a new option for individuals who have not responded to at least two previous therapies and are not candidates for more aggressive treatments such as stem cell transplantation or CAR T-cell therapy.
The FDA has granted approval for Roche’s PATHWAY HER2 (4B5) test to identify HER2-ultralow status in metastatic breast cancer patients, expanding its existing use for detecting HER2-low cases. This approval follows AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s recent FDA clearance for Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) in HER2-ultralow patients, marking a significant advancement in breast cancer treatment. Enhertu is the first HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for patients with an immunohistochemistry (IHC) score of zero with faint staining in 10% or fewer tumor cells.
This study analyzed the potential protective effects of metformin, a common diabetes medication, on non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) — basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) — using a large and diverse U.S. health database called All of Us. Skin cancer poses significant risks, particularly in patients with darker skin tones, due to delayed diagnosis and unique risk factors. For example, SCC in African American patients has a much higher metastasis risk (20-40%) compared to sun-induced SCCs in Caucasian populations (1-4%).
An innovative study reveals the powerful synergistic effects of combining Atorvastatin (a cholesterol-lowering drug) with standard chemotherapy medications, demonstrating enhanced anti-cancer properties against both blood cancer and lung cancer cells. Laboratory tests showed significant cell death rates of up to 99% when combining these medications in specific ratios, particularly when Atorvastatin was paired with Cytarabine or Doxorubicin.
The study can provide useful information to interventional cardiologists performing PCI with new-generation DES in AMI patients, regarding the importance of hyperglycemia (especially prediabetes) and the relationship with worse cardiovascular outcomes after both high intensity and low-moderate-intensity statin treatment
