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MONTREAL, June 4, 2018 – Asthma and respiratory viruses don't go well together. Weakened by the common cold or the flu, a person suffering an asthma attack often responds poorly to emergency treatment; some must be hospitalized. This is especially true for preschoolers.
But what if there were a simple solution to help ward off the double whammy of an asthma attack and a respiratory virus? Well, there is one: to prevent getting sick, asthmatics can get an annual flu shot.
Unfortunately, however, only about 60 per cent do – but that might change.
A new study has identified important factors that can improve the transfer of patients from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a general hospital ward, a high-risk transition in which breakdowns in communication, medical errors and adverse events resulting in readmission can occur.
PHILADELPHIA - In a finding that suggests the potential for practice change that would reduce the use of antibiotics in dermatology, researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found the diuretic drug spironolactone may be just as effective as antibiotics for the treatment of women's acne. The study, published this month in the Journal of Drugs and Dermatology, found patients who were originally prescribed spironolactone changed to a different drug within one year at almost the same rate as those who were prescribed antibiotics.
Bottom Line: Vigorous exercise is associated with reductions in the risk of death among adult survivors of childhood cancer.
Why The Research Is Interesting: In the general population, a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise is associated with a reduced risk of death. It is unknown whether that applies to adult survivors of childhood cancer who have an elevated risk of death because of the late effects of cancer treatment.
New research presented at this year's Euroanaesthesia congress in Copenhagen, Denmark shows that hypnosedation is a valuable alternative to conventional general anaesthesia.
Updated results of the global phase III ALEX trial comparing alectinib with crizotinib as first-line treatment against ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer show a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 34.8 months in 152 patients treated with alectinib versus 10.9 months in 151 patients treated with crizotinib.
The drug crizotinib has activity against a number of genetic targets relevant to non-small cell lung cancer, already earning FDA-approval against ALK- and ROS1-positive lung cancers. Now updated phase 1 clinical trial results presented at the American Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2018 show a 40 percent response rate and 6.7-month median progression-free survival from crizotinib in highly MET-amplified non-small cell lung cancer, as well.
Survival results for the CALGB 80303 Trial presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2018 demonstrate that esophageal cancer patients shown by PET scan to be non-responders to induction chemotherapy, and were then switched to a new chemotherapy during chemoradiation, showed median overall survival of 27 months. This improves on 18-month median overall survival of previous studies that used the same chemotherapy with non-responders during induction and chemoradiation treatment phases.
HOUSTON ? Ivosidenib, an experimental drug that inhibits a protein often mutated in several cancers has been shown to be safe, resulting in durable remissions, in a study of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with relapsed or refractory disease.
CHICAGO - A test that analyzes free-floating DNA in the blood may be able to detect early-stage lung cancer, a preliminary report from the ongoing Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas (CCGA) study suggests.
The findings, from one of the first studies to explore whether sequencing blood-borne DNA is a feasible approach to the early cancer detection, will be featured in a press briefing today and presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
Early phase clinical trial results presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2018 of 258 patients with IDH1+ acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with the IDH1 inhibitor ivosidenib show an overall response rate of 41.9 percent, with median progression free survival of 8.2 months. Twenty-four percent of patients achieved a complete response.
SEATTLE - Lifestyle-related cancers, such as lung, colorectal, and skin cancers, have increased globally over the past decade, according to the most comprehensive analysis of cancer-related health outcomes and patterns ever conducted.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Contrary to current perceptions, certain African-American men with advanced prostate cancer have as good a chance of survival as white men and might actually have a small advantage, according to a new analysis of more than 8,000 patients who participated in clinical trials.
DURHAM, N.C. -- African-American men with advanced prostate cancer might be more responsive than white men to an anti-androgen drug and steroids, according to a study led by Duke Cancer Institute researchers.
While median survival was similar for both black and white participants in the study, the findings suggests that racial determinants may factor into the degree of response in patients. This difference could help drive strategies to improve outcomes in those who respond better to the drugs.
New research presented at this year's Euroanaesthesia congress in Copenhagen, Denmark shows that the quality of chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be improved by using either a smartphone app or by using the song "La Macarena" as a mental memory aid.
The study is by Professor Enrique Carrero Cardenal and colleagues at the University of Barcelona, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, and Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Spain.