Category: Post
HIV PrEP Referrals Lag for Black MSM, Trans Adults
State health departments were most likely to refer heterosexual adults for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) appointments and least likely to refer transgender and Black adults, according to the results of a 12-city PrEP demonstration project. The project, Project PrIDE, was meant to close the PrEP gap between White and cisgender adults and their Black, Latinx, Native American, and transgender…
Hydroxychloroquine Fails to Protect Medical Workers
The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine failed to protect healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients from becoming infected themselves, according to results of a formal, placebo-controlled trial published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The 1,483 participants worked in emergency departments, intensive care units, and other high-risk sites in the United States and the Canadian province of Manitoba. They…
25 Drugs, Drug Classes Added to FDA’s Safety Signal List
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added 25 drugs or drug classes to its quarterly list of agents in which it has found a potential sign of serious risk or new safety information. The new list, created from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), covers April through June, and is current as of October…
First-in-Class Oral EZH2 Inhibitor Effective in Two Cancers
(Tazverik) showed potential for improving outcomes for patients with advanced or metastatic epithelioid sarcoma and also yielded clinically meaningful responses in heavily pretreated patients with follicular lymphoma. The findings come from two open-label, single-arm, phase 2 trials that led to the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent accelerated approval for the indications. Tazemetostat is a…
Global Handwashing Day 2020: Steps to wash your hands to protect against COVID19
With the world facing the COVID19 pandemic, washing hands and maintaining hand hygiene has become all the more important and need of the hour. It is also one of the cheapest and easiest ways to prevent coronavirus. Here’s everything you need to know about washing your hands to protect against COVID19. Global Handwashing Day is…
Common Cold History Could Confer Some COVID-19 Immunity Protection
The SARS-CoV-2 virus shares an important feature with some viruses that cause the common cold, and the structural similarity suggests that people with a history of the common cold may carry some immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection, new evidence reveals. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 also boosts production of memory B cells, long-lasting components of immune protection. Even…
FDA OKs Mepolizumab (Nucala) for Hypereosinophilic Syndrome
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the indication for mepolizumab (Nucala, GlaxoSmithKline) to include patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES). Mepolizumab is indicated for adults and children aged 12 years and older with HES for 6 months or longer without an identifiable nonhematologic secondary cause. “[This] approval marks the first time in over a decade…
Survey Quantifies COVID-19’s Impact on Oncology
An international survey provides new insights into how COVID-19 has affected, and may continue to affect, the field of oncology. The survey showed that “COVID-19 has had a major impact on the organization of patient care, on the well-being of caregivers, on continued medical education, and on clinical trial activities in oncology,” stated Guy Jerusalem, MD,…
Safety a Concern for Vulvovaginal Atrophy Treatments in Breast Cancer Survivors
For women with breast cancer and vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) unresponsive to non-hormonal therapy, other treatments may be effective, but safety is “controversial and a major concern,” say authors of a systematic review. “I was surprised that clinical studies assessing the safety of the vaginal laser or androgen therapies, with regard to serum estradiol levels or…
