As Other Cancer Treatments Improve, Radiation Use Fades: Report
A report in Stat explains that as physicians get new and better ways to fight cancer, oncologists are trying to use less radiation, including avoiding use at all for some low-risk tumors. Separately, Reuters says the FDA has approved Pfizer's blood cancer therapy Elrexfio.
Stat:
Radiation, Mainstay Of Cancer Treatment, Begins A Fade-Out
Every year, doctors get better tools to fight cancer. Engineered cancer-killing cells, immunotherapies, targeted drugs, and more are helping clinicians cure more patients. Increasingly, though, oncologists are trying to use less radiation, long one of the main pillars of cancer therapy. In some cases, they are even keeping certain patients with low-risk tumors off radiation entirely. (Chen, 8/15)
Reuters:
US FDA Approves Pfizer's Blood Cancer Therapy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted accelerated approval to Pfizer's therapy for treating patients with a type of blood cancer that is difficult to treat, the company said. The health regulator's decision allows use of the therapy, branded as Elrexfio, in patients with multiple myeloma that is hard to treat or has come back after receiving four or more prior lines of certain classes of treatments. (Satija and Jain, 8/14)
Axios:
Venture Capitalist's Cancer Scare Highlights Debate Over Full-Body Scans
Robert Nelsen is one of the most successful biotech VCs ever, having backed over three dozen companies that reached billion-dollar valuations. He's also a thyroid cancer survivor who credits early detection to a company in which his firm, Arch Venture Partners, never invested. There is a simmering medical debate over the value of full-body scans, like the one Nelsen received, and the growing cohort of venture-backed startups that provide them. (Primack, 8/14)
In other pharmaceutical news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Ozempic Settles The Obesity Debate: It’s Biology Over Willpower
Ozempic and similar drugs are transforming the world’s understanding of obesity. It isn’t so much about willpower: It’s about biology. The success of the powerful new class of diabetes and weight-loss drugs shows how important chemistry is to determining a person’s weight. The brain is the body’s chief chemist, regulating appetite and making it difficult for many people to shed pounds and keep them off. The brain determines how much fat it wants people to carry, according to years of research bolstered by the new drugs. (McKay, 8/14)
Stat:
BMS, Looking To Build Heart Drug Business, Turns To AI For Diagnosis
As Bristol Myers Squibb works to build its treatment for a heart condition that can cause difficulty breathing into a blockbuster drug, it’s propped up an algorithm designed to help find more people who are affected. (Aguilar, 8/15)
Reuters:
US FDA Identifies Recall Of Philips' Respiratory Devices As Most Serious
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday classified the recall of Philips' (PHG.AS) respiratory machines as its most serious type, as their use could cause serious injuries or death. The Dutch medical devices maker started the process on March 29 and has recalled 73,000 devices in the United Sates. The ventilators being recalled include Trilogy Evo, Evo O2 and EV300, among others. These devices help people with respiratory conditions to keep breathing at a regular rhythm. (8/14)
