Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Drug's Rocky Road To Discovery May Signal Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough
The New York Times: How An ‘Impossible’ Idea Led To A Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most dire diagnoses in medicine. There are few available treatments, and they do little to help. For decades, experimental drugs flopped in trials. Many researchers believed the biological obstacles could not be surmounted. In what seems the blink of an eye, all that has changed. A drug nearing regulatory approval, daraxonrasib, is the first to substantially extend the lives of patients with pancreatic cancer. It works by targeting a cellular protein that fuels not just nearly all pancreatic tumors, but also many lung and colon cancers. Those three are the leading causes of cancer deaths. (Kolata and Robbins, 5/12)
MedPage Today: Metastatic Breast Cancers On The Rise, U.S. Study Shows
Despite improvements in survival, the incidence of stage IV breast cancer increased significantly from 2010 through 2021, according to a U.S. population-based cohort study. (Bassett, 5/12)
MedPage Today: Study On GLP-1s And Breast Cancer 'Too Good To Be True'?
Use of GLP-1 receptor agonists in breast cancer patients was linked to lower mortality and recurrence risk in a retrospective study, but experts are questioning the quality of the underlying data. (Bassett, 5/12)
CIDRAP: Cancer Patients Seek Unproven Antiparasitic Treatments After Actor's Podcast Appearance
Prescriptions for ivermectin and another antiparasitic drug among cancer patients shot up after actor Mel Gibson discussed an unproven treatment on Joe Rogan's popular podcast, according to a study published today in JAMA Network Open. Researchers say these findings raise concerns about the potency of celebrity endorsement, which can encourage people with life-threatening illnesses to delay or forgo conventional care that's been confirmed to work in favor of unproven and arguably risky treatments. (Boden, 5/12)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Millions of cancer survivors battle mounting medical bills, and Nebraska becomes the first state to enforce a Medicaid work requirement under the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (Cook, 5/12)
