Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
MedPage Today: Pandemic Disruptions Worsened Cancer Survival, Study Finds
People diagnosed with cancer during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic had worse short-term survival compared with cases in the years leading up to the pandemic, including for breast, prostate, colorectal, and other cancers, a population-based cohort study suggested. (Bassett, 2/5)
MedPage Today: Immunotherapy Regimen Approved For Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
The FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus paclitaxel for recurrent ovarian cancers that express PD-L1, the agency announced on Tuesday. (Bassett, 2/10)
MedPage Today: Paradigm Shift For Evaluating, Treating Biochemical Recurrence In Prostate Cancer
Almost three-fourths of patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer remained metastasis free at 5 years following salvage radiotherapy (sRT) informed by prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT, a retrospective study with long-term follow-up showed. (Bankhead, 2/9)
CIDRAP: Preliminary Study Suggests Using Menstrual Blood To Screen For HPV
An observational study from China finds that menstrual blood can be used to screen for HPV, the human papillomavirus, which causes 90% of all cervical cancer. Authors of the study hope their results could provide women with a less invasive, more convenient way to be screened for cervical cancer, which is expected to kill 4,200 US women this year. (Szabo, 2/5)
Fox News: Metformin May Slow Age-Related Macular Degeneration In Diabetic Patients
A common medication for diabetes may slow down age-related vision loss, according to new research. People with diabetes who were over the age of 55 and taking metformin — a prescription drug most commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes — were 37% less likely to develop intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) over five years compared to those not taking it. (Quill, 2/10)
