Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study: Smaller Surgeries Are An Option For More Breast Cancer Patients
AP: More Breast Cancer Patients Can Choose Smaller Surgery
Many women with two or three breast tumors can get by with lumpectomy surgery instead of having their whole breast removed, a new study suggests. In recent years, more patients with multiple tumors have been identified, a result of more sensitive imaging techniques that can reveal tiny, once-hidden cancers. That means more patients are being diagnosed with multiple cancer sites in the same breast. In the past, doctors would say these women needed mastectomies. Researchers wanted to know: Was this dogma still true? (Johnson, 12/9)
In other cancer research —
Stat: Genetically Targeted Drugs Induce Remissions In Leukemia Patients
An emerging class of genetically targeted drugs is inducing remissions in about one-third of patients with advanced leukemia, according to updates Saturday from separate clinical trials. (Feuerstein, 12/10)
Stat: Adicet's 'Gamma-Delta' T Cell Therapy Shows Mixed Results On Durability
Adicet Bio generated a good deal of buzz last June with a unique, off-the-shelf therapy made from a special type of T cell that induced complete remissions in patients with advanced and aggressive B cell lymphomas. But an update reported Saturday showed patients starting to relapse, which may raise questions about the so-called gamma-delta T cell therapy’s durability. (Feuerstein, 12/10)
Stat: Bispecific Antibody For Multiple Myeloma Succeeds In Mid-Stage Trial
Researchers had hoped in recent years that a protein called GPRC5D might offer a new way to get the immune system to hunt down and destroy multiple myeloma cells. Now, the results of a Phase 2 study on a bispecific antibody targeting this protein offers confirmation. (Chen, 12/10)
Stat: Novartis Develops A Rapidly Manufactured CAR-T Therapy
For some patients suffering with certain blood cancers, CAR-T therapy can offer the tantalizing chance to end their disease with a single treatment. But the immunotherapy takes time to manufacture, and patients often have to wait weeks to actually receive an infusion once they’re eligible. (Chen, 12/11)
Also —
The Boston Globe: How A Dog’s Life May Change The Course Of Cancer In People
Don’t let her old-soul brown eyes and prematurely gray fur fool you. Jellybean is a spirited 4-year-old Labrador Retriever mix who is considered a rock star among the dozens of dogs enrolled in cutting-edge cancer research at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The research, part of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, aims to improve treatments for dogs, as well as people, diagnosed with the disease. (Lazar, 12/9)
Stat: Bone Marrow Transplant Patients Could Be Spared From ‘Bland’ Diet
Whenever a hematopoietic cell transplant patient tries to get a family member to sneak food in past the nurses, Federico Stella, a resident hematologist at the University of Milan, remembers. One was a girl who tried to get her sister to bring her a panettone, a Milanese sweet bread usually eaten around the holidays. (Chen, 12/10)
