PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Afatinib: Added benefit in certain mutations confirmed

Lung cancer patients with Del19 mutation benefit most

2015-08-20
(Press-News.org) Afatinib (trade name: Giotrif) has been approved since September 2013 for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with activating EGF receptor mutations who have not been treated with an EGF receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (EGFR TKI). After a first early benefit assessment in February 2014, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) now reexamined whether the drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy. The new benefit assessment was conducted because a limitation of the corresponding decision by the Federal Joint Commission (G-BA) expired in May 2015.

The current assessment was based on a new data cut-off of the study already investigated in 2014. Evaluable data were only available for treatment-naive patients in relatively good general condition (ECOG PS 0 or 1). There is still an indication of a major added benefit of afatinib in patients with the EGFR mutation Del19, and a hint of a minor added benefit in patients with L858R mutation. In patients with other EGFR mutations, the Institute now no longer detected an indication, but only a hint of lesser benefit versus the comparator therapy. The pharmaceutical company presented no relevant data for pretreated patients.

G-BA decides on the extent of added benefit

This dossier assessment is part of the early benefit assessment according to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG) supervised by the G-BA. After publication of the dossier assessment, the G-BA conducts a commenting procedure and makes a final decision on the extent of the added benefit.

INFORMATION:

An overview of the results of IQWiG's benefit assessment is given by a German-language executive summary. Further information can be found in the press release on the 2014 dossier assessment. In addition, the website » http://www.gesundheitsinformation.de, published by IQWiG, provides easily understandable German-language information.

More English-language information will be available soon (Sections 2.1 to 2.6 of the dossier assessment as well as subsequently published health information on » http://www.informedhealthonline.org). If you would like to be informed when these documents are available, please send an e-mail to » info@iqwig.de.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Swiss researchers evaluate fetal progenitor tenocytes for repairing tendon injuries

2015-08-20
Putnam Valley, NY. (Aug. 20, 2015) - Tendon injuries, especially those acquired while engaging in sports, are not easily healed due to the fibrous nature of tendon tissues which transmit forces from muscle to bone and protect surrounding tissues against tension and compression. Tendon injuries to wrists, knees, elbows and rotator cuffs, often from over use when playing golf or tennis, are increasingly common for both professional and amateur athletes ("weekend warriors") alike. Previous studies in which human fetal progenitor tenocyte (hFPT) transplantation stimulated ...

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researchers publish landmark 'basket study'

2015-08-20
Researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have announced results from the first published basket study, a new form of clinical trial design that explores responses to drugs based on the specific mutations in patients' tumors rather than where their cancer originated. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the early phase II study, led by MSK Physician-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer José Baselga, MD, PhD, looked at the effect of vemurafenib (Zelboraf®) in multiple nonmelanoma BRAFV600-mutated cancers in 122 patients from 23 ...

Report shows uninsured Texans are twice as likely to delay seeking primary care, mental health care

2015-08-20
HOUSTON - (Aug. 20, 2015) - Texans without health insurance are twice as likely to skip seeking primary and mental health care because of cost. That's one of the findings of a new survey released today by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation. The report found that in the past year 32 percent of uninsured adult Texans said they had skipped primary care due to costs, compared with 16 percent of adults who have health insurance. When it comes to mental health care or counseling, 12 percent of uninsured Texans said they had ...

NASA's CloudSat slices into Super Typhoon Atsani

NASAs CloudSat slices into Super Typhoon Atsani
2015-08-20
NASA's CloudSat Satellite passed over Super Typhoon Atsani as it moved through the western North Pacific Ocean. CloudSat looked at the super typhoon from the side, revealing heavy rainfall in a sloping eyewall. Typhoon Atsani strengthened into a super typhoon on August 19, 2015 at 0000 UTC. CloudSat flew over Atsani at 03:27 UTC, shortly after it became a super typhoon when maximum sustained winds were near 130 knots (150 mph). Atsani was equivalent to a category 4 strength hurricane. CloudSat's cloud profiling radar (CPR), passed just to the west of Super Typhoon Atsani's ...

Electrospray solves longstanding problem in Langmuir-Blodgett assembly

2015-08-20
In the 1930s, Irving Langmuir and his colleague Katharine Blodgett were working long days in the General Electric Company's research laboratory. Together, they discovered that by spreading molecules with volatile organic solvents on the surface of water, they could create a one-molecule-thick film and use it as an anti-reflective coating for glass. Later named Langmuir-Blodgett assembly, this thin-film fabrication technique became popular for creating molecule or nanoparticle monolayers and is commonly used until this day. Since Langmuir-Blodgett assembly was first reported ...

PET imaging detects fast-growing prostate cancer

2015-08-20
Reston, Va. (August 20, 2015) - A molecular imaging biomarker is able to detect fast-growing primary prostate cancer and distinguish it from benign prostate lesions, addressing an unmet clinical need. The new research, published in the July 2015 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, is significant for patients with suspected prostate cancer that has not been confirmed by standard biopsy. "We were able to demonstrate in our research that PSMA PET imaging was more specific than MR imaging for detection of clinically significant high-grade prostate cancer lesions, and ...

Study finds causal connection between genotypes and years of education achieved

2015-08-20
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 20 -- A first-of-its-kind, nationally representative study of siblings supports previously published research on unrelated individuals that links specific genotypes to educational attainment among adults in their mid-20s to early 30s. The research, published today in AERA Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association, found that, within families, an adolescent with a higher "polygenic score"--which summarizes previously identified genome-wide associations for educational attainment--than her or his sibling tended ...

Extracorporeal life support is 'bridge-to-life' for patients with sudden onset cardiogenic shock

2015-08-20
Summary: The ideal management strategy for primary cardiogenic shock is a matter of debate. After some early discouraging experiences, the use of extracorporeal life support for patients with cardiogenic shock is having a resurgence. A report from researchers in Padua, Italy finds that patients who have an acute onset of cardiogenic shock, for example following a heart attack, and are placed on extracorporeal life support, fare better than those who have a chronic cardiac pathology. In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Vivek Rao of the University of Toronto puts the findings ...

Virginia Tech researchers discover potential biomarker for pre-diabetes

2015-08-20
Virginia Tech researchers have identified a biomarker in pre-diabetic individuals that could help prevent them from developing Type II diabetes. Publishing in Clinical Epigenetics, the researchers discovered that pre-diabetic people who were considered to be insulin resistant -- unable to respond to the hormone insulin effectively -- also had altered mitochondrial DNA. Researchers made the connection by analyzing blood samples taken from 40 participants enrolled in the diaBEAT-it program, a long-term study run by multiple researchers in the Fralin Translational Obesity ...

Harvard's Wyss Institute improves its sepsis therapeutic device

2015-08-20
(BOSTON) - Last year, a Wyss Institute team of scientists described the development of a new device to treat sepsis that works by mimicking our spleen. It cleanses pathogens and toxins from blood circulating through a dialysis-like circuit. Now, the Wyss Institute team has developed an improved device that synergizes with conventional antibiotic therapies and that has been streamlined to better position it for near-term translation to the clinic. The improved design is described in the October volume 67 of Biomaterials. Sepsis is a common and frequently fatal medical ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

When words make you sick

Removal of incorrect penicillin allergy labels by non-specialist healthcare professional feasible

Is your partner’s disturbed sleep keeping you up at night? Letting go of unattainable dreams may keep you both happy in bed

Molecular orientation is key: shining new light on electron behavior using 2-photon photoemission spectroscopy

Continuous non-invasive glucose sensing on the horizon with the development of a new optical sensor.

Brain recordings in people before surgery reveal how all minds plan what to say prior to speaking

A KAIST-Seoul National University Hospital research team develops a computational workflow that predicts metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with somatic mutations in cancers

Bendable energy storage materials by cool science

Inorganic nitrate can help protect patients against kidney damage caused during coronary angiographic procedures

Active social lives help dementia patients, caregivers thrive

New technique measures psilocybin potency of mushrooms

UC Irvine-led research team discovers role of key enzymes that drive cancer mutations

All creatures great and small: Sequencing the blue whale and Etruscan shrew genomes

Sustainable solution for wastewater polluted by dyes used in many industries

Food companies’ sponsorship of children’s sports encourages children to buy their products, Canadian research suggests

USC receives $3.95 million CIRM grant for organoid resource center

New research finds boreal arctic wetlands are producing more methane over time

TLI Investigator Dr. Wei Yan named Editor-in-Chief of the Andrology Journal

New study reveals insights into COVID-19 antibody response durability

Climate change alters the hidden microbial food web in peatlands

Text nudges can increase uptake of COVID-19 boosters– if they play up a sense of ownership of the vaccine

A new study shows how neurochemicals affect fMRI readings

Digital reminders for flu vaccination improves turnout, but not clinical outcomes in older adults

Avatar will not lie... or will it? Scientists investigate how often we change our minds in virtual environments

8-hour time-restricted eating linked to a 91% higher risk of cardiovascular death

Alternative tidal wetlands in plain sight overlooked Blue Carbon superstars

The majority of Americans do not support anti-democratic behavior, even when elected officials do

Genes identified that allow bacteria to thrive despite toxic heavy metal in soil

Scientists’ discovery could reduce dependence on animals for vital anti-blood clot drug

Artificial streams reveal how drought shapes California’s alpine ecosystems

[Press-News.org] Afatinib: Added benefit in certain mutations confirmed
Lung cancer patients with Del19 mutation benefit most