ABSTRACTS: CT002, CT003 SAN DIEGO ― Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center presented encouraging findings today from two clinical trials in a plenary session highlighting advances in novel immunotherapy approaches at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024. The studies describe the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy in patients with advanced kidney cancer and an oncolytic immunotherapy for patients with skin cancer following organ transplants. Information on all MD Anderson AACR Annual Meeting content can be found at MDAnderson.org/AACR. Novel allogenic ...

New data presented today by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) researchers show an experimental approach to treating pancreatic cancer with the messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate, autogene cevumeran, continues to show potential to stimulate an immune response that may reduce the risk of the disease returning after surgery. New results from a phase 1 clinical trial show that the cancer vaccine candidate activated immune cells that persisted in the body for up to three years after treatment in certain patients. In addition, a vaccine-induced immune ...

About The Study: Most cancer drugs granted accelerated approval did not demonstrate benefit in overall survival or quality of life within five years of accelerated approval. Patients should be clearly informed about the cancer drugs that use the accelerated approval pathway and do not end up showing benefits in patient-centered clinical outcomes.  Authors: Aaron S. Kesselheim, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed ...

KEY TAKEAWAYS Researchers at Mass General Brigham tested a remote patient education and navigation program with 200 patients who had type 2 diabetes and elevated cardiovascular/kidney risk. Patients who received education simultaneously with treatment were more likely to begin and adhere to treatment while a period of education prior to therapy initiation was inferior for prescription acceptance and therapy uptake. The study highlights the importance of “striking while the iron is hot” and the potential for remote, team-based care to bridge ...

Sophia Antipolis, France – 7 April 2024:  The first EU-wide trial aiming to improve the care of elderly atrial fibrillation patients with additional chronic health conditions has enrolled its first patient. The EU-funded EHRA-PATHS study is coordinated by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the ESC.  Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder, affecting more than 40 million individuals worldwide.1 The likelihood of developing the condition increases with age and the number of other conditions such as high blood pressure, ...

Berlin, Germany – 7 April 2024:  An electronic sock that detects an unhealthy walking style linked with diabetes and poor circulation shows promise for preventing foot ulcers and amputation. The novel research is set to benefit the many patients with diabetes who have clogged arteries in the legs and is presented for the first time at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1  Study author Dr. Ki Hong Lee of Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea said: “Diabetes can affect the way people walk, also known as their gait. Patients with diabetes tend to put pressure ...

Withdrawing aspirin one month after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in high-risk heart patients and keeping them on ticagrelor alone safely improves outcomes and reduces major bleeding by more than half when compared to patients taking aspirin and ticagrelor combined (also known as dual antiplatelet therapy or DAPT), which is the current standard of care. These are the results from the ULTIMATE-DAPT study announced during a late-breaking trial presentation at the American College of Cardiology Scientific ...

Short-term incentives for exercise can lead to sustained increases in activity NIH-supported study shows certain perks can spur long-term behavior change in adults with cardiovascular disease risks    Adults with heart disease risks who received daily reminders or incentives to become more active increased their daily steps by more than 1,500 after a year, and many were still sticking with their new habit six months later, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health that published in Circulation. ...

A new approach to the guidance, planning and conduct of heart bypass surgery has been successfully tested on patients for the first time in a clinical trial coordinated by a research team at University of Galway. The FAST TRACK CABG study, overseen by the University’s CORRIB Research Centre for Advanced Imaging and Core Lab, has seen heart surgeons plan and carry out coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), based solely on non-invasive cardiac-CT scan images, with HeartFlow’s AI-powered blood flow analysis of the patient’s coronary arteries. The research was published today in the European Heart Journal and is available at https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae199 The ...

About The Study: High-dose influenza vaccine elicited a more robust humoral response in patients with heart failure or prior myocardial infarction enrolled in the INVESTED randomized clinical trial, with no association between seroconversion status and the risk for cardiopulmonary hospitalizations or all-cause mortality. Vaccination to prevent influenza remains critical in high-risk populations.  Authors: Scott D. Solomon, M.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical ...

About The Study: This randomized clinical trial demonstrates the potential clinical utility of plozasiran, an investigational APOC3-targeted small interfering–RNA drug, to reduce triglyceride level in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. Additional studies will be required to determine whether plozasiran favorably modulates the risk of severe hypertriglyceridemia-associated complications.  Authors: Daniel Gaudet, M.D., Ph.D., of the Université de Montréal, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2024.0959) Editor’s ...

Hypertriglyceridemia, or high levels of lipids (fats) in the blood, increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and acute pancreatitis. Currently available medications, including statins, ezetimibe, fibrates and prescription omega 3 fatty acids, typically lower triglyceride levels by anywhere from below 10% to up to 40%. These therapies help, but they are not enough to prevent cardiovascular events in everyone. An experimental treatment could further lower triglycerides in the blood, according to a placebo-controlled ...

Berlin, Germany – 7 April 2024:  Exposure to secondhand smoke – even at small amounts – is linked with greater risk of a serious heart rhythm disorder, according to research presented at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 The likelihood of atrial fibrillation increased as the duration of passive smoking lengthened.  “The dangers of secondhand smoke were significant regardless of whether individuals were at home, outdoors, or at work, indicating that exposure universally elevates the risk of atrial ...

Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) can be prevented for up to nine years in more than half of people given an oral spray-based vaccine and is a potential alternative to antibiotic treatments, finds research. Initial results from the first long-term follow-up study of the safety and effectiveness of the MV140 vaccine for recurrent UTIs are presented this weekend at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Paris. They show that in both men and women with recurrent UTIs, 54% of study participants remained UTI-free for nine years after the vaccine, with no notable side effects reported. Full results of the study are expected to be published ...

About The Study: This systematic review and meta-analysis including data on 1.1 million cases of infective endocarditis found that antibiotic prophylaxis was associated with a reduced risk of infective endocarditis following invasive dental procedures in individuals at high risk but not in those at moderate or low/unknown risk. Currently, there is insufficient data to support any benefit of antibiotic prophylaxis in individuals at moderate risk.  Authors: Federica Turati, Ph.D., of the ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of patients without severe aortic stenosis undergoing echocardiography or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based video biomarker was independently associated with aortic stenosis development and progression, enabling opportunistic risk stratification across cardiovascular imaging modalities as well as potential application on handheld devices.  Authors: Rohan Khera, M.D., M.S., of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2024.0595) Editor’s ...

Inter-atrial shunts—investigational devices that create a small pathway for blood to pass from the left to the right side of the heart in order to improve heart failure symptoms and outcomes—may be beneficial to heart failure patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) but harmful or even deadly for heart failure patients with preserved LVEF, a new Mount Sinai-led study shows.   The findings of the RELIEVE-HF trial were announced during the opening late-breaking trial session at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions on Saturday, April 6. This is the first study ...

About The Study: In this preliminary descriptive report from an ongoing randomized clinical trial, one additional high-grade cancer per 196 men and one low-grade cancer per 909 men were detected among those randomized to be invited to undergo a single prostate cancer screening intervention compared with those not invited to undergo screening. These preliminary findings from a single round of screening should be interpreted cautiously, pending results of the study’s primary mortality outcome.  Authors: Anssi ...

About The Study: A single invitation for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening compared with standard practice without routine screening reduced prostate cancer deaths at a median follow-up of 15 years in this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. However, the absolute reduction in deaths was small.  Authors: Richard M. Martin, B.M., B.S., Ph.D., of the University of Bristol in Bristol, United Kingdom, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.4011) Editor’s ...

The largest study to date investigating a single invitation to a PSA blood test* to screen for prostate cancer has found it had a small impact on reducing deaths, but also led to overdiagnosis and missed early detection of some aggressive cancers.  The CAP trial, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and carried out by researchers from the universities of Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge, involved over 400,000 men aged 50-69. Just under half received a single invitation for a PSA test as part of the trial.  After following up for 15 years, there was a small difference in the number of men who died from prostate cancer between the ...

A simple blood test every five years is sufficient to screen low risk men for prostate cancer, new research has shown. The PSA blood test checks the level of prostate-specific antigen, a marker for prostate cancer. In Europe, only Lithuania routinely screens men for prostate cancer based on their PSA levels, as the test has historically been seen as insufficiently reliable. The German study, presented at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Paris today [April 6, 2024], involved over 12,500 men aged between 45-50 taking part in the ongoing ...

A simple urine test can more than halve the number of cystoscopies necessary to follow up high-risk bladder cancer patients, new research has found. Cystoscopies involve inserting a flexible probe through the urethra into the bladder, which allows a clinician to look at the bladder lining for signs of cancer. While they are predominantly safe procedures, cystoscopies do incur some risk of urinary infections and bleeding. They can also cause pain and discomfort. Initial results from a two-year study, presented today ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new 16-week study of 204 adult epilepsy patients found that 98% of participants believe that all patients with epilepsy should have a seizure action plan (SAP), regardless of seizure status. These plans can help patients with epilepsy to safely manage seizure emergencies. But healthcare providers don’t always discuss them with their patients. Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine found that standardizing a structured SAP can help adults with epilepsy safely manage seizures. Study findings published online today in the journal Neurology: Clinical Practice. “Our work suggests that simple discussions between ...

By Shawn Ballard Optical sensors serve as the backbone of numerous scientific and technological endeavors, from detecting gravitational waves to imaging biological tissues for medical diagnostics. These sensors use light to detect changes in properties of the environment they’re monitoring, including chemical biomarkers and physical properties like temperature. A persistent challenge in optical sensing has been enhancing sensitivity to detect faint signals amid noise. New research from Lan Yang, the Edwin H. & Florence G. Skinner Professor in the Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering in the McKelvey School ...

When you throw dinosaurs into the mix, sometimes you find that a rule simply isn’t. A new study led by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Reading calls into question Bergmann’s rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer climates. The fossil record shows otherwise. “Our study shows that the evolution of diverse body sizes in dinosaurs and mammals cannot be reduced to simply being a function of latitude or temperature,” said Lauren Wilson, a UAF graduate student and a lead author ...