On January 26, 2023 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed its emergency use authorization of tixagevimab/cilgavimab (Evushield) for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection after exposure to the virus. FDA said it made the decision because the agent is not effective in preventing infections from the current variants that are responsible for 90% of today’s infections and because the risks of the drug’s side effects do not outweigh the benefits.
On January 26, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) for adjuvant treatment following resection and platinum-based chemotherapy of patients with stage IB (T2a ≥ 4 cm), II, or IIIA non-small cell lung cancer.
On January 27, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to pirtobrutinib (Jaypirca®) for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy, including a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
To combat the increasing incidence of healthcare workplace violence, hospitals must “identify patients at risk for intentional harm to self or others, identify environmental safety risks for such patients, and provide education and training for staff and volunteers” so that workers can deliver care in a safe setting, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ (CMS) Quality, Safety, and Oversight Group (QSOG) and Survey and Operations Group (SOG) said in a November 2022 memo.
On August 5, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved darolutamide (Nubeqa®) in combination with docetaxel in adults with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. The approval was based on clinical trial findings demonstrating that the agent improved overall survival and significantly delayed time to pain progression compared to placebo.
U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) introduced the Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act in December 2022 to address gaps in survivorship care and formulate standards to improve quality of cancer care and navigation needs of survivors.
Most patients at high risk for developing pancreatic cancer whose disease was found while participating in a screening program were diagnosed with early-stage cancers, according to study findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
To address and achieve equity in health care, in fall 2022 the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) began offering new funding opportunities for research studies aligned with the scientific framework outlined in the institute’s 2022–2026 strategic plan. The grants are available cyclically with three application periods per year.
In your day-to-day conversations with patients, colleagues, or even friends and family at home, are you merely hearing what others tell you or are you actively listening to them? When we actively listen to what someone is saying, we intreat curiosity about their words and the emotions they are communicating with their tone and body language. Active listening engages a whole-person connection, whereas passive listening relies on the brain’s ability to catch the main points of a conversation.
In a December 2022 statement, Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, National Cancer Institute director, announced that she was diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer and that her prognosis is favorable. She said she is enrolled in a clinical trial centered around her diagnosis to contribute to the cancer knowledge base and advance care.