Maggie L. Shaw

The increasing rate of melanoma diagnosis may not be due to actual disease, the authors of a new study posit; instead, it may be due to overdiagnosis of patients with an actual very low risk of death.

Patients with heart failure frequently suffer from fluid overload, and for those with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) also suffering from septic shock—a condition often treated with fluids—more data are needed on outcomes following fluid administration.

The investigators of a new study evaluated if nasal cytology was a reliable method to identify type 2 inflammation in patients who have chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), which could then facilitate patient selection for biological drug utilization via endotypization.

Tochi M. Okwuosa, DO, cardiologist and director of cardio-oncology at Rush University Medical Center, delivered several presentations at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions this year. Chief among them were the importance of cardiovascular health in cancer survivors and cardio-toxicity from cancer treatments.

Kausik K. Ray, MB ChB, MD, MPhil, is professor of public health and a consultant cardiologist at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. At this year’s American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions, he presented findings from a 4-year open-label extension study of inclisiran, a small interfering RNA that targets proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 to lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).

Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASPC, FNLA, professor of medicine and the Gerald S. Berenson Endowed Chair in Preventative Cardiology, Tulane University School of Medicine, discusses the results of the recently halted FRESH trial, why there is such a great need for new antihypertensive agents, and possible contributory factors to outcome disparities between Black and White patients.

The DELIVER trial is the largest trial to date of SGLT2 inhibitor use in heart failure, and these latest data on dapagliflozin in heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction show an extensive benefit on health status, noted Mikhail Kosiborod, MD, cardiologist at St. Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri.

The latest real-world clinical practice data from the VICTORIA trial of vericiguat bolster previous data on the medication’s benefit by showing that 92% of patients hospitalized for a worsening heart failure event would be eligible to start the therapy and that doing so would reduce their risk of heart failure hospitalization and cardiovascular death, noted Stephen J. Greene, MD, Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

In the ENNOBLE-ATE trial, Michael A. Portman, MD, FAHA, director, Pediatric Cardiovascular Research, Center for Integrative Brain Research, and professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children's, and his team evaluated the safety and efficacy of edoxaban, a direct oral anticoagulant previously only used among adult patients, among pediatric patients with cardiac disease.

Douglas L. Mann, MD, professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and editor-in-chief of JACC: Basic to Translational Science discussed the first set of data reported on NTLA-2001, a novel investigative intravenous agent that targets the TTR gene and TTR protein levels, which have been shown to play a role in development of cardiac transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis.

Two data sets from patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) show the benefits of macitentan (Opsumit) monotherapy despite guidelines calling for combination therapy, even among patients with World Health Organizational functional class I-II disease.

Neil D. Gross, MD, FACS, head and neck surgeon and director of clinical research in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the results of study he and his team conducted in the setting of resectable stage II to IV cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Risk factors not properly addressed in patients with asymptomatic heart failure, such as high blood pressure and having diabetes or mild heart valve problems, can lead to structural heart problems or heart failure itself, noted Amresh Raina, MD, of the Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A significant uptick in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) among patients with comorbid asthma has been seen in the country over the past decade.

This investigation compared the histologic features of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) between organ transplant recipients and the general population.

The limited data on heart failure (HF)-related mortality among young adults, those aged 15 to 44 years, prompted this analysis of data from 1999 to 2019 that considered HF as a contributing or underlying cause of death.

According to the study authors, acute decompensated pulmonary hypertension (PH) is often accompanied by systemic congestion and right ventricular flow output, and because PH can be accompanied by acute kidney injury, renal replacement therapy (RRT) may be necessary.

The risks of 4 types of skin cancers were investigated among patients who have neurofibromatosis type 1, a multisystem autosomal dominant genetic syndrome characterized by loss of neurofibromin.

Despite known racial disparities in access to advanced heart failure (HF) treatments, the reasons for this continue to require further exploration. In this new study, investigators searched for associations between ventricular assist device use and heart transplant and race (Black or White).

The goal of this new study was to gain more information on the disease burden, including costs, of patients living with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP).

Patients may be able to forgo radiation following use of cemiplimab to treat their resectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), as it is likely to demonstrate significant improvement in quality of life (QOL) for patients and enable less invasive surgeries, noted Neil D. Gross, MD, FACS, head and neck surgeon and director of clinical research in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Although group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with comorbid syncope has been linked to a poor prognosis among adults, this relationship remains uncertain in pediatric patients, prompting a new study.

There is potential impact on the heart, coronary arteries, and heart function following radiation to the left side of the body, explained Amresh Raina, MD, director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Allegheny General Hospital and the Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Patients have to always come first, and technology can enhance their care experience, stated Anne Marie F. Rainey, MSN, RN, CHC, director of quality and value-based care at Clearview Cancer Institute.

On day 1 of this year’s Association of Community Cancer Centers’ (ACCC) National Oncology Conference, The American Journal of Managed Care® sat down for a conversation with David Penberthy, MD, MBA, ACCC’s president for the 2022-2023 term, and his brother Scott Penberthy, PhD, MS, director, Applied AI, Office of the CTO, at Google.

There have been many silver linings of the pandemic, including improvements in financial, operational, and clinical advancement efficiencies, as well as addressing the total cost of care in population health management, said Mike Koroscik, MBA, MHA, vice president of oncology, Allina Health and the Allina Health Cancer Institute.

It’s important that patients are the healthiest they can be when going into treatment for cancer, emphasized Debra Delaney, MSN, FNP-BC, primary care nurse practitioner at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.

Much of artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used in the more mundane areas of health care, figuring out where to be most helpful, so doctors can do what they do best, which is diagnostic care, noted Scott Penberthy, PhD, MS, director, Applied AI, Office of the CTO, at Google.

Investigators for this study analyzed outcomes among patients hospitalized with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who have higher risks of adverse health outcomes, in particular sepsis and septic shock.

Leana Cabrera Chien, MSN, RN, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC, is a geriatric nurse practitioner at City of Hope, working in its Aging Wellness Clinic.