Latest Conference Articles

Population health screening involves risk stratification that allows interventions to be targeted to appropriate patients, as was demonstrated in a study of a chronic kidney disease (CKD) intervention published in the November issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, said lead author Joseph Vassalotti, MD, clinical professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and chief medical officer of the National Kidney Foundation.

Patients with hematologic malignancies receive less appropriate end-of-life care than patients with solid tumors because of barriers with patients, physicians, and the healthcare system in general, said Adam Olszewski, MD, associate professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Evidence suggests that exercise reduces blood pressure, and some of the mechanisms by which this occurs can include a reduction in salt sensitivity and effects on vascular structure, according to Danielle Kirkman, PhD, assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

New research shows that carfilzomib in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma resulted in a higher rate of minimal residual disease negativity compared with usual rates, said C. Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and chief of the Myeloma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer.

The lead investigator of the study from the Children's Oncology Group said the findings represent a new standard of care.

The study's primary end point, overall survival, showed that patients taking CC-486 had a 31% lower risk of death than those taking placebo.

The French biotech Servier has an agreement with Allogene Therapeutics, through Pfizer, to market its allogenic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product in the United States if it receives FDA approval.

The unique market dynamics in Michigan have contributed to lower hospital prices, but it remains to be seen if recent policy changes will reveal these prices to be artificially depressed, according to Bret Jackson, president of the Economic Alliance for Michigan.

Symptoms of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) have a large impact on quality of life for patients and it is important to be able to link them, said Ruben Mesa, MD, director of UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Karmanos Cancer Institute, in Detroit, Michigan, established a specialty pharmacy to help alleviate the financial burden many patients face when paying for their oral novel therapeutics.

While there are more novel therapies available to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), there are still unanswered questions about how to use these therapies in sequences, said Lindsey Roeker, MD, clinical fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Blue Cross Blue Shield is dedicated to maintaining local relationships to ensure they can provide the best care continuum to patients, said Jennifer Atkins, MBA, vice president of Network Solutions at Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Results from Avalere Health show that once Medicare patients get through the experience and expense of CAR T-cell therapy, they do well and costs drop significantly.

Children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who come from neighborhoods with lower income have poorer outcomes and may have access to care issues, said Lena Winestone, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco.

To avoid the toxicities associated with use of chemotherapy, there has been progress in developing and utilizing chemotherapy-free therapies to treat mantle cell lymphoma, said Michael Wang, MD, professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at MD Anderson.

Successors to the first generation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatments will attack multiple targets and address the complexity of the manufacturing process by bringing uniformity to the creation of therapies, presenters said at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, Florida.

Identifying elevated LDL-C levels in patients and treating them with evolocumab can potentially mitigate and reduce the rate of ischemic events, said Darryl Sleep, MD, senior vice president, global medical and chief medical officer at Amgen.

The GUARD-AF trial promotes heightened knowledge of stroke risk among patients with atrial fibrillation by analyzing, evaluating, and distributing important data back to practitioners, which can possibly reduce the incidence of stroke, said Roland Chen, MD, MS, vice president and head of clinical development for innovative medicines at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The HDL PDS-2 system showed in a relatively short time its ability to affect the progression of HoFH, with a reduction in the burden of plaque overall highlighting its exciting potential, said Brian Ghoshhajra, MD, MBA, diagnostic radiologist and service chief of cardiovascular imaging in the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Nephrologists treating children with kidney disease or metabolic syndrome have different challenges and opportunities than when treating adults, according to Tammy Brady, MD, PhD, medical director of the Pediatric Hypertension Program and associate professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University.

We've had the opportunity to evaluate the CD34+ cell in the past 20 years, and finally we have a tool that represents a potential breakthrough for patients with CMD, said Douglas Losordo, MD, FACC, FAHA, chief medical officer at Caladrius Biosciences.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to change the way physicians have monitored for conditions such as atrial fibrillation in the past 5 decades, said Brandon Fornwalt, MD, PhD, director of the Cardiac Imaging Technology Laboratory at Geisinger.

Prescriptive analytics, not just predictive analytics, will make a difference in patient outcomes, said John Frownfelter, MD, FACP, chief medical officer of Jvion.

The industry does not do a very good job of letting providers know there are ways to cover risk or protect against it. Better educating physicians on this would help improve uptake of value-based care models, said Mike Fazio, senior vice president of client services, Archway Health.

By improving detection of atrial fibrillation, more affected individuals can provide researchers with valuable information and a potential signal to treat, said Brent A. Williams, PhD, research investigator focusing on the optimal incorporation of cardiac imaging technologies in clinical practice for Geisinger.

A RAND study comparing hospital prices across states provided insights into the drivers of high healthcare spending in Michigan, explained Bret Jackson, president of the Economic Alliance for Michigan.

Detecting more cases of atrial fibrillation, and at an earlier rate, is key to preventing adverse patient outcomes, said Stephen Voyce, MD, cardiologist and chief of cardiology at Geisinger Community Medical Center for the Geisinger Heart Institute and director of clinical cardiology research.

GRAIL has generated enormous innovations in oncology care over the past 2 decades and will continue this trend through exploring 1 of oncology’s biggest opportunities, early detection of cancer, said Joshua Ofman, MD, chief of Corporate Strategy and External Affairs at GRAIL Inc.