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This week, the top managed care news included a European safety committee finding very rare blood clot links with AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine; new report predicts shifts in the cancer landscape by 2040; the connected nature of type 1 diabetes with other autoimmune diseases.

Research published in November found an 85% drop in breast cancer screening and a 75% drop in colon cancer screening. Since that time, screening rates have improved somewhat.

Patients who experienced a fall within 12 months of multiple myeloma (MM) treatment initiation had a shorter median survival compared to those without falls.

Patients who cut their calorie intake by at least 10% and exercised modestly were 70% less likely to have remaining leukemic cells in their bone marrow 1 month after starting chemotherapy, according to results of an early study.

The study also indicated that the type of transplantation donor impacted outcomes following the procedure.

A popular misconception of palliative care is that it only has importance toward making patients comfortable at the end of their lives, noted a palliative care physician on the first day of the 2021 Community Oncology Conference, presented by the Community Oncology Alliance.

A multidimesional rehabilitation program characterized by cognitive, physical, occupational, and speech therapies was found to improve functional and cognitive abilities in people with mild to moderate Parkinson disease.

Kathy Oubre, MS, chief operating officer of Pontchartrain Cancer Center, discusses cost-saving implications of biosimilars in oncology, as well as several barriers that continue to impede their use.

Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, discusses what influence the new administration may have on payment reform in oncology and issues regarding the 340B drug pricing program.

A meta-analysis, where many studies ranged in evidence quality, revealed mixed results on the effectiveness of blended self-management interventions in chronic lung conditions, establishing a need for more research.

Officials urge the Biden administration to track COVID-19 deaths among health care workers; the B.1.1.7 variant is now the dominant strain in the United States; pandemic results in steep declines in STD testing.

Jeff Patton, MD, CEO, OneOncology, and chairman of the board, Tennessee Oncology, discusses what influence COVID-19 will have on discussions at the Community Oncology Conference 2021, as well as takeaways he hopes audience members and participants gain from the conference.

A higher risk of adult-onset heart failure was found in this Swedish study that investigated its association with singleton live births before 37 weeks gestation.

Because health literacy can have different meanings for patients with different diseases, this review aimed to crystalize a definition in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and emphasize its importance in care planning.

More information will come from 4-year results, which will be critical to assess whether there is any long-term benefit to visual acuity using aflibercept.

Cases of pancreatic and liver cancers are expected to rise by 2040, and there will be more melanoma cases, according to new estimates of future US cancer incidence and death.

University of Oxford pauses AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine study in children; psychiatric, neurological illness rates high in patients who’ve had COVID-19; new CDC reports shows possible link between multisystem inflammatory syndrome and asymptomatic COVID-19.

To effect change, we must address health care disparities beyond the individual level, says Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health and director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies.

A review published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment highlights the lack of research on migraine prevalence and symptoms among postmenopausal women.

The research, funded in part by the JDRF, springs from the fact that autoimmune diseases are increasing worldwide, and are rising faster among Black and Hispanic youth.

Adjunct nutritional therapies may be a simple way to improve the prognosis for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension who are hospitalized.

A recently launched campaign by Jazz Pharmaceuticals and the Hypersomnia Foundation spotlights a lack of knowledge on idiopathic hypersomnia, as well as how care teams can optimally screen for symptoms and care for patients with the debilitating sleep disorder.

The Centre for Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Research Zimbabwe conducts evidence-based research related to HIV and AIDS, as well as provides and implements sexual and reproductive health education and interventions among sex workers, children, and adolescents, and in the area of masculinity.

The Biden administration appoints a new coordinator for its global coronavirus response; more infectious COVID-19 variant first identified in United Kingdom now in all 50 states; spotlighting the impact of COVID-19 on the heart of an athlete.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were found to be more likely to take medications for depression or anxiety than for other common comorbidities associated with the disease, investigators concluded.

Registry of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) treated with selexipag provides insights into real-world dosing regimens and outcomes.

Lalan Wilfong, MD, executive vice president, Value Based Care & Quality Programs, Texas Oncology, and co-chair, Payment Reform, Community Oncology Alliance, discusses implications of quality metrics in cancer care and what perspectives on the topic he is looking forward to hearing at the 2021 Community Oncology Conference.

Researchers analyzed the impacts of different nutritional education programs among patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D).