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NRAS Mutations in Melanoma
Richard W. Joseph, MD, highlights clinical trial results showing that melanoma patients with NRAS mutations tend to have better response rates to immunotherapy compared with patients with wild-type NRAS. NRAS mutations may be valuable predictors of response in patients with melanoma, suggests Dr Joseph.
Dr Joseph discusses previous research that investigated whether response rates for patients treated with high-dose interleukin-2 varied based on whether the patient had an NRAS mutation, a BRAF mutation, or were wild-type for both NRAS and BRAF. The results showed that patients with NRAS mutations responded better to treatment than patients with BRAF mutations or patients who were wild-type for both NRAS and BRAF. More recent research has demonstrated that patients with NRAS mutations also respond better when treated with other types of immunotherapies, he adds.
Although these results are exciting, there is still no definitive answer as to why melanoma patients with NRAS mutations respond better than patients without such mutations, remarks Dr Joseph. He is hopeful that additional studies will provide additional insight into the role of NRAS mutations in melanoma.
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
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Contributor: More Informed Management of Preeclampsia Is Necessary
November 29th 2023At present, it is difficult for clinicians to identify patients at greatest risk for developing preeclampsia with severe features and tailor treatment plans for them; this difficulty increases costs significantly.
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Insufficient Data, Disparities Plague Lung Cancer Risk Factor Documentation
September 24th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the senior author of a study published in the September 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® on the importance of adequate and effective lung cancer risk factor documentation to determine a patient's eligibility for screening.
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Untangling Medical Debt From Credit Scores: Effects So Far and Next Steps
November 29th 2023After recent policy changes removing most medical debts from credit reports, Americans are seeing their credit scores increase, but experts warn of the need to monitor billing and collection practices for unintended consequences.
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Provisional CDC data show that US babies gained roughly a year in life expectancy in 2022; study findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly raised the risk of preterm birth for expectant California mothers; New York Attorney General Letitia James said about 4 million New Yorkers were affected by a data breach of the medical transcription company Perry Johnson & Associates.
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