A Structured Training Framework Aims to Standardize Brachytherapy Practice in Soft Tissue Sarcoma
A new technical review introduces a competency‑aligned training framework for interstitial brachytherapy in soft‑tissue sarcoma (STS). The framework translates ABS and GEC‑ESTRO guidelines into a step‑by‑step workflow covering implant geometry, CT‑based planning, dose optimization, toxicity management, and quality assurance. It specifies practical parameters such as 1–1.5 cm catheter spacing, 36 Gy in 10 twice‑daily fractions for HDR monotherapy, and CT simulation with 2–3 mm slices. By providing a trainee‑centered roadmap, the authors aim to close the training gap that leaves many radiation‑oncology residents underprepared.
Rebuilding Vaccine Trust Amid Rising Misinformation and Disease Resurgence: Jamie R. Felzer, MD, MPH
Misinformation about vaccines is eroding public confidence, leading to lower immunization rates and a resurgence of diseases once thought eliminated. At the American Thoracic Society 2026 International Conference, Dr. Jamie R. Felzer highlighted persistent myths—such as links to autism and...
AYA ALL Care Evolves Beyond Chemotherapy as Survival Gaps Persist
A new review in Blood Reviews highlights that adolescents and young adults (AYA) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) now achieve over 70% overall survival using pediatric‑inspired regimens, yet still fall short of the 90%+ rates seen in children. The gap...
Expanding ILD Care Access Through Shared Models and Telehealth: Yet Khor, MD, PhD
Interdisciplinary lung disease (ILD) specialists are concentrated in metropolitan academic centers, leaving many patients without timely access to expert care. Yet Khor, MD, PhD, proposes a shared‑care model that alternates patient visits between tertiary hospitals and community pulmonologists every three...
Rethinking Heterogeneity in Community-Acquired Pneumonia Care and Outcomes: Mark Metersky, MD
Community‑acquired pneumonia (CAP) continues to drive millions of hospitalizations, but outcomes differ sharply based on the infecting pathogen and patient biology. At the 2026 American Thoracic Society conference, Dr. Mark Metersky highlighted how rapid molecular diagnostics and immune profiling can...
CVS Health Sued Over Alleged Scheme to Siphon 340B Drug Program Savings
Three major hospital systems sued CVS Health and its affiliates, alleging the company diverted roughly $250 million in savings from the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program between 2020 and 2025. The lawsuits claim CVS Specialty and its PBM unit paid hospitals...
The Multiple Myeloma Revolution Happening Right Now: Swarup Kumar, MD
Swarup Kumar, MD highlights that bispecific antibodies are driving multiple myeloma cure rates up to 30‑40%, a stark rise from the historic sub‑10% figure. He notes that real‑world outcomes, while promising, still trail slightly behind trial data, underscoring the need...
Label Change Helps Remove Barriers to Broader Use of Epcoritamab in DLBCL, Sharman Says
The FDA revised the label for epcoritamab (Epkinly) on April 1, 2026, allowing the first full 48‑mg dose to be administered in an outpatient setting for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B‑cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The change follows interim data from the EPCORE NHL‑6 study,...
Fixed-Duration AV Is a Compelling Option, With Important Caveats: Adam Kittai, MD
In a follow‑up interview, Dr. Adam Kittai of NYU Langone compares fixed‑duration acalabrutinib + venetoclax (AV) with continuous Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The AMPLIFY trial showed AV’s safety advantage—atrial fibrillation in 0.7% and major hemorrhage...
CMR Imaging, NT-proBNP Improve Risk Prediction in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
A prospective registry of 2,698 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients across 44 North American and European centers found that cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) scar burden and the blood biomarker NT‑proBNP markedly improve long‑term risk prediction beyond current sudden cardiac death (SCD)...
Chronic Hand Eczema Linked to High Costs, Corticosteroid Overuse
A new real‑world claims analysis of 6,295 U.S. adults with moderate‑to‑severe chronic hand eczema (CHE) reveals pervasive reliance on systemic (86%) and topical (81%) corticosteroids, with only a fraction receiving immunosuppressants, monoclonal antibodies, or JAK inhibitors. Health‑care spending escalates sharply...
The Financial and Clinical Cost of Delayed MASH Detection and Fragmented Care
Metabolic dysfunction‑associated steatohepatitis (MASH) imposes a heavy financial burden, especially when diagnosis is delayed. Dr. Jaideep Behari highlighted that late detection accelerates progression to fibrosis, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular events, driving costly interventions such as liver transplantation. Early...
From Fewer Fractions to Smarter Combinations: The State of Radiotherapy in Soft Tissue Sarcoma
A 2026 review in Current Oncology Reports finds that hypofractionated radiotherapy, particle‑beam modalities and immunotherapy combinations are reshaping soft‑tissue sarcoma (STS) treatment. Evidence shows 15‑20‑fraction regimens achieve 85‑90% local‑control rates comparable to conventional 35‑fraction schedules, while cutting treatment time by...
Commercial Insurer Prior Authorization Rules Remain Highly Fragmented
A new research letter in the Annals of Internal Medicine maps prior‑authorization (PA) rules for three major commercial insurers—Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare—into a searchable database. The analysis, powered by ChatGPT‑3.5 Turbo, identified 4,645 HCPCS codes that trigger a PA, but...
Better Risk Stratification May Refine Early Myeloma Treatment
Researchers compared two smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) risk tools and found the Mayo Clinic’s 2/20/20 model outperforms the AQUILA trial criteria in identifying patients likely to progress within two years. In Danish and Icelandic cohorts, AQUILA labeled 55% and 34%...
More Than 5 Million US Adults Could Benefit From Lp(a)-Targeted Therapies
New analysis presented at ACC.26 estimates over 5.3 million U.S. adults with ASCVD and Lp(a) ≥ 70 mg/dL could qualify for emerging Lp(a)-lowering therapies. Modeling suggests a 10‑30% relative risk reduction could prevent 123,000‑368,000 recurrent cardiovascular events over five years, roughly 25,000‑74,000 per year....
Opioid Use Duration Should Be Reduced After Ocular Surgery: Anton Kolomeyer, MD, PhD
A 2019 JAMA Ophthalmology study led by Dr. Anton Kolomeyer found that patients undergoing incisional eye surgery filled opioid prescriptions more frequently in 2014‑2016 than in 2000‑2001. The analysis showed higher prescribing rates for trauma, pediatric, and extensive procedures such...
PASSAGE Trial Shows Tezepelumab Benefit in Diverse Asthma Groups: Njira L. Lugogo, MD, MS
The phase 4 PASSAGE trial evaluated tezepelumab in severe, uncontrolled asthma and reported a 70% reduction in annualized asthma exacerbation rate overall, with 54‑77% reductions across all phenotypes. The study included underrepresented groups such as smokers, patients with COPD, Black individuals,...
Sotatercept Reduced Morbidity in CTD-PAH Analysis: Rogerio Souza, MD, PhD
A pooled analysis of the phase‑3 STELLAR, ZENITH and HYPERION trials shows that sotatercept significantly lowers the risk of first major morbidity or mortality events in patients with connective tissue disease‑associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD‑PAH). The benefit persisted despite most...
Text Message Reminders Improve CRC Screening in FQHCs, With Best Results at 3-Week Frequency
A quality‑improvement study of 4,822 patients at two Texas and California FQHC networks found that text‑message reminders boosted colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates. Weekly SMS reminders over three weeks raised overall screening completion to 28% versus 24% in the control...
IPF Linked to Higher Mortality, Costs in Hospitalized Patients With CDI
A retrospective analysis of 1.48 million Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) hospitalizations identified 1,600 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). After propensity‑score matching, IPF patients experienced double the in‑hospital mortality (12.2% vs 6.2%) and stayed nearly four days longer. Hospital charges averaged...
SCOTUS Decides to Extend Telehealth Access to Abortion Care: FAQs on Preventive Care and Bodily Autonomy
On May 14, the Supreme Court extended an administrative stay that preserves mail‑order and telehealth prescriptions for the abortion pill mifepristone, pausing a Fifth Circuit ruling that sought to block such access in Louisiana. The decision keeps the FDA‑approved drug...
Contributor: Medication Adherence—A Lens Into How Well Health Care Is Working
Medication adherence is emerging as the most direct barometer of how well health‑care systems serve members. When patients consistently take prescribed drugs, chronic conditions stabilize, costly complications drop, and health‑plan star‑ratings improve. Conversely, gaps in adherence expose breakdowns in provider...
Innovation in Community Oncology: Moving Faster, Close to Home
The 2026 Community Oncology Alliance conference highlighted how community practices are rapidly integrating advanced therapies such as CAR‑T and bispecific antibodies, supported by AI-driven workflow tools and new real‑world data standards. Speakers emphasized the need for expanded infusion capacity, symptom...
Sonrotoclax Granted Accelerated Approval for R/R Mantle Cell Lymphoma
The FDA granted accelerated approval to BeOne Medicine’s sonrotoclax, marketed as Beqalzi, for adults with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who have received at least two prior therapies, including a BTK inhibitor. In the single‑arm BGB‑11417‑201 trial of...
5 Key Regulatory Shifts From Makary's Era at the FDA
Former FDA commissioner Marty Makary reshaped U.S. drug regulation with five sweeping changes: the agency dropped the default two‑trial requirement, making a single pivotal study the norm for most new drugs; a new biosimilar guidance eliminates routine comparative efficacy trials,...
ASCO Treatment Framework for Management of Mantle Cell Lymphoma Calls for Individualized, Risk-Adapted Therapy
At ASCO 2026, leading hematologists presented a new treatment framework for mantle‑cell lymphoma that emphasizes individualized, risk‑adapted therapy. The authors reaffirm the MIPI/MIPI‑c indices and incorporate Ki‑67, TP53 mutation, and MRD monitoring to refine patient stratification. In frontline therapy, adding...
Clinical Trial Education, Treatment Access Central to Improving Lung Cancer Care: Deborah Doroshow, MD, PhD
In a May 13, 2026 interview, Dr. Deborah Doroshow stresses early education about clinical trials as a routine option for lung‑cancer patients. She highlights the rapid expansion of targeted therapies, notably KRAS G12D inhibitors and antibody‑drug conjugates, while warning that trial design must...
Predicting Sepsis-Related Mortality in Pediatric ALL Requires Greater Precision
A retrospective study of 260 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who developed sepsis found a 29% mortality rate in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The Pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (PSOFA) score outperformed the Pediatric Early Warning Score...
Food Insecurity Identification Modeling for Medicare Enrollees Using Administrative Data
Researchers at Elevance Health developed a mixed‑effects predictive model that identifies Medicare Advantage members at risk of food insecurity using administrative claims, health risk assessments, and social‑determinant data. Analyzing 462,251 beneficiaries, the model achieved an AUC of 0.82, with prior...
Telehealth Didn’t Break the Bank—And the Data Prove It
A UCLA‑led analysis of 3.04 million insured adults from 2019‑2023 found that the telemedicine surge did not drive higher ambulatory visits or total medical spending, which totaled $178.44 billion. High‑adoption regions saw a 2.4% dip in visits and a 0.5% dip in...
Regulating Private Equity in Health Care: A Strategic Policy Agenda
Private equity has poured roughly $1 trillion into U.S. health‑care assets over the past ten years, reshaping nursing homes, hospitals, and physician groups. Existing oversight—anchored in the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino reporting framework and limited antitrust actions—has struggled to keep pace, with more than...
Contributor: How Remote Care Is Changing Parkinson Treatment
Remote programming of Abbott’s NeuroSphere Virtual Clinic has accelerated deep brain stimulation (DBS) optimization for Parkinson’s patients, cutting adjustment time from over 15 hours to under an hour. In the ROAM‑DBS trial, participants using the virtual clinic reported symptom improvement...
Inclisiran Linked to Lower MACE, AMI Rates in High-Risk ASCVD Population
Inclisiran, added to maximally tolerated statins, lowered 4‑point major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) from 22.7% to 14.6% in a real‑world ASCVD cohort. The therapy also reduced acute myocardial infarction (5.0% vs 8.5%) and all‑cause hospitalizations (20.8% vs 28.8%) over one...
Taking a Look at the Toxicity Trade-Offs of EPCORE FL-1
The phase 3 EPCORE FL‑1 trial added AbbVie/Genmab’s bispecific antibody epcoritamab to the rituximab‑lenalidomide (R²) regimen for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma. The triplet produced a 79% reduction in progression‑or‑death risk and lifted 16‑month progression‑free survival to 85.5%, nearly doubling the complete...
Lost in Translation: Cancer Care’s Growing Health Literacy Crisis
At the NCCN Policy Summit on May 7, 2026, leaders warned that poor health literacy, misinformation, and digital overload are undermining cancer care for the 18.6 million U.S. survivors and the 40% of Americans expected to receive a diagnosis. Research presented showed that...
Endometriosis Has a Metabolism Problem, and Targeting It Could Transform Treatment
A new review in the Journal of Advanced Research argues that endometriosis is driven by metabolic reprogramming across glucose, lipid and amino‑acid pathways, enabling lesion survival, immune evasion and infertility. It details how aerobic glycolysis, altered sphingolipid/cholesterol balance, and tryptophan‑kynurenine...
5 Things to Know About the Converging Medicaid Funding Crisis
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will slash federal Medicaid spending by $1 trillion over the next decade, forcing state budgets to shrink by $664 billion and capping managed‑care rates at 100% of Medicare in expansion states and 110% elsewhere. States are expected to lower...
Guiding Patients Through Cancer Care With Compassion, Historical Perspective: Deborah Doroshow, MD, PhD
In an AJMC interview, Dr. Deborah Doroshow, an assistant professor at Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute, describes her role as a guide for cancer patients and families, emphasizing plain‑language communication and staged information delivery. She splits her clinical work between...
Participating Faculty: Clinical Management and Economic Drivers of Heart Failure With Preserved or Mildly Reduced Ejection Fraction
A multidisciplinary faculty has been announced for a session on clinical management and economic drivers of heart failure with preserved or mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFpEF/HFmrEF). The panel includes senior HEOR leaders from Bayer and evidence‑generation specialists from Cencora, alongside...
FDA Approval of DOR/ISL Expands HIV Treatment Options Beyond INSTIs: Amy Colson, MD, MPH
The FDA has approved Idvysno, a two‑drug regimen of doravirine and islatravir (DOR/ISL), marking the first HIV therapy that omits both integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) and tenofovir. Clinical trials showed non‑inferior viral suppression at 48 weeks compared with standard...
DUET Trial: Low-Sodium Oxybate Significantly Consolidates Nighttime Sleep Architecture in Narcolepsy
The phase‑4 DUET trial showed that low‑sodium oxybate (LXB, Xywav) markedly consolidates nighttime sleep in narcolepsy type 1 and type 2 patients. Objective polysomnography recorded a 45‑minute increase in deep N3 sleep, 13 fewer stage transitions and three fewer awakenings per night....
Preoperative Radiotherapy Remains Standard of Care for Soft Tissue Sarcoma, New ESTRO-ASTRO Guideline Confirms
The ESTRO‑ASTRO joint guideline reaffirms preoperative, conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (50–50.4 Gy over 5–6 weeks) followed by surgery as the preferred treatment for adult soft‑tissue sarcoma of the extremities and trunk wall. It advises against postoperative boost doses, even after R1 resections, and...
Cost Nudges Had Minimal Effect on Clinic Selection as Tiered Benefit Design May Already Drive Smarter Choices: Tim McDonald, PhD,...
A randomized trial in Minnesota’s State Employee Group Insurance Program tested whether email nudges highlighting tiered cost‑sharing would shift primary‑care clinic choices. The intervention produced only a marginal effect; 85% of members were already selecting clinics in the two lowest‑cost...
What Now Predicts Outcomes in Older Adults With ALL: Emily K. Curran, MD
Emily K. Curran, MD explains that outcomes for older adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have improved dramatically, especially for Philadelphia chromosome‑positive disease thanks to tyrosine kinase inhibitors and newer immunotherapies. She highlights that T‑cell ALL remains a therapeutic blind...
Genetic Testing May Unlock Vitamin D's Potential for Diabetes Prevention
A JAMA Network Open analysis of the D2d trial shows that daily 4,000 IU vitamin D₃ reduced type 2 diabetes incidence by 19% among prediabetic adults carrying the ApaI AC or CC variants of the vitamin D receptor gene. The same high‑dose regimen had...
Breaking Down Frontline BTK Inhibitor Selection in CLL: Kerry Rogers, MD
When choosing a frontline Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, clinicians currently rely on FDA‑approved covalent agents, with acalabrutinib and zanubrutinib favored for their superior cardiovascular safety over ibrutinib. Emerging data from the 2025 ASH meeting show...
ATTR-CM Diagnosis Lags by More Than a Year After HF in Medicare Population
A new JAMA Cardiology study of 7,770 Medicare beneficiaries shows that transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR‑CM) is diagnosed a median of 494 days after an initial heart‑failure (HF) presentation, with delays extending to 840 days when using diuretic use as a...
MFN Drug Pricing Proposal Raises Questions Around Access, Innovation, and Commercial Coverage
The White House’s most‑favored‑nation (MFN) drug pricing framework projects roughly $600 billion in savings over the next decade, tying U.S. prices to the second‑lowest net price among eight high‑income reference countries. The plan distinguishes prospective launches, which could slash net prices...
Turning Oncology Frustrations Into Quality Improvement Solutions: Eileen Ehret, BS
Eileen Ehret, vice‑president of regulatory and compliance at Navista, spoke at the 2026 Community Oncology Conference about a Care Fresno case study that uncovered a regimen‑scheduling error in its electronic health record. The team built a digital macro checklist embedded directly...