For veterans diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis due to exposure to toxins during military service, the new PACT Act could literally be a lifesaver. The law assumes a service connection between the condition for certain military servicemembers. That is especially important because the prevalence of IPF more than doubled among veterans over the last decade or so.
Glaucoma Interventions Critical for Preserving Sight, Quality of Life
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness. Avoiding that often requires lifelong adherence to treatment. An intervention led by the Durham, NC, VAMC helped patients not only improve compliance with their treatment regimen but also was a cost-saver. Now, the goal is to roll out the intervention to more VA facilities across the country.
GLP-1 RAs, Other Agents, Underused in Patients Who Need Them the Most
While news reports focus on high demand for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), the real story might be widespread under use of those agents and others that reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease progression in patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Weight Loss Similar in Older/Younger Veterans on Semaglutide
Concerns have been raised about GLP-1 receptor agonists causing unintended weight loss in older adults. A new VA study has put that worry to rest, finding no significant difference in weight loss with semaglutide use among veterans 65 or older compared to those who are younger. The authors concluded that age does not appear to be a “robust predictor” of semaglutide’s effect on weight.
Colorectal Cancer Detected Post Colonoscopy Measures Screening Quality
Colonoscopy might be one of the best tools for detecting colorectal cancer, but that doesn’t mean it’s foolproof. Some cases of CRC are missed, usually because they are too small to detect. The VHA’s 6% rate of post-colonoscopy CRCs is in line with other U.S. healthcare systems and is an indicator of a high-quality CRC screening program, according to a new study.
Sotorasib Results Promising; Targets NSCLC Mutation Linked to Heavy Smoking
HOUSTON—While declines have been noted in recent years, U.S. veterans use tobacco at considerably higher rates than those who have never served in the military. In recent decades that rate has been as high as 30%. The high smoking rate has increased the incidence of...
Epidemiology of Lung Carcinoids Differ Slightly Within VA Healthcare
ALBANY, NY—How does the epidemiology of lung cancer differ in the VHA compared to the general population? That was the question raised by a recent study that noted that lung carcinoids (LC) “continue to increase in prevalence and existing data shows a female...
Understanding the Drug-Drug Interactions of Erlotinib and Gefitinib
Two drugs used in the treatment of several cancers have poorly understood drug-drug interactions that could have significant implications for patients.
Immunotherapy Improves Outcomes for Veterans With Advanced NSCLC
DURHAM, NC—Not that long ago, chemotherapy (CT) using multi-agents was considered the standard of care for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. More recently, with the publication of clinical trials, immunotherapy (IO) has been shown to have benefits...
Does Age, Treatment Selection Drive Differences in ALL Outcomes?
Acute lymphoblastic (or lymphocytic) leukemia (ALL) occurs more often in children than in adults and has much better outcomes in youngsters.
Digging Deeper into Agent Orange, Genomic Alterations and Prostate Cancer
The defoliant known as Agent Orange has been linked to a wide range of malignancies since the conclusion of the Vietnam War, including prostate cancer.
Surprise! Short-term ADT Might Benefit Cognition in Prostate Cancer Patients
In an unexpected turn of events, a team including investigators with the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA., found that adding short-term androgen deprivation therapy (STADT) to prostate bed salvage radiotherapy not only reduced progression in advanced prostate cancer but also improved patients’ mental processing speed.
Real-World Study Shows Veterans with NSCLC Benefit from Durvalumab
The continuing conundrum of clinical trials is how to assess their applicability to the patients actually seen in practice.
Obesity/Weight Gain Associated with MGUS Progression to Multiple Myeloma
Obesity ranks high in the list of risk factors for the development of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and multiple myeloma (MM).
Walter Reed Researchers Tackle Issues with Real-World Data on Multiple Myeloma
Real-world data holds the promise of enabling a better understanding of how medications work in the type of patients typically seen in clinics and hospitals.
Combination Therapy Outperforms ADT Alone in Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Studies have shown improved survival in patients who receive either docetaxel or androgen signaling agents (ASIs) such as abiraterone or enzalutamide in combination with androgen deprivation therapy.
VA’s Equal Access Care Mitigates Disparities in HCC Treatment, Outcomes
Rising rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have focused attention on improving all aspects of the malignancy, from new methods of screening, earlier detection, more efficacious treatment, and extended survival. At the same time, the increased number of cases has made differences in access and outcomes more apparent.
Nivolumab Plus Cabozantinib Improves Health-related Quality of Life in RCC
At the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago a new analysis of data from the CheckMate 9ER trial was presented.
HER2 May Provide Therapeutic Target for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
PDAC accounts for 90% of all pancreatic cancers, which have an overall five-year survival rate of just 12%.
VA Demonstrates Success in Remote Treatment of Aggressive Cancers
Initially, the TeleOncology service managed oral therapies and watchful waiting and surveillance of veterans with cancer, but it has expanded to offer remote supervision for intravenous cancer treatments.
VA Study Shows Low Use of Primary Care for Reproductive Health Services
The integration of reproductive health services into primary care practices is increasingly recognized as critical to the advancement of patient-centered care and improving reproductive outcomes.
Quality Care Reduces Breast Cancer Survival Rate Disparities Based on Race
Though non-Hispanic Black women are more likely to have tumors at a higher grade and later stage and be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer
Frailty in Older Veterans Associated With Greater Suicide Attempt Risk
Veterans who are 65 and older and have symptoms of frailty are at increased risk of attempting suicide, and those with lower levels of frailty were found to have greater risk of suicide death, according to a new study.
Decline in Cerebral Cortical Thickness Linked to PD Cognitive Decline
What effect does reduced cerebral cortical thickness have in Parkinson’s disease (PD)?
Fewer Parkinson’s Motor Issues 11 Years After Deep Brain Stimulation
More than a decade after deep brain stimulation (DBS), early-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients appeared to have fewer motor complications than those treated only with medications, according to a new study.
Cognitive Impairment Can Affect Parkinson’s Gait Rehab
What is the effect of baseline cognition on gait outcomes after a treadmill training program for Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients?
Cardiorespiratory Fitness Linked to Lower Abnormal Glucose Risk
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can be a good predictor of chronic disease. The problem is the difficulty and impracticability of routinely measuring that in primary care settings.
Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy Linked to Stroke in T2D
What is the association between cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) with incident stroke among diabetes mellitus patients?
Time in Range Beneficial in Patients With Individualized A1c
Individualizing hemoglobin A1c treatment goals in older adults is important to balance risks in benefits, according to a new study.
Deployed Servicemembers Had Lower Cancer Risks Than Those Who Weren’t
Despite concerns about exposure to hazardous material, military personnel who deployed to Southwest Asia actually had a lower risk of dying from cancer than their colleagues who were never deployed, according to a new study.
