A diagnosis of cancer of any type is terrifying. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia may be better than most, with many CLL patients able to manage the disease with regular monitoring for years or even decades.
VA Emergency Medicine Chief Used Videocast to Share Ideas During Pandemic
As VA’s National Emergency Medicine chief, Chad Kessler, MD, appreciates the importance that communication plays in seeing people through a crisis.
Veterans Study Provides More Information on COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthroughs
More than 144 million people in the United States had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-June, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
FDA Grants Accelerated Approval for Controversial Novel Alzheimer’s Medication
Aducanumab, the novel Alzheimer’s drug that recently gained accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration is expected to cost about $56,000 a year.
VA, DoD Medical Staff Offer Civilian Healthcare Support During Pandemic
The usual missions of the VA and DoD are to provide healthcare for veterans, servicemembers, military families and retirees. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed that. Whether called the Fourth Mission for the VA or whole-nation response for the DoD, federal...
Nationwide VA Study Shows Disparities in Cardiovascular Care for Female Veterans
Women veterans with early-onset coronary artery disease are significantly less likely than men to receive medications that can prevent stroke, heart attack or peripheral arterial disease progression, according to a new nationwide study.
New Guidelines Emphasize Importance of Pinpointing Causes Of Transient Ischemic Attacks, Other Stroke Precursors
While it is well known that a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA) signals higher risk for stroke in the future, a new guideline emphasizes that identifying the cause of the initial event can better guide specific prevention strategies to reduce the risk of additional strokes.
OIG Finds That VA’s Computer Systems Remain Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
Although no data was stolen from VA’s computer systems during the 2020’s SolarWinds hack, cybersecurity remains a long-standing material weakness for the VA, agency overseers pointed out.
Most Widely Used Severe COVID-19 Medications Changed Over Time in 2020
News about medications to treat COVID-19 came fast and furious at the height of the pandemic. Drugs were constantly being touted as showing promise to ameliorate the symptoms—or even cure—the sometimes deadly virus.
Oral Cavity Cancer Increasing in Military Men Compared to Civilians
Men in the active-duty military population differ somewhat from the United States’ general population in rates of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer incidence, according to a recent study.
VHA Study: No Link Between Ranitidine, Gastric Cancer
With the Food and Drug Administration requesting withdrawal of ranitidine formulations due to a potentially carcinogenic contaminant, N-nitrosodimethylamine, a new study evaluated whether ranitidine use is associated with gastric cancer.
MDMA Shows Promise in Resolving PTSD, Depression in Veterans, Others
Treatment with methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) showed far greater effectiveness than usual care in a group of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a new study.
Women Benefit From Both Lung, Breast Cancer Screening
Women are most likely to die from lung cancer—with mortality greater than breast, cervical and ovarian cancer combined—and increased screening has been shown to significantly reduce mortality.
An Interview with George Ioannou, MD, MS
The VA’s unparalleled success in treating and curing hepatitis C infections (HCV) in veterans changed the leading risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in the nation’s largest health care system.
Primary Causes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Differ Among Men and Women
If you think of a patient at risk for hepatitis C infection (HCV), a man likely comes to mind, and for good reason. HCV occurs in men at four times the rate it does in women.
Despite Significant Victories, Battles Against HCC Continue at the VA
Hepatocellular carcinoma stands out as one of the few cancers that increased in prevalence over the last decade in the United States.
Promising Treatments Boost Positive Extended Results in HCC
Without treatment, even patients diagnosed with early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have a median survival of just over a year. Patients with advanced stage disease at diagnosis will likely see just one change of season.
Problems With DoD-to-VA Transition Program Intensified by Pandemic
Transitioning from active duty military service to civilian life is difficult at the best of times. The pandemic added a host of new challenges, highlighted existing problems with the transitioning process and widened the cracks through which those veterans who are most in need of support are in danger of falling.
DoD Continues to Promote COVID-19 Vaccination; Navy Offers Incentives
The Navy became the first U.S. military branch to change policy so that servicemembers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have more freedom of movement.
How Was a VA Nurse Assistant Able to Murder Seven Patients in One Year?
In May, Reta Mays, a former nurse’s assistant at VA’s Louis A. Johnson Medical Center in Clarksburg was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences—one each for the patients that she had pleaded guilty to murdering.
Ovarian Cancer Deaths Don’t Vary by Race/Ethnicity in Military
HONOLULU, HI – In the general population, mortality rates from epithelial ovarian cancer show stark differences by race and ethnicity. Non-Hispanic Black women die at higher rates, despite age, from the cancer other cohorts. A study team
identified no such disparities in military healthcare, however.
Antibiotic Use Linked to Reduced Effectiveness for Common NSCLC Therapy
ATLANTA – The use of antibiotic therapy appears to adversely affect the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer patients. The reason is that dysregulation of the gut microbiota caused by antibiotic therapy can alter the anticancer immune response.
Add-on to Chemoradiotherapy Doubles NSCLC Survival for Some Veterans
ANN ARBOR, MI – Median overall survival doubled for veterans with stage III non-small cell lung cancer who received chemoradiotherapy plus durvalumab, as compared to those receiving chemoradiotherapy alone, according to a new study. The authors note that the current standard of care for patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC is concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by durvalumab maintenance, but veterans were not included in the trial establishing that protocol.
BRCA2 Carrier Vets Do Better With PARP Inhibitor Prostate Cancer Therapy
DURHAM, NC — While the effects of BRCA2 mutation are well known related to breast cancer risk in women, men also face heightened risk of cancer, including prostate cancer. In a recent study, researchers sought to evaluate real-world treatment outcomes among veterans prescribed PARP inhibitors for prostate cancer and to compare outcomes between patients with BRCA2 gene variants and those with variants in other homologous DNA repair genes.
Male Veterans With Breast Cancer Fare Worse Than Females
ALBANY, NY – While survival rates for breast cancer generally have improved over the last decades, that is not true for at least one cohort of patients: men. In fact, increased mortality has been documented for male veterans with breast cancer, even after adjusting for age and other clinical factors. VA researchers tried to determine why.
Many Veterans Who Survived Infection Now Are Beset With ‘Long COVID’ Issues
LOUIS—More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the extended burden on the VA healthcare system is just becoming clear. The reason? Many veterans, including those who had what appeared to be mild cases, are grappling with a range of health problems months after...
SGLT2 Inhibitor Use Lower Among Women, Minorities
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors significantly reduce deaths from cardiovascular conditions, hospitalizations for heart failure and progression of kidney disease among patients with Type 2 diabetes
Few Women Veterans Receive Pre-Pregnancy Counseling
Women veterans aren’t routinely being queried about their intentions related to pregnancy, making it more difficult to optimize family planning care.
How Women Veterans’ Breast Cancer Compares to Male Version
Less than 1% of breast cancer occurs in men, although it continues to rise.
Many Female VA Patients Appear to Have Undiagnosed OSA
Too many women veterans remained undiagnosed with sleep apnea, even if they were at high risk of adverse outcomes, according to a new study.
