WASHINGTON — When the VA recently received $17.2 billion in funding from the CARES Act, one of the priorities was providing telehealth resources for veterans seeking in-home care.
VA Juggled Reopening While COVID-19 Increased in Some Areas
WASHINGTON—Last month, VA facilities were engaged in the same juggling act as healthcare organizations across the country—continuing to deal with a pandemic that in some areas of the country was worsening, while moving forward with plans to ease restrictions...
VA Defends Use of Hydroxychloroquine in Veterans With COVID-19
WASHINGTON — Legislators and veterans advocates are concerned about VA’s continued use of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial also commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, on COVID-19 patients.
Relapse Remains a Critical Issue in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
MIAMI — Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) APL was first reported and described in Norway in 1957, and is connected to the proliferation of promyelocytes, catastrophic hemorrhagic incidences, and hyper-acute onset. A new review in Oncotarget discusses advances in...
BTK Inhibitors Used in Blood Cancers Show Promise in Treating COVID-19
BOSTON – Observations from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute suggested that Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors used to treat blood cancers might also be effective in controlling “cytokine storms,” the exaggerated immune response associated with COVID-19 in...
CLL Treatments Shift Significantly at VHA From 2013-2018
DENVER, CO – Since the first novel agent was approved for use in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in 2014, how have treatment regimens changed at the VHA? That was the question behind a presentation at the recent 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncologists...
Circulating Stromal Cells Could Serve as Solid Tumor Biomarkers
A type of circulating stromal cell, CAMLs arise as part of an innate immune response, which could make them useful for predicting the presence of cancer. That would be particularly useful as the cells can be isolated from peripheral blood, making a test non-invasive.
Timely Care Not Received by Many Rural Veterans with Colorectal Cancer
For many rural patients, receiving timely, quality cancer care remains difficult. Challenges include transportation hurdles, financial constraints, a lack of providers, and minimal access to clinical trials. As a result, while cancer incidence rates are lower in rural areas, cancer mortality rates are higher.
How Uterine Cancer Manifests Differently in Black, White Women
Black women are more likely to die of uterine cancer than white women, even though the incidence rate is the same between the two groups.
VA Rapidly Adopted Novel Agents for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
In 2015, the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) named the transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) the Cancer Advance of the Year.
Value Calculations Conflict in Genomic Profiling of Tumors
Increased personalization of cancer therapy has transformed oncology over the past decade as a growing number of targeted therapies have entered the market.
More Screening Urged to Stem Increase in Colorectal Cancer in Younger Patients
Rates of colorectal cancer have been rising in younger patients since the mid-1980s, even as rates have fallen in individuals over age 50, according to the American Cancer Society.
Immunotherapy Increases Overall Survival in Veterans with NSCLC
Real world results often differ markedly from those seen in clinical trials. In the very real world setting of the VA, does immunotherapy really provide greater benefit than chemotherapy for patients with lung cancer?
Effective EPOCH-R Treatment for Older Patients With Aggressive Lymphomas
Over the last few years, two combinations have dueled for primacy in treatment of lymphomas: DA-EPOCH-R (dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab) and R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone).
Early Progression Linked to Worse Outcomes in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
Among veterans, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 3% of all diagnosed malignancies or approximately 2,250 new diagnoses each year.
Guideline-Concordant Skeletal Survey Might Overestimate Multiple Myeloma
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines continue to recommend conducting a skeletal survey or whole-body radiography as the first step in identifying osteolytic bone lesions and distinguishing between smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) and multiple myeloma (MM).
Prognostic Models Fail to Reflect Racial Differences in Prostate Cancer
Every physician knows each patient is different. Prognostic models, however, tend to assume everyone’s the same. That can skew decisions in cancer care.
Veteran Survival Varies Widely with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Across the VA system, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are being prescribed for a growing number of cancer types including renal cell carcinoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancers, and melanoma.
One VAMC’s Story: You’re at Risk All of the Time
DC Staff Battles to Save Lives of Veterans With COVID-19 WASHINGTON—The first time Michael Heimall heard about the novel coronavirus COVID-19 was in late January 2020 during a presentation at the auditorium of the DC VAMC. The members of the hospital’s infectious...
Healthcare-Associated C. Difficile Infections Show Substantial Decline
ATLANTA—While the war against COVID-19 continues, partial victory in another medical battle might have been overlooked. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine described substantial progress in the fight to prevent Clostridioides difficile infection in...
Hydroxychloroquine Didn’t Reduce Death, Ventilation in Veterans With COVID-19
COLUMBIA, SC—A VA study has put to rest, at least temporarily, claims that hydroxychloroquine, alone or in combination with azithromycin, is highly effective in treating COVID-19 infection. In fact, a study appearing on the medRxiv preprint server identified increased...
Microneedling Skin to Protect Against Non-Melanoma Cancer
DAYTON, OH —Geriatric patients are the primary victims of nonmelanoma skin cancer, according to a new study pointing out that only 20% of them are diagnosed in patients younger than 60. Part of the reason, according to an article in Archives of Dermatological...
VA Primary Care Not Following SSTI Guidelines Enough
SALT LAKE CITY — Guidelines aren’t followed enough when skin and soft tissue infections are managed in the outpatient setting outside of emergency departments, a new study pointed out. The article in Clinical Infectious Diseases noted the lack of data on treatment...
Teledermoscopy Enhances Remote Dermatology Consults
PORTSMOUTH, VA—Use of teledermatology has increased at military treatment facilities in response to greater demand for dermatologic care throughout military medicine and persistent, dermatologic provider shortages, according to a new study. The article in Military...
Survival Differences Small With PC Surgery Vs. Observation
MINNEAPOLIS —Because very long-term mortality in men with early prostate cancer treated with surgery over observation is uncertain, a VA study sought to determine long-term effects of surgery vs. observation on all-cause mortality for men with early prostate cancer....
Older Men With Prostate Cancer Likely to Die of Other Causes
LOS ANGELES —Men with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy don’t always receive enough information on competing risks of mortality to inform prognosis and guide treatment, according to a new study. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center-led researchers sought to...
VA Care Erases Prostate Cancer Racial Differences
LA JOLLA, CA —Unlike in the general U.S. population, African American men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the VA health system do not appear to present with more advanced disease or experience worse outcomes compared with non-Hispanic white men. That’s according to...
VA’s EHR Rollout Indefinitely Delayed by COVID-19 Pandemic
DoD Bidirectional Information Sharing Was Launched, However WASHINGTON—The rollout of VA’s new electronic health record system has been delayed again, this time due to the coronavirus. Just prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, VA had announced it...
DoD Attacks COVID-19 on Multiple Fronts, Battling Virus in Every State
WASHINGTON—Divide and conquer. The DoD is taking a new tack on the old advice, dividing the huge demand for support across the country among the services and related agencies in an effort to surmount this wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of April, more than...
Veterans with PTSD Struggle During Pandemic; VA Offers Support
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT—The COVID-19 pandemic has upturned lives all across America. People have become ill, lost jobs and friends and relatives and found themselves isolated at home, just when they need social connection and emotional support most. In a recent...
