Author Interviews, Cancer Research, HPV, UCLA / 28.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Manon Eckhardt, PhD Gladstone Institutes The Quantitative Biosciences Institute University of California San Francisco  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Infection with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) causes 5% of all cancers worldwide, including cervical cancer and an increasing number of head and neck cancers. Most cancers are caused by mutations in genes, leading to the production of malfunctioning proteins that result in unconstrained cell division. However, certain viruses like HPV can cause cancer without introducing mutations. In this study, we compared cancers of the same type (i.e. head and neck) that are caused by either mutation or virus infection to identify important processes that are dysregulated in both subsets. We hypothesized that identifying which proteins the virus binds can lead the way to prioritize which of the proteins and cellular processes (pathways) that are affected in cancer cells are most important. To do this, we identified the complete set of human proteins that interact with HPV. We next determined genes that were more frequently mutated in non-viral cancers, and combined both data sets. The proteins we find to be both binding to HPV and mutated in non-viral cancers will be potential targets for new, more specific drug development, and help better understand the development of head and neck cancer. From the many pathways we identified in this study, we highlighted two pathways with further mechanistic studies: the oxidative stress response, which helps cancer cells survive, as well as a pathway that allows the cancer to spread to other parts of the body. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, University of Pittsburgh / 27.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Masashi Okubo, MD. Clinical Instructor of Emergency Medicine Research Fellow Department of Emergency Medicine University of Pittsburgh MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major public health problem, annually affecting over 350,000 individuals in the US with low survival rate, 11.4% among those who were treated by emergency medical services (EMS). Prior studies showed a 5-fold difference (3.0% to 16.3%)  in survival to hospital discharge between 10 study sites in North America (US and Canada) and 6.5-fold difference (3.4% to 22.0%) between 132 US counties after OHCA. However, it was unclear how much patient outcome after OHCA differ between EMS agencies which play a critical role in OHCA care. Among 43,656 adults treated for Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by 112 EMS agencies in North America, we found that survival to hospital discharge differed from 0% to 28.9% between EMS agencies. There was a median difference of 56% in the odds of survival to hospital discharge for patients with similar characteristics between any 2 randomly selected EMS agencies, after adjusting for known measured sources of variability. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emory, JAMA, Orthopedics / 25.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. David H. Howard PhD Department of Health Policy and Management Emory University Atlanta, GA 30322 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: There is a lot of skepticism that physicians respond to evidence, especially when trials report that widely-used, separately-reimbursed procedures are not effective. Physicians are reluctant to abandon treatments. This study shows that in the case of knee arthroscopy, evidence has made a difference. The use of knee arthroscopy declined by 23% in Florida between 2002 and 2015. This change occurred despite increases in the prevalence of osteoarthritis.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, JAMA, Yale / 22.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael F. Murray, MD, FACMG, FACP Director for Clinical Operations in the Center for Genomic Health Yale School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Population screening for the cancer risk associated with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes has been suggested by some.  We screened a cohort of about 50,000 adult patient volunteers at Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania for this risk.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, JAMA, Prostate Cancer, UCLA / 22.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amar U. Kishan, MD Assistant Professor Department of Radiation Oncology University of California, Los Angeles MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Three large randomized trials demonstrated an overall survival (OS) benefit when androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is combined with radiotherapy (RT) for high-risk prostate cancer (PCa). The duration of ADT in these seminal studies ranged from six months to lifelong. Because ADT has multiple attendant adverse effects--including bone loss, altered metabolism, diminished muscle mass, gynecomastia, hot flashes, and possibly increased cardiovascular events--shortening the duration of ADT without compromising oncologic effectiveness has been an area of active study. Five trials have compared various durations of ADT, reaching conflicting conclusions with respect to overall survival outcomes, with some suggesting an improvement with longer durations of ADT and others failing to show a uniform survival benefit. Most of these trials have amalgamated Gleason grade group 4 (Gleason score 8) PCa with Gleason grade group (GG) 5 (Gleason score 9-10) PCa. Emerging data indicate that GS 9-10 PCa constitutes a distinct subset of high-risk PCa with inferior outcomes and earlier progression than GS 8 disease. With the knowledge that GS 9-10 PCas constitute a distinct, more aggressive form of PCa, one might hypothesize that longer durations of ADT may be more advantageous in both augmenting local control and controlling potential micrometastatic disease. Alternatively, as GS 9-10 lesions by definition contain highly de-differentiated Gleason pattern 5 disease foci and may proceed to a castrate-resistant state more rapidly, one may also hypothesize that GS 9-10 lesions are less responsive to ADT, and longer durations may be counter-productive. In order to identify differences in the impact of ADT duration on clinical outcomes of patients with GG 4 and GG 5 PCa, we performed an individual patient-level meta-analysis of six randomized trials. Our working hypothesis was that longer durations of ADT would offer significant survival benefits in both groups. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, Dermatology, Emory, JAMA, Medicare / 21.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Actinic Keratosis” by Ed Uthman is licensed under CC BY 2.0Howa Yeung, MD Assistant Professor of Dermatology Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA 30322  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain what is meant by actinic keratoses? Response: Actinic keratoses are common precancerous skin lesions caused by sun exposure. Because actinic keratoses may develop into skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, they are often treated by various destructive methods. We used Medicare Part B billing claims to estimate the number and cost of treated actinic keratoses from 2007 to 2015. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?  Response: While the number of Medicare Part B beneficiaries increased only moderately, the number of actinic keratoses treated by destruction rose from 29.7 million in 2007 to 35.6 million in 2015. Medicare paid an average annual amount of $413.1 million for actinic keratosis destruction from 2007 to 2015. Independently billing non-physician clinicians, including advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, are treating an increasing proportion of actinic keratosis, peaking at 13.5% in 2015. MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: Readers should understand that the burden of actinic keratosis treatment is increasing in the Medicare population. There is also an increasing proportion of actinic keratoses being treated by advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, Neurology, University Texas / 17.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Francesca M. Filbey PhD Professor Program Head, Cognition and Neuroscience PhD Bert Moore Chair in BrainHealth UT Dallas MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The cannabis literature has generally focused on changes in brain function when engaged in a task. We were interested in examining whether these differences are present when not engaged in a task (i.e., during resting state) to understand baseline functional organization of the brain. Changes to baseline functional organization may reflect changes in brain networks underlying cognition. We also wanted to investigate whether specific brain waves, as measured by electroencephalography (EEG), are associated with measures of cannabis use, such as craving. (more…)
Author Interviews, Lung Cancer, Nature, NYU, Technology / 17.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aristotelis Tsirigos, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Pathology Director, Applied Bioinformatics Laboratories New York University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Pathologists routinely examine slides made from tumor samples to diagnose cancer types. We studied whether an AI algorithm can achieve the same task with high accuracy. Indeed, we show that such an algorithm can achieve an accuracy of ~97%, slightly better than individual pathologists. In addition, we demonstrated that AI can be used to predict genes that are mutated in these tumors, a task that pathologists cannot do. Although the accuracy for some genes is as high as 86%, there is still room for improvement. This will come from collecting more training data and also from improvement in the annotations of the slides by expert pathologists.   (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Kaiser Permanente, Primary Care / 17.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Richard W. Grant MD MPH Research Scientist III, Kaiser Permanente Division of Resarch Adjunct Associate Professor, UCSF Dept Biostatistics & Epidemiology Director, Kaiser Permanente Delivery Science Fellowship Program Co-Director, NIDDK Diabetes Translational Research post-doctoral training program MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Primary care in the United States is in a state of crisis, with fewer trainees entering the field and more current primary care doctors leaving due to professional burnout. Changes in the practice of primary care, including the many burdens related to EHR documentation, has been identified as a major source of physician burnout. There are ongoing efforts to reduce physician burnout by improving the work environment. One innovation has been the use of medical scribes in the exam room who are trained to enter narrative notes based on the patient-provider interview. To date, there have only been a handful of small studies that have looked at the impact of medical scribes on the provider’s experience of providing care. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Pulmonary Disease, Stanford / 15.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephen J Ruoss MD Professor, Stanford University, Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Cfritical Care Medicine Stanford, California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain what is meant by an atypical mycobacterial infection?  Response: Our interest in undertaking this study stems from three important clinical observations and issues. First, the use of inhaled steroid medications for a broad variety of respiratory complaints and diseases is increasing, including in clinical circumstances where there isn’t much strong supportive evidence for benefit to patients from using inhaled steroids. The second observation is that steroids can and do alter immune system responses, and can increase the risk for some infections. There are already data from studying patients on inhaled steroids where the incidence of bacterial respiratory infections has increased, supporting the concerns for infection risk from inhaled steroids. And the third issue is that steroids can more specifically alter immune system function that helps combat mycobacterial infections, and this means that the risk for, and incidence of mycobacterial infections could be increased in patients treated with inhaled steroids. The best known mycobacterial infection is of course tuberculosis, but there are other mycobacteria, called nontuberculous mycobacterial (or atypical mycobacterial) that are broadly found in the environment, and some of those nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) can cause lung infections. So our hypothesis was that the use of inhaled steroids might be associated with an increased frequency of NTM infections, and we designed the study to explore that hypothesis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, JAMA, MD Anderson / 15.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kelly K. Hunt, MD Department of Breast Surgical Oncology The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We completed a neoadjuvant trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center and published the results in 2005 demonstrating that trastuzumab delivered in combination with anthracycline and taxane based chemotherapy resulted in pathologic complete response rates of up to 60% in patients with HER-2 positive breast cancer. This was a single institutions study and there was concern about cardiac toxicity when using anthracyclines and trastuzumab concurrently. We therefore worked with the NCI cooperative groups, the American College of surgeons oncology group (ACOSOG), to design the ACOSOG Z1041 trial. This trial compared to different regimens in the neoadjuvant setting, one regimen utilizing concurrent anthracycline and taxanes based chemotherapy with trastuzumab and the other regimen utilizing concurrent taxanes with trastuzumab but the anthracycline was delivered in a sequential fashion. The primary end point of the trial was pathologic complete response rates in the breast. The results from this primary end point were published in the Lancet Oncology in 2013 and showed that the pathologic complete response rates were the same with the 2 different regimens. This was important since patients could be assured of similar efficacy without the potential added toxicity of delivering anthracyclines and trastuzumab together. The current publication is a report of the disease-free and overall survival rates from the Z1041 trial. Several studies have shown an association between pathologic complete response rates and survival. The current study shows that there is no difference in survival rates between the 2 different regimens. So once again there is an association between pathologic complete response and survival and it is not important that the anthracycline and trastuzumab are given concurrently in order to achieve these high pathologic complete response rates and improve survival rates. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, JAMA, Vanderbilt / 13.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Douglas B. Johnson, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine Clinical Director, Melanoma Research Program Melanoma, clinical and translational studies Vanderbilt University Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Immune checkpoint inhibitors produce long-lasting responses in patients with many different types of cancer. However, they may cause serious autoimmune-like side effects that may affect any organ. We used several large databases to determine how often these side effects were fatal, when they occurred, and which types of side effects were responsible. We found that overall, fatal side effects were uncommon, ranging from 0.3 – 1.3%. However, they tended to occur early on treatment (on average within the first 6 weeks), and affected a variety of organs, including the heart, lungs, colon, liver, and brain. There was a dramatic increase in reporting of fatal toxicities since 2017, likely reflecting the increased use of immune checkpoint inhibitors.  (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Ophthalmology, Primary Care, University of Michigan / 11.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joshua Ehrlich, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences University of Michigan  MedicalResearch.com: --Describe the “important role” that primary care providers play in promoting eye health? Response: Primary care is the entryway into the health system for many individuals. The poll suggests that when primary care providers discuss vision with their patients, they are more likely to get eye exams. It also suggests that primary care providers are having these conversations most often with those who have certain risk factors for eye disease, such as diabetes or a family history of vision problems, as well as those with fewer economic resources. Promoting these kinds of conversations could bolster this trend, increasing the number of diabetics and other high risk individuals who get appropriate eye care. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research, University of Michigan / 10.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lauren B. Gerlach, D.O. Clinical Lecturer Department of Psychiatry University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Response: In this study we used data from the Supporting Seniors Receiving Treatment and Intervention or SUSTAIN program. The program provides a supplement to a Pennsylvania medication coverage program for low-income older adults. It provides behavioral health and case management services by phone across the state. This included detailed interviews to screen for mental health issues including anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and pain, as well as analysis of prescription records and other clinical data. Among older adults prescribed a new benzodiazepine prescription by a non-psychiatric provider, we determined how many then went on to long-term use of the medication and what patient and clinical characteristics predicted long-term use over the following year. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, University of Pennsylvania / 09.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amol Navathe, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Medicine Perelman School of Medicine Penn Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Medicare’s voluntary Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative for lower extremity joint replacement (LEJR) surgery has been associated with reduced episode spending and stable-to-improved quality. However, BPCI may create unintended effects by prompting participating hospitals to increase the overall volume of episodes covered by Medicare. This could potentially eliminate Medicare-related savings or prompt hospitals to shift case mix to lower-risk patients. Among the Medicare beneficiaries who underwent LEJR, BPCI participation was not significantly associated with a change in market-level volume (difference-in-differences estimate . In non-BPCI markets, the mean quarterly market volume increased 3.8% from 3.8 episodes per 1000 beneficiaries before BPCI to 3.9 episodes per 1000 beneficiaries after BPCI was launched. In BPCI markets, the mean quarterly market volume increased 4.4% from 3.6 episodes per 1000 beneficiaries before BPCI to 3.8 episodes per 1000 beneficiaries after BPCI was launched. The adjusted difference-in-differences estimate between the market types was 0.32%. Among 20 demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, and utilization factors, BPCI participation was associated with changes in hospital-level case mix for only one factor, prior skilled nursing facility use in BPCI vs. non-BPCI markets.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Heart Disease, Supplements / 09.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pieter Cohen, M.D. Associate Professor of Medicine Cambridge Health Alliance Assistant Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dietary supplements lead to an estimated 23,000 emergency department visits each year in the United States (US), and weight loss and sports supplements contribute to a disproportionately large number of these emergency department visits. It is not known which ingredients in weight loss and sports supplements pose the greatest risk to consumers, but there are stimulants found in botanical remedies that might pose risks. In the current study, we investigated the presence and quantity of higenamine a stimulant found in botanicals and available in sports and weight loss supplements sold in the US. (more…)
Author Interviews, Surgical Research, UT Southwestern / 02.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeffrey Cadeddu, M.D.  Professor Ralph C. Smith, M.D., Distinguished Chair in Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery UT Southwestern Medical Center  https://youtu.be/ZusA4e2JaGo MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for your work? What are the main potential indication? How does magnetic surgery decrease the need for multiple incisions thus decrease pain and bleeding?  Response: ​The device is manufactured and sold by a new company, Levita Magnetics.  I share a desire with it to reduce the morbidity of surgery by reducing the incisions and invasiveness. My lab had worked on similar technology during the 2000s.  The main potential indication is to assist with single port surgery or to enable reduced-port laparoscopic or robotic surgery.  The devices allows tissue retraction without making an incision for dedicated instrument. By avoiding an incision for a trocar, risk of pain from that incision and injury to unseen vessel under the skin is obviously reduced. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cleveland Clinic, Multiple Sclerosis, NEJM / 30.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robert J. Fox, MD, FAAN Principal Investigator | SPRINT-MS Trial Mellen Center for MS  |  Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, OH 44195  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The current treatment options for progressive multiple sclerosis are very limited. The SPRINT-MS trial sought to obtain proof-of-concept evidence that ibudilast has beneficial activity in progressive multiple sclerosis. In a placebo-controlled, 96-week trial of 255 people living with progressive MS, treatment with ibudilast slowed the progression of brain atrophy (brain shrinkage) by 48% compared to placebo. Side-effects of ibudilast included gastrointestinal symptoms, headache, and depression.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Kaiser Permanente, Menopause, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 30.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Allison L. Naleway, PhD Senior Investigator Associate Director, Science Programs Center for Health Research Kaiser Permanente MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Reports of premature menopause after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination have received a lot of media attention, including on social media, but these reports were based on a small number of isolated cases. Large studies have demonstrated the safety of HPV vaccination, but parental safety concerns—including potential impact on future fertility—are often cited as one reason for lower HPV coverage. Rates of HPV vaccination have lagged behind coverage rates for other recommended adolescent vaccinations, such as tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis and meningococcal conjugate. (Based on national coverage estimates from 2016, 65% of 13–17 year-old females received at least one HPV vaccination and only 49.5% were up to date with the series, compared to about 88% of adolescents who received Tdap.) We conducted a study of nearly 200,000 young women to determine whether there was any elevated risk of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) after HPV or other recommended vaccinations.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, OBGYNE, UCLA / 29.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Carol Mangione, M.D., M.S.P.H., F.A.C.P. Division Chief of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research Professor of Medicine Barbara A. Levey, MD, and Gerald S. Levey, MD, endowed chair in Medicine David Geffen School of Medicine University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) professor of public health at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Screening for cervical cancer saves lives by identifying cervical cancer early when it is treatable. Most cases of cervical cancer occur in women who have not been regularly screened or treated, which is why it’s important for women to get screened regularly throughout their lifetime with one of several effective options. Women ages 21 to 29 should get a Pap test every three years. Women ages 30-65 can choose between three approaches, depending on their preferences: a Pap test every three years, an HPV test every five years, or a combination of a Pap test and an HPV test every five years. There are some women who don’t need to be screened for cervical cancer including women younger than 21, women older than 65 who have been adequately screened in the past and are not at high risk, and women who have had a hysterectomy.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Heart Disease, Karolinski Institute / 27.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robin Hofmann, MD PhD Senior consultant cardiologist and researcher Department of clinical science and education Södersjukhuset, at Karolinska Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Oxygen has been used to treat patients suffering a heart attack for more than a century, despite the fact that such treatment has not had any scientifically proven effect on patients who have normal oxygen levels in their blood. Since the turn of the millennium, researchers worldwide have started to question whether oxygen therapy for heart attacks is ineffective – or may even be harmful. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, UCSD / 27.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH Principal investigator Professor in the Department of Pediatrics UC San Diego School of Medicine Drector of clinical research at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Although cannabis is one of the most common recreational drugs used by pregnant and breastfeeding women, there is little current research regarding potential exposure of the breastfed infant.  As a result, pediatricians are lacking concrete evidence to help support advice to breastfeeding mothers who use cannabis.  This is particularly important as cannabis products available today are substantially more potent than products available in years past. Our group in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Center for Better Beginnings was interested in first determining how much if any of the ingredients in cannabis actually transfer into breastmilk and how long these metabolites might stay in the milk after the mom’s last use.  We invited mothers who are participating in our UCSD Human Milk Research Biorepository from across the U.S. and Canada to respond to questions about use of cannabis products over the previous 14 days and to provide a breast milk sample. Fifty mothers participated in the study.  Samples were analyzed by investigators from the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy. Our major finding was that low, but measurable levels of delta-8 THC likely as a result of using Area 52's delta 8 gummies, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, were found in about 2/3 of the samples.  Although the number of hours after mother’s last use of cannabis that THC was still measurable varied widely, the longest time since mother’s last use that THC was still present was about 6 days.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Journal Clinical Oncology, Lymphoma, Stanford / 23.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. David Kurtz, MD/PhD, Instructor and Dr. Ash Alizadeh MD/PhD, Associate Professor Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine Stanford University Medical Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: This work investigates the utility of circulating tumor DNA - a type of liquid biopsy - in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common blood cancer in adults. Liquid biopsies are an emerging technology to track cancers from a simple blood draw. Here, using a cohort of over 200 patients from 6 centers across North America and Europe, we asked if circulating tumor DNA could be used to detect lymphoma in patients, and more importantly, could it be used to identify responders and non-responders.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cost of Health Care, JAMA / 22.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chana A. Sacks, MD, MPH Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics Brigham and Women’s Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Combination pills combine multiple medications into a single dosage form. There have been case reports in recent years of high prices for certain brand-name combination drugs – even those that are made up of generic medications. Our study looks at this phenomenon in a systematic way using recently released Medicare spending data. We evaluated 29 combination drugs and found that approximately $925 million dollars could potentially have been saved in 2016 alone had generic constituents been prescribed as individual pills instead of using the combination products. For example, Medicare reported spending more than $20 per dose of the combination pill Duexis, more than 70 times the price of its two over-the-counter constituent medications, famotidine and ibuprofen. The findings in this study held true even for brand-name combination products that have generic versions of the combination pill. For example, Medicare reported spending more than $14 for each dose of brand-name Percocet for more than 4,000 patients, despite the existence of a generic combination oxycodone/acetaminophen product. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Medicare, NYU, Prostate Cancer / 22.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Danil V. Makarov, MD, MHS Department of Urology and Department of Population Health New York University Langone School of Medicine VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service Cancer Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Reducing prostate cancer staging imaging for men with low-risk disease is an important national priority to improve widespread guideline-concordant practice, as determined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. It appears that prostate cancer imaging rates vary by several factors, including health care setting. Within Veterans Health Administration (VHA), physicians receive no financial incentive to provide more services. Outside VHA, the fee-for-service model used in Medicare may encourage provision of more healthcare services due to direct physician reimbursement. In our study, we compared these health systems by investigating the association between prostate cancer imaging rates and a VA vs fee-for-service health care setting. We used novel methods to directly compare Veterans, Medicare Recipients, and Veterans that chose to receive care from both the VA at private facilities using Medicare insurance through the Choice Act with regard to rates of guideline-discordant imaging for prostate cancer. We found that Medicare beneficiaries were significantly more likely to receive guideline-discordant prostate cancer imaging than men treated only in VA. Moreover, we found that men with low-risk prostate cancer patients in the VA-only group had the lowest likelihood of guideline-discordant imaging, those in the VA and Medicare group had the next highest likelihood of guideline-discordant imaging (in the middle), and those in the Medicare-only group had the highest likelihood of guideline-discordant imaging.  (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Imperial College, Kidney Disease / 20.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. David C. Muller PhD Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health Research Fellow in Epidemiology and Biostatistics Imperial College, London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our colleagues in the U.S. have been working on KIM-1 for years, particularly in the context of chronic kidney disease. Recently they found that KIM-1 is also elevated at the time of diagnosis of kidney cancer. We wanted to see if KIM-1 concentrations could predict the chances of a future diagnosis of kidney cancer. We found that KIM-1 was a strong predictor of being diagnosis with kidney cancer in the next 5 years. We also found that higher pre-diagnostic KIM-1 was associated with worse survival after diagnosis.  (more…)