UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM

Henry Panion III, Ph.D., will join Stevie Wonder's 11-city tour, conducting orchestras in each city. The tour aims to spread joy, peace, and love during troubled times.

Neurology departments implement new protocols to manage anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies for dementia, addressing patient demand and optimizing care delivery through interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative staffing models.

The combination of mezigdomide, tazemetostat, and dexamethasone showed early activity and a tolerable safety profile in highly refractory multiple myeloma patients, with an overall response rate of 53.3%. No new safety signals were identified, and the regimen's efficacy was observed in patients who had received prior CAR T-cell therapy or bispecific T-cell engagers.

The US FDA approves dupilumab (Dupixent) as an add-on maintenance treatment for adults with uncontrolled COPD and type 2 inflammation, marking the first targeted therapy for the condition in over a decade. Surya Bhatt, MD, MSPH, co-principal investigator of the pivotal phase 3 BOREAS and NOTUS trials, discusses the potential impact on COPD treatment.

UAB researchers explore how polygenic risk scores can refine treatment decisions for hypertension, integrating genetic and imaging data to enhance risk assessment and tailor treatments.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute launches IGNITE, the first national pediatric hematology-oncology health equity research consortium, aiming to address disparities in cancer outcomes for children from low-income households and marginalized communities by developing and evaluating health equity interventions.

Lung cancer and its treatment cause financial, time, and sexual well-being issues, impacting patient outcomes. Financial toxicity affects 52% of patients, with minorities and younger patients suffering more. Time toxicity in clinical trials is increasing, and sexual dysfunction affects 63.4% of patients post-treatment.

Advanced analytics in clinical research optimizes operations, enhances study designs, and accelerates drug development. Key applications include predictive modeling, patient segmentation, real-time monitoring, protocol optimization, data integration, risk assessment, and operational efficiencies. Data literacy and collaboration between data scientists and business leaders are crucial for success.

Amitkumar Mehta discusses FDA-approved treatments for DLBCL and follicular lymphoma in later lines, highlighting glofitamab and epcoritamab for DLBCL, and epcoritamab and mosunetuzumab for follicular lymphoma. Both CAR T-cell therapies and bispecific antibodies have improved outcomes over conventional chemoimmunotherapy, though they differ in administration and cost.

Devika Das, MD, joined UF College of Medicine as an associate professor in hematology & oncology, focusing on thoracic malignancies like lung cancer. She aims to improve lung cancer screening rates and ensure equitable access to high-quality clinical trials. Das led a program at UAB that increased lung cancer screening among veterans to nearly 20%, and plans to implement a similar strategy at UF Health.