University Of California, San Francisco

AI like ChatGPT isn't ready to run hospital ERs, often recommending unnecessary x-rays and antibiotics, and admitting patients who don't need it, according to a study in Nature Communications. Researchers found ChatGPT-4 was 8% less accurate than human doctors in ER scenarios, with ChatGPT-3.5 being 24% less accurate.

Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly collaborating with academic centers for early-stage drug discovery to mitigate rising R&D costs and risk exposure, as blockbuster drugs face generic competition and drug development becomes more complex.

Melissa Davis, PhD, leads SAMBAI project to study health disparities, focusing on breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers among the African diaspora. The project aims to understand how structural racism impacts tumor biology and improve precision in diverse patient cohorts. SAMBAI's multidisciplinary approach includes societal, ancestry, molecular, and biological analyses, aiming to provide a toolkit for researchers worldwide to address health disparities.

Early-life trauma, especially physical abuse by parents, strongly correlates with end-of-life pain, loneliness, and depressive symptoms. Over 80% of participants experienced at least one trauma, with 1 in 3 experiencing at least three. Trauma-free individuals had a 24% likelihood of end-of-life depression, compared to 40% for those with five or more traumatic events. Providers should consider a patient's trauma history to address 'total pain' at life's end.

Dr. Thomas Lietman discussed mass azithromycin trials for trachoma control, showing reduced child mortality. The MORDOR trial found biannual distribution reduced mortality in 1-59 month-olds, especially younger children. WHO guidelines now recommend azithromycin for high mortality Sub-Saharan African settings. The AVENIR trial compared mortality reduction between 1-11 and 1-59 month-olds, finding better outcomes for younger children when older children were treated. Ethical considerations and adaptive trial strategies were also discussed.

Dr. Robb Fraley, former Monsanto CTO, pioneered biotechnology in agriculture, leading to innovations like Roundup Ready crops. His work significantly impacted global food security, earning him prestigious awards. Fraley emphasizes the ongoing potential of biotechnology and gene-editing in agriculture.

FDA delays release of guidelines to improve pulse oximeter accuracy for patients with darker skin, despite evidence of inaccuracies leading to treatment disparities and deaths. Physicians and health equity advocates criticize the FDA's slow response, calling for stricter testing and clearer labeling to address racial biases in medical devices.

Poseida Therapeutics announced interim clinical data from its Phase 1 trial of P-BCMA-ALLO1 in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, showing a 91% overall response rate (ORR) in an optimized lymphodepletion arm, with 100% ORR in BCMA-naïve patients and 86% ORR in those previously treated with BCMA-targeting therapies. The therapy demonstrated no dose-limiting toxicities, low rates of CRS and ICANS, and no GvHD or Parkinsonism. P-BCMA-ALLO1 has been granted RMAT designation by the FDA and is being evaluated in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial.

Recent approvals have led to the combination of enfortumab vedotin-ejfv (Padcev) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) becoming a dominant frontline therapy for bladder cancer. Zelenectide pevedotin, a Nectin-4–targeted bicycle toxin conjugate, shows promise with preliminary antitumor activity and fewer off-target toxicities. Ongoing phase 2/3 Duravelo-2 study investigates zelenectide pevedotin alone and in combination with pembrolizumab for advanced urothelial cancer patients.

The FDA's ODAC voted 10-2 against PD-1 inhibitors in first-line HER2-negative, MSS gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma with PD-L1 < 1, citing unfavorable risk:benefit. Data from CheckMate 649, KEYNOTE-859, and RATIONALE-305 trials showed OS benefits in higher PD-L1 subgroups, but not in those with PD-L1 < 1, raising concerns over toxicity and cost.