Guidelines for the assessment and management of female reproductive complications after childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers
Source: JCO Area: News The Children's Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer (COG-LTFU Guidelines) are evidence-based recommendations for screening and management of late effects of therapeutic exposures. They are updated every two years by a multidisciplinary panel based on current literature review and expert consensus.   This review summarizes the current task force recommendations for the assessment and management of female reproductive complications after treatment for childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers. Experimental pre-treat...
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

Horizon scanning: Data for soluble ferric pyrophosphate for iron deficiency in haemodialysis patients
Source: BioSpace Area: News BioSpace has reported on the main results of a study evaluating soluble ferric pyrophosphate (SFP) for the treatment of iron deficiency in haemodialysis patients.   SFP is an iron compound that is delivered to the haemodialysis patient via dialysate replacing the 5-7mg of iron lost during a dialysis treatment. Once in the dialysate, SFP crosses the dialyser membrane and enters the bloodstream where it binds to apo-transferrin and is taken to the bone marrow.   The 9-month multicentre PRIME study randomised 108 patients (103 of whom received the study drug; modified intentio...
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

Phase II study of trastuzumab emtansine versus trastuzumab plus docetaxel for metastatic breast cancer
Source: JCO Area: News According to the results of a randomised Phase II study reported early online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) was associated with an improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with trastuzumab plus docetaxel.   The authors note that trastuzumab plus taxane-based chemotherapy has been shown to be associated with improved outcomes versus chemotherapy alone in the first-line treatment of HER2-positive MBC. However MBC will eventually progress in most patients and chemotherapy-ass...
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

Horizon scanning: Phase III results for sofosbuvir in chronic hepatitis C
Source: BioSpace Area: News BioSpace has reported on the results of two Phase III studies of the investigative antiviral sofosbuvir in combination with ribavirin (FISSION) and in combination with ribavirin and pegylated interferon (NEUTRINO) in the first-line treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.   In the FISSION study, treatment-naïve patients with HCV genotype 2 or 3 were randomised to receive either 12 weeks of sofosbuvir (400mg once daily) plus ribavirin (1,000 or 1,200 mg/day) (n=256) or standard of care with 24 weeks of pegylated interferon alfa-2a (peg-IFN; 180 mcg/week) ...
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

Disappointing results from Phase II study of MVA85A tuberculosis vaccine in infants previously vaccinated with BCG
Source: Lancet Area: News The Lancet has published the results of a Phase IIb clinical trial conducted in South Africa that evaluated the safety and efficacy of a new vaccine in preventing tuberculosis (TB) in infants.   BCG vaccination provides incomplete protection against TB in infants, and the new vaccine - modified Vaccinia Ankara virus expressing antigen 85A (MVA85A) - was designed to enhance immune responses already primed by the BCG vaccine. The study randomised 2,797 healthy infants (4-6 months) who had previously received BCG vaccination to receive one intradermal dose of MVA85A (n=1399) or an equal vo...
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

High-dose ascorbic acid supplementation may increase risk of kidney stones in men
Source: JAMA Internal Medicine Area: News In this Research letter published early online in JAMA Internal Medicine, the authors briefly describe their research into whether ascorbic acid supplements were associated with kidney stones in a population-based, prospective cohort of men.   The Cohort of Swedish Men (COSM) recruited 48,850 men aged 45 to 79 years in 1997. Detailed diet and lifestyle data, including on use of ascorbic acid, were collected at baseline using a self-administered questionnaire. For this analysis, researchers excluded those with incorrect national registration numbers, implausible energy in...
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

Study finds influenza A/H1N1 MF59 adjuvanted vaccine (Focetria®) in pregnant women does not increase risk of adverse perinatal outcomes
Source: BMJ Area: News According to research published early online in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), vaccination during pregnancy with the MF59 adjuvanted A/H1N1 influenza vaccine does not increase (and may even lower) the risk of adverse perinatal events.   The authors note that data on the use of MF59 adjuvanted vaccines during pregnancy are scarce. Although limited evidence provides some reassurance, the uptake of H1N1 specific influenza vaccine in pregnant women has been poor in several countries as a result of uncertainty (among both women and physicians) about safety of the vaccine in pregnancy. ...
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

Lixisenatide (Lyxumia®) approved in Europe for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Source: BioSpace Area: News According to BioSpace, the European Commission has granted Marketing Authorisation in Europe for lixisenatide (Lyxumia®) for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus, to achieve glycaemic control in combination with oral glucose-lowering medicinal products and/or basal insulin when these, together with diet and exercise, do not provide adequate glycaemic control.   Lixisenatide is the first once-daily prandial glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist to be approved in Europe. The approval was based on results from the GetGoal clinical programme, which included 11 clinic...
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

NICE consults on draft clinical guideline on urinary incontinence (update)
Source: NICE Area: News NICE is updating its clinical guideline on urinary incontinence in women and has issued a draft guideline for consultation (open to comments from stakeholders up until Tuesday 19th March 2013). The provisional recommendations presented in the draft (see link below) are provisional and may change after consultation. (Source: NeLM - News)
Source: NeLM - News - February 5, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

NHS Confederation briefing: NHS Sport and Health - a winning team
Source: NHS Confederation Area: News This briefing outlines how the NHS can work in partnership with local sporting bodies to harness the expertise, profile and attraction of sport clubs to reach greater numbers of people and promote sport as a way to improve people's health. (Source: NeLM - News)
Source: NeLM - News - February 4, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

World Cancer Day: 4 February 2013
Source: European Medicines Agency (EMA) Area: News World Cancer Day is held each year on 4 February to raise awareness about cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection and treatment. The day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control - please see the link below for further information.   The Lancet has featured several comment articles released to coincide with World Cancer Day, the majority of which discuss actions that governments and policy makers can take to help prevent unnecessary cancer deaths, as part of the Stop Cancer Now! appeal.   (Source: NeLM - News)
Source: NeLM - News - February 4, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

New tools and resources to support NHS reconfiguration
Source: NHS Confederation Area: News The NHS Confederation has published resources to help NHS leaders communicate and engage with staff, patients, the public and stakeholders about changes to local services. Please see the link below for details. (Source: NeLM - News)
Source: NeLM - News - February 4, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

Paper considers impact of commissioning on drug and alcohol care
Source: Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Area: News The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Substance Misuse Management in General Practice (SMMGP) have issued a joint paper considering the future impact of the changing commissioning environment on primary care drug and alcohol treatment. (Source: NeLM - News)
Source: NeLM - News - February 4, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

BMJ letter: 'Another loophole exploited by the drug industry
Source: BMJ Area: News The author of this letter praises a recent analysis of the methods used by drug companies to maximise profits, but comments that a new tactic was omitted. This tactic exploits a loophole whereby the Department of Health is not involved in negotiations about the price of generic drugs, as these are usually driven down by market forces.   In September 2012 Pfizer sold the marketing rights of Epanutin® (phenytoin) to Flynn Pharma. Although the drug is identical (right down to the Epanutin stamp on the capsules), it is packaged under a different name and therefore can be described as generic....
Source: NeLM - News - February 4, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news

HPA reports decline in cases of whooping cough after record numbers in 2012
Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA) Area: News According to figures published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), there were 9,741 confirmed cases of whooping cough reported in England and Wales in 2012 - this is almost 10 times higher than the number of cases reported in previous years (1,119 in 2011 and 902 in 2008). The highest number of cases (8,059) were reported in those aged 15 and over.   The figures for December 2012 show a decrease in the reported number of cases of whooping cough for the second month running (832 compared with 1,168 in November 2012).  The HPA cautions however that it usuall...
Source: NeLM - News - February 4, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news