COVID vs Cancer; AI Not Ready for Prime Time; Bigger Drug Price Increases

An Israeli study showed that patients with solid tumors have 6-month immune responses to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine similar to the general population. (Cancer Discovery)

Cancer surgery was put on hold as COVID surge overwhelms hospital resources. (Ashland Tidings)

A review of 12 published studies of artificial intelligence for interpreting mammograms showed that the technology has not surpassed the skill of experienced radiologists. (BMJ)

Merck announced that the FDA converted accelerated approval to full approval for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as first-line treatment for platinum-ineligible metastatic bladder cancer.

The FDA expanded indications for the BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) to include Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia in adults.

Converting certain components of clinical trials to virtual formats has helped improve patient accrual rates. (GlobalData)

Prolonged unnecessary use of antibiotics may increase the risk of colon cancer. (U.S. News & World Report)

National Cancer Institute researchers have developed a blood test that may help distinguish benign from malignant tumors associated with the common genetic disorder neurofibromatosis.

Drug companies are beginning to test the market’s willingness to accept double-digit price increases in a single year. (FiercePharma)

Gregg Leakes, husband of NeNe Leakes of the reality TV show “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” has died of colon cancer, which was diagnosed in 2018. (CNN)

A federal appeals court overturned a lower-court decision to award Bristol Myers Squibb $1.2 billion for claims of patent infringement against Gilead Sciences related to the latter’s development of the CAR T-cell therapy axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta). (U.S. News & World Report)

Implementing disparity and demographic reporting requirements did not increase enrollment of Blacks and Hispanics in a leukemia clinical trial. (Blood Advances)