Trending News Today: Capmatinib Receives Breakthrough Designation for Mutated Form of NSCLC

Officials with the FDA have granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Novartis’ investigational treatment capmatinib for a mutated form of lung cancer, Reuters reported. According to the article, Novartis is seeking approval for oral capmatinib as a first-line therapy for patients with metastatic MET exon14 skipping-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). There are currently no targeted therapies available for this form of the disease, the article reported.

FDA investigators looking into the mysterious lung illnesses linked to vaping nicotine products have identified the same chemical in samples of marijuana products used by individuals who were affected, The Washington Post reported. According to the article, the chemical is an oil derived from vitamin E, which investigators found in nearly all cannabis samples from patients who fell ill in New York in recent weeks. However, health officials said it is still too early to know whether this is the cause of the illnesses, the article reported.

Patients with psoriasis have reported higher-than-average consumption of alcohol, which may be associated with worse adherence to treatment, The American Journal of Managed Care reported. According to the article, some patients may use alcohol to cope with the psychological and social aspect of psoriatic disease; however, the combination of newer biological treatments and alcohol may result in increased susceptibility to infection. The authors indicated that additional research is needed to determine whether alcohol can induce or worsen psoriasis, or whether a threshold exists at which the disease worsens or emerges, the article reported.