Trending News Today: New Drug Shows Promise in Rare Subtype of NSCLC

Capmatinib, a highly selective a potent MET inhibitor, showed promising signs of clinical efficacy in a rare subtype of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) identified by a MET exon 14 (METex14) skipping mutation, MD Magazine reported. According to the article, capmatinib showed an objective response rate indicating at least a 30% reduction in tumor size by independent review of 67.9% in treatment-naïve patients. Capmatinib has received an orphan drug designation and a breakthrough therapy designation for METex14 skipping mutation positive metastatic NSCLC following platinum-based chemotherapy, the article reported. The findings were presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, held May 31-June 4, in Chicago, Illinois.

A recent study found that low-income individuals with opioid disorders struggle to find anti-addiction treatment in US states with the highest overdose death rates, Reuters reported. According to the article, researchers who posed as uninsured or Medicaid-covered patients called to schedule appointments for buprenorphine prescription at 1092 clinics with 546 clinicians located in places with high rates of opioid overdose deaths in 2016. The “patients” were told they could get buprenorphine prescriptions at their first visit just 27% of the time with Medicaid and 41% of the time when they were uninsured, the article reported.

Individuals living with HIV generally have a 1.5- to 2-fold higher risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and often face barriers to accessing care, The American Journal of Managed Care reported. According to the article, a scientific statement from the American Heart Association published in Circulation said that the global burden of HIV-associated CVD has tripled over the past 2 decades and accounted for 2.6 million disability-adjusted life-years per year. The authors recommended the integration of cardiovascular preventive and therapeutic care for patients with HIV, the article reported.