Beth Fand Incollingo: freelance content marketing writer

Health & Science Articles

ISPOR.org •

Upskilling: The New HEOR Imperative

Over the past 2 decades, health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) has evolved into a cornerstone of healthcare decision making. Key trends include the rise of real-world evidence (RWE) to complement clinical trials, a shift toward value-based care, and greater emphasis on patient-centered outcomes. Through this time, HEOR has gained global influence in health technology assessments (HTA) and policy shaping. A new era of rapid change is upon us—driven by more sophisticated methodologies inco...
ISPOR.org •

Setting a New Pace: Real-World Evidence is Finding Its Footing in HEOR

In 2021, something unprecedented occurred in the pharmaceutical arena—the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a medication based exclusively on retrospective real-world data (RWD), without any evidence from clinical trials.Vijoice (alpelisib) had been administered on a compassionate-use basis to patients with severe symptoms of PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum, and a study of data from their charts led to the FDA’s accelerated approval.1That protocol will be less likely to raise eye...
ISPOR.org •

Tied to the Past, Unprepared for the Future: Meeting the Alzheimer’s Disease Challenge With HEOR

There has been a lot of fanfare about the first 2 medicines capable of slowing the progress of Alzheimer’s disease, lecanemab and donanemab, but their costs over a typical 1.5- to 2-year course of treatment can easily rival the sticker price for the average new car.Yet, without the ability to slow the disease during its earlier symptomatic stages, how much more would society pay as these patients required an extra 6 to 8 months of round-the-clock care, in many cases preventing family caregivers...
Value & Outcomes Spotlight •

Unlocking Affordability and Access with HEOR

Healthcare can only be widely effective if most patients can access and afford it. Yet, even within the most successful delivery systems, a host of barriers can interfere with health equity.In high-income countries, the challenge is to provide comprehensive healthcare while preventing its overutilization. Countries with universal healthcare achieve that by providing only the drugs and services expected to be cost-effective, which can lead to out-of-pocket spending for patients who want more.
CHEST Daily News •

Physicians encouraged to help fight e-cigarette epidemic among young adults

The use of e-cigarettes by adolescents and young adults constitutes an epidemic that is unraveling generations of work to reduce nicotine addiction.

A CHEST 2022 session, Taking Action in the Vaping Epidemic, on Monday, October 17, emphasized the gravity of the trend and encouraged doctors to help reverse it. Panelists explained how e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI) affects young people and offered insights into disparities in device use and health outcomes.

“We’re deali
CHEST Daily News •

Prescribing biologics for severe asthma challenging but rewarding

Biologics can be excellent supplements to treatment when severe asthma is not fully controlled by high-dose inhaled steroids and long-acting beta agonists. But to prescribe these injectables, doctors must understand which will work best for each patient and how long treatment should last.

The CHEST 2022 case-based discussion, Evolving Paradigms of Treatment Selection in Severe Asthma, on Sunday, October 16, offered guidance on long-term use of standard and novel biologics, formulations that can
ID Care •

A Guide to Common Bloodborne Diseases | Infectious Disease Experts

This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Najah Doka.

People who engage in high-risk personal behaviors or are in certain lines of work can be exposed to other people’s blood or bodily fluids, and that increases their risk of contracting and spreading bloodborne diseases caused by viruses or bacteria. In this guide to common bloodborne infections from Dr. Najah Doka of ID Care, we answer the question “What are bloodborne diseases?” and explain what you need to know to prevent, diagnose, and tr
ID Care •

A Guide to Holiday Food Safety | Infectious Disease Experts

This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Francisco De Jesus.

The holidays are a time for family gatherings, preparing food, and enjoying festive meals together. But with those activities comes the risk of foodborne illnesses that can cause severe and even life-threatening conditions if safety measures are not taken. Knowing how to prevent a foodborne illness outbreak is covered in this article — “A Guide to Holiday Food Safety” — with helpful tips from Dr. Francisco De Jesus, an infectious di
ILCN.org (ILCN/WCLC) •

Assay that Combines Clinical, Radiomic Characteristics with CT Information Shown to Better Distinguish Malignant Early Lung Nodules

Although low-dose CT scans enable the detection of very small lung nodules in individuals who face a high risk of developing lung cancer, it is often impossible to quickly determine whether the lesions are malignant due to their size or location.

Technology designed to enhance the depth of information available when reading a CT scan could reduce the length of follow up in patients with early NSCLC, allowing them to begin treatment sooner, while helping to prevent the performance of unnecessary
ILCN.org (ILCN/WCLC) •

Co-mutations in DNA Damage-Response Pathways May Predict Effectiveness of Checkpoint Inhibitors in NSCLC

NSCLC that harbors more than one DNA damage-response (DDR) gene alteration is more likely to respond to immunotherapy than disease that harbors one or no such mutations.

So concluded investigators who analyzed next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the circulating tumor DNA of patients with advanced NSCLC who had received the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab or the chemotherapy docetaxel.

Wei Nie, MD, PhD, of Shanghai Chest Hospital, and his colleagues conducted their exploratory analysis to seek con
Curetoday •

Promising Drug Puts Focus on Rare Condition That Can Lead to Growth of Tumors, Cysts

A recent promise by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give an expedited review to the experimental drug MK-6482 as a treatment for renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) associated with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease was an exciting development for people with VHL.

Granted a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA, the HIF-2a inhibitor is the first medication specifically indicated for people with VHL, which causes masses, some of them malignant, to grow in any of 10 organs. The di
Curetoday •

Risk Management: Cancer Prevention Tips From An Expert

Can the development of cancer be controlled?

Just about everyone wants to know what they can do to minimize their risk of getting cancer. There is no simple answer. The truth is that cancer can have myriad causes, including lifestyle choices, chemical exposure, viral or bacterial infections, hereditary predisposition and advancing age. Although individuals can’t control all these factors, they can take purposeful steps to reduce their risk.

To learn more about strategies for reducing personal
Curetoday •

Getting Under Your Skin with Tamoxifen Gel

What if there was a way to prevent breast cancer or help control very early disease — with few or no side effects?

That’s the goal of Dr. Seema Khan and other researchers who are testing anti-hormone drugs that are absorbed through the skin. Khan, the Bluhm Family Professor of Cancer Research at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, is leading a trial of a gel formulation of the drug tamoxifen to determine if it will help prevent hormone-driven breast cancer or contr
Curetoday •

The Truth About Implants

Terry Diaz is sorry she ever got breast implants.

She had them placed in 2006 due to changes in her breasts after nursing three sons, and her surgeon told her they were safe saline implants that would last a lifetime without side effects, except for potential rupture if she was hit hard in the chest.

Two months later, Diaz began having migraines and unexplained weight gain — and that was just the start of her problems.

“Breast implant illness has cost me everything,” she told a Food and Drug