February 18, 2021
FDA Approves Therapy to Protect Bone Marrow Cells From Effects of Chemotherapy
THURSDAY, Feb. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first therapy in its class to reduce the frequency of bone marrow suppression induced by chemotherapy for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, the agency announced Friday. Cosela (trilaciclib) inhibits cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 to help protect bone marrow cells from the...
Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Clinical Trials Confirmed
Although COVID-19 racial disparities have been widely noted, a further disparity relating to clinical trial inclusion has not been studied in as much detail. Racial disparities in clinical trials matter, chiefly because interactions with common racial or socioeconomic comorbidities may be difficult to predict without sufficient data. This study, published in Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications,...
Significant Disparities Found In Cancer Clinical Trials
Although disparities in cancer care have been studied in the past, an understanding of racial disparities in cancer clinical trials is still in its infancy. Many clinical trials studied display two main shortfalls: lack of reporting on race and ethnicity and a lack of representation of certain racial and ethnic groups, especially African American and...
COVID-19 Disparities Shown To Have Wide Variety of Causes
Disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, treatment access, infection outcomes, and mortality rates have been noted since early in the pandemic. However, the reasons for these disparities consist of a complex mix of factors that can be hard to pin down and may include a combination of environmental, socioeconomic, and genetic factors. This study, published in...
COVID-19 Disparities Found to Extend Post-Hospitalization
The adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic on racial minorities in the United States have been noted since early 2020. However, the discussion tends to focus on disparities in hospitalization and mortality rates. This study, published in NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, focuses instead on post-hospitalization disparities. Although often understudied, post-hospitalization population outcomes can...
Decrease Seen in U.S. Life Expectancy in First Half of 2020
THURSDAY, Feb. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Provisional life expectancy decreased in the first half of 2020, with larger decreases for males and non-Hispanic Blacks, according to a February Vital Statistics Rapid Release report, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Elizabeth Arias, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics...
Addressing COVID-19's Disparate Impact on Black Americans
The racial disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection rates are now well-established. Still, the complex root causes of these disparities are as challenging as ever to address, particularly within the African American community. Although research has shown that structural inequalities, especially those related to insurance coverage rates and healthcare access, majorly impact health disparities along racial and...