NIH Analysis Reveals Rising Use of Complementary Health Approaches

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February 6, 2024

An analysis conducted by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) reveals a substantial increase in the overall use of complementary health approaches by American adults from 2002 to 2022.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, highlights a surge in the adoption of complementary health approaches for pain management over the same period.

Researchers utilized data from the 2002, 2012, and 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to evaluate changes in the use of seven complementary health approaches, including yoga, meditation, massage therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, naturopathy, and guided imagery/progressive muscle relaxation.

The key findings include:

  • The percentage of individuals who reported using at least one of the seven approaches increased from 19.2% in 2002 to 36.7% in 2022.
  • The use of yoga, meditation, and massage therapy experienced the most significant growth from 2002 to 2022.
  • Use of yoga increased from 5% in 2002 to 15.8% in 2022.
  • Meditation became the most used approach in 2022, with an increase from 7.5% in 2002 to 17.3% in 2022.
  • Acupuncture, increasingly covered by insurance, saw an increase from 1% in 2002 to 2.2% in 2022.
  • Additionally, the analysis showed a notable rise in the proportion of U.S. adults using complementary health approaches specifically for pain management. Among participants using any of the complementary health approaches, the percentage reporting use for pain management increased from 42.3% in 2002 to 49.2% in 2022.

Despite the findings, the authors acknowledge study limitations, including decreasing NHIS response rates over time, possible recall bias, cross-sectional data, and differences in survey wording.

The study also highlights the role of factors such as higher quality research supporting the efficacy of complementary health approaches, the inclusion of these approaches in clinical practice guidelines for pain, and the expanded insurance coverage for approaches such as acupuncture, which has contributed to increased patient access.

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Myeloid Neoplasms: Better Understanding of their Molecular Pathogenesis with Improvised Genomic Testing: A Ray of Hope for Better Clinical Outcomes

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With the increase in incidence and prevalence of myeloid neoplasms in India, it has become a necessity to understand its molecular mechanisms, acquisition of genomic alterations, and understand its primary and secondary resistance pathways which ultimately impact the decision of therapeutics. The objective of this review is to investigate the molecular aspects of this disease type and identify the biomarkers that help with diagnosis, risk assessment, prognosis, and selecting the best line of treatment for a speci icmyeloid neoplasm. Advancements and innovations in molecular technologies from simplest Real-Time PCR to high throughput next-generation sequencing have played a vital role in screening the most common mutations and fusions to the novel and rare. Molecular technologies have helped to enumerate the genomic landscape of myeloid malignancies. The understanding of both- the mechanisms and the technology is a strong combination as it has helped revolutionize precision oncology and helped in giving better therapeutic choices with better clinical outcomes. The importance of cellular morphology, clinical symptoms, and molecular pathology in assessing the risk of myeloid malignancies is emphasized and summarized in the review. The review concludes that understanding molecular pathogenesis can be improved by using clinical-pathological-molecular strategies for diagnosis and therapy decision-making.

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Caregivers Are In Good Company

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“There are only four kinds of people in the world: Those who have been caregivers. Those who

are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”

– Rosalyn Carter

 

After caring for her father who passed from terminal leukemia when she was just 12 years old, Rosalyn Carter found herself caring for her widowed elderly grandfather. These early life experiences prompted former First Lady Rosalyn Carter to start the Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregivers (RCIFG).

According to the RCIFG, there are currently 53 million caregivers in America. While each caregiver experience has its own unique set of circumstances, there are some experiences that were shared across cultures and disease-type. Issues such as finding time for self-care, building a caregiver support community, juggling complex schedules, increased financial burden, missing work, having to leave the workforce prematurely, or having to return to the workforce, possible feelings of exhaustion, guilt, resentment, and alienation from friends and family are some commonly reported experiences. Interestingly, in spite of the large number of caregivers in the US, the feeling most often communicated is that of isolation.

Here at MPNA&EI we want you to know that caregivers are in good company. We will have our first monthly online caregiver support group meeting on Thursday, February 15th from 12:00-1:00 pm EST. We would like this first meeting to be a time to connect, share information and set up for our subsequent meetings. Over the course of the year, we will discuss a range of topics from building relationships with professional caregivers to increase cooperation, understanding, and support, learning ways to cope with the stressors of being a caregiver, accessing resources, discovering ways to work together with others to reduce frustrations and barriers in the caregiver role, sharing common concerns, and most importantly recognizing that caregivers are not alone.

In the meantime, here are 10 tips for caregivers from the Caregiver Action Network:

  1. Connect with other caregivers (which you can do at our caregiver support group meeting on February 15th)
  2. Don’t forget to take care of your own health.
  3. Accept offers to help and suggest things people can do to help.
  4. Learn how to communicate effectively with doctors.
  5. Be open to new technologies that could help.
  6. Watch for signs of depression.
  7. Take breaks.
  8. Organize medical information so it’s up-to-date and easy to find.
  9. Make sure legal documents are in order
  10. Give yourself credit for doing the best you can at one of the toughest jobs!

Understanding Philadelphia Chromosome-Negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms in Young Patients: A Comprehensive Study

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By Mason Walker
Published Feb 6, 2024

Insights into Philadelphia Chromosome-Negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms in Young Patients

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of diseases in which the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets. A recent study involving 609 patients diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome-negative MPNs at the age of 45 or younger has brought new insights into the understanding of these diseases in younger patients.

Demographics, Clinical Variables, and Management Strategies

The study reported a variety of demographic, clinical, and laboratory variables, as well as the management strategies used for these patients. The majority of patients were diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV). The median follow-up for the cohort was 9.1 years, and germline testing for hereditary MPN was not available.

The Association of Driver Mutation Variant Allele Frequency and Next-Generation Sequencing

The study also investigated the association of driver mutation variant allele frequency (VAF) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) with disease outcomes. This is important as these factors can play a significant role in the progression and management of MPNs.

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Study Reveals Real-World Characteristics of Patients With Secondary Myelofibrosis

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February 6, 2024

Jonathan Goodman, MPhil

A study published in the Annals of Hematology has highlighted the characteristics of patients with post-essential thrombocythemia or post-polycythemia vera myelofibrosis (PET-MF and PPV-MF, respectively) treated during the ruxolitinib era.

Although the characteristics of patients with primary MF are well-established, less research has evaluated real-world data from patients with PET-MF or PPV-MF. Given that primary and secondary forms of the disease may have different prognoses, a greater understanding of the clinical and patient characteristics in the latter group is important. For this prospective study, researchers in Japan aimed to determine the real-world characteristics and prognoses among patients with PET-MF or PPV-MF.

Overall, data from 314 patients were evaluated, among whom 197 had PET-MF while 117 had PPV-MF. At the time of diagnosis, in the PET-MF and PPV-MF groups, the median ages were 70 and 70 years, respectively, 49.7% and 53.8% of patients were male, and the periods from ET or PV diagnosis to MF progression were 9.64 and 10.38 years. The majority of patients in both groups received ruxolitinib treatment (74.6% in the PET-MF group and 83.8% in the PPV-MF group).

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MorphoSys Enters into Business Combination Agreement to be Acquired by Novartis for € 2.7 Billion Equity Value

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PLANEGG/MUNICH, Germany – February 5, 2024 – MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; NASDAQ: MOR) today announced the company entered into a Business Combination Agreement with Novartis data42 AG and Novartis AG (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Novartis”) based on Novartis’ intention to submit a voluntary public takeover offer for all outstanding MorphoSys no-par value bearer shares at an offer price of € 68.00 per share in cash. As part of the Business Combination Agreement with Novartis, Novartis seeks to obtain exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize pelabresib, an investigational BET inhibitor, and tulmimetostat, an investigational next-generation dual inhibitor of EZH2 and EZH1, across all indications. Separately, MorphoSys entered into a Purchase Agreement to sell and transfer all rights worldwide related to tafasitamab to Incyte Corporation (“Incyte”). Currently, MorphoSys partners with Incyte on the development and commercialization of tafasitamab. MorphoSys’ Management Board and Supervisory Board unanimously approved both agreements.

“Novartis shares our steadfast commitment to develop and deliver transformative medicines that address the dire needs of cancer patients. Pelabresib – the investigational therapy at the forefront of our promising oncology pipeline – has the potential to shift the treatment paradigm in myelofibrosis and further expand into other indications. Novartis will provide ample resources currently unavailable to MorphoSys as a standalone biotech company to help accelerate the development opportunities and maximize the commercialization potential of pelabresib at a greater speed and scale,” said Jean-Paul Kress, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys. “We are also pleased that Incyte will assume full responsibility of tafasitamab. Given the proposed acquisition by Novartis and our long-standing partnership with Incyte, we know Incyte is best positioned to drive tafasitamab’s future growth opportunities forward successfully and more efficiently on its own at this time. We believe these agreements are in the best interest of MorphoSys, our shareholders and cancer patients.”

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Health Canada Slated to Review New Drug Submission for Momelotinib in Myelofibrosis

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Kristi Rosa

Health Canada has accepted for review the new drug submission seeking the approval of momelotinib in patients with myelofibrosis, according to a recent announcement from GlaxoSmithKline.1 The submission is based on findings from the phase 3 SIMPLIFY-1 (NCT01969838) and MOMENTUM (NCT04173494) trials.

Specifically, SIMPLIFY-1 data showed that of the 86 patients who received momelotinib, 31.4% (95% CI, 21.8%-42.3%) experienced a spleen volume response (SVR) reduction of 35% or higher vs 32.6% (95% CI, 23.4%-43.0%) of the 95 patients who received danazol.2

Moreover, findings from MOMENTUM indicated that a tumor symptom score (TSS) of at least 50% was observed in 25% of the 130 patients given momelotinib per the Myelofibrosis Symptom Assessment Form (MFSAF v4.0), representing a treatment difference of 16% (95% CI, 6%-26%; P < .01).2,3 The MFSAF v4.0 TSS change from baseline in the momelotinib and danazol arms were -9.4 and -3.1, respectively, equating to a difference of -6.2 (95% CI, -10 to -2.4; P = .001).

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Abstract WP249: Risk for Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke is Increased in Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange and Those With Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

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Natasha Mathur, Andrew Tiu, Zoe McKinnell, Puneet Gill, Martha Antonio, Shanshan Liu, Guoqing Diao, Ramesh Subrahmanyam, Craig M Kessler and Maneesh R Jain

Abstract

Agent Orange (AO) is a dioxin containing defoliant and carcinogen used in the Korean and Vietnam War. There is limited evidence of the association between AO exposure among Veterans and stroke. Stroke is not yet part of the list of presumptive conditions according to the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act which provides Veterans and their survivors disability compensation for conditions arising from exposure to AO. Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) are uncommon etiologies of stroke but whether AO exposure increases incidence of stroke in MPN has not been described.

Utilizing the Veterans Affairs Informatics and Computing Infrastructure (VINCI) database, a case-control study was performed from 1/1/2006 – 1/26/2023 on the Veterans from Illinois, the state most representative of the US population. ICD-9 and -10 codes identified Veterans with stroke and MPN. AO exposure was verified on the Veterans’ service duration and location. Qualitative data were compared by chi-square tests.

Among 586,555 Veterans from Illinois, there were 15,455 ischemic stroke (IS), 1,593 hemorrhagic stroke (HS), 2,752 MPN, and 59,393 with AO exposure. Among MPNs, there were 237 IS (41 with AO) and 26 HS (3 with AO). IS and HS were associated with AO exposure, OR 1.34 95% CI 1.28-1.41, p<0.0001, and OR 1.20 95% CI 1.03-1.39, p=0.02, respectively. MPN is associated with IS and HS, OR 3.52, 95% CI 3.08-4.03, and OR 3.54, 95% CI 2.4-5.23, both p<0.0001, respectively. There is no significant association with AO exposure among Veterans with MPN with stroke. Among non-MPN Veterans with AO exposure, there was an earlier median age of IS and HS, 67 vs. 70 and 67 vs. 71, both p<0.0001. There was no difference in median age of stroke among MPN Veterans with or without AO exposure. There were no differences with rates of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, smoking, heart failure, and pulmonary hypertension among MPN Veterans with stroke with and without AO exposure.

In conclusion, there is an association of AO exposure with IS and HS with an earlier onset among those exposed. There is a strong association between MPN and stroke independent of AO exposure. The biologic plausibility of endothelial dysfunction and accelerated atherosclerosis from AO exposure warrants further investigation.

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Ambitious £4 million project to develop clinical platform for blood cancer prevention

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4th Feb 2024 – Edward Pinches

Professor George Vassiliou from the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI), University of Cambridge will spearhead the project, which focuses on myeloid blood cancers, a group of blood cancers that accounts for more than 11,000 deaths each year in the UK.

The blood cancers, which affect both the bone marrow and blood, include acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and rarer cancers like chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML).

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Truong on the Rationale for Investigating ERK2 Substrate Binding Modalities in MPNs

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Billy Truong, PhD candidate, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses the rationale for investigating the functions of ERK2 substrate binding modalities in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).

Truong and colleagues are conducting research investigating cell signaling programs that are altered in MPNs. Specifically, treatment resistance often arises from the activation of the MAPK pathway, Truong says. Approximately 85% of cancers have genetic modifications in proteins, especially in the RAS protein, which ultimately drive uncontrolled tumor cell proliferation, Truong explains.

Downstream of the MAPK pathway is the ERK2 protein, which is a common target of cancer therapies, Truong notes. However, drugs that target the kinase function of ERK2 are traditionally designed to be nonspecific and are therefore toxic to healthy cells expressing ERK2, Truong emphasizes. Accordingly, drug specificity remains an unmet need for patients with MPNs.

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