A type II variation of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel; brand name Carvykti) has been approved by the European Commission (EC) for use in the treatment of eligible patients with multiple myeloma, its manufacturer Janssen has announced. Cilta-cel has been recommended for adult patients with relapsed and refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma, who have received at least one prior therapy including an immunomodulatory agent and a proteasome inhibitor, have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy, and are refractory to lenalidomide. Cilta-cel is a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cel ..read more

Many people with breast cancer are not receiving the treatment they should, with inequalities in care leading to many groups being ‘systematically left behind, ignored and forgotten’, according to a new report. This comes despite considerable advances in breast cancer research and treatment over the last three decades, which has led to a more than 40% reduction in breast cancer mortality in some high-income countries. People living with metastatic breast cancer are particularly disadvantaged since rates of this type of cancer are unrecorded, and the needs of this population are unmet. The find ..read more

Bimekizumab (brand name Bimzelx) has been granted marketing authorisation by the European Commission (EC) for active moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), its manufacturer UCB has announced. Now indicated for adults with an inadequate response to conventional systemic HS therapy, the humanised monoclonal IgG1 antibody is designed to selectively inhibit the two cytokines interleukin 17A (IL-17A) and interleukin 17F (IL-17F). This approval makes bimekizumab the first biologic for moderate-to-severe HS to target IL-17F in addition to IL-17A. It also marks the fourth marketing authoris ..read more

NHS England has U-turned on plans to cut funding for a mental health support service following strong criticism from the profession, and will allow new registrations from hospital clinicians for another year. Earlier this month, the NHS Practitioner Health service said NHS England was ‘undertaking a review’ for the support offer across all NHS staff groups, to consider ‘long term sustainable options’. This meant that the service would not accept any new registrations from secondary care staff from 15 April, but would continue to treat existing patients, with new patients being ‘signp ..read more

Semaglutide could be beneficial in helping to treat patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure, a study has shown. In a trial of more than 600 patients with obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and type 2 diabetes, semaglutide led to several benefits after one year. This included larger reductions in heart failure-related symptoms and improvement in physical limitations, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). It follows previous research suggesting benefit of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist in ..read more

Supporting patients via telemedicine after experiencing acute coronary syndrome (ACS) can reduce emergency department attendance and prevent hospital readmission, according to a new study. Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and funded by the British Heart Foundation, the study involved 337 patients (86% men) who came to Hammersmith Hospital with ACS over 15 months and were randomly assigned to receive telemedicine or standard care on discharge. The standard care group of 167 patients were discharged with medication and asked to go to their GP or hospital if they exp ..read more

Treating atrial fibrillation with catheter or surgical ablation is the subject of a new international consensus statement presented at the recent European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) Congress 2024. Also published in the journal EP Europace, among others, the consensus statement sets out best practice standards and defines a contemporary framework for the selection and preprocedural, procedural and postprocedural management of patients considered for, or undergoing, catheter or surgical atrial fibrillation ablation. It outlines atrial fibrillation pathophysiology, anatomical considerations ..read more

From his base in Leeds, Dr Rani Khatib champions holistic, person-centred approaches and the collaborative power of the multidisciplinary team in cardiac care. Here, the newly appointed fellow of the European Society of Cardiology speaks to Allie Anderson about his innovative services that have enjoyed local, national and international acclaim, and how his own recent experiences as a patient have bolstered his professional work. Dr Rani Khatib is a trailblazer in cardiology and cardiovascular pharmacy, achieving success locally and nationally through clinical work and research. As well as a co ..read more

Available evidence does not support a causal association between glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and suicidal and self-injurious thoughts and actions, according to the European Medicine Agency (EMA)’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC). This conclusion follows a review into GLP-1 receptor agonists starting in July 2023 after receiving case reports from the Icelandic medicines agency of suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self-injury from people using liraglutide and semaglutide. At the time, the EMA said it was ‘not yet clear whether the reported cases are linke ..read more

Any level of passive smoking universally elevates the risk of atrial fibrillation, according to new research presented at the recent European Heart Rhythm Association Congress 2024. The researchers examined the association between secondhand smoke exposure and the long-term risk of incident atrial fibrillation, aiming to add to existing research that has established links between passive smoking and coronary artery disease and premature death. They found a dose-dependent relationship between passive smoking duration and atrial fibrillation risk, with each increase in the duration of weekly pas ..read more