M. Alexander Otto began his reporting career early in 1999 covering the pharmaceutical industry for a national pharmacists' magazine and freelancing for the Washington Post and other newspapers. He then joined BNA, now part of Bloomberg News, covering health law and the protection of people and animals in medical research. Alex next worked for the McClatchy Company. Based on his work, Alex won a year-long Knight Science Journalism Fellowship to MIT in 2008-2009. He joined the company shortly thereafter. Alex has a newspaper journalism degree from Syracuse (N.Y.) University and a master's degree in medical science -- a physician assistant degree -- from George Washington University. Alex is based in Seattle.
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DLBCL: PFS but no OS benefit with polatuzumab-vedotin add-on
Pending additional follow-up for overall survival, is the extra cost worth it?
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ASH studies look at racial disparities in ALL care, outcomes
Findings of two studies on U.S. blood cancer care suggest that “structural racism” may play a role in worse outcomes among young Hispanic and...
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Talk early to patients with high-risk AML about end-of-life decisions
With nearly 40% of AML patients unable to take part in their own final code discussions, families struggle to guess what their loved ones would...
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Myeloid patients respond robustly to Moderna COVID vaccine
Among 46 patients, nearly all seroconverted after second shot.
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FDA approves new interferon for polycythemia vera
A longer half-life means dosing every 2 weeks, instead of weekly.
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Tolerability doesn’t explain why kids do better than adults on ALL regimens
Differences in tumor biology seem to be at play.
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Genes related to osteosarcoma survival identified
They predict survival and are also potential therapy targets.
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Better survival with extended letrozole in early-stage breast cancer
Guidelines for duration of endocrine therapy ‘should be updated.’
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Twelve-month overall survival benefit with ribociclib for metastatic breast cancer
It’s the first phase 3 trial to report a median overall survival beyond 5 years in advanced breast cancer.
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Durvalumab combos beat monotherapy for unresectable stage 3 NSCLC
Combination treatment has better progression free survival with a similar safety profile.
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Mediastinal relapse risk lower with PORT, but no survival benefit
Post-op radiation may help patients with high mediastinal burdens.
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COVID is especially dangerous for mesothelioma
Case review demonstrates a mortality rate of 57%.
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Unequal resource distribution underlies lung cancer disparities
“We have to focus on the areas where we are most likely to be successful.”
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Finding the most bang for the buck with adjuvant atezolizumab for NSCLC
Lack of benefit with pneumonectomy, cisplatin-gemcitabine needs further investigation.
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Study calls higher surgery costs at NCI centers into question
When is the higher cost of cancer surgery at NCI centers worth it?