Special Reports

Patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL) have poor outcomes with traditional therapies. However, phase 3 clinical trials of tisagenlecleucel, a CD-19 directed chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, have shown improved ORR, CR, PFS and OS in patients with r/r DLBCL, giving hope to these patients. Long-term real-world data from Hong Kong has also shown improved outcomes with tisagenlecleucel in these patients.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been dubbed “surprise blockbusters” because of their paradigm-shifting cardiorenal benefits in chronic kidney disease (CKD). At an industry-sponsored symposium during the 18^th Congress of Asian Society of Transplantation (CAST 2023), Professor Kai-Uwe Eckardt of the Department of Nephrology and Medical Intensive Care, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, reviewed findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and a recent meta-analysis showing reductions in risk of kidney disease progression and acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with these agents. He also discussed how these effects potentially delay the need for dialysis and kidney transplantation.

A 64-year-old Chinese woman with hyperlipidaemia was diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in June 2020. She had a 2.2 cm lesion in the right lower lobe of the lung.

At an industry-sponsored symposium during the 2023 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Breast Cancer Annual Congress, experts highlighted the importance of supplementing clinical trial data with real-world evidence (RWE) on cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors in combination with endocrine therapy (ET) for women with hormone receptor (HR)– positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (ABC). They also discussed practical approaches and the role of shared decision making (SDM) when selecting the most appropriate CDK4/6 inhibitor for ABC treatment.

Remdesivir can be used in COVID-19 patients with severe renal impairment, including those on dialysis, according to recent US FDA approval of its expanded indication based on results of the REDPINE trial.

Major bleeding secondary to intake of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and hyperkalaemia are two potentially fatal conditions encountered in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department. At an industry-sponsored meeting organized by the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine, Professor Adam J Singer of the Stony Brook University Hospital in Stony Brook, New York, US, shared updates on management of these conditions, focusing on the role of andexanet alfa in reversing the effects of factor Xa (FXa) inhibitors, and discussed the emergence of sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) as the preferred potassium binder to treat life-threatening hyperkalaemia.

Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and completed dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and a P2Y₁₂ inhibitor typically receive aspirin as lifelong single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT). However, a growing body of evidence suggests that East Asian patients are prone to excess bleeding from antithrombotic therapy compared with their Western counterparts, and thus may require a different antithrombotic strategy. At a scientific symposium organized by the Hong Kong Society of Congenital and Structural Heart Disease (HKCASH), Professor Hyo-Soo Kim of the Cardiovascular Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea, discussed emerging clinical data supporting use of clopidogrel as optimal maintenance therapy after PCI in East Asian patients.