Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Recent NIH-sponsored clinical trials report that a candidate malaria vaccine offers lasting protection and may help prevent malaria in pregnancy, indicating potential for broader malaria control.
In cancer research, NIH investigators found that combination targeted therapies can produce lasting remissions in resistant aggressive B-cell lymphoma, marking progress in precision medicine. CAR T-cell therapy (axicabtagene ciloleucel) improved survival in patients with large B-cell lymphoma that was refractory or relapsed, per the ZUMA-7 trial. Another NIH-funded trial showed tumor shrinkage in some metastatic colorectal cancer patients. Additionally, combining enfortumab and pembrolizumab may set a new initial treatment standard for advanced bladder cancer based on recent clinical data.
Beyond cancer and infectious diseases, NIH research linked frequent anger to higher heart disease risk due to impaired blood vessel function, potentially leading to heart attacks or strokes. A hearing aid trial found they could reduce the rate of cognitive decline by nearly half in older adults at high risk of dementia.
Other active NIH studies include a trial comparing a six-month multidrug regimen for tuberculous meningitis against the standard treatment, and the Pragmatica-Lung Study, a phase 3 trial evaluating a two-drug combination for advanced non-small cell lung cancer to improve trial accessibility. Finally, an NIH study found that interferon alfa-2b immunotherapy significantly increased survival in people with lymphomatoid granulomatosis, with some living for decades after diagnosis.