Prognostic role of gait speed in worsening heart failure.

Background: Worsening Heart Failure (WHF) is associated with adverse prognosis. Identifying novel prognostic markers in WHF is crucial. Gait speed (GS), a validated frailty index, is an easily obtainable parameter that may aid in reclassifying the risk of HF patients.

Post-diagnosis serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in women treated for breast cancer participating in a lifestyle trial in Italy.

Objective: To report cross-sectionally serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in women living in Italy within 12 months from breast cancer (BC) diagnosis.

Methods: Baseline data were obtained from 394 women diagnosed with primary BC, enrolled from 2016 to 2019 in a lifestyle trial conducted in Italy. Subjects' characteristics were compared between two 25(OH)D concentrations (hypovitaminosis D<20 and ≥20 ng/mL) with the Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test for small-expected counts.

Ropeginterferon versus Standard Therapy for Low-Risk Patients with Polycythemia Vera.

BACKGROUND: Whether phlebotomy alone can adequately maintain target hematocrit in patients with low-risk polycythemia vera (PV) remains elusive. METHODS: In a phase 2 open-label randomized trial, we compared ropeginterferon alfa-2b (ropeg; 100 μg every 2 weeks) with phlebotomy only regarding maintenance of a median hematocrit level (≤45%) over 12 months in the absence of progressive disease (primary end point). In follow-up, crossover to the alternative treatment group was allowed if the primary end point was not met.

Ropeginterferon phase 2 randomized study in low-risk polycythemia vera: 5-year drug survival and efficacy outcomes.

In patients with low-risk polycythemia vera, exposure to low-dose Ropeginterferon alfa-2b (Ropeg) 100 µg every 2 weeks for 2 years was more effective than the standard treatment of therapeutic phlebotomy in maintaining target hematocrit (HCT) (< 45%) with a reduction in the need for phlebotomy without disease progression. In the present paper, we analyzed drug survival, defined as a surrogate measure of the efficacy, safety, adherence, and tolerability of Ropeg in patients followed up to 5 years. During the first 2 years, Ropeg and phlebotomy-only (Phl-O) were discontinued in 33% and 70% of patients, respectively, for lack of response (12 in the Ropeg arm vs.

Clonal Hematopoiesis in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Confers a Predisposition to both Thrombosis and Cancer.

Purpose Of Review: This review focuses on vascular complications associated with chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and more specifically aims to discuss the clinical and biological evidence supporting the existence of a link between clonal hematopoiesis, cardiovascular events (CVE), and solid cancer (SC).

Recent Findings: The MPN natural history is driven by uncontrolled clonal myeloproliferation sustained by acquired somatic mutations in driver (JAK2, CALR, and MPL) and non-driver genes, involving epigenetic (e.g.