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Khabre desk
Recent reporting, analysis and explainers from the clinical-trials desk.
health
A multicentre randomised trial in China found fewer perioperative respiratory adverse events among children aged 2 to under 7 who received a laryngeal mask rather than an endotracheal tube during adenotonsillectomy. The findings apply to a selected group treated by experienced anaesthesiologists at high-volume hospitals.
health
A phase 2 trial in resectable non-small cell lung cancer found a major pathological response in 70.1% of patients who underwent surgery after perioperative ivonescimab plus chemotherapy. The study was noncomparative, and median event-free survival was not mature at the analysis cutoff.
health
In two 52-week placebo-controlled phase 3 trials, once-daily povorcitinib improved facial repigmentation in adults with moderate-to-severe nonsegmental vitiligo. The primary response threshold was reached by 18.9% of participants taking the drug in each trial.
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In the phase 2 UNICORN trial, botensilimab plus balstilimab produced major pathological responses in 36% of pMMR and 100% of dMMR colon cancer cohorts before surgery. The small, non-randomized study provides an early clinical signal rather than a treatment comparison.
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In the phase 2 PHERGain trial, a PET- and pathology-guided strategy had an estimated five-year invasive disease-free survival of 89.5% among patients assigned to the adaptive-treatment group who underwent surgery. Exploratory ctDNA analyses linked early clearance with higher pathological complete response rates and better five-year outcomes.
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In the single-arm MDT-BRIDGE phase 2 study, 142 people with resectable or borderline resectable non-small-cell lung cancer received durvalumab plus chemotherapy before multidisciplinary teams directed them to surgery or chemoradiotherapy. Surgery was performed in 74.6%; survival follow-up is still early.
health
A medRxiv analysis of 354 FDA oncology approvals from 2014 through early 2025 found surrogate endpoints had become the dominant primary measure used for approval. The authors also reported different relationships between surrogate-endpoint benefits and overall survival for immunotherapy and non-immunotherapy approvals.
health
A prespecified five-year analysis of RELATIVITY-047 found lower hazards of progression and death with relatlimab plus nivolumab than with nivolumab alone. Exploratory biomarker analyses also linked higher LAG-3-positive CD8 cell levels to worse outcomes on nivolumab in a defined subgroup.
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In the 31-patient exploratory GDFATHER-NEO trial, nivolumab plus visugromab was associated with higher pathological and radiographic response rates than nivolumab plus placebo before bladder surgery. The small, nonrandomized study was not designed to establish long-term benefit.
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In the randomized AMPLIFY-7P phase 2 trial, camupepimut did not significantly improve disease-free survival across all participants after pancreatic cancer surgery. Prespecified subgroup analyses and immune-response findings provide signals for testing in a larger trial.
health
A statistical model estimated that testing for recent tuberculosis infection could reduce the median number of people needed for a vaccine trial by 4.2- to 6-fold compared with long-lasting IGRA positivity under favourable conditions. The estimates are preprint model results, and the authors say candidate tests still need to be characterised.
health
A Danish nationwide screening effort found conventional HER2-positive status in 62 of 806 people with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In a small phase II trial, trastuzumab-based treatment showed responses, while tissue mapping found HER2-poor fibrotic areas enriched for B7-H3.
health
A medRxiv preprint reports that trial eligibility criteria can create apparent differences in lipid-lowering treatment response by polygenic risk score, even when the true genetic interaction is set to zero. Its cohort analyses found little evidence that coronary artery disease risk scores modified statin effects.
health
A single-site phase 1 trial evaluated D2C7-ATC, an EGFR-targeted antibody-toxin conjugate, in recurrent malignant glioma. Among 72 patients with IDH-wild-type recurrent glioblastoma, median overall survival was 7.9 months.
health
In a phase 1a study of 20 healthy adults, 15 developed a fourfold rise in antibody titres against both cholera serotypes after a second PanChol dose. The preprint also reports reduced vaccine shedding after the booster, an indirect measure of intestinal immunity rather than a measure of protection from cholera illness.
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In a randomized phase 2 trial of 54 men with high-volume metastatic hormone-naive prostate cancer, talazoparib plus enzalutamide produced a high PSA response rate but no clear advantage over enzalutamide alone. Severe adverse events were more frequent with the combination, and two patients developed fatal acute myeloid leukaemia.
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A medRxiv preprint pooling two randomized trials found no statistically significant difference in 90-day mortality between intravenous cefazolin and antistaphylococcal penicillins for adults with MSSA bacteremia. Estimates for kidney injury and treatment discontinuation favoured cefazolin in direction but were imprecise.
health
A medRxiv preprint reports lower HbA1c in the BCG group of a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial, with follow-up extending to eight years. The abstract also reports reduced insulin dose and no recovery of C-peptide from negligible baseline levels.
health
A phase 1 follow-up of four patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma found that one maintained a stringent complete response for 15 months. The other three progressed within five months, and median progression-free survival was 4.0 months.
health
A cluster-randomized trial in northern Nigeria found higher card-verified measles vaccination coverage when small-quantity nutrient supplements were offered alongside routine immunization. The study tested a delivery strategy in 20 clusters, not the effect of the supplement alone.
health
In the 52-week REMODEL trial, semaglutide was associated with changes in kidney vascular measures and tissue signals in people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The three coprimary MRI outcomes did not differ significantly from placebo.
health
A medRxiv preprint reports improved clinical outcomes and changes in immune markers after N-acetylcysteine treatment in cancer patients with severe COVID-19. The clinical comparison used severity-matched patients treated before the trial began.
health
An analysis of the NHS-Galleri trial reports Galleri’s performance across three annual screening rounds, including falling episode sensitivity in later rounds. The trial’s primary endpoint—a reduction in stage III/IV cancer diagnoses—was not met.
technology
Wearable devices are increasingly being used in clinical trials to collect continuous physiological data outside research centres. Their broader adoption depends on measurement accuracy, technical reliability, meaningful clinical endpoints and responsible data governance.