Top advances of the year: Precision oncology

The advent of precision medicine has changed the landscape of oncologic biomarkers, drug discovery, drug development, and, more importantly, outcomes for patients with cancer. Precision oncology entails the genomic profiling of tumors to detect actionable aberrations. The advances in clinical next-generation sequencing from both tumor tissue and liquid biopsy and availability of targeted therapies has rapidly entered mainstream clinical practice. In this review, recent major developments in precision oncology that have affected outcomes for patients with cancer are discussed. Rapid clinical development was seen of targeted agents across various mutational profiles such as KRASG12C (which was considered “undruggable” for almost 4 decades), Exon 20 insertions, and RET mutations. Approaches to precision chemotherapy delivery by the introduction of antibody drug conjugates in the armamentarium against lung cancer has been appreciated.     

Nutrition transition – Pattern IV: Leads Bangladeshi youth to the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity

Fast food and soft drinks consumption leading to excess calorie intake coupled with lack of acceptable physical activity has augmented the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the world population for the past few eras. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 475 youth selected by systematic random sampling attending in 27 established public and private universities and colleges of Bangladesh. The study was aimed to evaluate habitual facts associated with the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Bangladeshi youth. The rates of fast food consumption (once/week) are 50.6%, 43.7%, and 53.3% in overweight, pre-obese and obese-1 respondents accordingly and the rates of soft drinks consumption (4–6 times/week) are 40.5%, 59.2%, and 73.3% respectively for the same subjects. Moreover, approximately 40.8% of the youth went to fast food restaurants at least once per week and 27.2% went regularly (2 times/week). Youth having fast foods 2 times/week, consuming soft drinks 3–4 times/week were more likely to be obese. Besides, obesity epidemic was observed among those who have not the habit of doing physical exercise. This study provides evidence of increasing trend and threat to overweight and obesity for the Bangladeshi youth.     

An Introduction to the Residency Application Process

Emergency medicine (EM) is a swiftly developing yet still relatively young discipline. We are going to present in the Medical Student Forum section of the Journal of Emergency Medicine several article series covering the key topics that medical students interested in emergency medicine will find helpful. This article introduces the topics that will be tackled in the first compilation of articles dealing with the residency application process.     

Stress Testing Versus CT Angiography in Patients With Diabetes and Suspected Coronary Artery Disease

Background

The optimal noninvasive test (NIT) for patients with diabetes and stable symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD) is unknown.

Rapid behavioral assessment of barriers and opportunities to improve vaccination coverage among displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh,January 2018

Background

In November 2017, the World Health Organization received initial reports of suspected diphtheria cases in camps established for displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district, Bangladesh. By January 11, 2018, over 4,000 suspected cases of diphtheria and 30 deaths were reported. The Bangladesh government and partners implemented a diphtheria vaccination campaign in December 2017. Outbreak response staff reported anecdotal evidence of vaccine hesitancy. Our assessment aimed to understand vaccination barriers and opportunities to enhance vaccine demand among displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh.