Research in Brief

Section snippets

Simvastatin plus rifaximin for decompensated cirrhosis

The addition of simvastatin plus rifaximin to standard therapy does not improve outcomes in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, according to the LIVERHOPE phase 3 trial.Elisa Pose and colleagues randomly assigned patients with decompensated cirrhosis to receive simvastatin plus rifaximin (n=117) or placebo (n=120) for 12 months in addition to standard therapy. In the simvastatin plus rifaximin group, 21 (18%) patients experienced acute-on-chronic liver failure compared with 17 (14%) in

Nivolumab plus ipilimumab for metastatic colorectal cancer

Nivolumab plus ipilimumab shows potential as a new standard of care for microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair-deficient metastatic colorectal cancer, according to the CheckMate 8HW phase 3 trial.Thierry André and colleagues randomly assigned immunotherapy-naive patients to receive either nivolumab plus ipilimumab (n=354) or nivolumab alone (n=353). At median follow-up of 47·0 months (IQR 38·4–53·2), median progression-free survival was not reached in the nivolumab plus ipilimumab

Tiragolumab for advanced liver cancer

The addition of tiragolumab, an anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody, to the established atezolizumab–bevacizumab regimen shows promise in patients with locally advanced or metastatic unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, according to the MORPHEUS-Liver phase 1b–2 study.Richard S Finn and colleagues randomly assigned previously untreated patients to receive either tiragolumab plus atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (n=41) or atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (n=18) every 3 weeks. At clinical cutoff, the

Carbon footprint of gastrointestinal endoscopy

Gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures contribute significantly to healthcare-related carbon emissions and waste generation, according to new research from India.Hardik Rughwani and colleagues analysed data from 3873 procedures performed on 3244 patients over a 13-day period, assessing greenhouse gas emissions. The total carbon footprint was nearly 150 000 kg CO₂e, averaging 38·45 kg CO₂e per procedure, which dropped to 6·50 kg CO₂e when excluding patient travel. After patient travel, the