News &amp; Updates

A 77-year-old male chronic smoker with a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease treated with stenting to left circumflex artery and ramus intermediate artery in 2015, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and interstitial lung disease (ILD) presented on 19 January 2024 with shortness of breath (SOB) on exertion, which began following an episode of COVID-19 in May 2023 and worsened after a subsequent COVID-19 episode in April 2024. Before the two COVID-19 episodes, the patient had good exercise tolerance and could manage a 1-hour hike.

First experience with sotatercept for pulmonary arterial hypertension in Southern China

Select cases of advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC with different disease burden treated with first-line osimertinib plus chemotherapy

A 65-year-old male with good past health presented in June 2024 with a 1-month history of cough.

Select cases of advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC with different disease burden treated with first-line osimertinib plus chemotherapy

CKM syndrome: Strategies for early intervention in primary care

Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome is a systemic, progressive disorder associated with adverse outcomes in advanced stages. At an industry-sponsored symposium organized by the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians, experts discussed recommendations in the American Heart Association’s (AHA) presidential advisory on CKM health, strategies for early CKM intervention in primary care, as well as guideline recommendations and clinical trial results supporting the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i; eg, empagliflozin) in CKM syndrome.

CKM syndrome: Strategies for early intervention in primary care

Sotatercept: A first-in-class PAH medication approved in HK

Sotatercept, a first-in-class activin signalling inhibitor for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), is approved in Hong Kong in August 2025, following regulatory approvals in Macau, the US, and the EU in February 2025.

Sotatercept: A first-in-class PAH medication approved in HK

20 Aug 2025

The importance of consent

Issues around consent are a dominant allegation in a substantial proportion of medicolegal claims handled by Medical Protection in Hong Kong in 2022. This article provides practical tips on informed consent and highlights case studies of complaints and claims handled by Medical Protection to facilitate learning.

The importance of consent

Real-world data: FF/UMEC/VI offers clinical advantages over another 3-in-1 COPD inhaler

Once-daily, single-inhaler triple therapy with fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) outperforms twice-daily, single-inhaler triple therapy with budesonide/glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate (BUD/GLY/ FORM) in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), two recent real-world comparative effectiveness studies have found.

Real-world data: FF/UMEC/VI offers clinical advantages over another 3-in-1 COPD inhaler

20 Aug 2025

Sintilimab plus axitinib shows therapeutic potential in FH-deficient RCC

The combination of sintilimab plus axitinib demonstrates encouraging antitumour activity in patients with fumarate hydratase–deficient renal cell carcinoma (FH-deficient RCC) while having a manageable safety profile, according to a phase II study conducted in China.

Sintilimab plus axitinib shows therapeutic potential in FH-deficient RCC

GLP-1 drugs can raise testosterone levels in men

19 Aug 2025 by

The use of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) drugs such as semaglutide, dulaglutide, and the dual agonist tirzepatide helps boost testosterone levels in men with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to new research.

GLP-1 drugs can raise testosterone levels in men

PMN-MDSCs tied to outcomes, antibiotic response in bronchiectasis

Polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) can set up an immunosuppressive microenvironment in the lung via arginase-1 (ARG-1) bronchiectasis, which is linked to clinical outcomes and response to antibiotic treatment among patients with bronchiectasis, suggests a study.

PMN-MDSCs tied to outcomes, antibiotic response in bronchiectasis