This post is authored by Christopher P. Cannon, MD, FACC, editor-in-chief of CardioSource Science and Quality.

Late-breaking clinical trials (LBCTs) have become the centerpiece of major cardiology scientific sessions. On the upside, they produce significant advances that will reshape the practice of medicine (if and when we ever adopt them), and, more recently, they’ve challenged long-held beliefs about the benefits of various older treatments.  On the other hand, they can sometimes lead to disappointment (ie. when a study produces negative findings or is too small to be definitive).

So, LBCTs—are they all that? I think so. (Although, I will also note that the other sessions are important too.) There is something to be said about being one of the first to get the scoop on new data. I love it when buzz from an LBCT spills into the hallways and gets people asking questions about the data, debating implications, and discussing what other data might be needed. Presenting an LBCT is like undergoing a worldwide peer review. How does this play in Peoria? Or Prague? Would this be something we could adopt? Would it fit in practice? These discussions in the hallways among colleagues are among the most exciting scientific interchanges we can have.

I’m particularly interested in the results of the LBCT session on Saturday morning during the Showcase Session, where Jane Armitage will present the results of the Heart Protection Study 2 (HPS2-THRIVE), looking at the effects of niacin in a mega-trial. We have thought for decades that niacin was beneficial. This was supported more recently—to both great fanfare and skepticism—by the ARBITER 6-HALTS trial that showed benefit of niacin over ezetimibe for changes in carotid intima medial thickening (in 208 patients). We heard already HPS-2 THRIVE showed no benefit – so I guess the smaller trial was wrong – and we need to rethink niacin and wonder about HDL.  We'll know more after the presentation.

Other hot trials, in my opinion, are CHAMPION PHEONIX (we know it is positive). Deepak Bhatt, MD, MPH, FACC will present along with co-chair Robert Harrington, MD, FACC – and it will be a practice changing trial. The STREAM trial and PARTNER 2 are also being presented place on Sunday. On Monday, I’ll also be interested to hear the outcomes of the MACC COM Trial, which compares PCI between Massachusetts hospitals with onsite cardiac surgery to community hospitals without onsite services (view the complete list ACC.13 LBCTs).

In each of these cases – and with the rest of the LBCTs – I’ll be there listening to the new data, hearing the panel discussion, and then walking out to the hallways to discuss it with colleagues (and later with colleagues at the CardioSourceNews desk). In this day and age of social media, you can be sure I’ll also have something to say on Twitter!

This is what the meetings are all about, and I can’t wait! See you in San Francisco.

 

[youtuber youtube='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F80tbc_n8yo']

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