Merck and Moderna released trial results showing their personalised mRNA vaccine, given with an existing immunotherapy, significantly reduced cancer recurrence and death in patients with melanoma. NPR says it is the biggest test yet of the mRNA cancer vaccine concept.
Read more at NPR →
Pfizer and Valneva say their experimental Lyme disease vaccine cut tick-borne infections by more than 70% in a late-stage trial of 9,400 people aged 5 and up. The trial narrowly missed its statistical threshold, but the companies plan to submit the data to regulators. Statistics and ticks both have thresholds.
Read more at medicaleconomics.com →Early results from the first human trial of the drug invikafusp alfa suggest it may be able to manage cancers that have resisted most other treatments, including standard immunotherapy, Medical Xpress reports on the clinical trial findings.
Read more at Medical Xpress →
An analysis of 91,339 patients across nine trials found that consistent blood pressure medication use cut major cardiovascular events by 11%. Patients taking their pills less than 80% of the time showed little to no protection against heart attack and stroke. The pills, it turns out, work when taken.
Read more at republicworld.com →
In a phase 2 trial, people taking the experimental amylin drug petrelintide lost up to 9.8% of body weight over 28 weeks, with gastrointestinal side effects similar to placebo. It is not yet available and needs more trials, Medical News Today reports. Patience remains in trial.
Read more at medicalnewstoday.com →A procedure that temporarily blocks extra blood vessels in the knee gave 80% of 194 patients with knee osteoarthritis significant pain relief lasting at least a year. It could offer an alternative for people hoping to avoid total knee replacement, Fox News reports.
Read more at foxnews.com →An international team led by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, has identified potential new ways to treat the most common type of colorectal cancer. The study provides a roadmap for future treatment research.
Read more at Medical Xpress →A secondary analysis of the BRIDGE-TNK trial found that giving tenecteplase before thrombectomy improved 90-day outcomes in patients with cardioembolic stroke but not in those with large artery atherosclerosis. Rates of serious bleeding were similar in both groups, NeurologyLive reports.
Read more at neurologylive.com →In the phase 2 BESTOW trial, the investigational antibody tegoprubart was linked to greater gains in quality of life and fewer medication-related symptoms than the standard drug tacrolimus at one year in first-time kidney transplant patients, HCPLive reports.
Read more at hcplive.com →A study of 1,020 adults in Chennai suggests that among Indians genetically prone to high LDL cholesterol, those eating a medium or high quality diet could completely offset the genetic risk. Diets heavy in polished rice and oil worked against healthy levels. Grandmother's genes meet grandmother's cooking.
Read more at The Indian Express →A review in the Journal of the Endocrine Society led by the University of Kansas Medical Center found that both low and high testosterone are linked to higher risk of a heart rhythm disorder. Risk may be lowest in the middle of the normal range. Moderation wins again.
Read more at sciencealert.com →
The Union Health Ministry has banned reuse of single-use medical and surgical devices across healthcare organisations, after reports that disposable devices were being sterilised and reused in some private and corporate hospitals, including in cardiology, nephrology and oncology. Single use now means once.
Read more at VOH Network →
India aims to phase out mercury thermometers and blood pressure monitors from healthcare by 2030. Fourteen states have completed assessments and 12 have issued phase-out orders, with support from the health and environment ministries, WHO and UNEP. The old thermometer in the drawer has been put on notice.
Read more at Nation Path India →
A strike by National Health Mission employees has disrupted immunisation at several primary and urban health centres in Telangana's Nizamabad district. Several centres have run out of essential vaccines, leaving infants, nursing mothers and pregnant women in distress, Deccan Chronicle reports.
Read more at deccanchronicle.com →
Melioidosis, a potentially deadly bacterial infection, may be going undetected in India, The Hindu reports. In one case, a diabetic man's infection was first misidentified and suspected as tuberculosis before cultures found Burkholderia pseudomallei. He recovered after treatment.
Read more at The Hindu →
AIIMS Delhi has issued a work order for two high-energy linear accelerators for its cancer hospital, where radiotherapy waits are currently four to six months. The machines are expected to be installed next year, subject to procurement and installation.
Read more at Urban Acres →The National Centre for Disease Control has sanctioned 30 crore rupees for AIIMS Nagpur to set up a Biosafety Level III laboratory to detect and track emerging and high-risk infectious diseases. The lab should be operational in about a year. Preparedness, for once, is arriving early.
Read more at Urban Acres →Bihar ranked first nationally in the scan and register category of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, recording 8.12 crore, according to a State Health Society report. It ranked fifth in ABHA ID creation and fourth in linking health records. Scanning came first, linking is catching up.
Read more at patnapress.com →The Department of Food and Public Distribution has flagged the use of ration cards to identify families under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, telling the Cabinet Secretary the practice creates operational problems and makes the document effectively compulsory. One ministry has written to another about a card.
Read more at Hindustan Times →Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta disbursed increased salaries to about 4,000 MCD public health staff, first recruited during the 1996 dengue outbreak, under equal pay for equal work. Pay is now based on Level 1 of the pay matrix at Rs 18,000.
Read more at The Tribune →Marking World Polio Day on 24 October, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said India's polio-free status, certified by WHO in 2014, reflects sustained commitment to immunisation. The government renewed its focus on childhood vaccination and surveillance.
Read more at Nation Path India →The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad has backed the state health department's decision to give patients with spinal muscular atrophy a low-cost generic version of risdiplam. It said access to the drug is crucial for quality of life and life expectancy.
Read more at The Hindu →Data on childhood cancer survival in India should improve over the next five years, AIIMS Delhi oncology head Sameer Bakhshi said at PHOSSCON 2026. He said three-fourths of the information available today has come in the last ten years.
Read more at bilkulonline.com →AIIMS Nagpur has discharged three extremely premature babies after nearly three months of intensive care, including one who weighed only 480 grams at birth and another born at 24 weeks. All three needed prolonged breathing support and monitoring.
Read more at Urban Acres →An ICMR-funded project led by Prof. Rama Rao Malla at GITAM in Andhra Pradesh is developing a blood test for early detection of triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease, The Hindu reports.
Read more at The Hindu →
Bangladesh has reported 202,000 suspected measles cases, 22,000 confirmed, between mid-March and 9 October, the highest of any country this year, WHO says. More than 1,100 people have died, and experts blame weakened routine vaccination and unreliable data.
Read more at Vijesti →A pivotal trial of vaccines against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has begun in DR Congo, where the outbreak has killed nearly 4,700 people. The first participant was vaccinated in Bunia with Merck's Ervebo, with Moderna and Oxford candidates also under evaluation.
Read more at South China Morning Post →
Kenya's Health Ministry announced the country's second Ebola death on 23 October, a 65-year-old woman who was a close relative of the first patient. She developed symptoms while in quarantine and received care at an infectious disease unit in Nairobi.
Read more at The Hindu →Pennsylvania is facing its worst measles outbreak in three decades, with more than 1,300 cases since April. Amish communities with low vaccination rates have been hit hardest, with six deaths, amid controversy over federal vaccine policy, ABC News reports.
Read more at ABC Australia →
Uganda's Ministry of Health has reinstated mandatory traveller locator forms and restricted transit for some passengers at all entry and exit points, while it investigates a traveller who tested positive for Bundibugyo virus disease, the Daily Monitor reports.
Read more at monitor.co.ug →Global deaths from lower respiratory infections among children under five fell from about 1.9 million in 1990 to about 503,000 in 2021, a study in Frontiers in Medicine finds. Vaccine coverage gaps keep the remaining burden unequal across countries.
Read more at Bioengineer.org →People from minority ethnic backgrounds in England are up to a third less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer through routine screening and more likely to be diagnosed in emergencies, a University of Surrey analysis of 86,564 patients found.
Read more at The Guardian →Nearly one million chickens have been killed at the second-largest egg-producing farm in the US amid the country's largest active bird flu outbreak. With no treatment for highly pathogenic avian influenza, infected and exposed birds must be culled, People reports.
Read more at people.com →Some 63% of Australians are now bulk-billed for all their GP care, up from 56% in 2024 and 2025, and the share of GPs bulk-billing every patient has more than doubled in a year after new federal incentives, an RACGP report finds. Incentives, it turns out, incentivise.
Read more at The Guardian →Food workers face growing risks from extreme heat, wildfire smoke and pesticide exposure, an IPES-Food report finds. Nearly 1.4 billion people work in the global food system, but about 416 million earn below a living wage, limiting their ability to protect themselves.
Read more at The Hindu →Spain's Health Ministry is keeping its advice to vaccinate only vulnerable groups against Covid-19 despite rising infections. It is urging proactive outreach after vaccine uptake among over-70s reached just 38% last season, todoalicante reports. The advice stands, and the outreach begins.
Read more at todoalicante.es →Manitobans aged 80 and older became eligible for a free RSV vaccine on 1 October, but cannot currently get it at pharmacies. Pharmacists say they are fielding calls from confused patients after provincial letters suggested otherwise, PortageOnline reports. The letter got there before the vaccine.
Read more at portageonline.com →
Microsoft researchers say an AI tool that diagnoses patients step by step was more than twice as accurate as general physicians at solving complex cases, in a study published in Science. It uses an orchestrator that simulates a panel of clinical experts. The panel never asks for a coffee break.
Read more at The Hindu →
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the 139th Mann Ki Baat that the national telemedicine service E-Sanjeevani has reached nearly 50 crore teleconsultations. He also praised a brain mapping innovation from IIT Madras.
Read more at Asianet Newsable →
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum presented an advisory council of scientists and technology specialists on 23 October to build an automated system for distributing medicines and medical supplies, using AI and real-time supply data across public health institutions.
Read more at dig.watch →
South African clinical AI startup Healthleap has raised 38 million dollars in seed and Series A funding, with backing from Sequoia, First Round and Hummingbird Ventures. Its software flags hospital patients who may have undiagnosed conditions, starting with malnutrition. Seed and Series A, arriving together.
Read more at portalerp.com →A University of Southern California study with 13 Asian, Black and Hispanic or Latino young adults found ChatGPT's mental health responses sometimes overlooked their cultural and personal circumstances. Participants also raised concerns about privacy and unclear limits between chatbot and clinical care.
Read more at EdTech Innovation Hub →More than 32% of participants in a Rutgers study said they used ChatGPT and similar chatbots to find information about substance use, Medical Xpress reports, raising questions about the role of AI as a source of health advice for young people.
Read more at Medical Xpress →Queen Mary University of London researchers tested a small electrical device attached to the ear to lower blood pressure. Results in Hypertension showed no significant drop across all participants, but encouraging signs in people with more severe hypertension. The ear is under further investigation.
Read more at dailybeirut.com →About 10% of cancers are linked to an inherited genetic variant, yet as few as one in 15 eligible cancer patients complete genetic testing. A study found online resources and coaching helped more people seek testing, Medical Xpress reports.
Read more at Medical Xpress →Researchers are developing ultrasonic technology to detect tibial stress fractures, among the most common overuse injuries in military personnel, at earlier stages than conventional diagnostic tools can, Medical Xpress reports. Shins everywhere are listening.
Read more at Medical Xpress →The Albany Med Health System, which includes Glens Falls Hospital and Saratoga Hospital, has again been recognised as one of the nation's Most Wired healthcare organisations by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, The Post Star reports. The cables have been honoured.
Read more at poststar.com →Scientists will analyse more than 94,000 brain scans from 257 research centres in 27 countries in a five-year study of eight conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, autism and anorexia nervosa, Outlook India reports.
Read more at Outlook India →A report by the Earth Brain Health Commission in Nature Mental Health warns that heatwaves, air pollution, noise and climate change can affect mood, cognition and psychological wellbeing. It calls for mental health to be considered in climate policy and urban planning. City planners, please note the horns.
Read more at healthandme.com →
A study of nearly 18,000 LGBTQ+ students at 119 US colleges found those who faced discrimination were significantly more likely to experience depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts and to avoid needed care. It was published in Behavior Medicine.
Read more at news-medical.net →
Roblox founder David Baszucki and his wife Jan Ellison Baszucki have given 20 million dollars to McLean Hospital to set up a centre studying whether nutritional and metabolic therapies such as ketogenic diets can ease severe mental illness. Their son has bipolar disorder.
Read more at The Times of India →
About 20 countries are looking to ban minors from social media, but bans have not always worked as planned, an expert opinion in The Inquirer argues. It notes platforms have paid out more than 17 billion dollars in lawsuits this year. Teenagers have opinions on this.
Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer →Young adults who worry about rejection in close relationships tend to fear death more, which is linked to more anxiety, depression and distress, a study in Scientific Reports finds. The link depends partly on how people view death, PsyPost reports.
Read more at psypost.org →A University of Granada study of 187 adults with obesity found combining intermittent fasting with strength and high-intensity aerobic training produced greater weight and fat loss and better fitness. Participants were randomly assigned to fasting, exercise, both, or standard care. Doing both, unsurprisingly, did more.
Read more at health.chosun.com →A small US study of 18 adults aged 65 and over with mild depressive symptoms gave half of them 48g of freeze-dried blueberry powder daily for three months. Changes in gut microbiome function may be linked to improved symptoms, researchers found. The sample was small, like the berries.
Read more at health.chosun.com →A prospective study from Japan examined whether eating fish before and during pregnancy is linked to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, analysing fish and fatty acid intake among Japanese women, Medical Xpress reports.
Read more at Medical Xpress →Reminding yourself to smile often may help you form more friendships and also make you feel better, according to research reported by Medical Xpress on the links between regular smiling, mood and wellbeing. Results may vary on Monday mornings.
Read more at Medical Xpress →Healthcare and pharma roles checked today, health tech included. Every listing links to the original posting. No referral needed, for once.
Health conferences coming up, each checked against its own page this morning. Hydrate between sessions.
It sits on your phone like an app and has never once asked for an update.
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