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Results from a recent matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC) analysis indicated clinical favorability of retifanlimab versus avelumab for the treatment of metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), which investigators described as “a rare and aggressive skin cancer with poor prognosis and low survival rate. A team of researchers from Italy conducted the study and published their findings in Advances in Therapy. Both retifanlimab and avelumab are classified as monoclonal immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) antibodies, and investigators highlighted that both medications are approved for the treatment of metastatic or locally advanced recurrent MCC. They explained that the goal of their research was to assess clinical outcomes of both ICIs via a MAIC analysis of data from the phase 2 POD1UM-201 trial and part B of the phase 2 JAVELIN Merkel 200 trial. Patient data from each trial were used in the analysis, with data from POD1UM-201 informing the retifanlimab group and aggregate data from JAVELIN Merkel 200 informing the avelumab treatment group. Investigators also underscored that the data cutoff of POD1UM-201 was July 2024.

“I am delighted to share the publication of the inaugural issue of OncoIntelligence Journal (Volume 1, Issue 1, 2026), an international, peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal dedicated to advancing oncology research and innovation. As a member of the Editorial Board, I am pleased to support this new academic initiative, which aims to provide an international platform for researchers, clinicians, and scientists to share their work and contribute to progress in cancer research and care.

With sadness and gratitude for a wonderful life, we announce the passing of Clara (Claire) Hunston at 93 years young. Born January 5, 1933, in Lowe Farm, Manitoba, Claire was the seventh of ten children (the youngest of four daughters) born to Abram and Anna Wiebe. Claire cherished her childhood on the family farm in southern Manitoba, where her family was deeply rooted in the Mennonite faith. Curious, musical, and always interested in people, she followed opportunities wherever they led. She went on to attend teacher’s college, then university in Winnipeg, before teaching for a year in Germany and four years in the Arctic. She met her husband, Ken Hunston, in Iqaluit. They eventually married in Port Alberni, then moved on to the remote logging community of Kingcome Inlet, which she loved. They later settled in Campbell River, where their daughter, Jennifer, was born.

Guojie Qiao1 na1, Jinhao Jia2,3 na1, Yihong Di2,3, Zeyang Bai2,3, Limeng Xiong2,3, Jiaming Fu2,3, Yuhan Zhang2,3, Xiaozhe Geng2,3, Yuxi Wang2,3, Chunqing Gao2,3, Hao Hu4, Min Guo4, Jie Ma4, Mingming Hu4, Xiaojuan Zhang5, Guangjun Wang4 & … Jian Sun We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply.

As of October 14, 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ministry of Health reports 65 new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported across four provinces: Ituri (31 cases), North Kivu (28 cases), Haut-Uélé (5 cases), and Tshopo (1 case). Additionally, 15 deaths were recorded in Ebola Treatment Centers (ETCs)—6 in Ituri, 6 in North Kivu, 2 in Tshopo, and 1 in Haut-Uélé—bringing the total number of confirmed deaths for the period in question to 37. Furthermore, 38 patients (18 in Ituri, 15 in North Kivu, and 5 in Haut-Uélé) have been declared recovered after testing negative twice for EVD. Since the beginning of the outbreak, the DRC has recorded a cumulative total of 9,277 confirmed cases and 4,478 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 48.3%. Ituri remains the epicenter of the outbreak, accounting for 73.4% of all cumulative confirmed cases and 47.7% of the new confirmed cases reported over the last 24 hours. To date, 65 out of 167 health zones (38.9%), spread across seven provinces, have been affected since the start of the outbreak.

News|Articles|October 16, 2026 Mucus plugging is increasingly recognized as a pathophysiological feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), associated in prior literature with worse symptoms, poorer quality of life, higher exacerbation risk, and increased mortality. A late-breaking integrated analysis of the replicate phase 3 OBERON and TITANIA trials introduced a segmental mucus plug score, a standardized metric scoring 18 lung segments for the presence or absence of a plug using a centralized double-read CT paradigm.1Nearly 79% of the imaging cohort had at least 1 mucus-plugged segment at baseline, and these patients had worse lung function, higher symptom burden, and more prior exacerbations than those without plugging. Tozorakimab produced a dose-dependent reduction in segmental mucus plug score at week 52, with both current and former smokers contributing to the overall effect.

In Canada and the United Kingdom, combining a low-calorie diet with structured physical exercise made it possible to achieve type 2 diabetes remission in 27 of 50 participants in the intervention group over 24 weeks. In the control group, remission was recorded in two people, ScienceAlert reports. The study involved 96 peopleThe randomized study was conducted at three centers in Canada and the United Kingdom. It involved 96 people of diverse ethnic backgrounds with obesity and early-onset type 2 diabetes who were not receiving insulin therapy. The participants’ average age was 38. Early-onset type 2 diabetes is generally defined as a diagnosis made at or before the age of 45. This type of disease may progress more quickly than diabetes diagnosed at an older age, while patients face a higher risk of premature complications and death. More current news is available on the UA. News Telegram channel Telegram. Diet and exercise programParticipants in the intervention group consumed approximately 800–900 kilocalories per day during the first 12 weeks. Their program also included two supervised weekly sessions combining aerobic and strength exercises, as well as one independent workout.

News|Articles|October 16, 2026 All 46 people with HIV who started long-acting lenacapavir and cabotegravir at a University of California, San Francisco, clinic reached or kept viral suppression over a median of 100 weeks. Every patient in a 46-person cohort of people with HIV, many of whom had drug resistance, unstable housing or active substance use, reached or maintained viral suppression on an off-label long-acting combination of lenacapavir and cabotegravir, according to a research letter published recently in JAMA Network Open by University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers. Monica Gandhi, M. D., M. P. H., is the senior author of ‘Long-Acting Lenacapavir and Cabotegravir and Viral Suppression Among People With HIV,’ as well as a UCSF professor of medicine. She and her team describe their study as the largest case series of the two-drug injectable combination to date, to their knowledge. Why clinicians are pairing lenacapavir with cabotegravirCabotegravir plus rilpivirine is the only FDA-approved long-acting injectable HIV treatment.

News|Videos|October 16, 2026 Experts address COVID-19 vaccine myths, safety evidence, and how to frame the benefits of vaccination in pregnancy. Welcome to this Contemporary OB/GYN Special Report series on maternal immunization heading into the 2026-27 respiratory season. Across 5 episodes, our host and experts examine what the latest guidance means in practice for obstetric and pediatric clinicians and for the patients they counsel. Related to this articleOctober 16th, 2026Experts look ahead to new maternal vaccines and how to counsel patients on receiving several in one pregnancy. Read moreOctober 14th, 2026Experts discuss how obstetric and pediatric clinicians can coordinate to protect newborns. Read moreOctober 14th, 2026Experts review ACOG's 2026-27 guidance and the RSV window extension for pregnant and postpartum patients. Read moreOctober 15th, 2026Experts discuss common patient concerns about vaccination in pregnancy and strategies to improve uptake. Read moreOctober 13th, 2026On September 9, 2026, certolizumab pegol received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for APS pregnancy; Jane E. Salmon, MD, reviews the IMPACT trial results behind it.

Type 2 diabetes is not necessarily a lifelong diagnosis or a disease that gets progressively worse over time. Today, there is strong evidence to suggest that the risk of developing this metabolic disorder can be reduced by up to 58 percent in people who have prediabetes. Diet and exercise are a key part of that. Researchers in the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada have now identified a way to put more than 50 percent of patients with early onset type 2 diabetes into remission. It involves a low-calorie diet and a supervised exercise program. "Our remission rates are at the upper end of those previously reported in the literature for trials of similar duration," the authors write, led by Kaberi Dasgupta at McGill University in Canada. These findings, the team argues, reinforce the potential of lifestyle interventions to "support clinically meaningful remission". They also demonstrate "for the first time that such effects can be achieved in a multi-ethnic population with early onset type 2 diabetes through a combined low-energy diet and structured exercise intervention.

Many scientists have argued that microplastics pose a real, if often subtle, threat to human health. A study out this week may provide a vital clue as to how this harm is happening. Researchers at Columbia University and others took a close look at how microplastics behave in water. They found that when plastic is broken up into tiny fragments and surrounded by water, it can easily produce highly reactive molecules. Though more study is still needed to understand the exact health impacts of microplastics, the team’s work undercuts the assumption that plastic is always chemically passive, the authors say. “Our findings challenge the prevailing paradigm of plastic inertness [and] identify a possibly overlooked mechanism for the detrimental effects of microplastics on health and the environment,” they wrote in their paper, published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Not so inert Microplastics are any piece of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters. Over the years, scientists have increasingly raised the alarm about the likely dangers of microplastics for both people and other animals.

Four late-breaking trials, presented at ESC Congress 2026 focused on post-acute coronary syndrome (ACS) antithrombotic therapy. LIBREXIA ACS examined adding the factor XIa inhibitor milvexian to antiplatelet therapy after ACS, PREMIUM looked at aspirin omission at the time of primary PCI for STEMI, SWITCH SWEDEHEART evaluated whether to switch from ticagrelor to prasugrel in ACS, and A-CLOSE compared clopidogrel monotherapy with extended dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after high-risk PCI. LIBREXIA ACS: Can Factor XIa Inhibition Improve Outcomes After ACS?