A new study has found that a combination of two drugs could enhance the immune system to treat one of the most common types of cancer in the world, bowel cancer. Also known as colorectal cancer, despite its widespread presence, the treatment options for this condition are limited. What the study specifically found was that this procedure could shrink the tumours caused by this condition by around 60%.

What Are The Drugs Involved

The trial involved the use of two immunotherapy drugs, botancilimab and balstilumab. It is a monoclonal antibody that works to stimulate the body's immune system to attack cancer. The study is a rather significant find, as it’s the first time that a consistent and durable response to immunotherapy has been reported in patients with solid MSS mCRC tumours.

The study was divided into several phases for more than 6 months. In the US trial, around around 101 patients with microsatile stable metastatic colorectal (MSS-mCRC) tumours showed a decrease . Around 61% of the patients experienced tumour shrinkage or stabilization after combined treatment with votancilumab and balstilumab. When it comes to downsides, diarrhea and fatigue were found to be the most common side effects or side effects of this drug.

These results are interesting and open to exploration. To date, immunotherapy has not been effective in patients with CNS-mCRC tumors. This study demonstrates the potential of the combination of botenlimab and balstilimab in the treatment of CNS mCRC, providing new hope for people diagnosed with colon cancer.

What Could This Mean For Bowel Cancer Treatment In The Future

The study is currently in the final stages of clinical trials, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hopes to quickly gain approval for its use because of the importance of this area that affects many people. The efficiency shown demonstrates the potential of botansilimab to contribute to broad antitumor immunity.

All in all, the combination of botensilimab and balstilimab represents a promising new direction in the treatment of colorectal cancer. This breakthrough could improve conditions for many patients worldwide and lights a new hope in the fight against this common disease. The results of this study show the effectiveness of immunotherapy in this field and how its potential to transform cancer treatment can only grow in the years to come.

US President Donald Trump has nominated White House policy aide Heidi Overton to serve as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to media reports.

Overton, who currently serves as deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, is awaiting Senate approval, Bloomberg News reported.

If confirmed, she will succeed Marty Makary, who resigned in May after 13 months in the role following clashes with senior White House and health advisers and scrutiny over a series of controversial agency decisions. Kyle Diamantas has been serving as acting FDA commissioner since May.

Who Is Heidi Overton?

Overton previously worked at the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute, where she ultimately oversaw its Health Policy Center.

A physician by training, Overton received her medical degree from the University of New Mexico. She completed general surgery training at Johns Hopkins and pursued clinical investigation research training at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

She also served during the first Trump administration before joining the America First Policy Institute.

Her work also involved overseeing signature health policy efforts, including the HHS administration’s push to redesign the food pyramid, overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule and work out pricing deals with pharmaceutical companies.

Overton’s Role in Vaccine Policy

Overton appeared alongside President Trump last week when he signed an executive order calling for an overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule. The order called for reducing the number of federally recommended shots and separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate shots.

“We do still recommend the measles vaccine for all children, but we want parents to be informed about the timing and to have the option to separate them out,” Overton said at the event.

She also said the order could help states identify “gold standard” recommendations and take steps to limit vaccines required for school entry.

“We are going to be working directly with states so that we’re not reliant on the court case to resolve,” Overton said, referring to ongoing litigation over pared-down vaccine recommendations. “We are doing it right away so that parents get the benefit from state laws changing.”

Criticism Over Overton’s FDA Appointment

Overton’s reported nomination has already drawn criticism from some health policy experts.

Raymond James analyst and former Trump health official Chris Meekins told Axios that Overton has degrees but “seemingly no real experience running anything.”

He also described her as a former Makary protégé who had moved further toward what he characterised as “anti-science and anti-vaccine messaging” within elements of the MAHA movement.

“Industry will view this pick as extremely troublesome and FDA career staff will continue to flee the agency,” Meekins said. “Any progress made since Makary’s departure is likely to be immediately reversed if she is confirmed.”

CDC Leadership Update

Earlier this month, the US Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), making her the public health agency’s first permanent leader in nearly a year after months of uncertainty.

The Senate approved her nomination in a 51-44 vote on August 5.

Flying thousands of metres above the ground comes with a form of exposure most passengers rarely think about: cosmic radiation. A new study has found that pilots and flight attendants have the highest and second-highest number of deaths from radiation-linked cancers among more than 500 occupations in the US.

The findings pose questions about whether repeated exposure to radiation at cruising altitude could have serious consequences for aircrew health years later.

The study, published August 17 in JAMA Internal Medicine, analysed more than 12.7 million US deaths between 2020 and 2024, covering 503 occupations. Researchers examined deaths from cancers known to have associations with ionising radiation, including breast cancer, melanoma, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

What Did The Study Find?

About 6.9% of deaths among flight attendants and 6.7% among pilots were from the radiation-associated cancers examined.

That was higher than the proportion seen in other occupations, including workers with more conventional occupational radiation exposure. Nuclear technologists, for example, ranked 12th in the analysis.

The researchers also found significantly higher mortality among aircrew from several individual cancers, including breast cancer, central nervous system cancers, melanoma and prostate cancer. Pilots additionally had higher mortality from leukemia.

But this study does not prove that cosmic radiation caused these deaths. The researchers did not have individual radiation-dose measurements for each worker, and factors such as lifestyle, work schedules and other occupational exposures could also contribute.

Also read: Groundbreaking Experimental Vaccine May Prevent Pancreatic Cancer From Spreading, Early Trial Finds

Why Are Pilots And Flight Attendants Exposed To Radiation?

At ground level, Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field provide substantial protection from cosmic radiation arriving from space. At commercial flight altitudes, there is less shielding.

Aircrew therefore receive more ionising radiation during their working lives than most other occupational groups. JAMA notes that aircrew members receive the largest mean annual effective dose of ionising radiation of any occupational group in the US, primarily because of cosmic rays encountered at commercial flight altitudes.

The amount varies depending on altitude, latitude, flight duration and solar activity. And unlike a passenger who flies occasionally, pilots and cabin crew can accumulate exposure repeatedly over years of employment.

Also read: Does Sunscreen Really Raise Skin Cancer Risk? What The 470,000-Person Study Found

How Can Cosmic Radiation Cause Cancer?

This is why radiation exposure has long been considered an occupational health concern for aircrew. Previous research has also found higher rates of melanoma among pilots and cabin crew, although researchers have debated how much of that risk can be attributed to radiation versus other factors.

Does This Include Frequent Flyers?

The study focuses on occupational exposure accumulated by people who fly regularly for their jobs. A person taking a few flights a year does not receive the same cumulative exposure as someone spending hundreds of hours in the air annually.

Harvard Medical School senior author Anupam Jena and colleagues said the findings support considering occupational radiation protections for US aircrew that are appropriate for their level of exposure.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has accused more than 200 hospitals and healthcare providers of using improper insurance billing codes to obtain coverage for gender-related medical treatments provided to minors.

The allegations are part of a new HHS report, Wolves in White Coats: How Doctors and Hospitals Pushed and Profited from the Fraud of “Gender Medicine”, released this month. The report examines insurance coding, financial incentives and the provision of what the agency calls “sex-rejecting procedures” to children.

According to HHS, its review identified nearly $120 million in insurance claims since 2019 involving treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

The agency alleges that some providers used diagnostic codes unrelated to gender dysphoria, including codes for conditions like early puberty or unspecified hormonal disorders, to secure insurance reimbursement.

Allegations By HHS

At the centre of the report is medical billing, rather than simply whether a particular treatment was provided. HHS alleges that some hospitals coded gender-related treatments under diagnoses that could make the procedures eligible for insurance coverage.

The department argues that this amounted to fraudulent or improper billing because the codes allegedly did not accurately describe why the treatment was being provided.

The report names several major healthcare institutions, including Mount Sinai Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital, according to Reuters.

HHS says the review covered procedures including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries. The report estimates that nearly $120 million in insurance charges were associated with the treatments examined since 2019. HHS argues that financial incentives helped drive the expansion of pediatric gender-related services.

The agency's report also claims that hospitals and physicians could benefit financially from establishing long-term treatment relationships with patients.

However, an allegation in an HHS report is not the same as a finding of fraud by a court or a final determination by an insurer. Individual billing and claims would need to be investigated to establish whether fraud actually occurred.

Also read: What Trump’s Childhood Vaccine Order Means: When Will It Take Effect?

Part Of Trump's Broader Effort To Restrict Gender-Related Treatments

The report is part of the Trump administration's broader effort to restrict gender-related medical interventions for minors.

The administration has already taken steps affecting federal funding. Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized a rule ending federal Medicaid and CHIP funding for certain gender-related procedures for children and young people.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s department has framed the issue as one involving both patient safety and the use of public and private healthcare funds.

Also read: Kennedy Announces Food Policy Reforms Under Trump’s MAHA Agenda: What Has Been Proposed?

Hospitals And Gender-Affirming Care Supporters React

Supporters of gender-affirming care argue that treatments such as puberty blockers and hormones can be medically appropriate for some adolescents with gender dysphoria and that access to such care can be important for mental health and wellbeing.

Reuters reported that supporters of the treatments dispute the HHS's characterization of the care. Boston Children's Hospital said it was reviewing the findings, while the American Hospital Association did not provide a comment to the news agency.

The allegations could lead to further scrutiny of hospitals' billing records and potential investigations into whether insurers or government health programmes were improperly charged.