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 is hopeful that the deadly hantavirus outbreak is very much under control. However, questions are mounting as his administration cut funding to study the rat-borne virus last year.

According to the World Health Organization, eight people onboard the cruise ship MV Hondius have been infected with hantavirus. Of these, three have died, and five have been confirmed to have the virus. However, more people are likely to be infected, as the disease can take a long time to show symptoms.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Donald Trump sought to reassure Americans that the situation appeared contained.

“It’s very much, we hope, under control,” Trump said during an impromptu appearance near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC. The President added that the administration planned to release “a full report” on the incident and said health officials were continuing to study the outbreak closely.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Trump told reporters when asked whether Americans should worry about the wider spread of the virus.

Notably, at least 23 passengers from the hantavirus-affected MV Hondius cruise ship returned home, including several to the United States — and one of them has already fallen ill.

Hantavirus Cases In The US?

The travelers reportedly did not know they had been exposed to the deadly virus when they disembarked during the ship’s stop at Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic, on April 23.

People in at least five US states — Georgia, Arizona, California, Texas, and Virginia — are reportedly being monitored for possible hantavirus exposure, though none have shown symptoms.

According to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Hantavirus is not spread by people without symptoms, transmission requires close contact, and the risk to the American public is very low.”

CDC Cuts On Hantavirus Research

Behind the public reassurance, however, health authorities are confronting a situation that remains poorly understood — particularly because the Trump administration last year cut funding to study the virus behind the deadly cruise ship outbreak, and also fired scientists in key positions who were tracking viruses.

The Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases were designed to study viruses that could jump from animals to people, including hantavirus, but in 2025, the National Institutes of Health said the work would not continue.

Further, in its 2026 budget request, on one hand, the Trump administration said it planned to refocus the CDC on outbreak investigations and preparedness; on the other hand, it proposed eliminating about $750 million in preparedness grants that states rely on to cope with natural and man-made disasters, including outbreaks.

It also zeroed funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program, which strengthens healthcare systems to respond to emergencies, saying the program “has been wasteful and unfocused”, the New York Times reported.

Notably, the effects of the Trump administration’s cuts to infectious disease research are also being felt globally. South Africa has the capacity to sequence the hantavirus partly because of investments made by previous US administrations through the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, told reporters.

However, the Trump administration has significantly reduced support for South Africa’s research system and is pulling back funding for PEPFAR.

“I worry that as we disinvest in global health, we’re losing our capacity — our global capacity — to deal with diseases,” Dr. Del Rio said.

The six-week-long incubation period of Hantavirus is a matter of concern, but the rat-borne disease is certainly not a large epidemic, said the World Health Organization today.

At a media briefing, the WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed concerns about the time taken for the symptoms of the disease to appear.

He noted that so far the disease has been limited to the 150 people who traveled on board the MV Hondius ship. Of these, only 8 people have been infected - 3 have died, and 5 have been confirmed.

A case has been reported in a person who disembarked from the ship, without having the symptoms, and some have self-isolated to prevent the risk of spreading.

Among those on board the ship, now travelling to the Canary Islands, "currently no one is symptomatic".

However, "with a six-week incubation period, more cases are expected to be reported".

Countries involved in the contact tracing efforts of people who disembarked at St. Helena Islands include Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore, Turkey, the UK, and the US, the WHO chief said.

WHO infectious disease epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove reiterated that the disease spreads only among close, prolonged contacts or those providing care, as seen in the case of the doctor who got infected on board.

The WHO also noted that the disease is unlikely to become a large epidemic, as it's an isolated case occurring in a closed environment. However, public health measures like contact tracing and testing are key to preventing any further spread.

According to the WHO, the outbreak of the rat-borne disease among people aboard the MV Hondius ship after it left Argentina on April 1 was caused by the Andes strain.

Speaking to HealthandMe, Dr. Gautam Menon, Epidemiologist and Professor of Physics and Biology, Ashoka University, Delhi-NCR, said that the long incubation period is likely to complicate the spread of the hantavirus.

"What complicates matters is that incubation periods - the time between getting infected and symptoms showing - are large, up to several weeks, so passengers and their contacts will have to be quarantined for a long period before they can be declared safe." The expert said.

Is Hantavirus Similar To COVID-19?

Ven Kerkhove said that hantavirus causes severe respiratory issues, but it is still not the same as SARS-CoV-2.

This is not a new virus and is completely different from SARS-COV-2. It has caused similar outbreaks in Argentina in 2018, where contact tracing and other public health measures contained the spread.

"The outbreak of Hantavirus on a cruise ship has generated significant anxiety around the world, evoking memories of cruise ships affected by COVID-19 in the first phase of the pandemic. However, this is a different virus that is not known to spread efficiently from person to person. Its characteristics are already well-documented, unlike the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which was an unknown organism until then," Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Ex-President of IMA Cochin and Convener of the Research Cell, Kerala, told HealthandMe.

"The current cases do not indicate a pandemic threat, but they underline the growing importance of surveillance of zoonotic diseases. Strengthening rodent control, environmental hygiene, and early detection systems remains essential to prevent localized outbreaks and public panic. There is neither a proven treatment for its cure nor is there any vaccine," added Dr.Ishwar Gilada, Mumbai-based infectious disease expert.

How does The Hantavirus Affect The Human Body?

Hantavirus infection is caused by the hantavirus, which belongs to the Hantaviridae family. It is is rare but can be life-threatening.

The infection presents with initial symptoms resembling the flu and has a relatively high mortality of about 40%.

Also read: Hantavirus Sparks Global Alert As Countries Race To Trace Contacts; WHO Says Risk Low

Even though this virus is not believed to spread very efficiently, it would have done so far more easily in the enclosed environment that the ship provided, the experts said.

Dr Neha Rastogi, Senior Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, told HealthandMe that it can be contracted by coming into contact with rodent saliva, urine, and feces.

Hantavirus can cause infection - 2 syndromes: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and haemorrhagic fever that may quickly develop into severe respiratory illness, as flu-like symptoms (fever, muscle aches, and fatigue) occur before developing serious respiratory symptoms (dyspnea) that may require respiratory assistance.

"On rare occasions, it can also spread from person to person through close contact. Rapid diagnosis and intensive medical treatment are critical for a successful outcome," Dr Rastogi said.

"Preventative measures include proper personal hygiene, avoiding contact with rodents or rodent-inhabited areas; using PPE when cleaning; and ensuring the area is well-ventilated," she added.

Although hantavirus infections can cause severe respiratory illness with high mortality, confirmed human cases globally remain relatively uncommon, Dr Gilada told HealthandMe

"The pneumonia syndrome caused by the virus is due to excessive permeability of blood vessels, resulting in fluid accumulation. It is managed with expert supportive care while the lungs recover, as there are currently no known antivirals or vaccines available for the Andes virus. By carefully tracking contacts and isolating those who might be infected, the virus can be stopped in its tracks, bringing this outbreak under control," Dr Jaydevan said.

Most people often wrap up their day at work with a sense of stress and severe exhaustion. But if you are part of the group that experiences severe headaches after office hours, it could be because of one common habit that may be causing you discomfort — chronic stress. When the mind keeps racing all day long because of deadlines, tension, and pressure, even during breaks, it leaves behind a sense of urgency. And that sense of urgency does not mitigate or come to an end when the day ends.

Why does stress build up even after work?

Several times, there are difficult or unpleasant situations at work — it could be because of unfinished tasks and conversations that play and replay in the mind. The nervous system, therefore, gets overburdened, thereby leading to headaches. According to doctors, a lot of corporate employees experience this pain after a day at their high-pressure jobs. And while it may sound like something that is out of your control, there is something that you can do.

How to deal with chronic stress after work?

Stress inherently is not bad for you, but only if it occurs in short bursts. In that case, it can improve performance, focus, and may even prepare the body to handle challenges. Problems, however, arise when stress becomes chronic. As a result, the nervous system starts to process both pain and stress at the same time, and while one is built to be highly adaptable, stress starts to respond to external and internal factors. When the brain continues to receive signals without getting ample time for recovery, the body enters a state of prolonged alertness.

In a sensitised state, situations that would otherwise be interpreted as minor may even get ignored. This can increase heart rate and muscle tension, thereby putting the nervous system into a fight-or-flight mode. In cases of constant headaches, sensitisation can lower the pain threshold. Consequently, headaches begin and become much harder to stop. Over time, this constant activation can disrupt the body's natural balance and create an environment for headaches to worsen.

Chronic stress and migraines

Chronic stress acts as a trigger for migraines — it can even worsen the discomfort. The neurological system of people experiencing migraines is more responsive to changes in hormones, environmental factors, and sleep patterns. Constant exposure to a stressor, therefore, can drive the severity and frequency of migraines. To make matters worse, muscle tension in the shoulders, neck, and scalp can also trigger headaches. Extended periods of sustained concentration and sitting can cause headaches later in the day.

Can sleep help reduce stress headaches?

Chronic stress has a debilitating impact on sleep quality as well. People who feel persistently wired at the end of the workday struggle to fall or stay asleep. As a result, the brain fails to recover properly. Poor sleep can therefore worsen the stress cycle, leading to headaches the next day as well. The loop is difficult to break, and excessive fatigue building up over time can make you feel overwhelmed. Over time, this loop leads to a decline in productivity, focus, and the ability to solve problems.