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.
Credit: Instagram
American R&B singer and songwriter Nivea has revealed that she is battling leukemia, a type of blood cancer that originates in the bone marrow, where the body produces blood cells.
The 44-year-old singer shared the news during an appearance on the Cadillac Chronicles interview series.
"I was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year, and I am so grateful to God," she said. "I've been going through treatment and everything is going great so far. And I expect it to continue. Amen. Amen. Amen. And I'm very grateful for life. It's so cliché to say, you know, you don't know the time nor the hour, and it's true."
She said living with gratitude has helped her through the diagnosis.
"I'm definitely back into my music. I'm going to school for audio engineering. I've always wanted to learn how to engineer and mix engineer in particular. But in general, just doing all the things, honey. Loving on my children and just being grateful."
Nivea rose to prominence in the early 2000s with a string of hit singles and earned a Grammy Award nomination for "Don't Mess With My Man."
According to the Mayo Clinic, leukemia is a cancer of the body's blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system.
It usually affects white blood cells, which are responsible for fighting infections. In people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces excessive abnormal white blood cells that do not function properly.
Treatment for leukemia depends on the type of leukemia and other factors, but several therapies are available to help manage the disease.
The four main types of leukemia are:
Nivea has not disclosed which type of leukemia she has.
Symptoms vary depending on the type of leukemia but commonly include:
Leukemia is the 10th most common cancer in the United States, accounting for about 3.2% of all new cancer cases.
Globally, leukemia cases increased by 28% between 1990 and 2021, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021).
An estimated 1.71 million people were living with leukemia worldwide in 2021. The disease is most commonly diagnosed in children aged 0-4 years and adults aged 70 years and older.
While anyone can develop leukemia, certain factors may increase the risk:
Treatment depends on the type of leukemia, the patient's age and overall health, and whether the cancer has spread. Common treatment options include:
Credit: iStock
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that Midwest Poultry Services is voluntarily recalling nearly 1.6 million dozen eggs due to possible Salmonella Enteritidis contamination.
The recalled eggs were produced and distributed from Texas farms between June 6 and July 3, 2026, with "sell by" or "best by" dates between July 20 and August 17, 2026.
"Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. is voluntarily recalling 1,589,577 dozen white shell eggs and brown cage free shell eggs produced in Texas because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis" the FDA said in a statement.
While no illnesses reported were linked to the Midwest Poultry Services eggs as of the announcement, Midwest Poultry Services has halted distributing eggs produced on its Texas farms, the health regulator said.
The recall includes white shell eggs and brown cage-free shell eggs produced in Texas with "sell by" or "best by" dates between July 20 and August 17, 2026, according to Midwest Poultry Services.
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According to the FDA, the recalled eggs were shipped to foodservice and retail customers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
They were sold at:
The company said it identified the issue at its two Texas farms through proactive environmental monitoring and root cause analysis. It has also halted distribution of fresh eggs produced at its Texas farms.
Consumers who purchased the recalled eggs are advised not to consume them and to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Read More: Scientists Find Rare Contagious Skin Cancer In Fish From US, Canada: Should Humans Worry?
Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
According to the FDA, the contamination involves Salmonella Enteritidis, a strain of Salmonella bacteria commonly associated with contaminated poultry and eggs and one of the leading causes of human salmonellosis worldwide.
Salmonella infection can manifest with a range of unpleasant symptoms, typically including diarrhea, fever, vomiting, stomach cramps, and dehydration. While most healthy individuals tend to recover within about a week without specific medical intervention, the infection can lead to more serious and potentially life-threatening illness in certain vulnerable populations.
These high-risk groups include young children, older adults, and individuals with weakened immune systems.
For these individuals, Salmonella can cause severe dehydration, invasive infections (where the bacteria spread beyond the intestines), and other serious complications that may require hospitalization.
In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis, the FDA said.
Credit: University of Vermont
Scientists have identified a rare contagious skin cancer in brown bullhead catfish living in lakes across the US and Canada's Quebec, marking only the fourth known case of a naturally transmissible cancer in the animal kingdom.
A team led by the University of Vermont found that mysterious black skin lesions affecting brown bullhead catfish in Lake Memphremagog and other lakes in New England and Quebec were caused by a transmissible melanoma—the first such cancer ever identified in a freshwater fish species.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, add freshwater fish to a short list of species known to develop cancers that spread through the transfer of living cancer cells. Previously, transmissible cancers had been identified only in Tasmanian devils (facial tumor disease), dogs (canine transmissible venereal tumor), and shellfish, including clams, mussels, and other bivalve mollusks (leukemia-like transmissible cancers).
“The cancer cells behave more like parasites than conventional tumors, moving from fish to fish,” said the researchers led by the University of Vermont.
"The discovery sheds light on how cancer can spread in the wild and raises important questions about where this cancer originated, how it will affect fish health and populations—and how cancer works in all animals including humans," they added.
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Since 2012, anglers and biologists have reported increasing numbers of brown bullhead catfish with raised black skin patches in Lake Memphremagog, which straddles Vermont and Quebec. By 2014, nearly one in three fish examined had developed the dark lesions.
Initially, researchers believed the disease might be caused by a virus. They later suspected pollution or another environmental pathogen. However, further investigation revealed that the lesions were actually melanoma.
“This was surprising, and we wanted to know how a bottom-dwelling fish was getting a cancer we associate with exposure to too much sunlight,” said Julie Dragon, a scientist at the University of Vermont.
Using whole-genome sequencing, the team identified hundreds of thousands of shared genetic variants among tumor samples that were absent from the host fish, confirming that the cancer spreads between animals through living cancer cells.
Researchers are now trying to determine exactly how the cancer moves from one fish to another. They believe that the tumors appear only "in larger fish that are of spawning age".
Mark Henderson, a fish biologist and study co-leader in UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources said that it “maybe some part of spawning behavior leads to the spreading of the cancer between animals."
During spawning, brown bullhead gather closely in shallow water, allowing physical contact that could transfer tumor cells. Because the fish lack scales and spend much of their time on lake bottoms, scientists also believe sediments could harbor free-floating cancer cells.
The study also suggests that naturally occurring arsenic or hormonal changes may weaken the fish's immune system, making them more susceptible to infection.
Despite the unusual discovery, researchers stress that there is no known risk to humans.
Lake Memphremagog supplies drinking water to more than 175,000 people, but scientists say the cancer cells cannot infect or survive in another species. They also state that the fish are safe to handle for research and monitoring.
Fish remains a highly nutritious food, rich in high-quality protein, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids that support heart and brain health.
Quebec's Ministry of the Environment recommends not eating fish with tumors, even though there is no evidence that doing so poses a risk to human health.
The findings raise broader questions about how pollution, habitat stress, and climate change may influence the evolution and spread of diseases in wildlife.
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