Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors, making hormone and HER2-targeted therapies ineffective. Chemotherapy remains the primary systemic treatment, though immunotherapy and antibody-drug conjugates have recently expanded options. For early-stage TNBC, treatment typically involves surgery, radiation if indicated, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients with BRCA mutations may benefit from olaparib (Lynparza) for one year post-chemotherapy, potentially improving survival. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, sometimes combined with pembrolizumab (Keytruda), can shrink tumors before surgery. For metastatic TNBC, approximately one in five cases are PD-L1 positive. The sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy) plus pembrolizumab combination now represents a top first-line treatment option, significantly improving progression-free survival compared to traditional chemotherapy plus pembrolizumab alone. Despite treatment challenges from limited targeted options, early-stage TNBC often responds well to chemotherapy, with many patients achieving favorable outcomes when tumors are eliminated before surgery.

As neurodegenerative disease therapies including gene, cell, and oligonucleotide treatments advance through clinical development, pharmaceutical sponsors face a critical challenge: selecting appropriate preclinical models for evaluating central nervous system delivery. While rodent models remain valuable for early proof-of-concept studies, their anatomical and physiological differences limit predictive accuracy for human translation. Nonhuman primates offer superior translational confidence but face availability constraints and escalating costs. Consequently, the Göttingen minipig is emerging as a scientifically rigorous yet more accessible alternative for CNS therapeutic development. According to Erin Slosarek, preclinical CNS lead at Labcorp, successful CNS delivery requires integrated scientific decisions centered on the blood-brain barrier, which selectively limits therapeutic access to the brain and spinal cord. The minipig model balances translational relevance with practical scalability, offering sponsors a middle ground between rodent simplicity and primate complexity. Key considerations include foundational CNS development factors, species selection criteria, dosing strategies, and routes of administration. For sponsors developing advanced CNS therapies, understanding where each preclinical model fits within the development landscape is essential for optimizing translational success.

Recurrent urinary tract infections represent a significant clinical challenge, particularly for women, with limited treatment success through conventional antibiotics. This study introduces a novel combined therapeutic approach using bacteriophage therapy paired with faecal microbiota transplantation to address infections caused by Escherichia coli. Three female patients with long-standing recurrent UTIs—requiring four to ten antibiotic treatments annually over five to forty-four years—received oral and intravesical phage therapy for eight days using a two-phage cocktail consisting of E. coli phages E2 and phi41S. Two patients subsequently underwent faecal microbiota transplantation. The treatments were well tolerated with minimal adverse effects. Although E. coli remained detectable in follow-up samples, all patients experienced none or significantly fewer and less severe UTI episodes during the twenty-four-month post-treatment period. This represents the first clinical application combining phage therapy with faecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent UTIs, offering a promising alternative to antibiotic-dependent strategies and potentially addressing the broader antimicrobial resistance challenge posed by excessive antibiotic consumption in UTI management.

This 2026 article published in Frontiers in Immunology examines multi-antigen chimeric antigen receptor-T cell (CAR-T) therapy as a treatment approach for relapsed and refractory B cell lymphomas. Authored by Pandey, Samat, Dahiya, and Patel, the work addresses a significant clinical challenge in hematologic malignancies where patients fail to respond to or relapse following standard treatment protocols. The research focuses on tandem CAR technology, which enables simultaneous targeting of multiple antigens on B cell lymphoma cells rather than single-target approaches. This multi-antigen targeting strategy is designed to reduce tumor escape mechanisms that often occur when cancer cells downregulate or lose expression of individual targeted antigens. The article's emphasis on tandem CAR platforms represents an advancement in immunotherapy precision, potentially improving therapeutic efficacy and durability of response in difficult-to-treat lymphoma patients. This work matters because relapsed and refractory B cell lymphomas remain a serious clinical problem with limited treatment options, and multi-antigen CAR-T approaches offer a promising strategy to overcome resistance mechanisms and improve patient outcomes.

Axicabtagene ciloleucel's FDA approval in 2017 marked a watershed moment for CAR-T cell therapy in blood cancer treatment. Now entering its second decade, Dr. Sattva S. Neelapu, principal investigator of the landmark ZUMA-1 trial and a founding architect of CD19 CAR-T technology, provides a comprehensive assessment of the field's progress and trajectory through 2036. Some early predictions proved accurate—CAR-T successfully replaced autologous stem cell transplants in second-line settings and gained approvals for indolent lymphomas. However, other forecasts, including movement to first-line use, third and fourth-generation constructs, allogeneic product approvals, and expansion into T-cell malignancies and solid tumors, have largely remained unfulfilled. Neelapu candidly acknowledges his historically poor timing predictions while maintaining that underlying biology validates the science. His five evidence-based forecasts for the next decade emphasize frontline use in high-risk lymphoma, dual-target CAR technologies, allogeneic products, in vivo delivery systems, and initial T-cell malignancy approvals. A consistent finding across disease contexts demonstrates that earlier treatment lines produce superior outcomes through enhanced T-cell fitness, suggesting this principle will drive future CAR-T applications.

Pour la première fois, un patient a reçu une thérapie génique visant à rajeunir ses cellules. Testée contre le glaucome, cette approche pourrait ouvrir la voie à la régénération d’autres organes que l’œil.

Cardiac pacemakers are critical for treating heart rhythm disorders, but traditional implants are associated with great risks and complications owing to their invasive nature. Here we introduce a wearable non-invasive ultrasound pacemaker (NUP) that activates engineered sonogenetic ion channels (MscL-G22S) to modulate cardiomyocytes, achieving spatiotemporally controlled precise cardiac pacing. In vitro studies on transfected human cardiomyocytes demonstrated synchronized calcium signalling and controlled responses to ultrasound stimulation. In vivo experiments in rats showed non-invasive pacing with high spatial precision (less than 1 mm) and frequency control (up to 9 Hz) stimulations in different heart chambers, restoring sinus rhythm in arrhythmic models. We validated long-term safety during daily activities in rats over 8 months. To assess translational potential, we show the genetic safety of NUP and demonstrated its feasibility for human-scale applications in ex vivo porcine models. With its compact, wearable design and imaging-guided stimulation, the NUP offers a non-invasive, safe and adaptable pacemaker solution for cardiac rhythm management.

Recent research presents the human gut microbiome as a promising new frontier in drug discovery. Author Gonzalo Colmenarejo's comprehensive review, published in Frontiers in Drug Discovery, explores innovative therapeutic approaches that leverage the complex microbiome-host system to develop novel treatments. The study examines multiple intervention strategies including probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and bacteriophages, alongside established techniques like fecal microbiota transplantation. A key focus involves harnessing microbial metabolites—bioactive compounds produced by gut bacteria—as potential therapeutic agents. This paradigm shift recognizes that modulating the microbiome composition and function can influence host health and disease states across multiple physiological systems. The research underscores why this represents a transformative approach: the gut microbiota's role in immune function, metabolism, and neurological health creates unprecedented opportunities for targeted interventions. By understanding these intricate interactions, pharmaceutical development can exploit the microbiome as both a drug target and delivery mechanism, opening entirely new pathways for treating previously intractable conditions.

Antibiotic resistance poses a critical threat to modern medicine, rendering previously effective drugs ineffective against evolving bacteria and complicating routine surgical and cancer treatments. Researchers are exploring innovative approaches to revitalize existing antibiotics rather than developing entirely new drugs. Antibiotic adjuvants—companion molecules that restore antibiotic efficacy without directly killing bacteria—represent a promising strategy in this effort. Professor John Moses and his team at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory developed diversity oriented clicking (DOC), a technique that accelerates drug discovery and has generated a library of over 150 compounds. In collaboration with Scripps Research, this library enabled scientists to restore vancomycin's effectiveness against resistant bacteria. Researchers identified and blocked secreted antigen A (SagA), a bacterial enzyme, using pghi-4, a small molecule first discovered by the Moses laboratory in 2020. When drug-resistant E. faecium was treated with both vancomycin and pghi-4, the antibiotic successfully killed the bacteria. This breakthrough, emerging from fundamental chemical research rather than direct antibiotic development, offers renewed hope for combating dangerous pathogens like MRSA and Clostridium difficile that have developed resistance to frontline treatments.

UCLA is conducting multiple Phase 1 and Phase 2 breast cancer clinical trials in Los Angeles and surrounding areas, recruiting adults 18 and older. The PUMA-ALI-1201 trial evaluates alisertib combined with endocrine therapy in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer patients who have progressed after at least two prior endocrine treatments, focusing on optimal dosing, efficacy, safety, and biomarker identification. The ATLAS-101 trial tests AMXI-5001 in advanced malignancies across two phases to establish safe dosing and characterize safety and efficacy. Additionally, UCLA is investigating AZD8205 for advanced solid tumors as monotherapy or combination treatment, AZD9574 for recurrent or progressive advanced cancers with potential combination approaches, and BBO-10203, a novel PI3Kα:RAS breaker, in its first-in-human evaluation. A multicenter randomized trial assesses the Bria-IMT regimen combined with checkpoint inhibitor retifanlimab versus standard treatment in advanced metastatic breast cancer. These trials represent significant advancement in personalized oncology, exploring innovative mechanisms and combination strategies to improve outcomes for advanced breast cancer patients with limited treatment options.

Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital is conducting a clinical trial investigating extended-dose interval immunotherapy for advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The study enrolls patients aged 18-70 with locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic TNBC who have completed six cycles of first-line standard immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy or antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Eligible participants must demonstrate complete response, partial response, or stable disease according to RECIST v1.1 criteria and have PD-L1 expression with a combined positive score of at least one. The trial commenced seven months ago and aims to evaluate both efficacy and safety of extended dosing intervals for immunotherapy continuation. Participants must maintain adequate organ function, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1, and expected survival exceeding twelve weeks. The study excludes patients with untreated brain metastases, active autoimmune diseases, uncontrolled cardiac conditions, and those concurrently receiving alternative anti-tumor therapies. This research addresses the clinical need for optimizing immunotherapy schedules in TNBC management while maintaining safety and efficacy.

Spinal muscular atrophy is a severe autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder caused by mutations in the SMN1 gene, leading to progressive motor neuron degeneration and muscle weakness. Since the gene's identification in 1995, therapeutic advances have been remarkable, with three FDA-approved SMN-targeted treatments: nusinersen (antisense oligonucleotide, 2016), onasemnogene abeparvovec (gene therapy, 2019), and risdiplam (oral splicing modifier, 2020). These therapies substantially improve survival and motor outcomes when administered presymptomatically, particularly through newborn screening programs. However, significant challenges remain: later-onset and adult patients show limited responses, established neurodegeneration cannot be reversed, and optimal treatment-switching criteria remain undefined. Emerging biomarkers like neurofilament light chain and compound muscle action potential are advancing patient stratification. Beyond SMN restoration, research explores non-SMN strategies targeting PTEN, plastin 3, neurocalcin delta, myostatin, and neuroinflammation. The field is increasingly pursuing combination therapies integrating SMN restoration with muscle and neuroprotective agents, alongside precision medicine approaches, next-generation gene editing, and biomarker-driven trial designs to address previously intractable cases.

A multimodal M-Stim device reduced progression to cLBP significantly more than TENS. Both devices reduced pain initially, but M-Stim reduced pain and disability significantly more over time, particularly in cLBP subsets with higher severity, duration, or BMI.

Fibrosis, as a shared hallmark, is prevalent in a variety of chronic diseases. However, current pharmacological strategies for fibrosis are limited in clinical application and efficacy due to issues such as insufficient targeting capability, systemic toxicity, and low bioavailability. The advent of nanotechnology has ushered in an era of novel therapeutic strategies for fibrosis, revolutionizing the treatment landscape. This article systematically reviews the dual applications of nanomaterials in fibrosis treatment: first, as nanoparticle drug delivery systems (NDDS) to enhance targeting, control release, and improve drug bioavailability; second, as therapeutic agents directly alleviating the onset and progression of fibrosis. Furthermore, this article further discusses the applications of nanomaterials with diverse designs and compositions in fibrosis affecting different organs.

Des chercheurs ont reconstitué l’exposition aux radiations ionisantes de plus de 21 000 volontaires de Constances depuis leur naissance. Ces expositions ont été estimées pour 6 organes (cerveau, poumons, seins, thyroïde, prostate et côlon) et seront bientôt mises en relation avec la survenue de cancers et autres maladies chroniques. Publié en mai 2026, ce travail sur l’exposome radiologique est une première mondiale en population réelle.

Children and families from priority populations, including culturally and linguistically diverse communities and regional/rural areas, face substantial barriers to accessing health and social care services, challenges that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. A two-site randomised controlled trial conducted in Australia from August 2021 to 2023 evaluated the Watch Me Grow–Electronic (WMG-E) intervention, a digital platform combining developmental screening with community navigation services. The study enrolled 288 parents or carers of children from priority populations through Child and Family Health services, randomly assigning 145 to the WMG-E intervention—which included digital screening and personalized navigation to relevant services via a dedicated navigator—and 143 to standard care. Using the WE CARE instrument to measure unmet social needs, researchers found that while both groups showed improvement over time, the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in unmet needs at 12 months. These findings suggest WMG-E shows promise as a feasible digital tool for improving access to integrated health and social care services for vulnerable populations, though sustained impacts require further investigation across diverse settings.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces critical healthcare delivery challenges exacerbated by climate change and widespread energy poverty, with approximately 53 percent of health facilities lacking reliable electricity access. This energy deficit undermines the region's capacity to provide quality care, maintain cold chains for vaccines and medicines, and operate modern medical technologies—challenges intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, BASE is partnering with SACREEE to support the United Nations Development Programme in developing a Green Climate Fund proposal to equip approximately 2,000 public health centers across Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe with renewable energy systems and climate adaptation measures. The regional program addresses operational sustainability, affordability constraints, and private sector investment mobilization without requiring full upfront facility payments. By integrating climate and health data into existing surveillance systems, the initiative enables better prediction of climate-sensitive disease outbreaks and supports preventive interventions. The programme aims to improve healthcare access for nearly 15 million people, with half of direct beneficiaries being women, while strengthening regional resilience to climate impacts on public health.

More than 47 million Americans lived in food-insecure households in 2023, representing a critical social determinant of health that intersects with chronic disease, depression, and economic instability across pediatric clinics, schools, aging services, and child welfare settings. The USDA defines food insecurity as limited or uncertain access to adequate food, distinguishing between low food security involving reduced diet quality and very low food security involving disrupted eating patterns. The 2024 report documented that 13.7 percent of U.S. households experienced food insecurity, with 5.4 percent experiencing very low food security. Despite its pervasiveness, most social work curricula treat food access peripherally, leaving practitioners unprepared. This 2026 practice guide addresses this gap by providing validated screening tools, describing intervention models with published outcomes, identifying careers in food-insecurity-focused social work, and equipping practitioners with policy advocacy skills for systemic change. The guide reflects a paradigm shift positioning food insecurity as a predictable systemic consequence of inequity rather than individual failure, placing social workers at the center of addressing structural barriers to food access.

Researchers assessed the feasibility of deploying Bright Health, a solar-powered digital health infrastructure, across twelve public healthcare facilities in rural and peri-urban Kenya. The study employed mixed methods including structured facility assessments and qualitative interviews with facility managers and technical staff, with findings validated through a multi-stakeholder workshop. Results revealed that 83 percent of facilities experienced frequent power outages, with 67 percent reporting disruptions to electronic medical record systems. Connectivity challenges were widespread but addressed through offline-first architecture, enabling uninterrupted data capture and service delivery. Economically, 83 percent of facilities projected that solar-powered systems would reduce long-term operational costs by decreasing generator dependence and downtime, though upfront investment concerns remained. Health system readiness was notably high, with 92 percent of facilities expressing willingness to adopt the solution, though capacity gaps were identified. This research demonstrates that integrating renewable energy with digital health infrastructure represents a viable approach to overcoming persistent electricity and connectivity constraints that impede digital health implementation in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in underserved rural settings where traditional power infrastructure remains unreliable.

The Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program, authorized under Section 71401 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), represents a comprehensive federal initiative to strengthen healthcare delivery in rural America. With $50 billion in funding allocated over five fiscal years—beginning in fiscal year 2026 with $10 billion annually—the program empowers states to improve healthcare access, quality, and outcomes through systematic ecosystem transformation. The RHT Program pursues four strategic objectives: supporting rural health innovations and preventative care through evidence-based interventions addressing chronic disease management, behavioral health, and prenatal care; enhancing provider sustainability by facilitating operational coordination and resource sharing among rural facilities and regional systems; attracting and retaining healthcare professionals through recruitment initiatives while enabling providers to practice at the top of their license and expanding the workforce to include community health workers and patient navigators; and advancing innovative care models and payment mechanisms through ACOs that reduce costs and shift care to lower-cost settings. Additionally, the program promotes digital health infrastructure, including remote care access, data sharing capabilities, and cybersecurity strengthening. Funding will be distributed through cooperative agreements with states via a Notice of Funding Opportunity, fundamentally reshaping rural healthcare delivery for future generations.