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Good morning. Following the recent announcement about Moderna and Merck’s mRNA cancer vaccine, a noteworthy article by Sharon Begley on personalized cancer vaccines from early 2016 has been brought back into discussion. It offers an insightful look into the concept of “turning your cancer against itself.”
Major cancer group cancels alcohol fundraiser
The American Cancer Society has decided to cancel its upcoming Wine and Spirits Industry’s Gala. This decision, confirmed to STAT’s Isabella Cueto by a spokesperson, follows less than two months after reporting by Isa and colleague Lev Facher that the organization had previously secured at least $22 million from wine and liquor executives. This relationship raised concerns about a conflict of interest due to alcohol’s known links to cancer.
“Can you imagine the American Cancer Society hosting a tobacco industry gala? This is basically the same thing,” remarked public health professor Michael Siegel, commending the decision to cancel the gala. Read more from Isa.
Who is Heidi Overton?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been the public face of the MAHA movement and the Trump administration’s health care initiatives, but Heidi Overton has been the pivotal policymaker behind the scenes, according to reports from STAT’s Chelsea Cirruzzo and Daniel Payne. Now, President Trump has put forward Overton’s nomination to lead the nation’s food and drug agency.
Overton has maintained a strong allegiance to Trump, having served during the first administration. Some industry figures express concern over her ties with former director Marty Makary and the White House. Conversely, many MAHA activists hold Overton responsible for policy delays and stagnation. Her future at the FDA is under scrutiny. Read more.
When hospital chatbots actually come in handy
Modern electronic health records have become cumbersome. As health systems explore generative AI tools, the hope was to use technology to pinpoint critical information within extensive records to solve clinical puzzles and potentially save lives. Now, many health systems are moving toward widespread use of chatbots for EHRs. However, as STAT’s Katie Palmer reports, solving diagnostic mysteries is not their primary benefit.
The main use of AI chart summarization tools is far less dramatic: they are employed by doctors to save time when preparing to see patients. Nonetheless, questions persist about how many errors can be tolerated for the sake of efficiency, as well as the rare, crucial discovery. Read more from Katie on the current situation.
Inside a 5-year-old brain organoid
For years, Harvard scientists have rented space to house the longest-living brain organoids on record. However, these specimens were seldom studied due to the intimidation posed by their longevity. “What if you make a mistake and the experiment doesn’t work and all of a sudden you cannot go back to a sample that is so unique?” Paola Arlotta, a developmental biologist in the lab, shared with STAT’s Megan Molteni.
In time, a junior scientist bravely analyzed the samples. A study published yesterday in Nature reveals that over more than five years, the organoids developed and matured similarly to human brains. Read more from Megan on the scientific findings and their potential applications.
Contrasting legal decisions on gender-affirming care
Last week, a federal appeals court backed the Justice Department’s efforts to access gender-affirming care patient records from the telehealth company QueerDoc. While most judges have viewed such requests as overreaching, two out of three judges on the panel saw no issue with the QueerDoc request. Some legal experts suggest the case could be a candidate for an en banc review, allowing the entire court to reconsider it.
The QueerDoc case marked the first of many quashed requests that federal law enforcement appealed. Since oral arguments in March, the DOJ has shifted its strategy for other subpoenas, focusing efforts in a Texas district court known for its conservative reputation. At least one subsequent criminal subpoena, seeking records from NYU, has been temporarily blocked by a New York federal court.
Recently, transgender patients and advocates celebrated a victory in court, as a district court invalidated a Trump administration rule that sought to exclude gender-affirming care from the “essential health benefits” required in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. While only a few states explicitly list transgender health care as an essential benefit, the care is typically included under other protected categories, such as prescription drugs. The judges determined the administration did not follow proper procedures to propose the rule change, a defense that is unlikely to succeed against a similar rule preventing Medicaid coverage for these services.
What we’re reading
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How Trump’s deportation machine deprives deaf people of their humanity, Mother Jones
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The case for chilling out about birth rates, Atlantic
- Reduce protein to increase longevity? Nutrition experts say that’s a bad idea, STAT
- Medicare’s paying less for cataract surgery. Eye doctors are turning to lucrative lasers, KFF Health News
- New CDC director tells staff she is prepared to speak ‘truth to power,’ STAT
