Cell therapy primed liver transplant patients to avoid organ rejection, small study shows Getting live liver donor’s cells pre-surgery may teach recipient’s body to see organ as friend not foe

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/17/organ-transplant-new-approach-immunosuppression-nature-communications-study/ By Elizabeth CooneyApril 17, 2026 Cardiovascular Disease Reporter

A pancreatic cancer expert on why Revolution Medicines’ study could ‘open up a new era’ of treatment An investigator in a trial of daraxonrasib believes it could open the floodgates for better therapies

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/17/revolution-medicines-daraxonrasib-clinical-trial-readout-loud-podcast-transcript/ By Adam Feuerstein, Allison DeAngelis, and Elaine ChenApril 17, 2026

Eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains may increase chance of early onset lung cancer

https://news.keckmedicine.org/eating-fruits-vegetables-and-whole-grains-may-increase-chance-of-early-onset-lung-cancer/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8nmsNYPQKJXVAWu9gIMrx535tdrnvkNA8YXGuEfmi6-QM41i3b2uIrY-O8RYow6TkdhyQzQxCi92iPGEbvXdjmi7EQkQ&_hsmi=414424977&utm_content=414424977&utm_source=hs_email A controversial cancer study abstract comes to AACR I had to read the headline twice when I saw the press release: "Eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains may increase the chance of early onset lung cancer," according to new research from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center that will be presented tomorrow at the annual American Association for Cancer Research meeting. The claim comes from a survey study of 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer by age 50, most of whom had never smoked. The authors speculated that pesticides might be a contributing factor. But outside experts eviscerated the research methods. Peter Shields, a medical oncologist at Ohio State University, noted in a statement that experts have long known leanness to be a risk factor for lung cancer, which could explain the authors’ findings. “This is only a conference abstract, but the flaws of the study and its conclusions are quite striking,” Baptiste Leurent, a medical statistics professor at University College London said in a comment. “Jumping to the conclusion that [healthier eating] could cause lung cancer is quite a stretch, let alone implicating pesticides.” There’s a few days of the conference left. For the latest, strongest reporting on what’s going on there, sign up for STAT’s AACR in 30 Seconds newsletter. And don't miss his special report on KRAS inhibitors from yesterday. https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/19/daraxonrasib-pancreatic-cancer-kras-revolution-medicines-patient-story/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_n6zjIRrEVNHBUPx8XywMTa_m2bywaG3kQR2RKaIb3tTUaEsd0kgHgDUSq6Jw3GHzxxS3IgBB95MVpepXSvF6OrdKKLg&_hsmi=414424977&utm_content=414424977&utm_source=hs_email

AI is turning the healthcare revenue cycle into an operating system

https://www.statnews.com/sponsor/2026/03/30/ai-is-turning-the-healthcare-revenue-cycle-into-an-operating-system/ While clinical uses of artificial intelligence (AI) grab headlines, the fast-growing technology’s first big, measurable win in healthcare is already happening within the revenue cycle. The key question now facing healthcare organizations is how best to prioritize the needs and interests of various stakeholders, including administrators, clinical staff, patients and payers, when deploying AI. While healthcare providers that invest their revenue cycle AI dollars in isolated point solutions may see incremental gains in processes and workflows, they come at the cost of adding a new layer of fragmentation to an already disjointed structure — disconnected tools, inconsistent logic, duplicated review and more workflow handoffs. A comprehensive, system-level approach treating the revenue cycle as an end-to-end operating model, on the other hand, delivers compounding returns — stronger financial performance, improved staff retention and a better patient experience.

Measles outbreak means my immunocompromised son can’t leave the house without extreme safety measures As measles spreads in my state, my community has forgotten the lessons of Covid

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/20/immunocompromised-children-measles-return-mmr-community/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-88gXtYV4pGKf82-tQzdUKNJqPROeHwCayomySpCYTbmC2CkeIAaGxi29GHZIzVionKGEmygMNVVWSJwWSFtdWGFG73zA&_hsmi=414424977&utm_content=414424977&utm_source=hs_email By Penelope GatlinApril 20, 2026 Gatlin is a rare disease parent, advocate, and member of the Parent Advisory Board of the CSNK2A1 Foundation. The safety measures one family must take amid a measles outbreak Since 2020, Penelope Gatlin and her family have completely changed their lives to protect her 13-year-old son’s health. He has Okur-Chung neurodevelopment syndrome, an ultra-rare genetic disorder that can lead to autism, intellectual disabilities, low muscle tone, and more. Gatlin forgoes work travel and in-person meetings, and her husband has left the workforce completely. They still wear masks and social distance outside. Now, they have another infectious disease to worry about. The family lives in North Carolina, one of 32 states facing a measles outbreak. “The resurgence of measles is a threat to the health of every child, but for immunocompromised kids like mine, it is catastrophic,” she writes. Read more about how the family is grappling with skepticism among friends — and even health care professionals — who say their fear of measles is overblown.

Adolescent Cannabis Use After Cannabis Legalization and the COVID-19 Pandemic

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2847868?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--LDKKRNWBTzWEfOx8-3Are9wO5lKYA47VGVW85WIJjRAiTselrOtwzOu7nTvD3Cw1mNBThKixqdNcqTO0MHB_2hgz8nA&_hsmi=414424977&utm_content=414424977&utm_source=hs_email How weed affects adolescent brains In a study of more than 11,000 kids and teens, those who use cannabis showed slower progression over time when it came to memory, attention, language, and cognitive processing speed. The difference was small at times, the researchers acknowledge, but could still be significant. Often, those who used cannabis displayed a cognitive advantage at early ages, only to be surpassed by those in the control group as they aged. The research, published yesterday in Neuropsychopharmacology, used data from the NIH-supported Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, following youth from around age nine through 17. Cannabis use was self-reported and confirmed with biological testing from hair, urine, and saliva samples. Relatedly, another study published Friday in JAMA Network Open found that rates of adolescent cannabis use increased after recreational use was legalized in California, but decreased after the Covid pandemic. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-026-02395-1

The race to catch KRAS, pancreatic cancer’s ‘greasy ball,’ and create the most promising drug in decades By Angus ChenApril 19, 2026

The race to catch KRAS, pancreatic cancer’s ‘greasy ball,’ and create the most promising drug in decades Long pursuit of common mutation appears to be paying off for patients and for Revolution Medicines https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/19/daraxonrasib-pancreatic-cancer-kras-revolution-medicines-patient-story/ By Angus ChenApril 19, 2026