Health news, 16 October 2026: an FDA approval in dMMR colon cancer, an oral IL-23 blocker, and a microRNA model after a positive FIT

Today: a new FDA approval after surgery for one type of colon cancer, a phase 2 result for a pill that blocks the IL-23 receptor in ulcerative colitis, an experimental blood microRNA model for people with a positive stool test, leg alignment after knee-ligament surgery in teenagers, and blood-based biological age in a cohort of 326,000 people.

FDA approved atezolizumab after surgery for stage III colon cancer with mismatch repair deficiency

On 8 October 2026 the US Food and Drug Administration approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq), an immunotherapy drug, in combination with standard oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy as treatment after surgery for stage III colon cancer that is mismatch repair deficient (dMMR). dMMR is a feature of the tumour itself, found by testing the removed tissue. The decision rests on the phase 3 ATOMIC trial in 711 adults and one child whose tumour had been completely removed.

In that trial, people were randomised to chemotherapy with atezolizumab followed by six more months of atezolizumab, or to chemotherapy alone. The hazard ratio for disease-free survival, meaning time without the cancer returning or death, was 0.50 (95% CI 0.35–0.73). Median disease-free survival had not yet been reached in either group.

Why it matters. For people whose operated tumour tests dMMR, it adds an immunotherapy option to post-operative chemotherapy.

Status and limits. Approved in the United States; a subcutaneous form was approved for people aged 12 and over weighing at least 40 kg. Reviews in Australia, Canada, Israel and Switzerland are still ongoing. The trial was open-label, and the FDA notice does not report an overall-survival comparison. The evidence in children comes from a single participant. The approval covers only dMMR tumours, not colon cancer in general. The label includes warnings about immune-mediated adverse reactions.

An oral IL-23 receptor blocker beat placebo in a phase 2 trial in ulcerative colitis

On 15 October 2026 the New England Journal of Medicine published the ANTHEM-UC trial of icotrokinra, a peptide taken by mouth that blocks the interleukin-23 receptor. The phase 2b double-blind trial randomised 252 adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis to icotrokinra once a day at 100, 200 or 400 mg, or to placebo. At week 12, a clinical response occurred in 55%, 58% and 63% of the three dose groups, compared with 27% on placebo.

At the highest dose, clinical remission at week 12 was 30% versus 11% on placebo, and endoscopic improvement was 37% versus 14%.

Why it matters. The study notes that existing monoclonal antibodies targeting the interleukin-23 pathway must be given intravenously or by subcutaneous injection. Icotrokinra is an attempt to act on the same pathway by mouth.

Status and limits. Icotrokinra remains investigational in this setting. This is a phase 2 trial with a 12-week efficacy period and safety follow-up to week 28. Remission at 200 mg did not reach formal statistical significance (24%, P = 0.054), so the remaining secondary end points were not formally tested. Adverse events through week 28 occurred in 60–66% of the icotrokinra groups and in 62% of the placebo group; serious adverse events in 2% of the 400-mg group, 5% of the 200-mg group, 0% of the 100-mg group and 10% of the placebo group. The trial was funded by the manufacturer. How it compares with existing treatments, and how it performs over longer periods, the trial does not show.

A plasma microRNA model showed better internal discrimination of high-risk adenomas after a positive stool test

On 13 October 2026 a Canadian group reported in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention on 398 people with a positive faecal immunochemical test (FIT) who then had a screening colonoscopy: 160 had high-risk adenomas, a type of polyp, and 238 did not. MicroRNAs are small RNA molecules measured in plasma. The baseline model had an optimism-corrected AUC of 0.61. A microRNA model reached 0.80, and combining microRNAs with the baseline variables reached 0.82. AUC describes how well a model separates people with and without a finding: 0.5 is a coin toss, 1.0 is perfect separation. At a 20% risk threshold the combined model had a sensitivity of 95.0% and a positive predictive value of 56.7%.

Why it matters. Colonoscopy is used to detect colorectal cancer and remove precancerous lesions, but it is invasive and resource-intensive, as the authors note. If externally and prospectively validated, a model based on plasma microRNAs might help study risk stratification among people with a positive FIT.

Status and limits. The performance figures come from internal validation in the same dataset; there is no external or prospective validation yet. This is a research model, not a clinically validated test. The study does not show that colonoscopy can safely be skipped or delayed on the basis of the test, and it measures no effect on cancer rates.

After ACL reconstruction near skeletal maturity, median alignment changes were small, but 16–28% had larger radiographic shifts

On 15 October 2026 the PLUTO study group reported in the American Journal of Sports Medicine on 91 teenagers (48 male, median skeletal age 14.0 years) with no more than two years of growth remaining, who had their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructed with their own soft-tissue graft passed through the growth plates. One year after surgery, the median changes in leg alignment relative to the uninvolved leg and the preoperative difference between the legs were small: 2.9 mm in the mechanical axis and 0.1 cm in leg length.

Averages hid a subgroup. In 28% the mechanical axis shifted by 10 mm or more, mostly towards knock-knee (valgus); angles at the lower femur and upper tibia changed by 5° or more in 17% and 16%. One patient (1%) was later recommended an intervention for a growth disturbance.

Why it matters. Based on these findings, the authors recommend routine X-ray assessment of leg alignment before surgery and follow-up until growth is complete in teenagers who have this operation before skeletal maturity.

Status and limits. A prospective multicentre cohort without a comparison group, either without surgery or with another technique. Follow-up is one year, so what happens by the end of growth is not yet known. The study does not show whether these changes cause symptoms. The findings apply to this technique and this age window only.

Faster blood-based biological ageing was associated with progression of heart, kidney and metabolic disease in 326,000 people

On 11 October 2026 a study in Renal Failure followed 326,218 UK Biobank participants for a median of 13.48 years. Biological age was estimated with two algorithms, PhenoAge and KDMAge; "acceleration" means a biological age above what is expected for a person's chronological age. Progression was measured on the cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) scale, which combines metabolic risk factors, kidney disease and heart disease into stages 0 to 4.

For each one-standard-deviation increase in PhenoAge acceleration, the hazard of moving from stage 0/1 to stage 2/3 was 1.23 times higher (95% CI 1.19–1.28), and among participants starting at stage 1 or stage 2/3, the hazard of progressing to stage 4 was 1.21 times higher (95% CI 1.20–1.22). KDMAge gave similar figures. A cross-sectional sample of 5,228 US adults from NHANES showed the same direction.

Why it matters. This large dataset adds one more observation that these numbers track with how cardiometabolic disease develops.

Status and limits. Observational: it shows an association, not that biological age causes disease progression. The authors state that whether these measures add predictive or clinical value beyond standard risk factors remains untested, and that the comparability of KDMAge is uncertain. The study does not show that lowering a biological age number changes anyone's outcome.

This material is for information only and does not replace a consultation with a doctor. Nothing in it is a recommendation to start, stop or change any treatment.

Sources

• US Food and Drug Administration. FDA approves atezolizumab in combination with chemotherapy for Stage III mismatch repair deficient colon cancer. 8 October 2026. fda.gov

• ATOMIC (Alliance A021502): combination chemotherapy with or without atezolizumab in stage III dMMR colon cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT02912559

• Abreu MT, et al. Phase 2 trial of icotrokinra for patients with ulcerative colitis. N Engl J Med. 2026. PMID 42874103

• ANTHEM-UC: a study of JNJ-77242113 (icotrokinra) in moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT06049017

• Sutherland RL, et al. Use of circulating microRNAs to identify high-risk adenomas among FIT+ patients undergoing screening colonoscopy. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2026. PMID 42867948

• Bram JT, et al. Changes in coronal and sagittal plane alignment after transphyseal ACL reconstruction performed within two years of skeletal maturity: results from the PLUTO Study Group. Am J Sports Med. 2026. PMID 42877964

• Zhang Y, et al. Biological age acceleration and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome progression: evidence from UK Biobank and NHANES. Ren Fail. 2026. PMID 42860781