EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Infectious Diseases

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

This month, we’re focusing on infectious diseases, a topic that affects lives and communities around the world. Here, you’ll find the latest research news, insights, and discoveries shaping how infectious diseases are being studied, prevented, and treated globally.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Oct-2026 08:17 ET (23-Oct-2026 12:17 GMT/UTC)

23-Oct-2026

Major new study identifies potential new treatment targets for the most common type of bowel cancer

RCSI
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Major new research published today identifies potential new ways to treat the most common type of bowel cancer in Ireland. The study conducted by an international research team led by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, provides a clear roadmap for repurposing existing drugs and developing new ones, to create more effective, personalised treatments for thousands of patients who currently have limited options.

Journal: Cancer Cell

22-Oct-2026

Optimizing bowel preparation in high-risk patients undergoing colonoscopy

Xia & He Publishing Inc.

Poor bowel preparation undermines colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. High‑risk patients—obese, diabetic, opioid users, former smokers—often have comorbidity, medication, and sociodemographic factors causing suboptimal preparation despite adherence. Inadequate preparation causes missed lesions, longer procedures, and higher costs. PEG solutions are preferred for safety in renal or cardiac disease. Split‑dose PEG with a low‑residue diet is recommended. Tailored regimens help chronic constipation, opioid dependence, and diabetes. Education, navigators, and reminders improve compliance. Adjuncts include bisacodyl; sodium phosphate should be avoided in the elderly or renally impaired. Open‑access colonoscopy has expanded post‑COVID‑19. This review summarizes risk factors and practical strategies.

Journal: Journal of Translational Gastroenterology

22-Oct-2026

NICHE-2: No disease recurrences after five years of follow-up

Netherlands Cancer Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A short course of neoadjuvant immunotherapy continues to show remarkable long-term outcomes in patients with locally advanced mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) colon cancer. In the NICHE-2 study, none of the 111 patients in the primary efficacy population experienced disease recurrence, and all were alive at their most recent follow-up. The findings, now published in The Lancet, provide further evidence of the durability of response to neoadjuvant immunotherapy in this patient population.

Journal: The Lancet
Funder: Bristol-Myers Squibb

21-Oct-2026

Micro/nanoplastics and cancer: Focus on gastrointestinal malignancies

Xia & He Publishing Inc.

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are emerging pollutants. Human exposure occurs mainly through ingestion of contaminated food and water and inhalation of airborne particles. MNPs can cross the intestinal barrier, accumulate in gastrointestinal (GI) tissues, and induce oxidative stress, DNA damage, inflammation, endocrine disruption, and gut dysbiosis—mechanisms relevant to carcinogenesis. The GI tract is particularly vulnerable due to direct mucosal contact and high epithelial turnover. Epidemiological evidence is limited, but early findings support a plausible link with GI cancers. As MNPs may be a modifiable risk factor, prevention should prioritize reduced plastic exposure, antioxidant-rich diets, and environmental monitoring.

Journal: Journal of Translational Gastroenterology

19-Oct-2026

BGI Genomics smarter stool testing detects colorectal cancer earlier across Latin America

BGI Genomics

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents one of the most urgent yet addressable oncology challenges confronting Latin America. In Mexico, digestive tract cancers remain a leading contributor to cancer mortality, while CRC continues to rank as the second-most common malignant neoplasm among Latino populations in the Americas.

This crisis stems less from a lack of therapeutic advances than from severe diagnostic bottlenecks. In several large regional hospital networks, the median interval from initial symptom onset to definitive treatment stretches to seven months. The longest portion of that delay occurs between initial clinical evaluation and diagnostic confirmation. When health systems rely on late stage symptomatic presentation, oncology care becomes reactive, expensive, and frequently palliative.

15-Oct-2026

Total ultra-processed food intake not linked to colorectal cancer in large US cohort study

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Overall ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption was not associated with increased colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence in a cohort of more than 400,000 U.S. adults, according to a study published October 15^th by Erikka Loftfield of the National Cancer Institute, U.S., and colleagues in the open access journal PLOS Medicine.

Journal: PLOS Medicine

14-Oct-2026

HKUMed-led international study finds Helicobacter pylori exposure may be associated with more than one in five colorectal cancer cases worldwide

The University of Hong Kong
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international collaborative research study led by investigators from the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) and the University of California San Diego, has found that exposure to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a bacterium known to cause stomach ulcers and gastric cancer, may be associated with approximately 22% of colorectal cancer cases globally. The findings highlight the potential public health benefits of H. pylori screening and eradication programmes, which would help prevent gastric cancer and reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. The study was published in eGastroenterology.

Journal: eGastroenterology