Medical Bulletin 10/July/2026 - Video

Here are the top medical news for today:

New Cancer Cases Projected to Nearly Double by 2050, Says WHO

Cancer is claiming over 26,000 lives every day worldwide and the cases are expected to nearly double by 2050, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Status Report on Cancer 2026. The report also highlights India as one of the countries bearing a significant share of the world's growing cancer burden

WHO estimates 20.6 million new cancer cases and nearly 10 million deaths every year, with annual cancer cases projected to rise to almost 35 million by 2050 if urgent action is not taken. The report warns that persistent inequalities in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care continue to leave millions without access to essential services.

India is among the countries included in WHO's comparison of age-standardized cancer incidence and mortality trends alongside China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

The report also highlights cancer's devastating social impact. In 2020, cancer-related deaths left 1.04 million children as maternal orphans and 1.41 million as paternal orphans worldwide. India, together with China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Pakistan, accounted for nearly 40% of all new maternal orphans globally due to cancer.

WHO further acknowledged India's global leadership in cancer control. The 2023 Indian G20 Declaration endorsed WHO cancer initiatives under the broader noncommunicable disease agenda. India was also identified, alongside China, as a major producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for cancer medicines, making it a critical player in the global supply chain.

The report also recognised Indian research demonstrating that locally adapted lymphoma treatments can improve outcomes while reducing treatment toxicity. India contributed 12 primary studies on cancer quality of life—second only to China among low- and middle-income countries—underscoring its growing role in global cancer research.

Lastly, WHO called for greater investment in equitable, people-centred cancer care, stronger prevention programmes, and universal access to diagnosis, treatment, and supportive services to reduce the growing global cancer burden.

REFERENCE: Global status report on cancer 2026: the future we choose together. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2026. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO WHO global status report on cancer

Breakthrough Research Unlocks Nature's Blueprint for Better Cancer Drug Discovery

Scientists have finally cracked a decades-old mystery of how bacteria naturally produce multiple cancer-fighting drugs—a breakthrough that could accelerate the development of more effective and targeted cancer therapies.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers uncovered how bacteria assemble different versions of powerful anti-cancer compounds. The discovery reveals the molecular mechanism behind a natural process known as combinatorial biosynthesis, which scientists have long hoped to harness for designing new medicines.

The team found that tiny molecular regions called docking domains act as connectors between two separate enzyme systems. One enzyme complex builds the core drug structure, while another adds variable chemical "caps" that determine the drug's cancer-targeting properties. These docking domains function like molecular puzzle pieces, allowing enzymes to communicate precisely and generate multiple drug variants without compromising their effectiveness.

Researchers say this flexible yet highly organized system explains how bacteria naturally create families of closely related anti-cancer molecules. The study also suggests these pathways evolved through gene duplication and recombination, enabling bacteria to diversify their chemical arsenal over time.

The discovery also solves the long-standing mystery of how bacteria produce FR-901375, a compound whose biosynthetic pathway had remained unknown for decades. Both belong to the HDAC inhibitor class of drugs, which work by blocking histone deacetylases—enzymes involved in regulating gene activity in cancer cells.

Researchers believe the findings provide a blueprint for engineering synthetic biosynthetic pathways capable of producing entirely new anti-cancer drug candidates with greater potency, improved selectivity, and fewer side effects. The approach could expand treatment options for cancers that remain difficult to manage with current therapies.

REFERENCE: Munro Passmore, Xinyun Jian, Xinyi Zhao, Emmanuel L. C. de los Santos, Douglas M. Roberts, Józef R. Lewandowski, Matthew Jenner, Lona M. Alkhalaf, Gregory L. Challis. Molecular basis for depsipeptide HDAC inhibitor combinatorial biosynthesis. Nature Communications, 2026; 17 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-74383-4

Clinical Trial Suggests Ketogenic Diet May Benefit Patients With Psychotic Disorders

Could changing what you eat help improve serious mental illnesses? A new clinical trial suggests a ketogenic diet may benefit both the body and the brain in people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, the first-of-its-kind randomized controlled trial by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) evaluated the effects of a ketogenic diet in people with schizophrenia-spectrum or bipolar I disorders. The study, partly funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), enrolled 58 participants, with 47 completing the initial one-month comparison between a ketogenic diet and a usual diet. Twenty-five participants then continued the ketogenic diet for an additional four months.

The researchers found the diet was both feasible and well tolerated. During the first month, 83% of participants maintained nutritional ketosis, increasing to 94% during the extension phase, with no significant side effects reported.

After just one month, participants following the ketogenic diet showed significant improvements in key metabolic health markers compared with the control group. Higher ketone levels were linked to lower blood glucose levels and reduced depression scores, even after accounting for weight loss, suggesting that ketosis itself may contribute to the benefits.

Participants who continued the diet for four months experienced sustained metabolic improvements alongside meaningful reductions in depression and schizophrenia symptoms. They also demonstrated better cognitive performance, indicating potential benefits beyond physical health.

However, the authors caution that the four-month results came from a small, single-arm extension and require confirmation in larger, longer, fully controlled clinical trials. They conclude that while the findings are promising, more research is needed before ketogenic therapy can be recommended as a standard treatment for serious mental illnesses.

REFERENCE: Abram, S. V., et al. (2026) Metabolic improvements with a ketogenic diet correlate with symptom improvement in psychosis: A randomized controlled trial. Schizophrenia Bulletin. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbag082. https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article-abstract/52/4/sbag082/8725541