Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Nov. 3, 2025–Nov. 7, 2025.
Millions of Americans carry hidden genetic mutations that increase their risk of cancer
HealthDay (10/31, Thompson) reports, “Millions of Americans carry hidden genetic mutations that increase their risk of cancer, regardless of their family’s cancer history, according to a new study.” Investigators found that “as many as 5% of Americans, or about 17 million, have genetic variants linked to cancer.” These “results suggest these mutations might be more common than previously thought, researchers said.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Increasing daily steps may slow cognitive decline in adults with signs of early Alzheimer’s disease
CNN (11/3, LaMotte) reports, “Increasing the number of steps” taken “every day may slow cognitive decline in older adults who already have biological signs of early Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new observational study.”
MedPage Today (11/3, George) reports that investigators found that “in a group of cognitively unimpaired older adults with elevated levels of amyloid-beta, Alzheimer’s-related decline was delayed by an estimated 3 years on average for those who walked 3,000-5,000 steps per day, and by 7 years in people who walked 5,000-7,500 steps per day.” The “relationship emerged only for people with elevated brain amyloid,” and “was not related to lower amyloid burden at baseline or over time.” MedPage Today adds, “Instead, higher physical activity was associated with slower amyloid-related inferior temporal tau accumulation, which mediated associations with slower cognitive decline.” The study was published in Nature Medicine.
You may also be interested in: How to screen for, reduce risk of and treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Colon cancer screening rates among adults ages 45 to 49 surged since guideline changes
MedPage Today (11/4, Bassett) reports a study found that “facility-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among young adults has rapidly increased since U.S. guidelines started recommending that screening begin at an earlier age.” Researchers observed that “facility-based CRC screening among adults ages 45 to 49 increased about 10-fold following guideline changes from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the American Cancer Society (ACS), ‘far exceeding growth’ among those ages 50 to 75.” They noted that “among 7,802,606 CRC screenings, the proportion involving individuals ages 45 to 49 years increased from 2.9% in the pre-change period and 4.3% in the interim period to 17.8% post-change.” The study was discussed in a JAMA Network Open research letter.
You may also be interested in: Emerging colorectal cancer trend sparks concern.
Heavy drinking tied to earlier and more severe brain bleeds, study finds
The New York Times (11/5, Bajaj) reports, “Heavy drinking is tied to earlier and more severe brain bleeds,” according to a study published Wednesday in Neurology. Study researchers found “so-called heavy drinkers—people who had three or more drinks per day—developed a stroke on average 11 years earlier than those who had fewer than three drinks per day.” In addition, they “had larger brain bleeds that were more difficult to manage.”
Researchers use new technologies to tackle lupus, autoimmune diseases
The AP (11/6, Neergaard) reports lupus is “one of a rogues’ gallery of autoimmune diseases that affect as many as 50 million Americans and millions more worldwide.” Researchers are now “building on discoveries from cancer research and the COVID-19 pandemic” to help decode “the biology behind these debilitating illnesses. They’re uncovering pathways that lead to different autoimmune diseases and connections between seemingly unrelated ones—in hopes of attacking the causes, not just the symptoms.” So far, “in dozens of clinical trials, scientists are harnessing some of patients’ own immune cells to wipe out wayward ones that fuel lupus and a growing list of other diseases. It’s called CAR-T therapy and early results with these ‘living drugs’ are promising. The first lupus patient was treated in Germany in March 2021 and remains in drug-free remission, the researchers said last month.”
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