Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Sept. 29, 2025–Oct. 3, 2025.
Acute cystitis may signal presence of urogenital cancers in middle-aged adults
HealthDay (9/26, Solomon) reported, “Acute cystitis may signal the presence of urogenital cancers in middle-aged adults, according to a study.” Investigators came to this conclusion after conducting an analysis that included approximately “1.67 million men and 1.89 million women, including 177,736 men and 427,821 women diagnosed with acute cystitis (first event) from 1997 to 2018.” The findings were published in BMJ Public Health.
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Nearly all patients with heart disease show signs prior to diagnosis, study finds
CNN (9/29, Holcombe) reports, “Before a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease hit, there are almost always warning signs, according to a new study.” Investigators “analyzed data from two groups: more than 600,000 cases of cardiovascular disease in South Korea and another 1,000 cases in the” U.S. The investigators “analyzed what percentage of those cases were preceded by traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including blood pressure levels, blood sugar, cholesterol and smoking.” The data indicated that “in more than 99% of cases of cardiovascular disease, heart failure or stroke, the patient had at least one of the risk factors before the incident occurred.” The findings were published in JACC.
Rising rates of early-onset cancer among young adults are due to improved screening, study suggests
NBC News (9/30, Ozcan) reports a study “suggests increasing numbers of cases of early onset cancer” in young people “are largely due to improved and more routine screening, while mortality rates among younger people haven’t changed.” Researchers “compared rates of new diagnoses over the past three decades to mortality rates of the fastest-rising cancers in adults under 50.” Of the eight cancers they studied, researchers found that only colorectal and endometrial showed an increase in deaths. They noted that “while breast and kidney cancers have increased in incidence, the mortality rates across all age groups have decreased in recent years.” The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Federal government shutdown centers around extension of ACA subsidies
The AP (10/1, Swenson, Jalonick) reports “The U.S. government shut down Wednesday.” According to the AP, “at issue are tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic.” The subsidies “are slated to expire at the end of the year,” and “their expiration would more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay for premiums next year, according to an analysis by KFF.”
The Hill (10/1, Weixel) reports that experts and leaders of state-based health insurance marketplaces “say an extension realistically needs to pass by Nov. 1, when open enrollment for people with plans on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) marketplaces begins.” By waiting until the year’s end, “most Healthcare.gov customers will have already selected plans. That risks people getting sticker shock and deciding to drop their coverage.”
Researchers identify benchmark representing a “clinically relevant definition of cure for” colon cancer
MedPage Today (10/2, Bassett) reports, “A pooled analysis of randomized trials in colon cancer identified a benchmark representing a “clinically relevant definition of cure,” researchers said.” After “looking at 15 phase III trials,” the investigators found that “colon cancer relapse risk fell to 0.5% by year 6 after surgery, which constitutes a practical definition of cure in patients with stage II to III disease.” The researchers wrote, “As clinicians, we have the duty, whenever possible, to communicate to patients when they are cured beyond any reasonable doubt, as this knowledge empowers them to fully embrace the recovery status, with significant psychological and societal implications.” They added, “Furthermore, our finding enables the safe discontinuation of follow-up after 6 years, leading to an improvement in quality of life and a reduction in health care system costs.” The findings were published in JAMA Oncology.
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