https://medicalxpress.com/gastroenterology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Gastroenterology Antibiotic prescribing has remained above 95% for uncomplicated diverticulitis at Veterans Affairs facilities, according to a study published online June 23 in Annals of Internal Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-antibiotic-uncomplicated-diverticulitis.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 20:20:04 EDT news702657837 A parasite that causes severe, watery diarrhea is spreading across the United States, and health officials in Michigan are racing to explain an unusual surge in cases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-michigan-states-unusual-spike-parasite.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 19:40:01 EDT news702657817 For decades, cancer has been thought of as a purely human disease—rogue cells multiplying out of control, with no room for anything else in the picture. But a growing body of research suggests that isn't quite right. Some tumors, it turns out, come with company: communities of bacteria, viruses and fungi living on, between and even inside the cancer cells themselves. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-largest-reveals-cancers-microbiomes.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:00:01 EDT news702650042 Widely recognized as the face of food poisoning, salmonella bacteria lurk in raw meat and poultry, on pets, and in unpasteurized dairy products. If untreated, extreme cases can lead to full-body infections, like typhoid fever. UIC researcher Kiwook Kim wondered why some salmonella infections remain in the intestine, causing uncomfortable but nonfatal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, while others evolve into life-threatening infections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-immune-cells-gut-mesentery-salmonella.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 16:40:01 EDT news702657931 A machine learning program that identified patients overdue for colorectal cancer screening helped increase screening rates and was associated with significantly lower mortality, according to new research published in the journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-ai-outreach-cancer-screenings-mortality.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:40:06 EDT news702642841 A protein produced by gut immune cells orchestrates both immune protection against pathogens and immune tolerance of gut bacteria, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The discovery illuminates the complex biology of the gut immune system and could lead to better-targeted treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-key-gut-protein-immune-tolerance.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:00:05 EDT news702646991 Researchers discovered that a potential drug developed at Michigan Medicine treats severe fatty liver disease by improving gut health, according to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-drug-candidate-severe-fatty-liver.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 09:20:07 EDT news702634202 The presence of certain bacteria in the gut microbiota, and fluctuations in a person's metabolism, can be seen in people who go on to develop type 2 diabetes years later. This has been shown in a large Swedish study led by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology. The study is published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-gut-microbiota-diabetes-years.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 08:00:05 EDT news702627655 Ongoing research provides evidence that readily available and sustainable oyster meat extract may have powerful anti-inflammatory effects on human intestinal cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-oyster-meat-sustainable-solution-intestinal.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 03:00:01 EDT news702538077 A blood test may help identify which patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver are most likely to benefit from chemotherapy after surgery, according to research presented today at the ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancers Congress 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-blood-colorectal-cancer-patients-benefit.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 15:20:01 EDT news702563468 Researchers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago identified a distinct subtype of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)—a chronic allergic inflammatory disorder in which the esophagus narrows, interfering with food passing properly. They found that 25% of children with EoE have hypermobile joints, meaning their joints can bend beyond the normal range of motion. These patients also tend to experience autonomic symptoms, most commonly chronic lightheadedness upon standing. This combination of symptoms leads to a significantly worse quality of life, according to the study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-reveals-distinct-subtype-eosinophilic-esophagitis.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 13:00:06 EDT news702559802 Emerging discoveries in liquid biomarker research promise to transform the early detection, diagnosis and treatment monitoring of colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a new study, offering less invasive alternatives to traditional methods that often require surgical interventions or tissue biopsies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-biomarker-colorectal-cancer.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 08:40:02 EDT news702543874 An investigational targeted therapy designed to block one of the most common genetic drivers of pancreatic cancer has shown promising early results when combined with standard first-line chemotherapy, according to research presented today at the ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancers Congress 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-therapy-early-results-advanced-pancreatic.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 09:20:03 EDT news702217562 Psychological stress is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for certain health conditions, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, especially when paired with an impaired immune response. In a study in Cell Stem Cell, researchers describe a mechanism in mice that explains this association: Psychological stress speeds aging-like changes in the body's blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow—called hematopoietic stem cells—by altering the intestinal microbiota. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-psychological-stress-gut-microbes-ages.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:00:03 EDT news702142441 In one of the most comprehensive studies of coffee and liver health to date, Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators linked higher coffee consumption with a lower risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver-related death. The findings, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, also provide new biological evidence that may help explain those associations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-biological-clues-coffee-benefit-liver.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:00:04 EDT news702201242 Researchers at VIB and KU Leuven, with international partners, have uncovered how fatty liver disease can fuel the most aggressive form of metastatic colorectal cancer. The findings, which appear in the journal Nature, not only explain why some patients face dramatically poorer outcomes but also highlight how metabolic conditions such as fatty liver disease may directly influence cancer progression, paving the way for more precise therapies tailored to a patient's metabolic health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-fatty-liver-dangerous-colorectal-cancer.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:40:07 EDT news702135721 Results of the ongoing eNRGy trial, a single-arm, multicenter, global Phase II clinical trial evaluating zenocutuzumab in solid tumors positive for Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) gene fusions, reported manageable side effects and clinically meaningful efficacy—including a near doubling of progression-free survival compared with expectations with standard of care—in previously treated patients with advanced NRG1-positive cholangiocarcinoma. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-results-phase-ii-trial-therapy.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:00:09 EDT news702120421 A team led by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the HI-STEM Stem Cell Institute has discovered a promising new approach to treating advanced colorectal cancer. The study, published in Nature, identifies a key marker of particularly aggressive and treatment-resistant colorectal cancer cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-trop2-relapse-colorectal-cancer-cells.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 11:00:12 EDT news702049621 Stepped alcohol treatment (SAT) offered via telehealth helps people with chronic liver disease (CLD) reduce alcohol consumption, according to a study published online June 24 in Hepatology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-alcohol-treatment-telehealth.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 23:00:01 EDT news702053732 Around 3 million people worldwide struggle with chronic pancreatitis, a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed, scarred and painful. There is no cure for chronic pancreatitis, and it is difficult to alter the disease trajectory after onset. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-personalized-disease-dish-pancreatitis-patient.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 14:40:06 EDT news702048901 Few areas of the body face more daily stress and potential damage than the stomach, which must manage everything we swallow. Along with this constant strain, the stomach also produces acid that can damage its own lining and increase the risk of ulcers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-uncovering-gene-based-clues-disrupted.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:00:06 EDT news701971442 Breast milk helps shape the gut microbiota for longer than previously thought. Researchers from DTU and Rigshospitalet have discovered that sugars in breast milk, which are nondigestible by the infant—so-called human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs)—influence which bacteria thrive in the gut during the transition to solid food, and that this influence persists later in life. The findings have been published in Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-breast-gut-bacteria.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:40:06 EDT news702032041 Northwestern Medicine scientists have demonstrated that a highly sensitive blood test can detect traces of pancreatic cancer missed by standard testing, potentially helping physicians identify patients whose disease is more likely to return even when scans appear reassuring. The sensitive blood test focuses on KRAS, a genetic mutation that drives more than 90% of pancreatic cancers. The findings come as a new revolutionary drug targeting KRAS is showing substantial survival benefits and nearing FDA review. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-blood-hidden-pancreatic-cancer-treatment.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:00:01 EDT news701966453 Poor nocturnal sleep is independently associated with a substantially higher risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to a study published online June 22 in Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-poor-liver-disease-adults-diabetes.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:40:08 EDT news701956796 Salmonella, an infection that causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain, is the most common form of bacterial food poisoning in the U.S., sickening more than a million people each year. Although most healthy people recover without medical treatment, Salmonella infection can spread throughout the body in young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals and become life-threatening. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-intestinal-cells-starve-salmonella-essential.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 10:40:05 EDT news701947621 Each unit of cost invested in Helicobacter pylori screening can generate approximately a fivefold return in gastric cancer prevention benefits. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-pylori-screening-fivefold-gastric-cancer.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 20:20:01 EDT news701691039 A research team led by Prof. Wang Hongzhi at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has found a novel role of prostaglandin E synthase 3 (PTGES3) in liver cancer, revealing how it drives both tumor growth and immune suppression. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-role-ptges3-uncovered-liver-cancer.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:20:01 EDT news701682406 Younger people with bowel cancer in Aotearoa are waiting months for a diagnosis, are frequently misdiagnosed and often receive little information and support, according to the largest nationwide study of its kind published in the New Zealand Medical Journal. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-young-zealanders-bowel-cancer-diagnosis.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:40:05 EDT news701673182 The liver is one of the few organs capable of regenerating after surgery—a remarkable ability that makes lifesaving procedures possible for thousands of patients each year. But not every liver regenerates as expected. Some patients develop post-hepatectomy liver failure, a serious complication that remains a leading cause of death after liver surgery. Now, a discovery by a Michigan State University researcher is challenging a long-held belief about how the liver repairs itself after surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-plasminogen-spur-stronger-liver-surgery.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:20:07 EDT news701619901 For patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), there is a significant negative correlation between illness perception and self-management behavior, according to a study published online June 16 in Scientific Reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-negative-link-illness-perception-behavior.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:40:09 EDT news701612782