1. Cochrane review ties drug-company gifts and marketing to worse prescribing.
An updated review of 93 mostly observational, mostly U.S. studies associates industry payments, meals and promotion with less appropriate, more frequent and probably costlier prescribing. Strong conflict-of-interest policies probably improve prescribing; full coverage in today's lead article [1][2].
2. Ebola (Bundibugyo) outbreak is now the second-largest on record.
CDC reports 8,809 confirmed cases and 4,245 confirmed deaths as of October 7, nearly all in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and says the outbreak is spreading substantially faster than previous Ebola outbreaks. Travelers who have been in the DRC within 21 days cannot board commercial flights to the U.S.; CDC rates U.S. risk as low [3].
3. U.S. measles cases reach 4,080 for 2026.
CDC's count as of October 8 covers 47 jurisdictions, with 42 outbreaks this year accounting for about 96% of cases and 2 deaths reported [4].
4. FDA approves atezolizumab as adjuvant therapy for stage III dMMR colon cancer.
On October 8 the FDA approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq and subcutaneous Tecentriq Hybreza) with fluoropyrimidine-and-oxaliplatin chemotherapy after resection. In the randomized ATOMIC trial (712 patients), adding atezolizumab improved investigator-assessed disease-free survival (HR 0.50; 95% CI 0.35–0.73; p = 0.0001); median DFS was not reached in either arm [5].
Digest references
Cochrane. "Pharmaceutical company marketing negatively influences prescribing." Oct 9, 2026. Link
Taylor NP. "Free lunches for clinicians bloat prescription bills: Cochrane review." Fierce Pharma, Oct 9, 2026. Link
CDC. "Ebola outbreak: current situation." Updated Oct 9, 2026. Link
CDC. "Measles cases and outbreaks." Updated Oct 9, 2026. Link
FDA. "FDA approves atezolizumab in combination with chemotherapy for Stage III mismatch repair deficient colon cancer." Oct 8, 2026. Link
