An immunotherapy-only regimen may let some patients with a rare rectal cancer subtype skip chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
Kenya has confirmed local spread of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment exists.
A warehouse cooler problem prompted a Class I recall of hot dogs, bacon, sausage and deli meats sold nationwide.
Health care companies that find possible criminal fraud now have one place to report it.
1. FDA grants accelerated approval to dostarlimab for MSI-H/dMMR locally advanced rectal cancer
On October 19, 2026, the FDA approved GSK's Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly) alone for adults with previously untreated stage II or III rectal cancer that is dMMR or MSI-H [1]. In the phase 2 AZUR-1 trial of 154 patients, 47% of centrally reviewed evaluable patients had a clinical complete response sustained for 12 months [2]. The approval is accelerated and based on interim single-arm data, so long-term relapse risk is still unknown [2]. (See lead article.)
2. Kenya's Ebola cluster grows to eight cases, including health workers
Kenya confirmed its eighth case on October 19, a 49-year-old patient attendant likely exposed to the country's first patient, a traveler from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who died in Nairobi on October 5 [3,5]. Four cases announced October 17 included three health workers who treated that patient; the health ministry said 128 of his 130 contacts had been quarantined [4]. WHO reported 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 confirmed deaths in the DRC as of October 6, and says no approved vaccines or specific treatments exist for this virus [5].
3. Kayem Foods recalls about 1.58 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced on October 17 that Kayem Foods of Chelsea, Massachusetts, is recalling 1,584,361 pounds of products made from about March 31 to October 7, 2026, because of possible temperature abuse during storage [6]. The problem surfaced after a customer complaint about warm product on October 1; no illnesses have been confirmed [6,7]. Products went to stores and foodservice across the US and to Hong Kong under brands including Kayem, Al Fresco and Genoa, and consumers are told to throw them away or return them [6,7,8].
4. DOJ and HHS watchdog create a single door for self-reporting criminal health care fraud
Under a policy released October 15 and updated October 19, companies that voluntarily disclose potential criminal health care conduct to the DOJ Fraud Division can receive credit under both DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy and HHS-OIG's Self-Disclosure Protocol [9]. A company that reports only to HHS-OIG generally will not get DOJ voluntary-disclosure credit [9]. Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said, "There is now one clear point of contact"; one law firm notes the policy does not address civil False Claims Act cooperation [9,10].
Digest references
US Food and Drug Administration. FDA Approves Immunotherapy That May Allow Certain Patients with Rectal Cancer to Avoid Chemotherapy, Radiation and Surgery. October 19, 2026. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-immunotherapy-may-allow-certain-patients-rectal-cancer-avoid-chemotherapy-radiation-and
GSK. Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly) approved in US as first and only immunotherapy for adults with MSI-H/dMMR locally advanced rectal cancer. October 19, 2026. https://us.gsk.com/en-us/media/press-releases/jemperli-dostarlimab-gxly-approved-in-us-as-first-and-only-immunotherapy-for-adults-with-msi-hdmmr-locally-advanced-rectal-cancer/
Al Jazeera. Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case amid widening regional outbreak. October 19, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/19/kenya-confirms-eighth-ebola-case-amid-widening-regional-outbreak
Al Jazeera Staff and AP. Kenya confirms four more Ebola cases, bringing total to seven. October 17, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/17/kenya-confirms-four-more-ebola-cases-bringing-total-to-seven
World Health Organization. Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus – Democratic Republic of the Congo. Disease Outbreak News (DON619). October 8, 2026. https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON619
WGCU. More than 1.5 million pounds of meat, poultry products recalled nationwide. October 17, 2026. https://www.wgcu.org/health/2026-10-17/more-than-1-5-million-pounds-of-meat-poultry-products-recalled-nationwide
Food Safety News. More than 1.5 million pounds of hot dogs, bacon, sausage, turkey breasts and more meat products of various brands recalled. October 17, 2026. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2026/10/more-than-1-5-million-pounds-of-hot-dogs-bacon-sausage-turkey-breasts-and-more-meat-products-of-various-brands-recalled/
Fox Business. Nearly 1.6M pounds of hot dogs, bacon and other meats recalled nationwide. October 19, 2026. https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/nearly-1-6m-pounds-hot-dogs-bacon-other-meats-recalled-nationwide
US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. National Fraud Enforcement Division and the Department of Health and Human Services Announce Self-Disclosure Protocol for Criminal Health Care Fraud. Press Release 26-1211. October 15, 2026 (updated October 19, 2026). https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/national-fraud-enforcement-division-and-department-health-and-human-services-announce-self
Sidley Austin. DOJ Fraud Division and HHS-OIG Announce Joint Self-Disclosure Policy, Directing Healthcare Companies to Bring Potential Criminal Matters to DOJ First. FCA Blog. October 16, 2026. https://fcablog.sidley.com/2026/10/16/doj-fraud-division-and-hhs-oig-announce-joint-self-disclosure-policy-directing-healthcare-companies-to-bring-potential-criminal-matters-to-doj-first/
Editor's notes
Lead pick: Dostarlimab was the clearest breakthrough of the day, confirmed by the FDA, GSK and three trade outlets. No scandal in the window was confirmed well enough to lead.
Conflicting figures: The ASCO Post printed the AZUR-1 central-review 95% CI as 27%–56%. GSK's release says 37%–56%, which I used. dMMR/MSI-H prevalence is given as about 3% of locally advanced rectal cancers (FDA) and 5–10% of all rectal cancers (GSK); the article reports both.
Primary sources not opened: The FDA prescribing-information page (rate-limited) and the FSIS Kayem recall notice (failed to load). The recall details come from three outlets that agree on the core facts. No peer-reviewed AZUR-1 paper exists yet; the 2022 NEJM report is cited through BioPharm International.
Timing: The DOJ/HHS-OIG policy was released Oct 15 and updated Oct 19, so it falls just outside the 36-hour window. It was included because no DOJ fraud case in the window could be confirmed.
Dropped: STAT's investigation of No Surprises Act arbitrators (one source, paywalled), compounded tirzepatide recalls (the recalls began in September), EyePoint's Duravyu phase 3 miss (one source).