Description
May 26, 2026
A pro-carcinogenic bacterial toxin binds claudin-4 to cleave E-cadherin
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
- Nick Lanyi
The CAP makes the case for Medicare payment reform, a colon cancer mystery is solved, and why this Ebola outbreak may be especially bad. These stories and more, coming up next. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nick Lanyi. It's Tuesday, May 26th. Over the past 10 years, payments to pathologists have decreased by more than 9%, while physician practice costs have increased by more than 24%. That was one compelling fact that the CAP submitted in a statement last week to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health. The CAP made the submission before a hearing on Medicare payment reform. Several bills have been proposed to address payment issues, including removing rules that limit Medicare budget increases. The CAP also expressed support for expanding Medicare's current definition of patient outcome to take into account the work of non-patient-facing clinicians such as pathologists. The CAP proposed adding specific language to the definition about the importance of diagnostic accuracy, turnaround time, and thorough reporting. Two days after the hearing, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced a CAP-supported bill you that would reform the Medicare physician fee schedule to allow for reasonable inflation adjustments without unexpected cuts. The committee passed the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act by a 44-0 vote, demonstrating its bipartisan support. A vote in the full House has not yet been scheduled. It may come as part of a larger package. We'll keep you posted. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have solved a mystery about how colon tumors form. A 2009 study showed that colon tumors are caused by a toxin excreted by a common gut bacteria. The toxin damages the colon's lining, creating an opening for tumor formation. But until now, scientists hadn't discovered exactly how the toxin latches onto cells in the colon lining. A new study, published in Nature, reveals that the toxin first binds with a host receptor, the Clawden-4 protein, to invade the lining. Clawden-4 is familiar to pathologists as a key biomarker for the diagnosis of cancer in other parts of the body. The new finding could lead to ways to identify and treat colon cancer and other digestive tract issues. And finally, the Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa now numbers more than 625 suspected cases you and 160 likely deaths as of May 21st, and those numbers are rising. Dr. David Schwartz, a leading infectious disease pathologist who has written extensively about Ebola, told us this outbreak is especially concerning.
- Dr. David Schwartz
There's a lot of unique things about this current outbreak that are not only remarkable, but very dangerous. So the first important thing to know is that this outbreak... is not from the typical strain of Ebola virus that we've seen in the past, which is the Zaire Ebola virus strain. This is a fairly little-known type of Ebola virus called the Bundibugyo virus, and we have very little experience with it in epidemiology or in medicine.
- Nick Lanyi
The vaccine and medicines currently used for the Ebola virus are based on the so-called Zaire strain, making them ill-suited for this outbreak.
- Dr. David Schwartz
There's about a 30% genetic difference between the Zaire strain and the Bundibugyo strain. And the medicines that we're using now to treat Ebola virus are monoclonal antibodies. And so obviously a monoclonal antibody is going to be targeted at a specific strain from a genetic standpoint. And the vaccines that we use also are targeted to a specific genetic strain of virus. And so that's really kind of the reason that we don't potentially have an effective treatment for this strain of virus. They are trying to fastball some improved products and they are testing these, but we just don't have data yet on whether they're going to be efficacious or not.
- Nick Lanyi
It could take months for new treatments or a vaccine to be deployed. which means that the number of cases to date could prove to be, in Dr. Schwartz's words, the tip of the iceberg. That's all for today. See the show notes for more information on today's stories. And if you enjoy The Daily Edition, please spread the word on social media. We'll be back Wednesday at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of The Daily Edition. I'm Nick Lanyi. Have a wonderful day.
Description
May 26, 2026
A pro-carcinogenic bacterial toxin binds claudin-4 to cleave E-cadherin
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
- Nick Lanyi
The CAP makes the case for Medicare payment reform, a colon cancer mystery is solved, and why this Ebola outbreak may be especially bad. These stories and more, coming up next. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nick Lanyi. It's Tuesday, May 26th. Over the past 10 years, payments to pathologists have decreased by more than 9%, while physician practice costs have increased by more than 24%. That was one compelling fact that the CAP submitted in a statement last week to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health. The CAP made the submission before a hearing on Medicare payment reform. Several bills have been proposed to address payment issues, including removing rules that limit Medicare budget increases. The CAP also expressed support for expanding Medicare's current definition of patient outcome to take into account the work of non-patient-facing clinicians such as pathologists. The CAP proposed adding specific language to the definition about the importance of diagnostic accuracy, turnaround time, and thorough reporting. Two days after the hearing, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced a CAP-supported bill you that would reform the Medicare physician fee schedule to allow for reasonable inflation adjustments without unexpected cuts. The committee passed the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act by a 44-0 vote, demonstrating its bipartisan support. A vote in the full House has not yet been scheduled. It may come as part of a larger package. We'll keep you posted. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have solved a mystery about how colon tumors form. A 2009 study showed that colon tumors are caused by a toxin excreted by a common gut bacteria. The toxin damages the colon's lining, creating an opening for tumor formation. But until now, scientists hadn't discovered exactly how the toxin latches onto cells in the colon lining. A new study, published in Nature, reveals that the toxin first binds with a host receptor, the Clawden-4 protein, to invade the lining. Clawden-4 is familiar to pathologists as a key biomarker for the diagnosis of cancer in other parts of the body. The new finding could lead to ways to identify and treat colon cancer and other digestive tract issues. And finally, the Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa now numbers more than 625 suspected cases you and 160 likely deaths as of May 21st, and those numbers are rising. Dr. David Schwartz, a leading infectious disease pathologist who has written extensively about Ebola, told us this outbreak is especially concerning.
- Dr. David Schwartz
There's a lot of unique things about this current outbreak that are not only remarkable, but very dangerous. So the first important thing to know is that this outbreak... is not from the typical strain of Ebola virus that we've seen in the past, which is the Zaire Ebola virus strain. This is a fairly little-known type of Ebola virus called the Bundibugyo virus, and we have very little experience with it in epidemiology or in medicine.
- Nick Lanyi
The vaccine and medicines currently used for the Ebola virus are based on the so-called Zaire strain, making them ill-suited for this outbreak.
- Dr. David Schwartz
There's about a 30% genetic difference between the Zaire strain and the Bundibugyo strain. And the medicines that we're using now to treat Ebola virus are monoclonal antibodies. And so obviously a monoclonal antibody is going to be targeted at a specific strain from a genetic standpoint. And the vaccines that we use also are targeted to a specific genetic strain of virus. And so that's really kind of the reason that we don't potentially have an effective treatment for this strain of virus. They are trying to fastball some improved products and they are testing these, but we just don't have data yet on whether they're going to be efficacious or not.
- Nick Lanyi
It could take months for new treatments or a vaccine to be deployed. which means that the number of cases to date could prove to be, in Dr. Schwartz's words, the tip of the iceberg. That's all for today. See the show notes for more information on today's stories. And if you enjoy The Daily Edition, please spread the word on social media. We'll be back Wednesday at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of The Daily Edition. I'm Nick Lanyi. Have a wonderful day.
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