eClinicalMedicine in conversation with

Is the number of hours a young person spends on a screen the wrong thing to be counting? Understanding and governing digital technologies has become a critical public health priority. Dr Priya Natarajan, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, joins host Charlotte Rowbottom, Deputy Editor of eClinicalMedicine, to discuss her umbrella review and meta-analysis of digital media use and health outcomes in children and adolescents, published in eClinicalMedicine. The umbrella review found that digital media use was not uniformly harmful and exposures differ by age: general screen time dominates the evidence in childhood, while problematic use and social media use dominate in adolescence. This conversation explores the role of digital media in our lives, the focus on easily measured proxies, the specific results of the umbrella review, its context within the wider Lancet Series on digital determinants of health, and the need for policy action alongside high-quality evidence. Read the umbrella review here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00478-5/fulltext Read the Lancet Series on the digital determinants of health here: https://www.thelancet.com/series-do/lancet-series-digital-determinants-health

Saul Faust joins Senior Editor Owen Stretton to talk about his team’s phase 1 trial on SPVX02, a lyophilised, fridge-free version of the Tetadif tetanus-diphtheria vaccine, and its potential in increasing vaccination coverage. Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00369-X/fulltext

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in Europe, and momentum is growing behind organised screening programmes that use prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing alongside risk stratification and MRI to improve the balance between benefits and harms. However, introducing a screening programme requires more than clinical expertise. Health systems must also have the infrastructure, data systems, quality assurance mechanisms, and follow-up pathways needed to support effective implementation. In this episode, Dr Arunah Chandran joins eClinicalMedicine Senior Editor Sundus Ahmad to discuss a new study from the PRAISE-U (PRostate cancer Awareness and Initiative for Screening in the European Union) project. Drawing on readiness assessments across five pilot sites in Lithuania, Poland, Spain, and Ireland, the study evaluates whether health systems are prepared to deliver organised, risk-stratified prostate cancer screening. Together, they explore why strong clinical capacity alone may not be enough, highlighting gaps in invitation systems, counselling, quality assurance, data management, and long-term follow-up. This conversation examines what is needed to move from opportunistic testing to population-based screening and what lessons these findings offer for the future of prostate cancer early detection in Europe. Click here to read the full papers: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00601-1/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00346-9/fulltext 

Could GLP-1 receptor agonists be used to treat binge eating disorder? Binge eating disorder is one of the most common eating disorders, yet treatment options remain limited. Now widely used for type 2 diabetes and weight management, Glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonists act on pathways involved in appetite and food intake, but little is known about how these medications affect disordered eating behaviours, including binge eating, emotional eating, loss of control eating, and dietary restraint. In this episode, Dr Ilaria Costantini joins eClinicalMedicine Senior Editor Victoria Higgs to discuss her new systematic review and meta-analysis, which draws on data from 25 clinical trials and more than 8000 participants, alongside valuable personal insights from people with lived experience. They explore evidence that GLP-1 receptor agonists may reduce binge eating-related behaviours, while also considering concerns that these medications could affect eating restraint or body image in a harmful way and why psychological support might be key for their use. This conversation examines the limitations of current evidence and next steps for research at the intersection of metabolic medicines and eating disorders. Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00256-7/fulltext

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is rapidly transforming cancer care, with electronic patient-reported outcomes showing clear benefits for symptom management, quality of life, and even survival in some settings. Despite these benefits, implementation in routine care remains challenging. But as digital health expands, are we unintentionally leaving some patients behind? In this episode, Eléna Prospero joins Deputy Editor Charlotte Rowbottom to talk about her recent mixed-methods study exploring how healthcare providers’ perceptions of patients’ digital capacity may influence access to these technologies—and what this means for equity in cancer care. Drawing on survey data from clinicians across France and Belgium, real-world observations of prescribing decisions in a large cancer centre, and a patient cohort of over 4,700 patients, this conversation challenges common assumptions about digital literacy—particularly the idea that older or vulnerable patients are less able to engage with digital tools. Their hypothesis-generating findings reveal a striking paradox: patients perceived as least suitable for RPM often have the greatest clinical need and, when enrolled, they demonstrate comparable engagement and outcomes. This conversation explore the role of implicit bias, the need for inclusive implementation of digital tools, the limitations of current evidence, and what the next steps are for more inclusive digital oncology pathways. This is a must-listen for anyone interested in digital health, health equity, and the future of patient-centred cancer care. Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00113-6/fulltext  

Gita Mishra joins Senior Editor Owen Stretton to talk about her team’s work on the simplified adolescence risk factors for endometriosis (SAFE) score for early prediction of endometriosis risk. Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00053-2/fulltext Medical imaging and theranostics are revolutionising how we diagnose, treat, and understand disease. To meet this moment, The Lancet group is happy to announce the launch of, The Lancet Medical Imaging and Theranostics.  You can visit https://www.thelancet.com/medical-imaging-theranostics to learn more. Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet https://youtube.com/thelancettv

Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis joins Sundus Ahmad, Senior Editor for eClinicalMedicine to discuss how Sleep, physical activity, and nutrition (SPAN) are key determinants of both life expectancy (lifespan) and disease-free life expectancy (healthspan), yet are often studied in isolation and how their team aimed to determine the minimum combined SPAN improvements needed for a longer lifespan and healthspan. Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00676-5/fulltext Medical imaging and theranostics are revolutionising how we diagnose, treat, and understand disease. To meet this moment, The Lancet group is happy to announce the launch of, The Lancet Medical Imaging and Theranostics.  You can visit https://www.thelancet.com/medical-imaging-theranostics to learn more. Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet https://youtube.com/thelancettv

In this special roundtable episode with editors from eClinicalMedicine, we welcome two new Senior Editors, Victoria Higgs and Jing Yuan, to the team, and Claudia Schaefer, Sundus Shafat Ahmad, and Charlotte Rowbottom chat with Hannah Linne to reflect on highlights of 2025 and share what they think will be prominent in 2026. The team discusses standout research papers, the launch of our LinkedIn and Bluesky social media pages, and highlights from the American Society of Haematology Annual 2025 meeting. Looking ahead to 2026, the editors anticipate the growing role of AI in clinical practice and continued discussions on regulation, new Review commissions, two upcoming Series on gynaecological cancers and the new WHO guidance on follow-up care of small or sick newborns, and an exciting partnership with the International Agency for Research on Cancer for their International Scientific conference, marking their 60th anniversary year.   https://www.thelancet.com/series-do/childhood-cancer-asia https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00272-X/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00408-0/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00441-9/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00442-0/fulltext https://www.buzzsprout.com/1845316/episodes/17971614  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00518-8/fulltext  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00165-8/fulltext https://www.buzzsprout.com/1845316/episodes/17273572  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00450-X/fulltext Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet https://youtube.com/thelancettv

Mahdi Sheikh joins Elena Bellafante, Deputy Editor for eClinicalMedicine, to discuss the evidence that regular use of pharmaceutical opioids for pain management may be associated with a higher risk of developing certain cancers, particularly those already known to be linked to opium consumption. Read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00371-2/fulltext Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet https://youtube.com/thelancettv

Giulia Zamagni joins Claudia Schaefer to discuss her recent Series of 4 papers from the Italian Global Burden of Disease collaborators providing the disease burden estimates and temporal trends for leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma in Italy. Click here to read the full text in this series: paper 1; paper 2; paper 3; paper 4  Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet https://youtube.com/thelancettv