Welcome to This Week in Clinical Trials. Every Monday, we share the most notable news in clinical trial results — what was tested, what was found, and what it means for patients. This is our edition for Monday, May 18, 2026. This week, doctors in China showed that a simple, low-cost medicine can lower the risk of dangerous bleeding after birth in high-risk pregnancies. A new once-a-week shot cut a key sign of kidney damage by more than half in people with a long-term kidney disease. And a major cancer study found that a tough transplant procedure may no longer be needed for younger patients with one kind of blood cancer. Friendly reminder that you can find plain English summaries of all the latest completed clinical trials at stellatrials.com/learn. In China, researchers at Guangzhou Medical University ran a large trial on a cheap, well-known medicine called tranexamic acid. Tranexamic acid slows bleeding by helping blood clot. Doctors already use it to treat heavy bleeding after surgery or injury. This trial tested a new question: could giving it before bleeding starts actually prevent it? The team focused on women with placenta praevia, where the placenta sits low in the uterus and covers the cervix. The placenta is the organ that feeds the baby. Women with this condition are at much higher risk of heavy bleeding during a cesarean delivery. Postpartum hemorrhage is the medical name for heavy bleeding after birth. It is one of the leading causes of maternal death worldwide, killing about 70,000 women every year. In the United States, it causes around 100 deaths each year. The trial enrolled 1,732 women at 24 hospitals in China. Right after delivery, women got tranexamic acid through an IV or a saltwater placebo, along with standard care. Heavy bleeding happened in about 30 percent of women on tranexamic acid, compared with about 35 percent on placebo. Serious side effects were rare and looked similar in both groups. The authors say it can be used to prevent heavy bleeding, not just to treat it. The results were published in The BMJ. Also in China, a company called RemeGen announced new results for a drug called telitacicept. Telitacicept is a weekly shot that calms an over-active immune system. It is being tested for IgA nephropathy, one of the most common long-term kidney diseases in the world. The disease happens when the immune system makes faulty antibodies that build up in the kidneys and slowly damage them. The most common early sign is protein leaking into the urine. There is no routine screening test for IgA nephropathy in healthy adults. Some people find out by surprise on a urine test at a doctor's visit. For others, the first clue is darker urine — pink, brown, or cola-colored — sometimes right after a cold or sore throat. Left untreated, about one in three patients eventually has kidney failure and needs dialysis or a transplant. The trial enrolled 318 adults whose disease had been confirmed by a kidney sample. They received either weekly telitacicept or a placebo for 39 weeks. By the end, protein levels in the urine fell by about 60 percent in the telitacicept group. The drop was much smaller with placebo. Side effects were more common with the drug, but serious side effects were less common. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. For our last story, European researchers shared long-term results from a cancer study called TRIANGLE. The trial looked at a rare blood cancer called mantle cell lymphoma. Mantle cell lymphoma starts in immune cells that fight infection. It grows quickly and mostly affects adults in their sixties. For decades, younger patients have been treated with strong chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant. The transplant is a long, hard process. Doctors collect a patient's own stem cells, then use them to rebuild the immune system after high-dose chemo. The TRIANGLE trial asked whether a daily pill called ibrutinib could replace that transplant. Ibrutinib blocks a signal that helps cancer cells grow. The team enrolled 870 patients aged 18 to 65 across 13 European countries and Israel. Patients got one of three treatments: chemo plus a transplant, the same plus ibrutinib, or chemo plus ibrutinib only. After about four and a half years, around 90 percent of patients on ibrutinib were still alive. That was better than about 80 percent with the transplant-only approach. Adding a transplant on top of ibrutinib did not help survival, and caused more side effects. The authors say chemo plus ibrutinib, without a transplant, should be considered the new first-line standard for younger patients. The results were published in The Lancet. Before we wrap, a shoutout to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Founded in 1949, they're one of the oldest and largest non-profits focused on blood cancers, which include leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. They've invested more than 1.7 billion dollars in blood cancer research. They also run a range of free programs for patients and families. That includes financial help during active treatment, plus peer connection with others going through the same diagnosis. They also have a team of nurses and social workers who help families make sense of a new diagnosis. They're at lls.org. One quick reminder: this show is news, not medical advice. Nothing we cover is meant to replace a conversation with your own doctor about your own care. That's this week in clinical trials. If any of these conditions affect you or someone you love, head to stellatrials.com — you can search for open trials matched to your situation, and follow the progress of trials as results come in. New episode every Monday. See you next week.