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Every year, over 600,000 new cases of esophageal cancer are registered worldwide. Treatment depends on the stage of the disease. In the early stages, surgical treatment is the basis (T1–T2 lesion < 3 cm, N0M0), while in more advanced stages, surgical treatment is preceded by radiochemotherapy or only radiochemotherapy is used. In the case of generalized disease, the main treatments used are systemic treatments of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and palliative teleradiotherapy or brachytherapy. Brachytherapy can be used at virtually any stage of disease, both as a radical treatment and as a palliative treatment. This paper presents the possibilities of using brachytherapy at various stages of esophageal cancer treatment. Particular attention was paid to the role of combining brachytherapy and immunotherapy and the possibility of an abscopal effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain cancer. Despite progress made in cancer research, patients diagnosed with glioblastomas continue to have a poor rate of survival. Lipidomics is a field of study that seeks to comprehend the structure and function of lipids, otherwise known as fats. Glioblastomas have demonstrated imbalance in lipids, and, therefore, lipidomics shows promise as an avenue to better understand glioblastomas. This paper reviews the literature on lipidomics in glioblastomas and suggests future directions for lipidomic research into the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of glioblastomas. Glioblastoma is the most aggressive primary brain malignancy in adults, and has a survival duration of approximately 15 months. First line treatment involves surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiation, but despite the multi-pronged approach and advances in cancer research, glioblastoma remains devastating with a high mortality rate. Lipidomics is an emerging discipline that studies lipid pathways and characteristics, and is a promising field to understand biochemical mechanisms. In glioblastoma, disrupted lipid homeostasis has been reported in the literature. A thorough understanding of serum lipidomics may offer ways to better understand glioblastoma biomarkers, prognosis, and treatment options. Here, we review the literature, offering future directions for lipidomics research in glioblastomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) is considered a unique technique for retinoblastoma (Rb) management and has widespread applicability as a first-line or second-line treatment due to the high globe survival rates. Objectives. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of IAC approach among patients with Rb. Materials and methods. This study outlined the most recent research on IAC effectiveness in Rb treatment. We carried out a systematic search for published papers examining IAC treatment among patients with Rb using electronic search engines, including Embase, Web of Science (WoS), PubMed, OVID, and Google Scholar, until October 2021. Results. This meta-analysis included 39 observational studies with 2604 treated eyes and 3112 individuals who were eligible for inclusion. Enucleation rates varied from 0% to 43.7% in the chosen trials, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.52 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.41-0.66, p < 0.0001). A range of 30-100% was reported for globe salvage across 27 investigations involving 2310 eyes. The estimated OR of globe salvage was 2.41, with 95% CI of 1.6-3.63 and a p-value <0.0001. The combined total effect sizes and the death rate for the proportion of cases with metastatic Rb were as follows: OR = 0.03 (95% CI: 0.03-0.03) and OR = 0.05 (95% CI: 0.04-0.05, p < 0.0001), respectively. Conclusions. Retrospective trials have shown that intra-arterial-based therapy for Rb is an effective choice. Intra-arterial chemotherapy also reduced enucleation and metastasis incidence rates. The paucity of evidence in the literature necessitates further high-level studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This article summarises the international Frontline and Relapsed Rhabdomyosarcoma (FaR-RMS) clinical trial for patients with rhabdomyosarcoma. The trial has multiple research questions relating to chemotherapy and radiotherapy and biological and imaging studies as well as to the introduction of novel drugs for patients with very high-risk disease. The rationale, background, and international collaboration of the trial are explained, and how the data will be used to inform future studies is outlined. The Frontline and Relapsed Rhabdomyosarcoma (FaR-RMS) clinical trial is an overarching, multinational study for children and adults with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). The trial, developed by the European Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG), incorporates multiple different research questions within a multistage design with a focus on (i) novel regimens for poor prognostic subgroups, (ii) optimal duration of maintenance chemotherapy, and (iii) optimal use of radiotherapy for local control and widespread metastatic disease. Additional sub-studies focusing on biological risk stratification, use of imaging modalities, including [18F]FDG PET-CT and diffusion-weighted MRI imaging (DWI) as prognostic markers, and impact of therapy on quality of life are described. This paper forms part of a Special Issue on rhabdomyosarcoma and outlines the study background, rationale for randomisations and sub-studies, design, and plans for utilisation and dissemination of results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver is a rare pediatric tumor with a traditionally poor prognosis. Dual treatment with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy has produced much improved outcomes. The sharing and consolidation of various case series and clinical experiences allow for the prompt design of appropriate treatment advice. Even in the event of unresectable or recurrent diseases, other treatment modalities such as orthotopic liver transplantation and radiotherapy can be offered. This review of treatment recommendations for rare undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver has important clinical use. Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver is a rare mesenchymal tumor with a highly malignant potential. It occurs almost exclusively in the pediatric population and typically has a poor outcome. Although previous studies have reported dismal prognoses, recent advances in combined treatment modalities, e.g., surgery and chemotherapy, have given cause for optimism. Even in those diseases not amenable to complete surgical resection or refractory diseases, other treatment modalities, such as liver transplant, have yielded promising results. This paper provides a review of the current treatment modalities for hepatic undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) manifests as a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors, necessitating personalized approaches. This review covers the various causes, risk factors, and molecular aspects of CCA in oncology. It explores current diagnostic methods and treatments, such as targeted therapies and immunotherapy. Additionally, it addresses emerging strategies like microbiota modulation and the use of natural compounds. This review paper provides a comprehensive understanding of CCA, offering insights into current and evolving approaches for effective interventions in oncological care. Cholangiocarcinomas (CCA) pose a complex challenge in oncology due to diverse etiologies, necessitating tailored therapeutic approaches. This review discusses the risk factors, molecular pathology, and current therapeutic options for CCA and explores the emerging strategies encompassing targeted therapies, immunotherapy, novel compounds from natural sources, and modulation of gut microbiota. CCA are driven by an intricate landscape of genetic mutations, epigenetic dysregulation, and post-transcriptional modification, which differs based on geography (e.g., for liver fluke versus non-liver fluke-driven CCA) and exposure to environmental carcinogens (e.g., exposure to aristolochic acid). Liquid biopsy, including circulating cell-free DNA, is a potential diagnostic tool for CCA, which warrants further investigations. Currently, surgical resection is the primary curative treatment for CCA despite the technical challenges. Adjuvant chemotherapy, including cisplatin and gemcitabine, is standard for advanced, unresectable, or recurrent CCA. Second-line therapy options, such as FOLFOX (oxaliplatin and 5-FU), and the significance of radiation therapy in adjuvant, neoadjuvant, and palliative settings are also discussed. This review underscores the need for personalized therapies and demonstrates the shift towards precision medicine in CCA treatment. The development of targeted therapies, including FDA-approved drugs inhibiting FGFR2 gene fusions and IDH1 mutations, is of major research focus. Investigations into immune checkpoint inhibitors have also revealed potential clinical benefits, although improvements in survival remain elusive, especially across patient demographics. Novel compounds from natural sources exhibit anti-CCA activity, while microbiota dysbiosis emerges as a potential contributor to CCA progression, necessitating further exploration of their direct impact and mechanisms through in-depth research and clinical studies. In the future, extensive translational research efforts are imperative to bridge existing gaps and optimize therapeutic strategies to improve therapeutic outcomes for this complex malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Retinoblastoma is a malignant tumor with a high cure potential when proper therapy is used. The purpose of this paper is to report the clinical features and outcomes of patients with retinoblastoma who were treated with a combination of local and systemic chemotherapy‐based protocols. Method: We retrospectively studied patients treated with systemic chemotherapy plus local treatment between 2003 and 2015 with a follow‐up ≥2 years. We correlated clinical and pathological characteristics with decimal visual acuity (VA) and death. Results: Among 119 patients, 60% had unilateral disease (UNI), and 52% were male. The median presentation age was 19.5 months, 10% had a positive family history, and the most frequent sign was leukocoria (68.8%). Advanced disease was more frequent in eyes with UNI (98.4%) than in eyes with bilateral retinoblastoma (BIL: 55.3%). Enucleation was performed in 97% of UNI eyes and in 55.8% of BIL eyes. The overall globe salvage was 26.6%, 44.25% of BIL eyes. Bilateral enucleation was required in 5%. High‐risk pathologic features occurred in 50% and 37% of eyes enucleated without and with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, respectively. High‐risk features were related to the presence of goniosynechiae in the pathologic specimen and were more frequent in children younger than 10 months or older than 40 months. Extraocular disease was present in 5% of patients, and the death rate related to metastasis of the tumor was 8%. The final VA was ≥ 0.7 in 72.8% and ≥0.1 in 91% of BIL patients. Conclusions: Treatment of retinoblastoma with conservative systemic‐based chemotherapy was associated with an excellent survival rate (92%). Albeit the low overall globe salvage rate, in BIL patients, approximately half the eyes were conserved, and a satisfactory functional visual result was achieved The evaluated protocol is an important treatment option, especially in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use a fixed template of slots for the online scheduling of appointments. The template is a link between planning the service capacity at a tactical level and online scheduling at an operational level. We develop a detailed heuristic for the case of drug administration appointments in outpatient chemotherapy. However, the approach can be applied to online scheduling in other application areas as well. The desired scheduling principles are incorporated into the cost coefficients of the objective function of a binary integer program for booking appointments in the template, as requests arrive. The day and time of appointments are decided simultaneously, rather than sequentially, where optimal solutions may be eliminated from the search. The service that we consider in this paper is an example to show the versatility of a fixed template online scheduling model. It requires two types of resource, one of which is exclusively assigned for the whole appointment duration, and the other is shared among multiple appointments after setting up the service. There is high heterogeneity among appointments on a day of this service. The appointments may range from fifteen minutes to more than eight hours. A fixed template gives a pattern for the scheduling of possibly required steps before the service. Instead of maximizing the fill-rate of the template, the objective of our heuristic is to have high performance in multiple indicators pertaining to various stakeholders (patients, nurses, and the clinic). By simulation, we illustrate the performance of the fixed template model for the key indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In recent years, pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) has emerged as a feasible method of intraperitoneal drug administration in patients affected by peritoneal cancer of primary or secondary origin. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis with the aim of assessing the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of PIPAC. Background: Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) is a novel intraperitoneal drug delivery method of low-dose chemotherapy as a pressurized aerosol in patients affected by peritoneal cancer of primary or secondary origin. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis with the aim of assessing the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of PIPAC. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed using Medline and Web of Science databases from 1 January 2011, to inception, to 31 December 2021. Data were independently extracted by two authors. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality and risk of bias of studies. Meta-analysis was performed for pathological response, radiological response, PCI variation along treatment, and for patients undergoing three or more PIPAC. Pooled analyses were performed using the Freeman–Tukey double arcsine transformation, and 95% CIs were calculated using Clopper–Pearson exact CIs in all instances. Results: A total of 414 papers on PIPAC were identified, and 53 studies considering 4719 PIPAC procedure in 1990 patients were included for analysis. The non-access rate or inability to perform PIPAC pooled rate was 4% of the procedures performed. The overall proportion of patients who completed 3 or more cycles of PIPAC was 39%. Severe toxicities considering CTCAE 3–4 were 4% (0% to 38.5%). In total, 50 studies evaluated deaths within the first 30 postoperative days. In the included 1936 patients were registered 26 deaths (1.3%). The pooled analysis of all the studies reporting a pathological response was 68% (95% CI 0.61–0.73), with an acceptable heterogeneity (I2 28.41%, p = 0.09). In total, 10 papers reported data regarding the radiological response, with high heterogeneity and a weighted means of 15% (0% to 77.8%). PCI variation along PIPAC cycles were reported in 14 studies. PCI diminished, increased, or remained stable in eight, one and five studies, respectively, with high heterogeneity at pooled analysis. Regarding survival, there was high heterogeneity. The 12-month estimated survival from first PIPAC for colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, gynecological cancer and hepatobiliary/pancreatic cancer were, respectively, 53%, 25%, 59% and 37%. Conclusions: PIPAC may be a useful treatment option for selected patients with PM, with acceptable grade 3 and 4 toxicity and promising survival benefit. Meta-analysis showed high heterogeneity of data among up-to-date available studies. In a subset analysis per primary tumor origin, pathological tumor regression was documented in 68% of the studies with acceptable heterogeneity. Pathological regression seems, therefore, a reliable outcome for PIPAC activity and a potential surrogate endpoint of treatment response. We recommend uniform selection criteria for patients entering a PIPAC program and highlight the urgent need to standardize items for PIPAC reports and datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of scheduling chemotherapy treatments in oncology clinics is a complex problem, given that the solution has to satisfy (as much as possible) several requirements such as the cyclic nature of chemotherapy treatment plans, maintaining a constant number of patients, and the availability of resources, for example, treatment time, nurses, and drugs. At the same time, realizing a satisfying schedule is of upmost importance for obtaining the best health outcomes. In this paper we first consider a specific instance of the problem which is employed in the San Martino Hospital in Genova, Italy, and present a solution to the problem based on Answer Set Programming (ASP). Then, we enrich the problem and the related ASP encoding considering further features often employed in other hospitals, desirable also in S. Martino, and/or considered in related papers. Results of an experimental analysis, conducted on the real data provided by the San Martino Hospital, show that ASP is an effective solving methodology also for this important scheduling problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The use of complementary therapies to relieve the side effects of chemotherapy in lung cancer patients is becoming increasingly popular. Practices from traditional Chinese medicine, such as acupoint massage and five-tone therapy, have demonstrated potential in alleviating symptoms such as nausea and vomiting experienced during chemotherapy. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the effectiveness of combining five-tone therapy with acupoint massage in reducing chemotherapy-related symptoms in lung cancer patients. The main objective is to determine how these complementary therapies affect the quality of life and well-being of people undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer. METHODS: In this paper, 80 patients diagnosed with lung cancer who needed chemotherapy drugs were randomly divided into 2 groups, 40 patients. The first was treatment; the second was control. Chemotherapy drugs were combined with a 5-hydroxytryptamine blocker (granisetron), and acupoint massage was combined with pentatone therapy to prevent nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal reactions. A 5-hydroxytryptamine blocker (granisetron) was combined with chemotherapy drugs to prevent nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal reactions. Moreover, the difference in treatment effect was observed. RESULTS: Among 40 cases in treatment, 13 cases were clinically controlled, 15 cases were markedly effective, 9 cases were effective, and 3 cases were ineffective. The total effective rate was 92.50%; among 40 cases in control, 6 cases were clinically controlled, 16 cases were markedly effective, 12 cases were practical, and 6 cases were invalid. The total effective rate was 85.00%. CONCLUSION: By integrating traditional Chinese medicine techniques, healthcare professionals can augment the supportive care offered to those undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The short‐term effects of chemotherapy and irradiation are well documented; however, there is paucity regarding their long‐term effects, especially in children and adolescents. Case Description: This paper discusses the long‐term effects of chemotherapy and/or radiation received by the patients during their early childhood on the developing dentition. It comprises the compilation of 11 cases with alteration in the dental development screened from 138 cases of the childhood cancer patients who received the chemotherapy and/or radiation as a part of anticancer therapy. Results and Conclusion: The findings revealed that the age of initiation of anticancer therapy along with the synergistic effect of chemo‐irradiation, and the dose of radiation used were the principal determinants for the dental abnormalities. The root‐related abnormalities were found to be varied and more common as compared to the missing teeth and defects related to the tooth crown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is defined as the environment surrounding a tumor. There is a close, dynamic relation and interaction between the tumor and its neighboring microenvironment. There are some particularities of the thymus itself and of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors that hinder the routine use of targeted therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors. The understanding of the unique characteristics of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors could possibly result in the development of novel promising therapies. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex and constantly changing entity. The TME consists of stromal cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and innate and adaptive immune cells. Cancer development and progression occurs through this interplay between the tumor and the adjacent stroma. Cancer cells are capable of modifying their microenvironment by secreting various message-carrying molecules, such as cytokines, chemokines, and other factors. This action causes a reprogramming of the neighboring cells, which are enabled to play a crucial role in tumor survival and progression. The study of TME has many clinical implications in terms of cancer therapeutics because many new drugs, such as antibodies, kinase inhibitors, and liposome formulations that can encapsulate anti-cancer drugs, can be developed. Although chemotherapy is considered the standard of treatment for advanced disease, recent research has brought to light immunotherapy as a possible systemic alternative. However, the complex structure and function of the thymus hinders its routine use in clinical practice. The aim of this review paper is to discuss the recent advances in the investigation of the unique characteristics of the TME of thymic epithelial tumors that could possibly lead to the development of novel promising therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorporating scientific research into clinical practice via clinical informatics, which includes genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, and biostatistics, improves patients' treatment. Computational pathology is a growing subspecialty with the potential to integrate whole slide images, multi-omics data, and health informatics. Pathology and laboratory medicine are critical to diagnosing cancer. This work will review existing computational and digital pathology methods for breast cancer diagnosis with a special focus on deep learning. The paper starts by reviewing public datasets related to breast cancer diagnosis. Additionally, existing deep learning methods for breast cancer diagnosis are reviewed. The publicly available code repositories are introduced as well. The paper is closed by highlighting challenges and future works for deep learning-based diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Adrenocortical cancer (ACC) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis and few treatment options. Surgery is the only curative option, but many patients present after the disease has become metastatic or recurs after surgery. There have been few advances in treatment since mitotane's discovery in the 1960s, and it remains the only FDA-approved ACC treatment. This paper reviews the current treatment approaches, what we have recently learned about the disease, and the next steps needed to advance research and improve therapeutic options for this disease. Adrenocortical cancer (ACC) typically presents in advanced stages of disease and has a dismal prognosis. One of the foremost reasons for this is the lack of available systemic therapies, with mitotane remaining the backbone of treatment since its discovery in the 1960s, despite underwhelming efficacy. Surgery remains the only potentially curative option, but about half of patients will recur post-operatively, often with metastatic disease. Other local treatment options have been attempted but are only used practically on a case-by-case basis. Over the past few decades there have been significant advances in understanding the molecular background of ACC, but this has not yet translated to better treatment options. Attempts at novel treatment strategies have not provided significant clinical benefit. This paper reviews our current treatment options and molecular understanding of ACC and the reasons why a successful treatment has remained elusive. Additionally, we discuss the knowledge gaps that need to be overcome to bring us closer to successful treatment and ways to bridge them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is a common skin toxicity of traditional chemotherapies. Some studies showed that HFS has an association with progression-free survival (PFS) and the overall survival (OS). So far, there is not available any systematic literature reviews or meta-analysis aimed to assess the associations between HFS, PFS and OS. For this reason, this study aims to quantitatively summarize, critically review, and interpret the recent literature related to the associations between HFS and efficacy of chemotherapy in terms of PFS and OS. Queries shaped by PICOM framework, a systematic search of three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct) was carried out for the period between January 2010 and December 2017. Quantitative data pooling was based on the calculation of Hazard Ratio (HR) with 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) for the OS and PFS associated to the presence of HFS, through the data of original publications. Five papers were included in this systematic review for the quantitative data pooling. Patients with HFS showed improved PFS (HR = 0.532 [0.431-0.656]; p = 0.000) and improved OS (HR = 0.522 [0.427-0.638]; p = 0.000). HFS causes a reduction of compliance with oncology treatments. Healthcare providers should use this result as a trigger to foster patients' coping and the one of their family caregivers, enhancing their adherence to cancer treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumor to secondary location(s) in the human organism, is the ultimate cause of death for the majority of cancer patients. Although studied for more than 180 years, increasing efforts in recent years have significantly contributed to a better understanding of this aspect of tumor development. Adding to this understanding, our current paper proposes a multi-type branching process model, through which various topics, such as extinction of cancer cell clones, occurrence of successful mutants, and immediate risk of escaping extinction, are investigated. More specifically, the relationship between the lifespan distribution of cancer cells with subcritical reproduction and the waiting time until the occurrence of a mutant (having supercritical reproduction) cancer cell, escaping extinction, is highlighted. The theoretical studies formulated in this paper may allow our model to be tailored to real data available for particular kinds of cancer and chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliometric analysis highlights key topics and publications that have shaped the understanding and management of esophageal cancer (EC). Here, the 100 most cited manuscripts in the field of EC are analyzed. The Thomson Reuters Web of Science database with the search terms 'esophageal cancer' or 'esophageal carcinoma' or 'oesophageal cancer' or 'oesophageal carcinoma' or 'gastroscopy' was used to identify all English language full manuscripts for the study. The 100 most cited papers were further analyzed by topic, journal, author, year, and institution. A total of 121,556 eligible papers were returned and the median (range) citation number was 406.5 (1833 to 293). The most cited paper focused on the role of perioperative chemotherpy in EC (1833 citations). Gastroenterology published the highest number of papers (n = 15, 6362 citations) and The New England Journal of Medicine received the most citations (n = 12, 12125 citations). The country and year with the greatest number of publications were the USA (n = 50), and 1998, 1999, and 2000 (n = 7). The most ubiquitous topic was the pathology of EC (n = 66) followed by management of EC (n = 54), and studies related to EC prognosis (n = 44). The most cited manuscripts highlighted the pathology, management, and prognosis of EC and this bibliometirc review provides the most influential references serving as a guide to popular research themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Melphalan, an important component of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) preparative regimens, is associated with significant toxicity and large between patient variability in pharmacokinetics making it difficult to calculate the optimal dose for pediatric patients. Paperspray (PS) ionization generates gas phase analyte ions directly from a dried blood spot without the need for prior sample preparation or chromatography. With these advantages, a validated PS–MS/MS assay was developed and applied to the 'real-time' determination of melphalan pharmacokinetics (PK). Methods: Melphalan was quantified by stable-labeled isotope dilution analysis in whole blood by PS–MS/MS. Blood samples were obtained at timed intervals from patients during HSCT after administration of a very low (test) dose of melphalan to avoid toxicity. Pharmacokinetics parameters were calculated using WinNonlin v.6.4. From these data, the optimal therapeutic dose was estimated and full dose PK repeated. Results: PS–MS/MS method was linear over a large dynamic range (25–50 000 ng/mL), intra- and interassay reproducibility of quality control samples was <15% CV. With essentially no prior sample preparation, PS–MS/MS measurement of blood melphalan concentrations showed excellent correlation (R2 = 0.959, n = 62) with a validated electrospray–LC–MS/MS method. Trapezoidal area under the curves calculated for 5 patients administered low dose melphalan showed a high linear correlation (R2 = 0.981) between the PS–MS/MS and LC–MS/MS methods. The faster PS approach permitted real-time PK evaluation of individual patients. Conclusions: A validated PS–MS/MS assay for melphalan in patients undergoing HSCT is described that facilitates pharmacokinetic-guided individualized precision dosing with immediate bedside dose adjustments to improve outcomes by balancing toxicity and efficacy of melphalan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microtubule polymerization inhibitors (MPIs) have long been used as anticancer agents because they inhibit mitosis. Microtubules are thought to play an important role in the migration of tumor cells and the formation of tumor blood vessels, and new MPIs are being developed. Many clinical trials of novel MPIs have been conducted in humans, while some clinical studies in dogs have also been reported. More attempts to apply MPIs not only in humans but also in the veterinary field are expected to be made in the future. Meanwhile, MPIs have a risk of cardiotoxicity. In this paper, we review findings on the pharmacological effects and cardiotoxicity of MPIs, as well as the mechanisms of their cardiotoxicity. Cardiotoxicity of MPIs involves not only the direct effects of MPIs on cardiomyocytes but also their effects on vascular function. For example, hypertension induced by impaired vascular function also contributes to the exacerbation of myocardial damage, and blood pressure control may be useful in reducing cardiotoxicity. By combined administration of MPIs and other anticancer agents, MPI efficacy may be enhanced, thereby potentially allowing to keep MPI dosage low. Measurement of myocardial injury markers in blood and echocardiography may be useful for monitoring cardiotoxicity. In particular, two‐dimensional speckle tracking may have high sensitivity for the early detection of MPI‐induced cardiac dysfunction. The exploration of the potential of new MPIs while understanding their toxicity and how to deal with them will lead to the further development of cancer chemotherapy. Microtubule polymerization inhibitors (MPIs) inhibit tumor cell mitosis, migration, and tumor angiogenesis. Clinical trials in humans and dogs have been conducted. However, MPIs have cardiotoxicity. Monitoring myocardial injury markers and echocardiography, particularly two‐dimensional speckle tracking, is recommended. Non‐clinical studies have reported that blood pressure control or combination with other anticancer drugs reduces cardiotoxicity. The exploration of the potential of new MPIs while understanding their toxicity and how to deal with them will lead to the further development of cancer chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy shows great potential in cancer treatment, and the carbon nanomaterials have been attracted great attention in biomedical technology. However, it is still a great challenge to design stimuli‐responsive nano‐carbon‐based drug release systems with integrated functions. In this paper, rod‐like carbon nanomaterials (RCNs) were prepared by the soft template hydrothermal method with glucose as raw materials, which were proved to have high photothermal efficiency (∼23.7%), as well as good biocompatibility and excellent drug‐loading capacity. After that, RCNs were used to load doxorubicin (DOX) as DOX@RCNs for integrated photothermal/chemotherapy towards cancer, which demonstrated 52.2% higher cancer cell killing efficiency than that of RCNs under near infrared (NIR) irradiation in vitro. The authors' approach provided a novel NIR‐responsive nano platform for combined photothermal/chemotherapy towards cancer, which was considered to be of great potential in anticancer applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transmissible venereal tumour (TVT), also called Sticker Tumour, is a round cell tumour whose transmission occurs mainly through sexual contact between animals or direct transplantation of the neoplastic cell through licking or through direct contact with the lesioned area. TVT is the most common tumor found in stray dogs and predominantly affects the genital area and, in case of bitches, occurs in the vagina and foreskin, as well as the oral and nasal cavities. Intracavitary TVT is rarely reported. The aim of this paper is to report a case of an old neutered bitch affected by vaginal and intracavitary TVT, treated at the Veterinary School Clinic (CVE) of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Curitibanos campus, Brazil. Case: An approximately 10-year-old mixed breed bitch, weighing 18,5 kg and, neutered 2 years previously at the same institution, was brought by her owner, who reported dyskinesia, constipation, and serosanguinous vaginal discharge for a few weeks. Physical examination showed a row of 4 smooth, round masses with a soft consistency ranging from 1 to 2 cm at the bottom of the vaginal roof. The patient was referred for an ultrasound (US) and a vaginal swab was taken for cytological examination, whose result demonstrated TVT. The result of the US scan showed a heterogeneously shaped structure, with a more hypoechogenic center in relation to the periphery and irregular contours, measuring around 2.63 x 6.10 cm, in the uterine topography caudally to the bladder. Exploratory laparotomy was performed with total removal of the mass, which was surrounding the proximal urethra, and the material was sent for histological and cytological analysis, whose both results indicated TVT. Chemotherapy was then initiated, with 6 intravenous administrations of vincristine (0.5 mg/m2) with an interval of 15 days between each administration. The animal underwent a total of 6 chemotherapy sessions, without complete improvement of the vaginal tumours. A 2nd chemotherapy protocol based on doxorubicin was suggested, which was not accepted by the owner. Three months after the end of the original chemotherapy protocol, the patient was assessed again and it was found that there had been no progression of the vaginal masses on vaginal palpation and no signs of recurrence of the intracavitary mass on ultrasound. Discussion: TVT is a venereal tumor that affects almost 100% of non-neutered animals, males and females. In the case of bitches, the most common sites are the vagina (53%), vulva (13%) and extragenital areas (14%). This animal had no intracavitary mass at the time of her castration 2 years earlier. At the time of diagnosis, she had the extragenital form of the tumor, consisting of an intra-abdominal mass, in addition to the genital masses in the vaginal roof. The chemotherapy drug vincristine is the drug of choice for the treatment of transmissible venereal tumors, due to its high efficacy associated with 4 to 6 sessions. However, in this case, there was no total improvement, so it was classified as a case of proven pharmacological resistance as the chemotherapy was ineffective for the complete regression of the tumor. It was therefore concluded that the occurrence of intracavitary TVTs, although rare, warrants a thorough physical examination combined with diagnostic tools such as ultrasound and histology, even in castrated old patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab significantly improved efficacy compared with chemotherapy in patients with advanced endometrial cancer (aEC) regardless of microsatellite instability status or histologic subtype, who had disease progression following prior platinum-based therapy, in Study-309/KEYNOTE-775. The safety profile of the combination was generally consistent with that of each monotherapy drug and of the combination in patients with endometrial cancer and other solid tumors. Given the medical complexity of patients with aEC, this paper aims to characterize key adverse reactions (ARs) of the combination treatment and review management strategies, providing a guide for AR management to maximize anticancer benefits and minimize treatment discontinuation. Materials and Methods In Study-309/KEYNOTE-775, patients received lenvatinib (20 mg orally once daily) plus pembrolizumab (200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks) or chemotherapy (doxorubicin or paclitaxel). The incidence and median time to the first onset of ARs, dose modifications, and concomitant medications are described. Key ARs characterized include hypothyroidism, hypertension, fatigue, diarrhea, musculoskeletal disorders, nausea, decreased appetite, vomiting, stomatitis, weight decreased, proteinuria, and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome. Results As expected, the most common any-grade key ARs included: hypothyroidism, hypertension, fatigue, diarrhea, and musculoskeletal disorders. Grades 3-4 key ARs with incidence ≥10% included: hypertension, fatigue, and weight decreased. Key ARs first occurred within approximately 3 months of treatment initiation. AR management strategies consistent with the prescribing information and the study protocol are discussed. Conclusion Successful AR management strategies for lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab include education of the patient and entire treatment team, preventative measures and close monitoring, and judicious use of dose modifications and concomitant medications. Clinicaltrials.gov ID NCT03517449 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leishmaniasis, an infectious disease, manifests itself mostly in two forms, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and, a more severe and potentially deadly form, visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The current control strategy for leishmaniasis relies on chemotherapy drugs such as sodium antimony gluconate (SAG) and meglumine antimoniate (MA). However, all these chemotherapy compounds have poor efficacy, and they are associated with toxicity and other adverse effects, as well as drug resistance. While research in vaccine development for leishmaniasis is continuously progressing, no vaccine is currently available. However, some experimental vaccines such as LEISH-F1+MPL-SE (V) have demonstrated some efficacy when used as drugs for CL patients. In this paper we use a mathematical model to address the following question: To what extent vaccine shots can enhance the efficacy of standard chemotherapy treatment of leishmaniasis? Starting with standard MA treatment of leishmaniasis and combining it with three injections of V , we find, by Day 84, that efficacy increased from 29% to 65–91% depending on the amount of the vaccine. With two or just one injection of V , efficacy is still very high, but there is a definite resurgence of the disease by end-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pediatric brain tumors (PBT) stand as the leading cause of cancer‐related deaths in children. Chemoradiation protocols have improved survival rates, even for non‐resectable tumors. Nonetheless, radiation therapy carries the risk of numerous adverse effects that can have long‐lasting, detrimental effects on the quality of life for survivors. The pursuit of chemotherapeutics that could obviate the need for radiotherapy remains ongoing. Several anti‐tumor agents, including sunitinib, valproic acid, carboplatin, and panobinostat, have shown effectiveness in various malignancies but have not proven effective in treating PBT. The presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) plays a pivotal role in maintaining suboptimal concentrations of anti‐cancer drugs in the central nervous system (CNS). Ongoing research aims to modulate the integrity of the BBB to attain clinically effective drug concentrations in the CNS. However, current findings on the interaction of exogenous chemical agents with the BBB remain limited and do not provide a comprehensive explanation for the ineffectiveness of established anti‐cancer drugs in PBT. Methods: We conducted our search for chemotherapeutic agents associated with the blood–brain barrier (BBB) using the following keywords: Chemotherapy in Cancer, Chemotherapy in Brain Cancer, Chemotherapy in PBT, BBB Inhibition of Drugs into CNS, Suboptimal Concentration of CNS Drugs, PBT Drugs and BBB, and Potential PBT Drugs. We reviewed each relevant article before compiling the information in our manuscript. For the generation of figures, we utilized BioRender software. Focus: We focused our article search on chemical agents for PBT and subsequently investigated the role of the BBB in this context. Our search criteria included clinical trials, both randomized and non‐randomized studies, preclinical research, review articles, and research papers. Finding: Our research suggests that, despite the availability of potent chemotherapeutic agents for several types of cancer, the effectiveness of these chemical agents in treating PBT has not been comprehensively explored. Additionally, there is a scarcity of studies examining the role of the BBB in the suboptimal outcomes of PBT treatment, despite the effectiveness of these drugs for other types of tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastatic lesions of the jaws are a diagnostic challenge because of their scarcity and uncharacteristic clinical-radiographic features. Carcinoma of unknown primary origin (CUP) is characterized by the existence of metastatic disease with no recognized primary neoplasm after a comprehensive work-up. CUP shows a poor prognosis with limited treatment choices. This paper presents a 64-year-old male with a chief complaint of paresthesia of the chin and lower lip. Panoramic radiography showed an ill-defined radiolucency in the left mandibular molar area and the residue of the first molar root. Microscopic examination demonstrated features of mucin-producing adenocarcinoma and was not similar to common neoplasms of the jaw. The whole-body scan revealed multiple osseous uptakes. CDX2 was diffusely positive. However, in the end, the origin of the primary tumor was not determined. Considering the aforementioned data, the diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma with unknown primary origin was made. CUP of the oral cavity is an extremely rare event. The possibility of metastasis should be raised in a patient who complains of paresthesia. Awareness of the clinical and histopathologic features of these malignancies is crucial for clinicians and pathologists to have a proper diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of chemotherapy drugs in tumor treatment has a long history, but the lack of selectivity of drugs often leads to serious side effects during chemotherapy. The natural anti-tumor ingredients derived from Chinese herbal medicine are attracting increased attention due to their diverse anti-tumor effects, abundant resources, and minimal side effects. An effective anti-tumor strategy may lie in the combination of these naturally derived anti-tumor ingredients with conventional chemotherapy drugs. This approach could potentially inhibit tumor growth and the development of drug resistance in tumor cells while reducing the adverse effects of chemotherapy drugs. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the combined therapy strategies integrating natural anti-tumor components from Chinese herbal medicine with chemotherapy drugs in current research. We primarily summarize various compounds in Chinese herbal medicine exhibiting natural anti-tumor activities and the relevant mechanisms in synergistic anti-tumor combination therapy. The focus of this paper is on underlining that this integrative approach, combining natural anti-tumor components of Chinese herbal medicine with chemotherapy drugs, presents a novel cancer treatment methodology, thereby providing new insights for future oncological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) can improve the survival of patients with locally progressive gastric cancer, but chemotherapeutics do not always exhibit good efficacy in all patients. Therefore, accurate preoperative evaluation of the effect of neoadjuvant therapy and the appropriate selection of surgery time to minimize toxicity and complications while prolonging patient survival are key issues that need to be addressed. This paper reviews the role of three imaging methods, morphological, functional, radiomics, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based imaging, in evaluating NAC pathological reactions for gastric cancer. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of each method and the future application prospects are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: As a first-line chemotherapeutic for colorectal cancer (CRC), FOLFOX, XELOX, and similar regimens are recommended as adjuvant therapies following CRC surgery, according to the NCCN guidelines. In stage IV patients, targeted therapies like cetuximab and bevacizumab are used in combination. The decision to add either irinotecan-based regimens or oxaliplatin-based regimens, FOLFIRI is typically based on a physician's subjective judgment due to the lack of clear selection criteria. Therefore, having the ability to precisely predict the therapeutic response to these two drugs could help prioritize the use of the most effective drug in stage IV patients. Previous research efforts aimed to predict therapeutic responses to these two drugs using organoids. While irinotecan showed promising predictability, predicting the response to oxaliplatin remained challenging. In this study, new drug screening conditions were identified to address this issue. Through additional research using CRC organoids, this paper contributes to the prediction of drug responses in CRC patients. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world, with an annual incidence of 2 million cases. The success of first-line chemotherapy plays a crucial role in determining the disease outcome. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for precision medicine to predict drug responses and optimize chemotherapy in order to increase patient survival and reduce the related side effects. Patient-derived organoids have become a popular in vitro screening model for drug-response prediction for precision medicine. However, there is no established correlation between oxaliplatin and drug-response prediction. Here, we suggest that organoid culture conditions can increase resistance to oxaliplatin during drug screening, and we developed a modified medium condition to address this issue. Notably, while previous studies have shown that survivin is a mechanism for drug resistance, our study observed consistent survivin expression irrespective of the culture conditions and oxaliplatin treatment. However, clusterin induced apoptosis inhibition and cell survival, demonstrating a significant correlation with drug resistance. This study's findings are expected to contribute to increasing the accuracy of drug-response prediction in patient-derived APC mutant colorectal cancer organoids, thereby providing reliable precision medicine and improving patient survival rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Despite the multidrug nature of anticancer treatment, attempts are still being made to determine the relationship between the duration of chemotherapy, the dose of individual drugs, and the occurrence of dental developmental abnormalities. There are relatively few papers devoted to this issue, and all of them are based on the study groups composed of individuals receiving various treatment regimens. The current study includes a group of acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors who underwent chemotherapy according to the ALL IC-BFM 2002 protocol. Contrary to the observations of some authors, the results of the current research suggest that the age at the start of chemotherapy is likely to be the strongest risk factor for toxic injury during tooth development. A small study cohort is a major limitation, but an evaluation of similar relationships at larger research centers would be helpful in better understanding the problem. The multidrug nature of anticancer treatment and different treatment protocols used in the studies are likely to be a major limitation in establishing real risk factors determining the occurrence of dental abnormalities. The authors aimed to establish a relationship between the duration and the dose of chemotherapy and the number of tooth adverse effects in the group receiving the same treatment. Of the 40 anticancer therapy recipients who attended the outpatient dental clinic, 7 leukemia survivors receiving the treatment according to the ALL IC-BFM 2002 protocol were selected. The study group consisted of four females and three males aged 92 to 207 months at the time of dental examination and 29 to 91 months at leukemia diagnosis. As a result of the clinical and radiological examination, dental abnormalities such as agenesis, tooth size reduction, root abnormalities, and taurodontia were identified, and the medical records of all survivors were reviewed in terms of drugs administered, their doses, and treatment schedules. No correlation was observed between the treatment duration of an intensive therapy, the entire therapy, and the number of tooth abnormalities. No relationship was also found between the number of dental abnormalities and the cumulative dose of vincristine, L-asparaginase, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, and 6-mercaptopurine. The age at the onset of antineoplastic therapy is likely to be the strongest risk factor for toxic injury during tooth development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prophylactic gonadectomy can only be proposed to patients at risk of gonadal germ cell tumors (GGCTs) in disorders of sex development (DSDs) patients. However, this does not justify prophylactic gonadectomy given that they are uncommon and nearly always benign. In these cases, the survival rate of a malignant GGCT is better (approximately 95% at 5 years), but, chemotherapy also has its own lifelong side effects such as metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk. Case presentation: This paper highlights 2 cases of young individuals aged 16-22 years who presented to KJK Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram with amenorrhea. After initial clinical and routine hormonal and radiological investigation, they were diagnosed with Androgen insensitivity syndrome and Mosaic Turner syndrome respectively on karyotyping. After discussing the condition and options of treatment with the patients and family, laparoscopic prophylactic gonadectomy was planned and performed, with removal of bilateral undescended testes and streak ovary in respective cases followed by hormonal replacement therapy. Conclusion: Usually, the external genitalia in DSD are normal which makes it difficult to diagnose before puberty without any significant clinical indication. In our cases, it demonstrates that mere physical or clinical examination will not be sufficient to identify such cases. Therefore, in females with amenorrhea, genetic testing should be performed along with a general examination. The procedure risks are very low, as laparoscopic gonadectomy can be done as a daycare procedure and can be performed in 30-60 minutes duration with no visible scar. Added benefits of Laparoscopy include a provision to take biopsies or do gonadopexy. It is always advised to postpone gonadectomy till puberty as it allows spontaneous puberty, and allows informed decision-making by the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper aimed to assess the clinical efficacy, adverse reactions, and safety of employing PD-1 inhibitors in conjunction with chemotherapy as a treatment strategy for advanced gastric cancer (GC). Methods: Ninety patients with advanced GC from January 2020 to December 2021 were divided into the research group (n = 45) and the control group (n = 45). The control group was treated with apatinib and tigio. The study group was treated with PD-1 inhibitor combined with apatinib and tigio. The remission rate (RR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), Eastern Oncology Collaborative Group Physical Status Assessment (ECOG-PS) score, EORTCQLQ-C30 (v3.0) score, and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results: The research group exhibited improved outcomes in several key metrics relative to the control group. Specifically, the RR, DCR, and OS were notably higher in the research group. Additionally, the ECOG-PS score was significantly reduced, indicating better performance. At a median follow-up of 8.7 months, the research group's functional and total health scores on the EORTC QLQ-C30 (v3.0) scale had seen significant improvement compared to their initial scores and were also superior to the control group's scores. Importantly, both groups demonstrated comparable incidence rates for adverse reactions, with no significant difference observed (P > 0.05). Conclusion: PD-1 inhibitor combined with chemotherapy was more effective when treating patients with advanced GC. It was more beneficial to enhance the patient's condition, promote survival time, and improve physical status and life quality. In addition, the adverse reactions could be controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Cancer is basically a tough condition on a patient's body where cell grows uncontrollably. Normal cells are affected, which destroys the health of the patient. The main problem in cancer is spreading from one part to another. Therefore, the mathematical modeling of cancerous tumors integrates to check overall stability. A novel approach is introduced such as Bernstein polynomial with combination of genetic algorithm, sliding mode controller, and synergetic control. The proposed solution has easily eliminated cancerous cells within five days using synergetic control. In addition, five cases are incorporated to evaluate error function. In addition, a brief comparative study is added to contrast the simulation results with theoretical modeling. Cancerous tumor cells divide uncontrollably, which results in either tumor or harm to the immune system of the body. Due to the destructive effects of chemotherapy, optimal medications are needed. Therefore, possible treatment methods should be controlled to maintain the constant/continuous dose for affecting the spreading of cancerous tumor cells. Rapid growth of cells is classified into primary and secondary types. In giving a proper response, the immune system plays an important role. This is considered a natural process while fighting against tumors. In recent days, achieving a better method to treat tumors is the prime focus of researchers. Mathematical modeling of tumors uses combined immune, vaccine, and chemotherapies to check performance stability. In this research paper, mathematical modeling is utilized with reference to cancerous tumor growth, the immune system, and normal cells, which are directly affected by the process of chemotherapy. This paper presents novel techniques, which include Bernstein polynomial (BSP) with genetic algorithm (GA), sliding mode controller (SMC), and synergetic control (SC), for giving a possible solution to the cancerous tumor cells (CCs) model. Through GA, random population is generated to evaluate fitness. SMC is used for the continuous exponential dose of chemotherapy to reduce CCs in about forty-five days. In addition, error function consists of five cases that include normal cells (NCs), immune cells (ICs), CCs, and chemotherapy. Furthermore, the drug control process is explained in all the cases. In simulation results, utilizing SC has completely eliminated CCs in nearly five days. The proposed approach reduces CCs as early as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminal A breast cancer is the most common subtype of the most common cancer in women. Current treatments using surgery and chemotherapy have greatly improved patient outcomes in recent decades but are still far from perfect. mRNA vaccines, which instruct the body to create specific proteins, hold the best promise going forward as a "cure" for luminal A breast cancer. Immunological therapies are emerging in solving problems that chemotherapy, surgery and targeted therapies cannot. The ultimate goal of immunotherapy would be to help the immune system recognize and destroy tumor cells as well as make antigens. In this paper, mRNA's potential for addressing the heterogenous nature of tumors, envisioning how it might be made to effectively elicit an immune response are explored; in particular, how it can be modified quickly to change which mutated genes it targets. This paper also discusses the limitations of this emerging technology and the difficulties of evaluating its efficacy when it has yet to enter clinical trials. Finally, this paper concludes by offering thoughts on how its development might be accelerated, predictions on effective targets, and likely dates for such a vaccine to debut as a real-world treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are controversial results about the effects of cancer and chemotherapy on the perception of distress. Aims: The purpose to the study is to explore the meaning of the distress experienced by patients with cancer and verify whether the cancer diagnosis, stage and receiving chemotherapy influence this experience. Design This is a mixed‐methods study with cancer patients. Methods: Data were collected in 2018 using a phenomenological interview (n = 18) and one suffering inventory (n = 100). Qualitative analysis was performed using the empirical‐comprehensive model and quantitative using statistical tests. The results were triangulated. Results: Distress originated from difficulties faced in health services, diagnosis confirmation, beginning treatment and interruption of life projects. Patients mobilized resources in the spiritual dimension that allowed them to redefine their distress positively. Chemotherapy brought hope back and promoted healing expectations. Higher average scores for distress were found in patients with advanced stage and receiving palliative chemotherapy. Not having begun chemotherapy and having head and neck cancer were associated with higher average scores for distress. Conclusion: Distress was greater among patients who had not yet begun chemotherapy; nearness of death and difficulty talking about feelings caused distress; distress was redefined by mobilization of spiritual resources. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? There are conflicting results about distress between patients with cancer.The distress of cancer patients has been little reported or treated in cancer care units.There are no mixed‐method studies on distress in chemotherapy patients that have combined a measuring instrument and a phenomenological approach. What this paper adds? Distress among patients with cancer derives from elements that relate to health services, as well as the individual's ability to deal with the situation.Distress is greater among patients who have not begun chemotherapy and those who have head and neck cancer diagnoses.Phenomenological method can complement the use of scales to assess the subjective experience of distress in the context of cancer and chemotherapy. Implications of this paper Distress evaluation must encompass listening and the use of measurement instruments to strengthen the implementation of patient‐centred nursing care.Nurses are in a unique position to identify and approach distress, because they are often at the side of patients throughout the course of treatment.Professional training for reporting of difficult news is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a reprint of the article "Diagnostic Problems: Guest Editorial" which appears in a 1957 issue of the journal, and it mentions clinical pathological conferences and medical education and training in the twentieth century. Chemotherapy and antibiotics are examined, along with clinical symptomatology. Morphologic pathology and pathological physiology are assessed, as well as pathologists and the age of paper chromatography.

This paper presents the theoretical background of using auricular therapy (AT) for managing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) from the perspectives of traditional zang-fu organs and meridian theory. The zang-fu organs of stomach, spleen and liver play a crucial role in regulating the gastrointestinal functions. The chemotherapeutic agents can significantly impede the gastrointestinal functions and subsequently contribute to various gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea and vomiting. Dysfunctions of the stomach, spleen and liver can correspond to specific auricular acupoints, while by stimulating those acupoints, the chaotic Qi movement can be reversed to its normal status, and the hyperactivities of the gastrointestinal system can also be alleviated to reduce the CINV symptoms. Clinical studies based on such theory have well supported the effects of AT on CINV. However, relationships between the traditional theory and the modern medicine understanding of the CINV mechanisms remain unknown and should be further explored in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, which seriously threatens the health of women. With the improvement of living standards, the incidence rate of breast cancer is also rising. In the past ten years, the incidence rate of breast cancer in China's major cities has increased by 37%, far higher than that in Europe and America. At present, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are the main treatment methods for breast cancer, but many patients will have cancer-related fatigue after surgery. Some studies believe that appropriate sports can improve cancer-related fatigue, but there is no specific research in this area. In view of this problem, this paper puts forward a rehabilitation training method based on gymnastics for breast cancer surgery. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part is the basic theory and core concept of breast cancer and cancer-related fatigue. Through the in-depth study of the theory, this paper believes that breast cancer patients paying attention to rehabilitation training can effectively improve cancer-related fatigue and affect the final therapeutic effect. The second part is the rehabilitation training program based on the way of gymnastics. The corresponding experimental model is established by using real cases as samples. In order to ensure the quality of the experiment, this paper gives the treatment plan in detail and establishes a unified evaluation system. In the third part of this paper, the relevant experiments and results analysis are given, and through data analysis, this paper believes that gymnastics can effectively help breast cancer patients with postoperative rehabilitation and continuous recovery of the upper limb function and improve cancer-related fatigue and other issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines 5189 Indian publications on breast cancer research, as covered in Scopus database during 2005-2014, experiencing an annual average growth rate of 21.94% and citation impact of 3.38. The world breast cancer output (203,879 publications) came from several countries, of which the top 15 most productive countries (United States, U.K., China, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, etc.,) accounted for 89.89% share of the global output during 2005-2014. India's global publication share was 2.55% and hold 12th rank in global output during 2005-2014. The Indian publications on breast cancer came from several organizations, of which the top 15 most productive contributed 27.89% share in the national breast cancer output during 2005-2014. India's international collaborative publications share in breast cancer was 19.89% during 2005-2014, which increased from 19.25% to 20.11% from 2005-2009 to 2010-2014. Medicine accounted for the largest share (54.58%) of output in breast cancer, followed by biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology (38.08%), pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutics (23.11%), chemistry (11.29%), agricultural and biological sciences (3.87% share) and immunology and microbiology (2.04% share) during 2005-2014. Diagnosis, chemotherapy, screening, prognosis, surgery and radiotherapy together account for 72.58% publications share among treatments methods used in Indian breast cancer research during 2005-2014. Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka together accounted for 53.52% of the India's breast cancer output during 2005-2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to devise efficient combination chemotherapy schedules that determine the dosages of drugs administered to cancer patients with drug resistance that, as a Gordian knot to cancer chemotherapy, may weaken the efficacy of chemotherapy. To characterize cell growth, we use the existing cell cycle-specific model, in which the mechanism of acquired drug resistance is incorporated. Subsequently, the determination of the optimal chemotherapy schedule for the patients is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem, with the objective of minimizing not only the quantity of tumor cells but also the posttreatment chemotherapy-induced toxicity. To overcome the difficulty in finding a satisfactory solution to the problem due to its nonlinear nature, we develop a memetic algorithm (MA) with an advanced local search strategy. The efficiency of the proposed MA is validated by comparison with other state-of-the-art methods. In addition, we compare the best found solution to the problem in the presence of drug resistance with that in the absence of drug resistance. The resultant findings reveal that drug resistance is a crucial factor in the determination of chemotherapy schedules. Note to Practitioners—The efficacy of chemotherapy is limited by drug toxicity and is weakened by drug resistance. This paper deals with the problem of optimization of chemotherapy schedules with mathematical modeling and heuristic algorithms and is the first to consider the drug specificity, drug combination, and drug resistance simultaneously. The proposed algorithm is flexible. It can be applied to other optimization problems with proper adaptations. The experimental results suggest that the best found solution to the problem in the absence of drug resistance may, however, not remain as the best found solution, or even become an infeasible one, in the presence of drug resistance. Existing clinical regimens may be improved with the assistance of our method that aims to optimize the chemotherapy schedule in the presence of drug resistance. The parameters of our model should be refined with experimental and clinical data to confer more benefits on real treatments in clinical practice in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral mucositis (OM) is an inflammatory response of mucosal epithelium to the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy causing severe oral pain and ulceration, which may complicate the management of cancer. The Mucositis Prevention Guideline Development Group has developed an international guideline for the prevention of mucositis in children receiving treatment for cancer or undergoing haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Evidence-based preventative strategies include cryotherapy, low-level light therapy and keratinocyte growth factor. However, these strategies are often not available in resource-poor settings. There is some evidence that honey may be a suitable treatment for OM in adult patients. We performed a literature search of 11 databases to find papers exploring the use of honey to treat chemotherapy-associated mucositis in paediatric oncology patients. We found four papers, which provide Grade C evidence that honey is effective as a preventative and therapeutic measure for OM in paediatric oncology patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Han, K., Claret, L., Piao, Y., Hegde, P., Joshi, A., Powell, J., Jin, J. and Bruno, R. (2016), Simulations to predict clinical trial outcome of bevacizumab plus chemotherapy vs. chemotherapy alone in patients with first‐line gastric cancer and elevated plasma VEGF‐A. CPT Pharmacometrics Syst. Pharmacol., 5: 352–358. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp4.12064The first author of this paper, K. Han, should be listed as Kelong Han. [Extracted from the article]

Simple Summary: We present eight core attributes of cancer growth that we must address for a more effective treatment than we currently have. To do this we outline why a regimen simultaneously using many different drugs will be needed. At our current state of knowledge, even adding two or three drugs will not counter all the growth attributes of a currently incurable cancer. We show in this paper, the details of how an example six drug regimen, when added alongside of current traditional treatments, might inhibit enough of the eight core growth driving elements to allow those standard treatments to be more effective. We further show how medicines from general medical practice used to treat pain, fungal infections, psychosis, leprosy and other non-cancer related illnesses can be repurposed to block cancer cells' survival pathways and growth drives. In part one of this two-part paper, we present eight principles that we believe must be considered for more effective treatment of the currently incurable cancers. These are addressed by multidrug adjunctive cancer treatment (MDACT), which uses multiple repurposed non-oncology drugs, not primarily to kill malignant cells, but rather to reduce the malignant cells' growth drives. Previous multidrug regimens have used MDACT principles, e.g., the CUSP9v3 glioblastoma treatment. MDACT is an amalgam of (1) the principle that to be effective in stopping a chain of events leading to an undesired outcome, one must break more than one link; (2) the principle of Palmer et al. of achieving fractional cancer cell killing via multiple drugs with independent mechanisms of action; (3) the principle of shaping versus decisive operations, both being required for successful cancer treatment; (4) an idea adapted from Chow et al., of using multiple cytotoxic medicines at low doses; (5) the idea behind CUSP9v3, using many non-oncology CNS-penetrant drugs from general medical practice, repurposed to block tumor survival paths; (6) the concept from chess that every move creates weaknesses and strengths; (7) the principle of mass—by adding force to a given effort, the chances of achieving the goal increase; and (8) the principle of blocking parallel signaling pathways. Part two gives an example MDACT regimen, gMDACT, which uses six repurposed drugs—celecoxib, dapsone, disulfiram, itraconazole, pyrimethamine, and telmisartan—to interfere with growth-driving elements common to cholangiocarcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, glioblastoma, and non-small-cell lung cancer. gMDACT is another example of—not a replacement for—previous multidrug regimens already in clinical use, such as CUSP9v3. MDACT regimens are designed as adjuvants to be used with cytotoxic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a response to a letter received regarding a research paper titled "Long‐term effects of chemotherapy and radiation received during early childhood on the developing dentition of pediatric cancer patients." The research paper explores the impact of chemotherapy and radiation on the development of teeth in childhood cancer survivors. The letter raised concerns about the dose of radiation received by the jaw and dentition. The authors of the response address these concerns and provide additional information about the study's methodology and findings. They emphasize the need for more definitive information regarding the dose of radiation and chemotherapy received to understand their effects on dental development. [Extracted from the article]

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies, necessitating the exploration of more effective synergistic treatment strategies to overcome the limitations of conventional therapies. Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is an innovative antitumor approach that can be combined with chemotherapy to achieve potent synergistic effects. Mesoporous silica nanomaterials (MSNs) are ideal drug delivery vehicles in cancer therapy due to their unique advantages. This study presents an effective and straightforward strategy to design an intelligent drug delivery system (DDS) activated by the tumor-specific weakly acidic microenvironment to achieve efficient cancer treatment. By incorporating the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) and divalent iron (Fe2+) into the unique mesoporous channels of MSNs, we fabricated MSNs@Fe2+@DOX. Under weakly acidic pH conditions, the functional components Fe2+ and DOX of MSNs@Fe2+@DOX are gradually released at the tumor site. The released Fe2+ can then consume hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in tumor cells, increasing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxides through the Fenton reaction, thereby inducing ferroptosis. The combination of DOX-induced apoptosis and ferroptosis results in further enhanced cancer treatment. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that MSNs@Fe2+@DOX had an excellent therapeutic effect on breast cancer cells and tumor-bearing nude mice. We anticipate that this study will provide a promising biotechnological platform for combined breast cancer treatment by inducing CDT and chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]