The treatment of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CSCC) has undergone significant changes with the introduction of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs). While promising results have been observed, their efficacy remains limited to a subset of patients. Soluble immune checkpoint molecules, Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) could serve as potential biomarkers, particularly in ICI-based therapies.

Radiotherapy (RT) is a standard curative treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) and there is growing evidence of the high efficacy of moderate and ultra-hypofractionated RT. Reducing treatment duration to one week or less is a major advance, but very few studies have explored single-fraction therapy. This study evaluates the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of single-fraction stereotactic body RT (SBRT) while delivering the entire procedure in one day, with a potentially high benefit in terms of patient comfort and therapy cost and logistics.

Achieving optimal surgical margins is critical in breast-conserving surgery (BCS) to reduce local recurrence (LR) and the need for re-excision. This meta-analysis evaluated the impact of intraoperative margin optimization strategies on key surgical and oncologic outcomes in patients who underwent BCS.

Melanoma, a highly aggressive and immunogenic skin cancer, often develops resistance to immunotherapy due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Although PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have significantly improved treatment outcomes, 30%-40% of patients exhibit no response or develop resistance. Mechanisms such as T-cell exhaustion within the TME limit therapeutic efficacy, necessitating the exploration of novel strategies to enhance immune responses.

Current consensus guidelines lack robust evidence to advocate the optimal treatment approach for locoregional upper esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (L-UESCC). The purpose of this study was to conduct an in-depth investigation of the treatment patterns, outcomes, and prognostic factors among patients with L-UESCC.

The advent of targeted therapy and immunotherapy has revolutionised the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with all stages, dramatically improving their survival outcomes. Currently, radical resection is still the preferred first-line treatment for early-stage HCC, nevertheless, the surgical outcomes remain unsatisfactory due to high recurrence rate of 70% within 5 years after surgery. Moreover, up to two thirds of diagnosed HCC patients are in the advanced stages of the disease, exhibiting intrahepatic or extrahepatic metastases and vascular invasion. In recent years, the combination of surgical and other local treatments with targeted therapy and immunotherapy has dramatically improved the overall survival for HCC patients and also increased the complexity of HCC management, demanding a dynamic adaptation of the available staging-based strategies and flexible therapeutic allocation. In this review, we mainly elaborate the fundamental principles and recent advancements in the surgical management of locally advanced HCC, such as neoadjuvant, adjuvant and conversion therapy, as well as the regulatory effects of local treatments on targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Finally, the value of splenectomy for unresectable HCC patients with hypersplenism is also discussed.

Acral melanoma (AM) is the predominant subtype of melanoma in Asians. Early detection and prevention can significantly improve patient outcomes; however, there is a lack of effective early biomarkers for predicting AM metastasis. Here, we employed single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analyses to investigate early microsatellite lesions of AM and identify biomarkers of invasiveness in these lesions. Our results characterize a highly immunosuppressive microenvironment and metabolic process shifts in early AM microsatellite lesions that promote the metastatic potential. The transcription factor SOX6 is overexpressed in microsatellite lesions and marks a population of highly invasive melanoma cells. The pro-invasive role of overexpressed SOX6 was validated in vivo and in vitro, including its ability to enhance tumor invasion by upregulating cellular glycolysis, disrupt fatty acid transport, and increase intracellular phosphatidylcholine content. This study suggests that SOX6-overexpressing melanoma cells are the main driver subpopulation promoting early invasion of AM and establishes SOX6 and fatty acid transport processes as biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for early melanoma metastasis.

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Despite the initial chemosensitivity, survival for extensive-disease (ED) SCLC remains limited. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in combination with chemotherapy have recently been redefined as the standard of care. We evaluated the efficacy of ICI combination therapy in clinical trials translated into real-world clinical practice for patients with ED-SCLC.

Pathologically, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is classified into small-duct (SD) type and large-duct (LD) type, each with distinct clinicopathological characteristics. The contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) features of the two ICC types remain insufficiently explored.

Brain metastases (BrMs) frequently manifest in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and the optimal treatment approach for these individuals remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of adding pemetrexed-platinum chemotherapy to first-line gefitinib in EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients with BrMs, considering the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system.

Nutritional risk assessment indices impact disease prognosis, yet their prognostic roles in preoperative digestive system tumor (DST) patients remain unclear.

Accurate delineation of Gross Tumor Volume (GTV) in lung cancer is critical for effective radiotherapy and surgical planning. However, segmentation of GTV in high-resolution CT images remains challenging, particularly when tumors are small or have indistinct boundaries.

Pathological diagnosis is important for the treatment of deep suprahyoid head and neck lesions, and tissue sampling needs to balance minimal invasiveness and accuracy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate diagnostic accuracy and factors associated with diagnostic failure of core needle biopsy (CNB) with CT-guided in deep suprahyoid head and neck lesions.

Angiosarcoma (AS), a rare and highly malignant tumour, can manifest spontaneously (primary AS, pAS) or secondary to previous radiation, exposure to chemical agents or Stewart-Treves syndrome (secondary AS, sAS). The aim of this study was to characterise the clinical presentation, management, treatment and outcome-including local recurrence, metastasis and overall survival-among patients diagnosed with AS and treated at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a key risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence. There is a lack of methods to diagnose MVI preoperatively. The objective of this study was to develop a model for preoperative prediction of MVI in HCC.

Conversion immunochemotherapy may enable curative surgery in patients with initially unresectable locally advanced gastric cancer, but its response rate remains low. Little evidence has shown how to easily predict therapeutic efficacy from hematological biomarkers, apart from tissue biomarkers. This study aimed to identify predictive factors for treatment response from hematological biomarkers and propose strategies for non-responsive patients.

Clinical studies demonstrate that comorbidity between colorectal cancer (CRC) and depression is common, leading to a higher mortality risk among CRC patients. However, the mechanisms remain largely unexplored. The role of core brain regions in comorbidity of CRC and depression and whether modulating these regions can improve both depression-like symptoms and CRC progression have yet to be clarified. In this study, we establish a mouse (Mus musculus) model of CRC and observe that mice with orthotopic colorectal cancer (CRC mice) display depression-like behaviors. Through c-FOS mapping, network analysis, correlation analysis, and inverse tracing, we identify the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as a central node within the depression-related brain network in CRC mice. Notably, inhibiting ACC activity not only alleviates depression-like behaviors but also mitigates CRC-induced neuronal damage and reduces CRC tumor progression. These findings underscore the critical role of the ACC in comorbidity of CRC and depression and suggest that ACC-targeted interventions may hold therapeutic potential for CRC patients with comorbid depression.

The estimation of the primary site is crucial when considering chemotherapy regimens in cancer of unknown primary (CUP). The task is particularly challenging for poorly differentiated or undifferentiated carcinoma, or unknown histological tumors with unknown primary (U-CUP). Instead of site-specific chemotherapy, a biomarker-guided therapy using genomic testing is required to predict the efficacy of molecular-targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). We focused on inactivating the SWI/SNF complex, a chromatin regulatory complex. We investigated the clinical features of CUP with SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling abnormalities and examined whether SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling abnormalities are a predictive marker of ICI efficacy.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a highly heterogeneous malignant hematologic cancer with poor clinical outcome. The presence of leukemia stem cells (LSC) is a significant factor contributing to the failure of AML treatments and frequent relapses. The quiescent and plastic nature of LSC decreases cell death under conventional chemotherapy. Programmed cell death (PCD) plays a critical role in the development and progression of various cancers including AML. We hypothesized that the expression of PCD gene in LSCs may predict the therapeutic outcome of AML patients in the clinic. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the expression of PCD gene and identified the unique expression patterns of cell death genes of LSC. By integrating PCD- and LSC-related genes, we identified eight LSC death genes with prognostic values: OAZ1, S100A4, MPG, IL2RA, MMRN1, CDK6, HOXA9, and XIRP2. Based on these genes, we developed a leukemia stem cell prognostic death score (LSCD) and a prognostic nomogram. Our findings revealed that LSC, particularly Quiescent LSPC, exhibits a high LSCD score. AML patients with high LSCD score group showed characteristics of significant immune dysfunction and worse prognosis. Additionally, predictions regarding FDA-approved drugs indicated that the high LSCD score group is less sensitive to Venetoclax but more sensitive to Crenolanib, Tandutinib, or Midostaurin. In summary, we developed an LSCD model that shows the predictive potential of clinical prognosis and drug sensitivity. This model provides meaningful insights for personalized treatment of AML patients.

Local treatment of pelvic Ewing Sarcoma (EWS) is czhallenging due to complex anatomy and potential complications. Local therapy may be deferred to maintain chemotherapy dose-intensity, but the impact of this delay on outcomes remains unclear.