Patients with node-positive breast cancer having primary surgery currently undergo axillary node clearance (ANC) to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Evidence that this highly morbid procedure improves survival is lacking, but approximately 30% of patients will develop lifelong complications which significantly impact their quality of life.Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) may be a safe, less morbid alternative to ANC and will be evaluated in the upcoming Targeted Axillary Dissection versus axillary node clearance in patients with POsitive axillary Lymph nodes in Early breast cancer (TADPOLE) randomised controlled trial.TAD is not currently routine practice in patients having primary surgery, so it is vital that the procedure is performed in an agreed upon, standardised way within the trial and procedure fidelity monitored to ensure the results are generalisable and will be accepted by the surgical community. Robust surgical quality assurance (SQA) is essential. Here we describe the first phase of the TADPOLE SQA, a consensus process with the breast surgical community to agree upon how (1) surgery should be performed and standardised; (2) procedure fidelity will be monitored and (3) requirements for surgeon credentialling within the trial.

Gastric adenocarcinoma is a common and severe type of malignancy. Treatment for advanced cases involves neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy if needed.

Older adults with advanced cancer are at risk for toxicities and declines in physical function, which can impact their ability to perform instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs, e.g., preparing meals, managing medications, and cleaning). This decline is a key predictor of treatment outcomes and survival in this population. To address this, we conducted a two-arm, randomized trial to evaluate the feasibility of a home-based chair exercise intervention (ChairEx), delivered in-clinic by oncology staff.

Limited metastatic gastric cancer (lmGC) represents an intermediate disease stage, positioned between localized and widely disseminated gastric cancer, and has garnered increasing attention due to its distinct prognostic outcomes. Currently, there is no consensus on the optimal treatment approach for lmGC, raising the question of whether it should align more with the systemic treatment-focused approach used for metastatic gastric cancer or adopt a surgery-centric strategy similar to that used in localized disease. Previous studies have preliminarily explored combining systemic treatment and surgical resection to address both the primary tumor and metastatic lesions. However, these investigations have been constrained by limited evidence and yielded inconclusive findings.

In the ongoing EV-302 trial, first-line enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab improved progression-free survival and overall survival versus platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from EV-302 are reported here.

Current first-line treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma with BRAFV600E or BRAFV600K mutations includes immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapy; however, the optimal sequencing of these treatments is unclear. We aimed to investigate the use of a targeted-therapy induction regimen before treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

The randomized phase III DESTINY-Breast06 trial (NCT04494425) demonstrated superior efficacy with trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) versus chemotherapy treatment of physician's choice (TPC) and no new safety signals in patients with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low [immunohistochemistry (IHC) 1+, IHC 2+/in situ hybridization-negative], and HER2-ultralow (IHC 0 with membrane staining) metastatic breast cancer (mBC). Here, we report the patient-reported outcome (PRO) endpoints in the intent-to-treat (ITT; HER2-low/-ultralow) and HER2-low populations.

Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by intravesical instillation therapy is the standard treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). One of the factors that may affect the risk of recurrence after TURBT is the quality of surgery that may vary between individual surgeons. While there has been a large number of studies demonstrating the ability to reduce the risk of recurrence of NMIBC with different types of the intravesical therapy, less attention was paid to the quality of TURBT in improving long-term treatment results. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of the quality of TURBT on the recurrence rate of NMIBC based on surgeon experience.

Sarcopenia is considered an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and performance status in head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving chemo-radiotherapy (CRT). CRT is known to cause sleep disturbances, increased pain perception, depression leading to reduced quality of life (QOL). Exercise-based rehabilitation has emerged as a promising strategy for improving outcomes in HNC. Our study aimed to evaluate effect of exercise on sarcopenia and QOL in patients with HNC receiving CRT.

Malignant Fungating Wound (MFW) has a significant role in increasing quality of life. The secondary infection could cause as well as Hemorrhage, Odor, Pain, Exudate & Superficial infections (HOPES) and reduced activity. Worseness of MFW could be caused by a combination of aerobic and anaerobic bacterial infections. This study aimed to prove the effectiveness of the topical antibiotic solution toward wound repairment secondary to MFW.  Methods: This study was a pre and post-test randomized controlled trial in which inclusion and exclusion criteria were predefined. Patients who suffered locally advanced breast cancer were given chemotherapy and then randomized into the treatment group of MFW management treated with Ciprofloxacin and Metronidazole solution, and the non-treatment group treated with 0.9% NaCl. The dependent variable was the number of Colony Forming Unit (CFU) and the degree of fibrosis. Mann Whitney-U and Kendall's tau-b test was carried out to examine the difference and correlation test. Statistical significance was defined as p <0.05.

This post hoc study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin (HAIC-FO) compared with sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The analysis was conducted from the perspective of Chinese payers.

Maintenance treatment with vinorelbine and oral cyclophosphamide (oral-CPM) improves outcome of nonmetastatic high-risk (HR) and very-high risk (VHR) rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) patients. However, gonadal toxicity of maintenance was not yet investigated.

To investigate the efficacy and safety of short-time continuous saline bladder irrigation (S-CSBI) compared to long-time CSBI (L-CSBI) after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Adjuvant therapy with capecitabine is recommended to improve survival for resectable biliary tract cancers (BTC) patients. Considering that the combination of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors with chemotherapy has demonstrated a survival benefit over chemotherapy alone in advanced stage BTC, we aim to evaluate the treatment efficacy and safety of tislelizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, combined with capecitabine vs. capecitabine alone as an adjuvant treatment in patients with resectable BTC.

Immunotherapy is becoming a standard of care for non-metastatic muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). The optimal chemotherapy partner for chemo-immunotherapy combinations remains unknown. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant avelumab-based regimens in patients with MIBC.

It is not known which supplemental imaging technique is most beneficial for women with dense breasts attending breast screening. This study compares abbreviated MRI, automated whole breast ultrasound (ABUS), and contrast-enhanced mammography versus standard of care in women with dense breasts and a negative mammogram. We report on interim results from the first round of supplemental imaging.

Breast cancer neoadjuvant therapy may negatively impact the immune system. As a secondary outcome of the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for women with breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting (DHA-WIN trial), we sought to assess the effects of an intervention with DHA on parameters of immune function of women undergoing neoadjuvant therapy.

Platinum-refractory advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has poor outcomes and limited treatment options, especially in resource-constrained settings. Triple oral metronomic chemotherapy (OMCT), involving low-dose continuous administration of chemotherapeutic agents, has shown promise in phase II studies but lacks evidence from randomized controlled trials. This study evaluated whether triple OMCT improves overall survival (OS) compared with chemotherapy of physician discretion (CPD).

The perioperative period is characterized by psychological stress and inflammatory reactions that can contribute to disease recurrence or metastatic spread. These reactions are mediated particularly by catecholamines and prostaglandins. The PROSPER trial aimed to evaluate whether a perioperative drug repurposing with a non-selective betablocker (propranolol) and a COX-2 inhibitor (etodolac) is feasible and safe in the setting of pancreatic cancer surgery.

The EORTC QLQ-OES18 has previously demonstrated clinical validity; however, there are limited published psychometric data for patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We evaluated the measurement properties of the QLQ-OES18 in a clinical trial population of patients with advanced or metastatic ESCC.