Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
Optimizing low dose radiotherapy for indolent lymphomas: comparing 8 Gy in 2 fractions to 4 Gy in 2 fractions.
Burlile JF, et al
Researchers at a single institution conducted a retrospective study comparing two low-dose radiotherapy regimens — 4 Gy in 2 fractions versus 8 Gy in 2 fractions — for patients with indolent B-cell lymphomas, a slow-growing form of blood cancer. The study analyzed 121 patients (137 treatment sites) treated between 2013 and 2024, focusing on local tumor control and complete response rates. Results showed that the higher dose of 8 Gy significantly outperformed 4 Gy, with local progression occurring in only 7% of sites treated with 8 Gy compared to 26% with 4 Gy, and complete response at one year reaching 81% versus 57%, respectively. The analysis also identified that lymphomas located in lymph node sites were independently associated with a higher risk of local recurrence regardless of the dose used. These findings suggest that doubling the radiation dose from 4 to 8 Gy — while keeping the same convenient two-session treatment schedule — offers meaningfully better disease control and could influence clinical practice for patients with indolent lymphomas.
Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
Source →DNA-directed assembly of multivalent lipid nanoparticles for targeted T cell gene delivery.
Kelly MD, et al
Researchers developed a DNA-tethering method to rapidly attach commercial antibodies onto lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), enabling the creation of bispecific LNPs that simultaneously engage two different receptors on T cells for more precise gene delivery. The study evaluated multiple bispecific LNP formulations for delivering mRNA to T cells both in laboratory cell cultures and in living animals, comparing their performance to single-targeted (monotargeted) counterparts. Key findings showed that bispecific LNPs improved T cell targeting and transfection efficiency both in vitro and in vivo, while also demonstrating that the choice of targeting molecules influences how LNPs distribute between the spleen and liver. This platform is highly significant because efficient, targeted delivery of genetic cargo to T cells in the body could accelerate the development of next-generation immunotherapies for blood cancers such as B cell lymphoma, as well as autoimmune diseases, without the need for costly and time-consuming ex vivo cell manipulation.
Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Source →The prognostic value of maintaining minimal residual disease status in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia receiving azacitidine-based therapy.
Wang J, et al
A new study published in BMC Cancer examined the clinical significance of maintaining minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are receiving azacitidine-based therapy. Minimal residual disease refers to the small number of cancer cells that may remain in a patient's body after treatment, and its presence or absence is increasingly used as a marker of treatment response. The researchers investigated whether patients who sustained MRD-negative status over the course of their treatment experienced better long-term outcomes compared to those who did not. The findings suggest that maintaining MRD negativity during azacitidine-based regimens carries important prognostic value, potentially helping clinicians identify which patients are likely to fare better and which may need treatment adjustments. This research is particularly relevant given the growing use of azacitidine as a maintenance or consolidation strategy in AML, a disease with historically poor prognosis and limited treatment options for many patient groups.
BMC cancer
Source →Ciprofloxacin prophylaxis in allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation reduces bacteraemia but increases antimicrobial resistance without improving patient outcomes.
Baltas I, et al
Researchers at two large UK transplant centres compared outcomes in 343 adult patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) for blood cancers between 2020 and 2022, with one centre using ciprofloxacin prophylaxis and the other not. The study found that ciprofloxacin prophylaxis significantly reduced bloodstream infections, particularly those caused by Gram-negative bacteria (15.3% versus 31.6%), but this reduction did not translate into any measurable improvement in patient survival or intensive care admissions. Alarmingly, patients who received ciprofloxacin prophylaxis and still developed infections showed dramatically higher rates of antibiotic resistance, including resistance to carbapenems — a last-resort class of antibiotics — as well as substantially greater overall antibiotic use. These findings raise serious concerns about the routine use of fluoroquinolone prophylaxis in bone marrow transplant patients, as the apparent short-term benefit of fewer infections is offset by the longer-term public health risk of promoting multi-drug-resistant bacteria. Clinicians managing transplant patients should weigh these trade-offs carefully, particularly given the global urgency of the antimicrobial resistance crisis.
International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
Source →Utility of Blood Biomarkers for Assessing Atopic Dermatitis Severity in Infants Aged < 2 Years.
Seki S, et al
A new study published in Pediatric Dermatology investigated which blood biomarkers best predict the severity of atopic dermatitis (eczema) in infants under two years of age. Researchers analyzed 50 newly diagnosed infants, measuring four biomarkers — TARC, SCCA2, total IgE, and eosinophil counts — and compared their ability to classify disease as mild or moderate-to-severe using standard eczema severity scores. The results showed that TARC and SCCA2 significantly outperformed total IgE and eosinophils in distinguishing disease severity, with SCCA2 performing best for mild disease and TARC performing best for moderate-to-severe disease. TARC also showed stronger associations with specific symptoms such as bleeding and skin flaking, suggesting that different biomarkers may capture different aspects of the disease. These findings indicate that choosing biomarkers based on a patient's specific symptoms could enable earlier and more targeted treatment in very young children with eczema. The authors call for larger prospective studies to validate these results before widespread clinical adoption.
Pediatric dermatology
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