Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
Kaposi Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Infection and Complications Among Solid Organ Transplant Recipients - United States, January 2021-September 2025.
Pereira MR
This study examined infections caused by Kaposi Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV, also known as HHV-8) and their clinical complications in solid organ transplant recipients across the United States between January 2021 and September 2025. Solid organ transplant patients are at heightened risk for KSHV-related disease because the immunosuppressive medications required to prevent organ rejection can allow latent viral infections to reactivate or new infections to progress unchecked. The research provides a surveillance-based overview of how frequently KSHV infection and its most serious consequence, Kaposi sarcoma, occurred in this vulnerable population over a defined multi-year period. These findings are important for transplant clinicians because they inform screening protocols, risk stratification, and the need for heightened vigilance for KSHV-related complications in immunocompromised transplant recipients.
American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons
Source →Global Patterns and Trends in Thymic Epithelial Tumor Incidence: Worldwide Health Care Disparity on Detection.
Jiang B, et al
A new global study published in JCO Global Oncology examined the incidence patterns and trends of thymic epithelial tumors (TETs), rare cancers originating in the thymus gland, across multiple countries and continents over a 30-year period. Using data from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents database, researchers calculated age-standardized incidence rates and annual percentage changes stratified by age, sex, ethnicity, country, and human development index (HDI). The global incidence rate was 0.26 per 100,000 people in 2013–2017, with a significant overall increase of 3.13% per year, and the disease was most common in adults aged 50–79, with men affected more than women. Asian and Pacific Islander populations had the highest incidence rates, followed by Black and then White populations, and countries with very high HDI showed substantially higher detection rates than low-HDI nations — even among people of the same ethnicity. The researchers concluded that these disparities are largely driven by differences in healthcare access and diagnostic capacity rather than true biological differences in disease frequency. These findings call attention to the need for improved global awareness, equitable healthcare investment, and better surveillance strategies for these rare but serious malignancies.
JCO global oncology
Source →Proteasome inhibition promotes Foxn1 expression in thymic epithelial cells and induces thymic regeneration in mice.
Genah S, et al
Researchers investigated whether FDA-approved drugs could stimulate the thymus — the organ responsible for producing immune T-cells — to regenerate after damage caused by cancer therapies such as radiation. Using a custom drug-screening platform, the team discovered that inhibiting the proteasome, a cellular protein-disposal system, powerfully activates FOXN1, a master gene controlling the development of thymic epithelial cells in both mice and humans. Among the compounds tested, nitazoxanide (NTZ), an antiparasitic drug already approved for human use, uniquely upregulated FOXN1 while keeping cells alive by triggering a protective cellular stress response involving the endoplasmic reticulum and autophagy pathways. When given to irradiated mice, NTZ significantly accelerated the structural and functional recovery of the thymus, restoring both its cellular architecture and normal T-cell selection without disrupting immune tolerance. These findings identify proteasome inhibition and related stress-response pathways as a previously unknown mechanism for controlling thymic regeneration, and position nitazoxanide as a promising, repurposable drug candidate to restore immunity in cancer patients, elderly individuals, and others suffering from T-cell deficiencies.
Cell death and differentiation
Source →Diagnostic Strategies for Neuroblastoma in Children With Horner Syndrome: A Proposed Diagnostic Algorithm.
Kuchalska K, et al
A new study published in the Journal of Child Neurology investigated the best diagnostic tools for detecting neuroblastoma — the most common solid tumor in children under two years of age — in cases where Horner syndrome (drooping eyelid, small pupil, and reduced sweating on one side of the face) is the first warning sign. Researchers analyzed data from 729 children diagnosed with neuroblastoma across 14 oncology centers in Poland between 2004 and 2022, finding that Horner syndrome preceded the cancer diagnosis in approximately 3.3% of cases. The study tested the sensitivity of several diagnostic methods, including urine catecholamine tests, blood markers (LDH, ferritin, and NSE), and chest X-ray. Chest radiography alone showed a high sensitivity of 92.31% in identifying tumor-related lesions at first presentation, and when combined with blood tests for LDH, ferritin, and NSE, sensitivity reached 100%. In contrast, urinary catecholamine testing performed poorly, with a combined sensitivity of only 72.57%, leading the authors to recommend against using it as a primary diagnostic criterion. These findings provide clinicians with a clear, evidence-based algorithm: children presenting with Horner syndrome should receive chest X-ray and blood marker tests as the first-line approach to rule out neuroblastoma.
Journal of child neurology
Source →Establishment and validation of an orthotopic brain metastasis tumor model in C57BL/6 mice.
Liu J, et al
Researchers have developed and validated a standardized procedure for creating orthotopic brain tumor models in C57BL/6 mice, addressing a significant reproducibility problem in preclinical cancer research. The study systematically analyzed two key skull landmarks — bregma and lambda — and established a quantitative relationship between mouse body weight and the distance between these anatomical reference points. Most importantly, the team identified and validated a new, reliable injection site for intracranial tumor implantation that improves consistency across experiments. The resulting protocol includes a complete framework covering positioning methods, surgical specifications, and quality control measures. This advance is critical because reproducible animal models of brain metastasis are essential for developing and testing new therapies before they reach human clinical trials.
PeerJ
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