Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
Confronting Upside-Down Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery for Anterior Mediastinal Leiomyoma.
Takeuchi Y, et al
Researchers report a rare case of primary leiomyoma — a benign smooth muscle tumor — arising in the anterior mediastinum of a 50-year-old woman who presented with chest pain and cough. While leiomyomas commonly occur in the uterus or gastrointestinal tract, their presence in the mediastinum is exceptionally uncommon, making preoperative diagnosis challenging because imaging features overlap with more typical mediastinal tumors such as thymoma, germ cell tumors, and lymphoma. The surgical team employed a specialized minimally invasive technique called confronting upside-down video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), which uses higher intercostal access and a 180-degree rotated monitor to give both the surgeon and assistant a panoramic, thoracotomy-like view while avoiding interference from the diaphragm. This approach enabled complete removal of the pedunculated mass arising from pericardial fat while fully preserving the phrenic nerve, with the patient discharged just two days after surgery. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the diagnosis of leiomyoma, positive for desmin and alpha-smooth muscle actin. This case highlights that confronting upside-down VATS is a valuable technique for safely resecting anterior mediastinal tumors located near the phrenic nerve and diaphragm, where conventional approaches may be limited.
Surgical case reports
Source →The role of socioeconomic position in use of systemic anticancer therapy.
Nielsen LH, et al
A large Danish cohort study examined whether a patient's socioeconomic background influences their access to systemic anticancer therapy (SACT), including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted treatments. Researchers analyzed data from over 42,000 adults diagnosed with solid cancers in the North Denmark Region between 2008 and 2020, finding that nearly 30% received SACT. The study found that patients with lower education, lower income, or who lived alone were less likely to start SACT, received fewer different treatment regimens, and had lower overall treatment costs, particularly for gynecological, lung, and upper gastrointestinal cancers. These disparities were most pronounced among patients receiving palliative—rather than curative—treatment, suggesting that socioeconomic barriers may be especially significant when treatment goals shift toward quality of life and symptom management. The findings highlight a troubling inequality in cancer care and call for further research into the social and systemic mechanisms that prevent disadvantaged patients from receiving the full range of available treatments.
ESMO real world data and digital oncology
Source →Characterization of Small Intestinal Neuroendocrine Tumorlets.
Yogo A, et al
Researchers investigated microscopic lesions found in the small intestine of patients with small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs), a cancer type that often appears at multiple sites simultaneously. The study examined 446 archived tissue slides from 40 patients and formally defined these tiny lesions — averaging just 95 micrometers in size — as small intestinal neuroendocrine tumorlets (SINTs). SINTs were detected in half of patients with multiple tumor sites and in 30% of patients previously thought to have only a single tumor, suggesting that true solitary SI-NET may be less common than believed. Patients harboring SINTs showed more aggressive disease features, including higher rates of nerve invasion, larger mesenteric masses, and more advanced tumor stage compared to patients without SINTs. Genomic analysis further indicated that approximately 13% of cells in multifocal tumors may share a common clonal origin, hinting that SINTs could serve as a pathway for tumor spread within the intestine. These findings propose SINTs as a potential new biomarker for identifying patients at higher risk of aggressive disease, which could help clinicians make more informed surgical and follow-up decisions.
Endocrine-related cancer
Source →Effectiveness of Gamified Swallowing Exercises in Adults With Dysphagia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Liu J, et al
A systematic review and meta-analysis published in JMIR Serious Games evaluated whether gamified swallowing exercises can improve outcomes in adults with dysphagia, a swallowing disorder that significantly reduces quality of life. Researchers searched eleven electronic databases and identified six randomized controlled trials enrolling 330 post-stroke patients from China, South Korea, and Turkey, conducted between 2019 and 2025. The pooled analysis found that gamified exercises meaningfully improved swallowing performance and reduced dysphagia severity, while also significantly increasing patient adherence to rehabilitation programs compared to conventional approaches. However, no statistically significant benefits were detected for dysphagia screening scores or quality of life, with these outcomes showing very high heterogeneity across studies. The overall quality of evidence ranged from moderate to very low, limiting confidence in the findings, and the evidence base is currently restricted to post-stroke populations. Despite these limitations, this first quantitative synthesis suggests that game-based swallowing rehabilitation holds genuine clinical promise and warrants larger, higher-quality trials across broader patient populations.
JMIR serious games
Source →Microbial Shifts in Oral Submucous Fibrosis: Exploring the Role of Oral Microflora.
Bagchi S, et al
Researchers investigated the role of oral bacteria in oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), a chronic precancerous scarring condition of the mouth that has been spreading globally from its origins in South Asia. The study compared bacterial cultures from 78 OSF patients and 29 healthy individuals, analyzing both aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms over an 18-month period. OSF patients showed elevated levels of potentially harmful bacteria such as Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Prevotella, and Porphyromonas, while beneficial commensal species like Streptococcus, Veillonella, and Bifidobacterium were reduced. The pattern of bacterial shifts observed in OSF patients closely resembled changes previously documented in oral cancer, suggesting a microbial link between precancerous and cancerous states. These findings indicate that disruptions in the oral microbiome may actively contribute to the progression of OSF toward malignant transformation, opening potential avenues for microbiome-targeted prevention and treatment strategies.
Contemporary clinical dentistry
Source →