Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
Cervical yolk sac tumor: a case report and literature review.
Wang M, et al
Researchers from China report an extremely rare case of primary yolk sac tumor (YST) arising in the cervix, a highly malignant form of germ cell cancer that almost exclusively occurs in the ovaries or testes. A 46-year-old woman was treated with a combination of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, radical surgery, and adjuvant BEP chemotherapy, achieving complete remission initially before experiencing a recurrence that proved resistant to standard BEP treatment. Salvage therapy combining albumin-bound paclitaxel and carboplatin (TC regimen) with the anti-angiogenic drug bevacizumab successfully induced a durable complete response, after which bevacizumab was continued as maintenance therapy. This case, supported by a review of previous literature, suggests that the TC regimen combined with VEGF inhibitors such as bevacizumab may represent a promising new treatment option for patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical YST who have failed standard chemotherapy.
Frontiers in oncology
Source →Unique pattern of endometrial invasion in gastric-type adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix: a report of two cases.
Kamijo K, et al
Researchers from Japan report two cases of gastric-type cervical adenocarcinoma (GAS), a rare and aggressive form of cervical cancer unrelated to the human papillomavirus (HPV), which displayed an unusual pattern of spread into the uterine lining. Unlike typical cervical cancers that form clear boundaries with surrounding tissue and trigger a defensive stromal reaction, the GAS cells in these cases infiltrated the endometrium in a so-called 'symbiotic' manner, weaving between normal endometrial glands without disturbing the native tissue architecture. Immunohistochemical analysis showed a marked reduction in CD8-positive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes around the invading cancer glands, indicating that the immune system was effectively excluded from the tumor-endometrium interface — a hallmark of an immunologically 'cold' microenvironment. This immune evasion may explain why GAS so frequently spreads extensively before it is detected, often only after surgical removal of the uterus. The findings suggest that this stealthy invasion pattern contributes to the poor prognosis associated with GAS and highlights the need for improved diagnostic methods and potentially immunotherapy-based treatment strategies. Clinicians should be aware of this unusual infiltration pattern when evaluating patients with advanced or unexpectedly widespread cervical adenocarcinoma.
International cancer conference journal
Source →Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) harbouring KMT2A-PTD: should it be considered as a myelodysplasia-related abnormality?
Kannan N, et al
Researchers analyzed 802 adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to investigate whether AML carrying a specific genetic alteration called KMT2A partial tandem duplication (KMT2A-PTD) should be classified as a distinct, myelodysplasia-related subtype of the disease. Among the 45 patients identified with this alteration, nearly half could already be diagnosed as myelodysplasia-related AML based on cytogenetic or genomic criteria, and morphological and immunophenotypic features typical of myelodysplastic neoplasms were also frequently observed. The study found that these patients commonly harbored additional mutations in genes such as IDH2, FLT3, RUNX1, DNMT3A, and U2AF1, many of which are associated with myelodysplasia-related AML. Treatment outcomes were poor, with more than 25% of patients failing to achieve remission and 60% of remaining patients testing positive for residual disease, and these outcomes were similar regardless of whether patients had formal myelodysplasia-related features. These findings suggest that AML with KMT2A-PTD behaves like myelodysplasia-related AML and may warrant reclassification under this category, which could have important implications for treatment decisions and patient management.
Journal of clinical pathology
Source →Dose-dependent impairment of brain functional and microstructural connectivity during leukaemia chemotherapy.
Scott AP, et al
Researchers conducted a prospective longitudinal study examining how intensive chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) affects brain connectivity in 20 adult patients, using serial functional MRI (fMRI) and neurocognitive assessments throughout treatment. At the completion of chemotherapy, fMRI scans revealed significantly reduced functional connectivity between the salience network (anterior cingulate cortex) and key left-hemisphere language regions, including the inferior frontal gyrus and posterior superior temporal gyrus. These imaging findings were corroborated by measurable decreases in white matter fibre density in the corpus callosum and in the tract linking the two affected regions, providing structural evidence for the functional disruptions observed. Critically, higher doses of the chemotherapy drug cytarabine were strongly correlated with greater reductions in brain connectivity, suggesting a dose-dependent toxic effect on neural circuits involved in language processing. The study also linked worse brain imaging results to poorer verbal fluency scores and higher treatment intensity markers such as transfusion volume and serum ferritin levels. These findings provide the first real-time neuroimaging evidence that AML chemotherapy directly impairs brain microstructure and functional networks, offering a potential pathway toward monitoring and mitigating chemotherapy-related cognitive decline in leukaemia patients.
British journal of haematology
Source →Prognostic Impact of Calcification, Corpus Callosum Invasion, and CDKN2A/B Hemizygous Deletion in Oligodendroglioma: A Single-center Retrospective Study.
Sumi T, et al
Researchers at a single institution in Japan conducted a retrospective study examining prognostic factors in 32 adult patients diagnosed with oligodendroglioma — a relatively slow-growing brain tumor — treated between 1999 and 2021. The study focused on clinical, radiological, and genetic markers, specifically investigating the presence of calcification on imaging, invasion of the corpus callosum, and deletion of the CDKN2A/B genes. Key findings showed that calcification and corpus callosum invasion were each present in roughly 40-47% of patients, while CDKN2A/B hemizygous deletion was identified in four cases, and all three factors were associated with worse overall survival in univariable analysis. Notably, CDKN2A/B hemizygous deletion remained an independent predictor of shorter overall survival even after adjusting for age and functional status, with 5-year overall survival and progression-free survival rates of 86.5% and 62.0%, respectively. These findings suggest that combining routine imaging features with targeted genetic testing could help clinicians better identify oligodendroglioma patients at higher risk of poor outcomes, potentially guiding more personalized postoperative treatment decisions.
Neurologia medico-chirurgica
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