Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
Prognostic factors in the surgical treatment of non-functioning pituitary adenomas: a retrospective cohort study.
Aquno AC, et al
A Brazilian research team conducted a retrospective cohort study examining surgical outcomes in 73 patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) treated at a tertiary hospital between 1995 and 2024, with the goal of identifying factors that influence prognosis. The majority of tumors were large, with 41% classified as giant adenomas, and complete surgical removal was achieved in only 27% of cases, highlighting the technical difficulty of these procedures. Postoperative complications were common, including diabetes insipidus in 30% of patients, cerebrospinal fluid fistula in 11%, and bleeding in 11%, while overall surgical mortality reached 9.6%. The strongest predictors of death were postoperative hydrocephalus, brain ischemia, and larger tumor size, and tumor recurrence was observed in one-third of patients over a mean follow-up of 48 months. These findings emphasize the critical importance of preventing and promptly managing hydrocephalus and ischemic complications after surgery, and call for rigorous long-term surveillance given the high recurrence burden in this patient population.
Archives of endocrinology and metabolism
Source →A Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database analysis of the association between lymph node dissection and chylothorax.
Kamtam DN, et al
A large-scale study using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database analyzed more than 152,000 patients who underwent lung resection for non-small cell lung cancer between 2015 and 2024 to identify risk factors for chylothorax, a serious complication in which lymphatic fluid leaks into the chest cavity. Chylothorax occurred in approximately 0.73% of patients, and the strongest independent predictors included the number of lymph nodes removed, right-sided tumor location, more advanced disease stage, kidney dialysis, and open surgical approach rather than minimally invasive techniques. A targeted sensitivity analysis further identified sampling of lymph node station 2R as an additional independent predictor of the complication. Patients who developed chylothorax experienced dramatically higher rates of major morbidity—35.7% compared to 6.6% in unaffected patients—though 30-day mortality was not significantly increased. These findings carry important clinical implications, urging surgeons to carefully balance the well-established oncologic benefit of thorough lymph node dissection against the meaningful risk of chylothorax, especially in patients with early-stage or low-grade lung cancers where the survival gain from extensive dissection may be more modest.
The Annals of thoracic surgery
Source →Real-world Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Limited Stage SCLC Who Received High-dose Hyperfractionated Simultaneous Integrated Boost Radiotherapy versus Standard-dose radiotherapy.
Yu J, et al
A large retrospective study published in Practical Radiation Oncology investigated whether high-dose, accelerated, hyperfractionated twice-daily thoracic radiotherapy at 54 Gy in 30 fractions offers superior real-world outcomes compared to standard-dose regimens in patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Researchers analyzed data from 353 patients treated between 2010 and 2024, comparing three radiotherapy dose groups — 54 Gy twice daily, 45 Gy twice daily, and 60–70 Gy once daily — all combined with concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy, and used inverse probability of treatment weighting to balance patient characteristics across groups. The 54 Gy group achieved a markedly longer median progression-free survival of 29.7 months compared to 15.0 months in the 45 Gy group and 13.5 months in the 60–70 Gy group, while median overall survival reached 63.9 months versus 42.9 and 38.0 months respectively, with both differences remaining statistically significant after statistical adjustment. Critically, treatment-related toxicities were comparable across all three groups, indicating that the higher-dose hyperfractionated approach does not come at the cost of increased side effects. These findings provide robust real-world evidence supporting 54 Gy twice-daily hyperfractionated radiotherapy as a preferred treatment strategy for LS-SCLC, potentially extending patient survival by more than 20 months compared to conventional radiotherapy schedules.
Practical radiation oncology
Source →Mapping National Definitions, Classifications, and Policy Approaches to Poor-Prognosis Cancers Across the G7 Cancer Initiative Countries.
Nishio M, et al
A new international study examined how the seven G7 Cancer Initiative countries — Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — define, classify, and respond to cancers with poor prognoses, a priority area identified when the initiative launched in 2023. Researchers applied objective criteria — five-year net survival below 30% and a mortality-to-incidence ratio above 0.75 — using CONCORD-3 and Global Cancer Observatory 2022 data to systematically identify poor-prognosis cancers across member nations. Pancreatic cancer was the only cancer uniformly classified as poor-prognosis by all countries, while liver, esophageal, stomach, lung, and some brain cancers were included by some nations depending on definitions used. These six cancer types collectively account for a disproportionate share of cancer deaths, with lung cancer alone responsible for 18–23% and pancreatic cancer for 6–10% of all cancer mortality across G7 nations. National policy responses varied considerably, with Australia, France, and Japan maintaining dedicated strategies for poor-prognosis cancers, while Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States addressed them only indirectly or not at all. The authors conclude that the G7 Cancer Initiative must adopt standardized definitions and launch coordinated joint programs targeting early detection, treatment innovation, and policy alignment to meaningfully improve survival for patients with these deadliest cancers.
JCO global oncology
Source →The role of gut microbiota in obesity-related cancers.
Shi W, et al
A comprehensive review published in Seminars in Cancer Biology examines the biological mechanisms linking gut bacteria to cancer development in people with obesity, a condition already recognized as a risk factor for at least thirteen cancer types. The authors describe four core pathways through which obesity promotes tumor growth — metabolic reprogramming, secretion of tumor-promoting molecules, hormonal dysregulation, and immune modulation — and explain how gut microbes influence each pathway primarily through metabolite production, disruption of the intestinal barrier, and activation of innate immune responses that drive chronic low-grade inflammation. The clearest evidence for microbial involvement was found in colorectal and liver cancers, which have direct anatomical exposure to the gut environment, while causal links for other obesity-related cancers remain less established. Notably, microbial effects are not uniformly harmful; bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids were found to suppress pro-tumor inflammation in liver cancer models, highlighting the complexity of microbiome-cancer interactions. The review identifies key translational challenges including inconsistent obesity definitions across studies, dietary confounders, and variability in microbiome sequencing platforms that complicate biomarker development. The authors conclude that microbiome-targeted interventions represent a promising therapeutic avenue for reducing cancer risk and progression in patients with obesity.
Seminars in cancer biology
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