Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
A study of clinical profile and outcomes of paediatric patients with acute myeloid leukaemia.
Barbhuiyan S, et al
Researchers conducted a retrospective study examining the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of 56 pediatric patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at a single center between 2017 and 2021. The study found that the median patient age was 7 years, 60% of patients were malnourished, and the majority came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, reflecting a challenging patient population. Fever was the most common presenting symptom, and risk stratification using the European LeukemiaNet (ELN) 2017 criteria showed that 52% of patients fell into the favorable-risk category, while 28% were high-risk. Complete remission was achieved in 47% of patients, while 16% died during induction therapy and 14% abandoned treatment altogether. Notably, factors such as nutritional status, white blood cell count, and clinical symptoms at presentation were not linked to treatment outcomes, likely because of robust supportive care including free housing, food, and psychosocial support. The ELN risk category was the strongest predictor of induction outcome, underscoring the importance of standardized risk stratification in guiding treatment decisions for pediatric AML.
Ecancermedicalscience
Source →Severe Hypercalcemia and Confusion in a Middle-Aged Male: The Hidden Diagnosis of Parathyroid Carcinoma.
Fahmi H, et al
Researchers present a rare case of parathyroid carcinoma — an exceptionally uncommon malignancy — discovered in a 53-year-old man who initially appeared to have depression but rapidly deteriorated with confusion, muscle weakness, and significant weight loss. Laboratory tests revealed life-threatening hypercalcemia at 18 mg/dL, severe kidney injury, and a parathyroid hormone level nearly 17 times the upper limit of normal, all pointing to a serious parathyroid disorder. Emergency treatment with intravenous fluids and denosumab stabilized the patient, and imaging studies identified a suspicious mass on the right parathyroid gland, which was surgically removed and confirmed as carcinoma on pathological analysis. This case highlights that parathyroid carcinoma, though rare, can masquerade as psychiatric or neurological illness, dangerously delaying the correct diagnosis. Clinicians are urged to consider severe hypercalcemia with markedly elevated PTH as a red flag warranting urgent investigation for parathyroid malignancy, since early surgical removal offers the best chance of cure.
Case reports in endocrinology
Source →Time-intensity Profiles and T1-corrected Arterial Transit Time from Multi-delay Pseudo-continuous ASL with a Variable-TR Scheme for the Characterization of Adult-type Diffuse Glioma.
Yamashita K, et al
Researchers investigated whether advanced MRI perfusion techniques could better distinguish between different types of adult diffuse glioma, a group of aggressive brain tumors with varying prognoses depending on their molecular characteristics. The study used multi-delay pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (4D-ASL) with a variable repetition time scheme, which allowed measurement of blood flow timing patterns and a T1-corrected arterial transit time (ATT) in 30 patients with diffuse glioma. The key finding was that IDH-wildtype glioblastoma showed significantly shorter arterial transit times and signal intensity peak times compared to IDH-mutant astrocytoma, while T1-corrected ATT was notably longer in IDH-mutant astrocytoma than in other glioma subtypes. These differences are clinically meaningful because IDH mutation status is one of the most important prognostic markers in glioma, and non-invasive imaging methods that can reflect this distinction could reduce the need for or complement surgical biopsy. The study suggests that combining T1-corrected ATT and time-intensity profile metrics from 4D-ASL imaging could improve the non-invasive classification of diffuse gliomas in routine clinical practice.
Clinical neuroradiology
Source →[Clinical Application of the International System for Serous Fluid Cytopathology in the Stratified Diagnosis of Lung Cancer-associated Serous Effusions].
Wu W, et al
Researchers from the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences conducted a large-scale retrospective study evaluating the International System for Serous Fluid Cytopathology (TIS) in diagnosing lung cancer-associated serous effusions, analyzing 1,274 specimens collected between 2018 and 2023. The TIS framework assigns effusion specimens to five diagnostic categories ranging from benign to malignant, combining standard morphological assessment with immunocytochemistry (ICC) for ambiguous cases. The study found that morphology alone classified 83.1% of cases as malignant, while 12.3% fell into indeterminate categories; when ICC was subsequently applied to 69 ambiguous cases, it upgraded 85.5% to a definitive malignant diagnosis, demonstrating the critical added value of auxiliary testing. ICC also proved highly effective in determining tumor subtype and tissue origin, information that is essential for selecting targeted therapies in lung cancer patients. These findings provide robust validation of the TIS system in a Chinese clinical population and support its wider adoption as a standardized diagnostic protocol for serous effusions in advanced lung cancer.
Zhongguo fei ai za zhi = Chinese journal of lung cancer
Source →Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation promotes recovery from otitis media by activating the α7nAChR-mediated anti-inflammatory pathway.
Shin N, et al
Researchers investigated whether transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), a non-invasive technique that delivers mild electrical impulses to the ear, could reduce inflammation and improve hearing in a mouse model of acute otitis media induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide. The study found that taVNS significantly lowered levels of key inflammatory molecules—including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6—in the middle ear and bloodstream, while also reducing tissue swelling and abnormal mucus-producing cell growth. These anti-inflammatory effects were linked to suppression of the NF-κB signaling pathway and were dependent on the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, as blocking this receptor with a specific antagonist abolished the benefits. Treated mice also showed measurable improvement in hearing thresholds and reduced middle ear injury, suggesting that taVNS modulates both local and systemic inflammation. These findings are clinically relevant because otitis media frequently recurs and is increasingly difficult to treat due to antibiotic resistance, making a drug-free, non-invasive approach an attractive future therapeutic option.
Inflammation and regeneration
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