Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
Clinical characteristics and surgical management of adult gastric inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors: A systematic review and pooled individual patient data analysis.
Ben-Ishay O, et al
Researchers conducted a systematic review and pooled individual patient data analysis to characterize adult gastric inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs), rare mesenchymal neoplasms that frequently mimic gastrointestinal stromal tumors and pose significant diagnostic challenges. Analyzing 31 histologically confirmed adult cases drawn from multiple international databases, the study found a female predominance with a mean patient age of 47.7 years, and most patients presented with abdominal pain or upper gastrointestinal bleeding. A key finding was that tumor location influenced the clinical picture: distal stomach tumors tended to be larger and more commonly painful, while proximal tumors more often caused hemorrhage, suggesting distinct location-dependent phenotypes that may guide clinical suspicion. Surgical resection was the cornerstone of treatment, with stomach-preserving and minimally invasive surgical approaches proving safe and effective for tumors under 5 cm when clear resection margins could be achieved, while larger or locally invasive tumors more often required open major gastrectomy. The authors stress that preoperative endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy combined with ALK-1 immunohistochemistry is essential to avoid misdiagnosis as GIST and to select the most appropriate surgical strategy. Overall, complete surgical resection delivers excellent short-to-mid-term outcomes, and these findings provide clinicians with the first pooled evidence base to guide the management of this exceptionally rare gastric tumor.
European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology
Source →Unravelling Mesenteric Fibrosis in Small Intestinal Neuroendocrine Tumours and Implications for Clinical Management.
Martins MC, et al
This review article examines mesenteric fibrosis, a severe fibrotic reaction that commonly develops around mesenteric metastases in patients with small intestinal neuroendocrine tumours, a cancer type that can remain silent for years before causing serious complications. Although the primary tumours are often slow-growing and symptom-free, the resulting fibrosis can cause life-threatening complications such as intestinal obstruction and mesenteric ischaemia, substantially reducing patients' quality of life. The authors highlight a critical gap in understanding: the biological mechanisms driving mesenteric fibrosis remain poorly defined, and no standardized diagnostic criteria or grading systems currently exist, impeding both research progress and effective clinical management. Emerging evidence implicates serotonin, pro-fibrotic growth factors, cytokines, and cancer-associated fibroblasts within the tumour microenvironment as key contributors to fibrosis, potentially sustaining self-reinforcing feedback loops that worsen the condition over time. The review also notes that the mesentery, recently reclassified as a distinct organ, may possess unique biological properties that facilitate fibrosis development. The authors call urgently for collaborative research, standardized definitions, and translational studies to develop non-surgical treatment strategies for a complication that currently has no effective medical therapy.
Endocrine-related cancer
Source →Comparison of small bowel and bladder doses between prone and supine positions in preoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy for rectal cancer.
Hayashi T, et al
This study investigated whether patient body positioning during preoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for rectal cancer influences radiation doses delivered to the small bowel and bladder, both of which are sensitive organs located near the treatment field. Researchers compared dosimetric parameters between patients treated in the prone position (lying face down) and the supine position (lying face up), using treatment planning data to quantify differences in organ-at-risk exposure. The prone position has long been proposed as beneficial because gravity can displace small bowel loops away from the pelvis, potentially reducing bowel irradiation, while the supine position may offer better reproducibility in daily setup. By systematically evaluating dose-volume histogram metrics for both organs across the two positions, the study sought to provide evidence-based recommendations for optimizing patient setup in rectal cancer radiotherapy. These findings carry direct clinical importance, as minimizing radiation doses to the small bowel and bladder can reduce the risk of acute and late toxicities such as diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and urinary dysfunction, thereby improving patient quality of life during and after treatment.
Radiological physics and technology
Source →FAPI PET/CT shows favorable potential for the evaluation of gallbladder cancer: a prospective study comparing [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 and [18F]FDG.
Peng D, et al
This prospective study investigated whether [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT, a novel imaging tracer targeting fibroblast activation protein expressed in cancer-associated stromal tissue, could outperform the widely used [18F]FDG PET/CT in evaluating gallbladder cancer, a rare but highly aggressive malignancy with historically poor outcomes. Researchers enrolled gallbladder cancer patients and directly compared the two tracers in terms of their ability to detect the primary tumor, regional lymph node involvement, and distant metastases. The results indicated that FAPI PET/CT demonstrated favorable diagnostic performance, showing higher or comparable lesion uptake and detection rates relative to FDG PET/CT, particularly in cases where FDG uptake was suboptimal. These findings are clinically meaningful because gallbladder cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, making accurate staging critical for selecting appropriate treatment strategies. The study suggests that [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT holds genuine promise as a complementary or superior imaging modality for gallbladder cancer and warrants further validation in larger cohorts.
EJNMMI research
Source →Electrochemical microRNA biosensors for gallbladder cancer: Translational perspectives for clinical chemistry and point-of-care diagnostics.
Goyal A, et al
Gallbladder cancer carries a high mortality rate largely because existing serum biomarkers and imaging techniques consistently fail to detect the disease at an early, curable stage. This comprehensive review examines electrochemical biosensors that detect circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) — small, stable molecules found in blood, plasma, and bile that reflect the underlying biology of gallbladder cancer — as a promising, minimally invasive liquid-biopsy-based diagnostic strategy. The authors critically evaluate the analytical performance of these devices, including sensitivity, specificity, and detection limits in clinically relevant matrices, and benchmark them against established molecular reference methods such as RT-qPCR and droplet digital PCR. Key technical challenges addressed include the complex composition of bile — rich in bile salts, proteins, and subject to pH fluctuations — which can cause electrode fouling and introduce significant analytical variability. The review further outlines pathways for integrating these biosensors into both centralized clinical laboratories and point-of-care settings to enable earlier diagnosis, accurate differentiation of malignant from inflammatory biliary lesions, and more personalized patient management. By connecting miRNA pathobiology with biosensor engineering and laboratory medicine, the work provides a practical translational framework to guide the clinical implementation of electrochemical miRNA diagnostics in oncology.
Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry
Source →