Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy for Advanced Intraocular Retinoblastoma….
Uludağ SB, et al
A new study published in Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology evaluated the safety and effectiveness of intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) — a technique that delivers cancer-fighting drugs directly into the eye's blood supply — for treating advanced intraocular retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer predominantly affecting infants and young children. The single-center retrospective study followed 13 pediatric patients (15 eyes, mean age 22.5 months) who underwent a total of 45 IAC procedures between January 2020 and December 2024, including both first-line and salvage treatments. The procedure achieved a technical success rate of 97.8%, with only minor complications recorded in 8.8% of sessions and no serious systemic adverse events observed throughout the study. Visual acuity was maintained or improved in 93.3% of treated eyes, no patient required enucleation (surgical eye removal), and no cases of metastatic spread or death occurred during at least 12 months of follow-up. These results reinforce the potential of IAC as a globe-sparing strategy that can protect both the eye and useful vision in children with advanced disease. The authors conclude that while outcomes are highly encouraging, larger multicenter studies with extended follow-up are needed to firmly establish long-term efficacy and safety.
Cardiovascular and interventional radiology
Source →Pediatric Radiation Retinopathy: Impact of Early Diagnosis and Targeted Treatment.
Villegas VM, et al
A retrospective study published in the Journal of Vitreoretinal Diseases investigated whether early detection of retinal damage using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and targeted treatment with intravitreal bevacizumab could improve visual outcomes in children who developed radiation retinopathy after external beam radiotherapy for retinoblastoma. Researchers analyzed 30 eyes from 19 pediatric patients who received radiation doses of 40–50 Gy for retinoblastoma and subsequently developed macular swelling with documented visual decline, all of whom were treated with injections of bevacizumab, a drug that blocks the abnormal blood vessel growth responsible for retinal damage. The central retinal thickness decreased substantially from a mean of 511 micrometers at baseline to 263 micrometers by the second year of treatment, with patients receiving an average of 8.2 injections in the first year, declining to 5.9 by the fifth year, indicating a meaningful anatomical response over time. These findings provide clinical evidence that prompt diagnosis using advanced retinal imaging combined with anti-VEGF therapy can preserve and improve vision in young patients with stable retinoblastoma complicated by radiation-induced macular disease, giving ophthalmologists a practical and evidence-based management strategy for this challenging pediatric condition.
Journal of vitreoretinal diseases
Source →Perioperative Management of a Patient with Good Syndrome and Pancytopenia Undergoing Sternotomy and Thymectomy.
Jarrold D, et al
This case report from the Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia describes the perioperative management of a 61-year-old man diagnosed with Good Syndrome — a rare immunodeficiency associated with thymoma — who also presented with severe pancytopenia, a dangerous reduction of all blood cell types. Good Syndrome is already uncommon, but its co-occurrence with aplastic anemia and thrombocytopenia (rather than the more typical pure red cell aplasia) made this clinical scenario particularly challenging. The patient underwent sternotomy and thymectomy for a type AB thymoma, and the authors document his care pathway from initial diagnosis through major surgery and postoperative recovery. Because Good Syndrome is infrequently encountered and often diagnosed late, published guidance on surgical management of such patients is extremely scarce. This case provides clinicians — especially anesthesiologists and thoracic surgeons — with a valuable real-world reference for planning and executing safe perioperative care in patients with this complex immunohematological condition.
Annals of cardiac anaesthesia
Source →Precision modeling of tumor antigen-specific T-cell responses in humanized mice for preclinical assessment of cancer immunotherapies.
Gebhardt S, et al
Researchers have developed an advanced humanized mouse model for preclinical cancer immunotherapy testing by engrafting immunodeficient mice with human hematopoietic stem cells engineered to express predefined T-cell receptors (TCRs), enabling the controllable generation of naive, functional tumor antigen-specific T cells. The study found that these engineered T cells gained a developmental advantage in the mouse thymus and, once present within tumors, delayed tumor growth while promoting a diverse intratumoral immune cell population that included PD-1+/TCF1+ precursor exhausted T cells — a critical subset associated with durable antitumor immunity — which were entirely absent in control mice. Importantly, high baseline frequencies of tumor antigen-specific T cells diminished the effectiveness of T-cell bispecific antibodies (TCBs), indicating that pre-existing T-cell exhaustion can limit the activity of this therapeutic class. The model also confirmed that costimulatory immune agonists, specifically FAP-CD40 and FAP-4-1BBL, require the presence of this specific T-cell compartment to exert their antitumor effects. This adaptable and physiologically relevant platform represents a powerful new tool for investigating the complex interplay between human tumors, immune cells, and immunotherapies, with the potential to significantly improve the translation of preclinical findings into effective clinical treatments for cancer patients.
Journal for immunotherapy of cancer
Source →HER2 Overexpression in Invasive Breast Carcinoma in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its Association with Selected Clinicopathological Characteristics.
Ilunga Nday G, et al
A cross-sectional study conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2014 and 2016 investigated the frequency of HER2 protein overexpression — a molecular marker associated with aggressive tumor behavior and eligibility for targeted therapies such as trastuzumab — in 86 cases of invasive breast carcinoma from Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. Using immunohistochemistry scored according to standard guidelines, researchers found that approximately one in four tumors (25.6%) exhibited HER2 overexpression, a proportion broadly in line with rates reported in other African countries and globally. No statistically significant associations were detected between HER2 status and patient age, tumor size, histological type, tumor grade, or estrogen receptor status, though the authors acknowledge that the limited sample size may have reduced statistical power to detect such relationships. These findings are particularly important in a context where access to molecular diagnostic infrastructure remains highly restricted, providing locally generated evidence that supports integrating routine HER2 testing into breast cancer management in the DRC. The study underscores an urgent need for larger, longer-duration investigations to confirm clinicopathological associations and to guide more equitable and effective oncological care in resource-limited African settings.
Breast cancer (Dove Medical Press)
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