a cancer journal for clinicians

Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly prescribed long-acting drugs used to treat acid reflux, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and peptic ulcers. Recently, concerns have been raised about their safety, particularly due to the association between long-term PPI use and cancer development. Multiple comprehensive studies have consistently suggested a noteworthy link between prolonged PPI usage and an increased risk of developing gastric, esophageal, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers, yet the precise underlying mechanism remains elusive...

OBJECTIVE: Circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection is a promising noninvasive technique that can be used to diagnose cancer, monitor progression, and predict prognosis. In this study, the authors aimed to investigate the clinical utility of CTCs in the management of diffuse glioma. METHODS: Sixty-three patients with newly diagnosed diffuse glioma were included in this multicenter clinical cohort. The authors used a platform based on isolation by size of epithelial tumor cells (ISET) to detect and analyze CTCs and circulating tumor microemboli (CTMs) in the peripheral blood of patients both before and after surgery...

Although the survival rate of patients with childhood cancer has greatly improved, long-term survivors face specific problems such as the late effects of cancer treatment. In this study, we estimated the number of people who had experienced childhood cancer to predict their needs for medical care and social resources. Using data from the population-based Osaka Cancer Registry, we identified children aged 0-14 years who were diagnosed with cancer between 1975 and 2019. We estimated the prevalence on December 31, 2019, and the 5- and 10-year prevalence (i...

BACKGROUND: Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) guided by ultrasound is a novel radiation therapy technique that facilitates the delineation of the tumor target area under image guidance, enhancing the precision of radiation therapy and maximizing the protection of surrounding tissues. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of VMAT under ultrasonic guidance for cervical cancer patients and its impact on radiotherapy dosage and prognosis...

BACKGROUND: Accurate diagnosis and subsequent delineated treatment planning require the experience of clinicians in the handling of their case numbers. However, applying deep learning in image processing is useful in creating tools that promise faster high-quality diagnoses, but the accuracy and precision of 3-D image processing from 2-D data may be limited by factors such as superposition of organs, distortion and magnification, and detection of new pathologies. The purpose of this research is to use radiomics and deep learning to develop a tool for lung cancer diagnosis...

Breast pain is a common concern among women in primary care clinics. A rare cause of breast pain is Mondor's disease (MD), which can present as an acute, painful, erythematous, cord-like induration on the breast or anterior chest wall. The disorder is caused by sclerosing superficial thrombophlebitis of the anterolateral thoracoabdominal wall veins. There does not appear to be a racial or ethnic propensity for this condition; however, it is important to understand that it may be more difficult to see in darker skin types (Fitzpatrick skin types IV-VI) and requires close attention on physical exam...

INTRODUCTION: The 8th edition lung cancer staging system was the first to describe the detailed diagnosis and staging of multiple primary lung cancers (MPLC). However, the characteristics and prognosis of MPLC categorized according to the new system have not been evaluated. METHOD: We retrospectively analyzed data from surgically treated MPLC patients in a single center from 2011 to 2013 and explored the characteristics and outcomes of different MPLC disease patterns...

The incidence and mortality of lung cancer in China are the highest of all malignant tumors, seriously endangering people's lives and health. Refractory lung cancer is lung cancer that is unresponsive to standard treatment and is difficult to treat, or lung cancer for which a standard treatment has not yet been defined. However, there is still a lack of clear definition and consensus on the treatment of refractory lung cancer. In order to provide guidance for the clinically effective and safe treatment of refractory lung cancer, experts from Chinese Thoracic Society Lung Cancer Study Group have formulated this consensus, on the basis of the actual situation in the field of diagnosis and treatment in our country, with reference to the latest research data, relevant guidelines at home and abroad and experts' clinical practice experience...

CONTEXT: Opioid therapy is a cornerstone for treatment of cancer-related pain, but standardized management practices for patients with cancer and aberrant urine drug test (UDT) results are lacking. OBJECTIVES: To identify the prevalence of UDT ordering (both screening and definitive testing) in the oncology setting and to examine clinician management practices for patients with cancer on opioid therapy with aberrant definitive UDT results. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with cancer on opioid therapy at an academic cancer center in the United States...

BACKGROUND: When taken as prescribed, endocrine therapy is effective in reducing risk of recurrence and mortality in the treatment of patients with breast cancer. However, treatment side effects can act as a barrier to medication adherence. Existing research has not identified any specific side effects as consistent predictors of nonadherence. Our aim was to explore the influence of symptom clusters on self-reported adherence in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted, including patients with breast cancer currently or previously prescribed endocrine therapy (N = 1051)...

Identifying potential cancer-associated genes and drug targets from omics data is challenging due to its diverse sources and analyses, requiring advanced skills and large amounts of time. To facilitate such analysis, we developed Cat-E ( Ca ncer T arget E xplorer), a novel R/Shiny web tool designed for comprehensive analysis with evaluation according to cancer-related omics data. Cat-E is accessible at https://cat-e.bioinfo-wuerz.eu/. Cat-E compiles information on oncolytic viruses, cell lines, gene markers, and clinical studies by integrating molecular datasets from key databases such as OvirusTB, TCGA, DrugBANK, and PubChem...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to identify the presence of occult peritoneal metastasis (OPM) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) by using clinical characteristics and abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) features. METHODS: This retrospective study included 66 patients with OPM and 111 patients without peritoneal metastasis (non-PM [NPM]) who underwent preoperative contrast-enhanced CT between January 2020 and December 2021. Occult PMs means PMs that are missed by CT but later diagnosed by laparoscopy or laparotomy...

Background : No studies have identified combined biomarkers that may be more reasonable for the assessment of current chemo-immunotherapy in patients with extensive stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). Methods : This study was conducted to investigate a combined biomarker with prognostic or predictive value in ES-SCLC. We determined the best independent prognostic biomarker among the four complete blood-count-derived inflammatory biomarkers (CBC-IBs). Subsequently, we analyzed the prognostic or predictive value of combining this independent CBC-IB with PD-L1 (SP142) expression...

Context: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-related multiphenotypic sinonasal carcinoma (HMSC), formerly known as HPV-related carcinoma with adenoid cystic like features, is a rare tumor subtype with unusual correlation between radiological, histopathological, and surgical findings. The shared histological characteristics with other sinonasal tumors make the diagnosis challenging. Optimal surgical and oncological treatments for this rare condition remains to be clearly defined. Methods: The objective of the study was to describe the unique characteristics and endoscopic surgical treatment of this rare tumor...

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced gastric cancer in the real world. METHODS: The retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical records of 402 patients with advanced gastric cancer who were admitted to the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital between December 2017 and April 2022 and who had received immunotherapy. Observation target: drug use, treatment, adverse reaction type and grade, objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS)...

Concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) treated patients experience various complications. We present a rare case of post-CCRT Bell's palsy and describe its various possible causes, so as to increase awareness among clinicians about Bell's palsy being a CCRT-associated adverse effect. The patient was a 48-year-old man diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma who presented with post-CCRT Bell's palsy. After radiotherapy for 6 weeks (overall 67.5 Gy) and four rounds of cisplatin chemotherapy, he complained of paralysis of the entire left face...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this review is to summarize the literature on carotid artery stenosis (CAS) and ischemic stroke (IS) in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients treated with radiotherapy (RT) to guide assessment, screening, and management strategies. RESULTS: Patients treated with RT for HNC are at an elevated risk of developing CAS with published meta-analyses demonstrating that CAS >50% occurs in approximately 25% of patients. Previous research suggests a 10-year cumulative incidence of stroke between 5...

INTRODUCTION: Between 2009/2010 and 2019/2020, England witnessed an increase in suspected head and neck cancer (sHNC) referrals from 140 to 404 patients per 100 000 population. 1 in 10 patients are not seen within the 2-week target, contributing to patient anxiety. We will develop a pathway for sHNC referrals, based on the Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator. The evolution of a patient-reported symptom-based risk stratification system to redesign the sHNC referral pathway (EVEREST-HN) Programme comprises six work packages (WPs)...

BACKGROUND: Childhood cancer survivors are at high risk of long-term iatrogenic events, in particular those treated with radiotherapy. The prediction of risk of such events is mainly based on the knowledge of the radiation dose received to healthy organs and tissues during treatment of childhood cancer diagnosed decades ago. PURPOSE: We aimed to set up a standardised organ dose table in order to help former patients and clinician in charge of long term follow-up clinics...

BACKGROUND: Older adults with cancer are a growing population requiring tailored care to achieve optimum treatment outcomes. Their care is complicated by under-recognised and under-treated wasting disorders: malnutrition, sarcopenia, and cachexia. We aimed to investigate the prevalence, overlap, and patients' views and experiences of malnutrition, sarcopenia, and cachexia, in older adults with cancer. METHODS: Mixed-methods study with cross-sectional study and qualitative interviews...