Ultrasound-guided chemical ablation is a first-line treatment for benign cystic thyroid nodules. Although absolute ethanol is the most common sclerosing agent, it is associated with prolonged procedure time and potential complications. Polidocanol, a widely used sclerosing agent for varicose veins, liver, and kidney cysts, offers a potential alternative due to its favorable safety profile. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of polidocanol retention versus absolute ethanol lavage and identify factors predicting treatment success.

Treatment decisions in patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) are largely guided by radiological response to induction systemic therapy. However, radiological assessment alone provides an imprecise estimate of underlying tumour biology or treatment response. Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) is an emerging biomarker that can support clinical decision-making. This study evaluated the independent prognostic value of radiological tumour burden and DELFI-TF, a tumour tissue- and mutation-independent cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentome-based ctDNA assay.

Pembrolizumab plus olaparib versus pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy was evaluated as postinduction therapy for patients with PD-L1-unselected locally recurrent inoperable/metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who derived clinical benefit from first-line pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy induction therapy.

PRRT with [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE improves survival in advanced GEP-NETs, but fixed-activity dosing may result in undertreatment or unnecessary toxicity. Individualized dosimetry and tandem-PRRT with 90Y/177Lu have been proposed, but prospective randomized evidence is lacking.

There is an unmet need for a tool that could predict early favorable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response in metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) patients receiving androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI). Here, we train and validate a multivariable logistic regression model to predict early favorable PSA response (≤0.2 ng/mL by 6 months) in these patients. Patients randomly allocated to the ARPI arms of the LATITUDE (abiraterone), TITAN (apalutamide), and ARASENS (darolutamide) trials, are split 60:40 into training (n = 1030) and internal validation (n = 688) cohorts. The locked model is validated in an independent external validation cohort - the enzalutamide arm of the ENZAMET trial (n = 540). The area under curve and Brier score for the locked model in the external validation cohort are 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.78-0.85) and 0.16, respectively. Stratification by predicted probability tertiles show PSA response rates of 92% (95% CI = 88-96), 74% (95% CI = 68-81), and 39% (95% CI = 32-47), respectively. Pending prospective validation, our model predicts early favorable PSA response supporting its potential role in guiding treatment decisions.

Liquid biopsies hold promise to improve the diagnosis, assessment of response to therapy, and ultimately guide the management of cancer patients. However, implementation of this approach in brain tumors has proven challenging due to the limited passage of molecules across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). We recently reported results from a phase I clinical trial in which the BBB was transiently opened in glioblastoma (GBM) patients using skull-implantable low-intensity pulsed ultrasound combined with microbubbles (LIPU/MB). In this study, treatment and BBB opening was performed every 3 weeks with paclitaxel administration until disease progression or up to 6 cycles (NCT04528680). As an exploratory objective of this trial, here we investigate extracellular vesicles and particles (EVPs/EPs) released into circulation in the context of tumor cell death as a potential biomarker for response to treatment. We develop and validate a microfluidic device designed to capture tumor-derived EVPs in glioblastoma patients (GlioExoChip). This approach leverages GBM-based expression of phosphatidylserine and Annexin-V chemistry that is traditionally used to measure apoptosis. EVPs are characterized using nanoparticle tracking analysis, proteomics, western blot, and scanning electron microscopy. Proteomic analysis of circulating EVPs isolated from GBM patients reveals distinct expression patterns to that of healthy individuals, and scRNA-seq analysis of these genes supported their tumoral origin within the GBM microenvironment. In vitro, paclitaxel-susceptible glioma cells treated with this drug exhibit apoptosis and dose-dependent EVP release. In concordance, we find changes in EVP release following the initiation of paclitaxel with LIPU/MB correlated with overall survival in GBM patients. Thus, our study introduces an efficient microfluidic platform for the capture of circulating GBM EVPs and demonstrates that release upon BBB opening is predictive of outcomes following paclitaxel treatment. This approach represents a real-time surrogate biomarker for treatment response for a disease where imaging-based assessment of response has not been shown to be reliable. Future prospective validation is warranted.

This randomized, double-blind study aimed to establish the equivalence of TQB2440 (a pertuzumab biosimilar) versus the reference pertuzumab, in the combination of trastuzumab and docetaxel, for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early or locally advanced breast cancer.

AMN006 is a prospective, single-arm, phase 2 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of daratumumab, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (DVd) in elderly, transplant-ineligible (TI) patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR); secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and safety. 27 patients were enrolled between October 2019 and September 2021. Treatment comprised fixed-duration DVd (9 months) followed by daratumumab maintenance until progression or toxicity. At a median follow-up of 27 months, the ORR was 96.3%, ≥CR in 29.6% and VGPR in 51.9%. Among patients achieving ≥ CR, 7/8 were MRD-negative (sensitivity 10-5). Median PFS was 36.5 months; median OS was not reached. The regimen was well tolerated, with treatment-emergent adverse events related to study drugs in 22% of patients. These findings support the feasibility of time-limited DVd and daratumumab maintenance as an effective and tolerable frontline approach for TI NDMM patients. Trial Registration: NCT03695744.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), yet resistance remains a major challenge. Here, we report the results from cohort A of a multi-cohort, phase II, open-label trial [NCT04777084], evaluating the efficacy and safety of IBI318 (a bispecific anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody, 300 mg intravenous every 2 weeks) plus lenvatinib (a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, 8 mg orally daily). Forty patients with advanced NSCLC and acquired resistance to first-line ICIs were enrolled and received at least 1 cycle of the study regimen. The primary endpoint of 12-week objective response rate was 40.0% (95% CI: 24.9-56.7), satisfying prespecified efficacy threshold. Secondary endpoints included other efficacy endpoints and safety. Median progression-free and overall survival were 6.9 months (95% CI: 4.8-9.5) and 18.2 months (95% CI: 10.7-29.1), respectively. The most common treatment-related adverse event was increased thyroid-stimulating hormone (n = 11). Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 12.5% (5/40) of patients. Further, we performed a post-hoc exploratory analysis and developed an XGBoost model (scPro-X) using scRNA-seq data from pre-treatment tumor samples to predict 12-week ORR identified CD4_Tfh_CXCL13 and CD8_Tex_CTLA4 as potential biomarkers predictive of response. These findings demonstrate that IBI318 plus lenvatinib exhibit promising clinical activity and a manageable safety profile in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Adjuvant 5-FU monotherapy was previously the standard treatment for stage II/III rectal cancer. This study compared adjuvant FOLFIRI, FOLFOX, and 5-FU/LV.

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a common complication with myelosuppressive chemotherapy regimens, significantly affecting patients with breast cancer (BC) receiving docetaxel and cyclophosphamide (TC). Treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is established for prophylactic and therapeutic use to reduce risk of FN. Eflapegrastim-xnst, a novel long-acting G-CSF, has a favorable safety profile and is effective in reducing neutropenia risk in patients with early-stage BC receiving TC, when administered 24 h after chemotherapy. The benefits of eflapegrastim-xnst given same day as TC have not been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of magnetic resonance (MR)-guided split-course hypo-fractionated radiotherapy (hypo-RT) with concurrent chemotherapy followed by consolidative immunotherapy (CIT) in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC).

Epidemiological and retrospective studies suggest that letrozole may improve outcomes in low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary (LGSCO) by targeting estrogen-driven tumor progression.

People living longer with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) experience heightened psychological distress and decrements in quality of life. Therefore, we developed LiveWell, an 8-session adapted dialectical behavioral therapy skills training (DBT-ST) protocol delivered one-on-one via telehealth to reduce psychological distress.

The use of axillary ultrasound (AUS) in breast cancer staging varies across international guidelines, ranging from routine use to targeted implementation. This study evaluates the clinical utility of AUS in patients enrolled in the AMAROS trial.

We report long-term clinical and immunologic outcomes from the MM1636 trial (NCT03047928), which evaluated a peptide vaccine targeting IDO and PD-L1 in combination with nivolumab in patients with advanced melanoma. At a five-year follow-up, the combination demonstrated durable clinical efficacy, with a 25.5-month median progression-free survival. Serum proteomic profiling identified vaccine-specific immune signatures, with increase in CCL3, CCL4, and TNFα emerging as biomarkers of long progression-free survival. Increase in these markers were not observed in a matched anti-PD-1 monotherapy cohort, suggesting distinct immune modulation by the vaccine. Functional studies confirmed vaccine-induced targeting of myeloid cells and associated increase in these cytokines. These findings provide evidence for durable benefit from immune modulatory vaccination and nominate CCL3, CCL4, and TNFα as candidate biomarkers for response.

At the primary progression-free survival (PFS) analysis, the phase III EMBER-3 trial in endocrine therapy-pretreated patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced breast cancer (ABC) demonstrated significant PFS benefit with imlunestrant versus standard of care (SOC: fulvestrant or exemestane) in patients with ESR1 mutations (ESR1m) and with imlunestrant-abemaciclib versus imlunestrant in all patients, regardless of ESR1m. In this article, we report updated efficacy from a prespecified interim overall survival (OS) analysis.

Radiotherapy is an integral component of treatment for oropharyngeal cancer. Toxicity from the current state-of-the-art photon radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), has prompted the search for alternative, less toxic therapies. One such alternative that might de-intensify treatment is proton therapy. In this trial, we aimed to directly compare IMRT with intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), both concurrent with systemic therapy, hypothesising comparable disease control and survival and lower toxicity.

Successful liver resection in oncologic surgery depends on safety, precision, and efficacy, all of which require a thorough understanding of liver anatomy. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT)-generated three-dimensional (3D) models have been proposed as a valuable tool to enhance this understanding. However, a systematic comparison of different display modalities across professional groups has not yet been performed.

The TRAVASTIN study dentified plasma Tie2 as the first vascular response biomarker for bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer. Tie2-defined vascular responders had significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) compared to nonresponders. Here, we report overall survival (OS) in TRAVASTIN after 7.7 years of follow-up, explore efficacy of bevacizumab use and reuse, and assess plasma Tie2 performance as a response biomarker.