Cancers

Deep learning (DL) has transformed cancer imaging by enabling automated tumour detection, classification, and risk prediction. Despite impressive diagnostic performance, limited explainability and poor uncertainty calibration continue to restrict clinical integration. This review is guided by five research questions that examine the challenges, impact, and translational implications of explainabl…

Background: Most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) present with advanced disease and have limited systemic treatment options. Oxaliplatin shows clinical activity in HCC but its effectiveness is frequently curtailed by intrinsic and acquired resistance. We sought to systematically identify genetic vulnerabilities that increase oxaliplatin sensitivity in HCC. Methods: Genome-scale negati…

Background/Objectives: Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor among adults and has a high risk of metastasis. Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been developed to support the management of UM across different clinical tasks. The definition of ground truth, the reference standard that models use in training and development, greatly influences the …

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia with extramedullary disease (EMD-AML) represents a distinct clinical entity associated with diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, and its prognostic significance remains uncertain. Methods: A retrospective study of 617 adults with newly diagnosed AML (2005–2018) was conducted, analyzing 246 patients with EMD-AML and 371 without EMD involvement. The clinical cha…

Background/Objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major malignancy with high incidence and mortality, in part due to its diverse etiology and intratumoral heterogeneity, which contributes to drug resistance and frequent recurrence. SALL1 (Spalt-Like Transcription Factor 1), a zinc-finger transcription factor, was reported to function as a tumor suppressor in several cancers, includi…

In the hepatobiliary system, the majority of neoplasms grow within the hepatic parenchyma; however, some arise, grow, and/or spread within the lumen of the intrahepatic large bile ducts and the perihilar/distal bile ducts (collectively referred to as large bile ducts), representing specialized ductal organs associated with unique peribiliary glands and being distinct from the intrahepatic small b…

With limited therapeutic progress despite aggressive multimodal treatment, glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the deadliest primary brain tumors. Emerging evidence suggests that GSCs are key drivers of tumor initiation, intratumoral heterogeneity, therapeutic resistance, and recurrence. GSCs retain self-renewal capacity, multilineage differentiation potential, and remarkable plasticity, enabling t…

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains one of the most challenging subtypes of breast cancer to treat, defined by its molecular heterogeneity, absence of hormone receptors, and poor clinical outcomes. While this difficulty with cancer cells persists even in the presence of chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), one critical factor linked to both chemoresistance and immune esc…

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains a highly lethal malignancy with limited therapeutic options, in part due to frequent activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NFE2L2 or NRF2). Gain-of-function mutations in NRF2 disrupt its negative regulation by Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1), resulting in sustained NRF2 signaling that promotes tumor gro…

Background: Patterns of failure (POFs) after first-line immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapy in patients with synchronous metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without oncogenic driver alterations may guide the selection of candidates for local consolidative therapy (LCT). Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients diagnosed with synchronous metastatic NSCLC between January…

Natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is a rare and aggressive Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoma characterized by intrinsic chemoresistance and an immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). EBV-driven immune dysregulation provides a biological rationale for immunotherapy. This review summarizes current advances in immunotherapeutic strategies for NKTCL, integrating molecu…

The taxane family of compounds, including paclitaxel, docetaxel (Taxotere), and cabazitaxel (Jevtana), are common drugs used in chemotherapy for the frontline treatment of most major types of cancer. Alopecia, the dramatic loss of hair, is a common side effect that became a symbol of the suffering of many cancer patients. Concerted efforts have been made to understand the mechanism of taxane toxi…

Cancer immunotherapy has transformed oncology, including the management of urothelial carcinoma, yet response rates remain limited and mechanisms of resistance are incompletely understood. At the same time, recent initiatives from the National Institutes of Health and the United States Food and Drug Administration have emphasized the development of standardized human organoid platforms to improve…

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common subtype of non-small cell lung cancer and remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are critical regulators of tumor progression; however, the biological role and molecular mechanisms of miR-589-3p in LUAD remain unclear. In this study, the expression levels of miR-589-3p and WWC2 were analyzed using The Cancer …

Background: Chromosomal rearrangements involving lysine methyltransferase 2A (KMT2A) define a genetically distinct subset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 10% of cases in adult patients; the frequency of KMT2A-r is higher in pediatric AML. Translocations involving the KMT2A locus at chromosome 11q23 result in the formation of a chimeric oncogene partner, where the N-terminal part of KMT2A is fu…

Background: Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is increasingly investigated in operable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), yet its role in strictly resectable disease remains controversial. Randomized trials have been conducted both in borderline resectable and resectable PDAC and have demonstrated survival advantages, while evidence in strictly resectable tumors remains poor. We conducted an umbrel…

Background: Penile squamous cell carcinoma is an uncommon neoplasm that arises via two carcinogenic pathways, one linked to HPV infection and the other to chronic inflammation and p53 alterations. Objective/Methods: We assessed the distribution of HPV genotypes in penile tumors and subsequent inguinal metastases in a cohort of 343 patients, analyzing their concordance with p16 stain and histologi…

Radiation therapy is a central component of the definitive and postoperative management for head and neck cancers (HNC), with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) now standard. Within these techniques, two principal boost strategies are used: simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) and sequential boost (SEQ). Although both are guideline-supported, t…

Melanoma is a heterogeneous, complex and aggressive disease that, despite recent advances in molecular-targeted drugs and molecular and genetic analysis, represents approximately 65% of skin cancer deaths, and unfortunately survival dramatically decreases in melanoma stages III/IV. In young people there is an increased incidence of developing melanoma; hence new therapeutic strategies must be urg…

Background: Recurrence poses a major challenge in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), often occurring despite optimal first-line therapy. Dormant cancer cells are believed to play a key role, yet the mechanisms driving their reactivation remain unclear. This study examined whether exosomes released by normal peritoneal mesothelial cells (PMCs) and fibroblasts (PFBs) undergoing iatrogenic senescence …