A case-control study of end-of-life antimicrobial use in Non-hospitalized hospice patients in the United States.

Background: Antimicrobials are frequently prescribed to hospice patients despite limited data on their utility. The Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) has been used for survival prediction among cancer patients and further generalized to end-of-life (EOL) diagnoses. This study aims to identify characteristics associated with antimicrobial usage within 30 days of EOL in non-hospitalized outpatient hospice patients from a single center in the United States (US).

Prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in the Gaza strip.

The increased workload and constant fear for life can cause significant stress and depression among healthcare workers (HCWs). The aim of this study was to measure psychological stress, depression, and their causes in HCWs who practiced in the Gaza strip since the 2023 Israel-Gaza war. We conducted a cross-sectional survey between April 2024 and January 2025 for Palestinian and international HCWs who practiced in the Gaza strip after October 7, 2023.

An inhibitor of UHM splicing factors exerts anti-leukemic activity by altering cell cycle progression and reducing lysosome acidification.

Mature mRNAs are generated by spliceosomes that recruit factors to aid RNA splicing in which introns are removed and exons joined. Among the splicing factors, a family of proteins contain a homologous U2 Auxiliary Factor (U2AF) Homology Motif (UHM) to bind with factors containing U2AF ligand motifs (ULM) and recruit them to regulate 3' splice site selection. Mutations and overexpression of UHM splicing factors are frequently found in cancers.

A phase 1 study of IO-202, an anti-LILRB4 antibody, in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia.

IO-202 is a humanized immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody with high affinity and specificity for leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B4 (LILRB4; ILT3), which is predominantly expressed in monocytes and monocytic blasts. IO-202 induces antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis in vitro and in patients with leukemia. Herein, we present the phase 1a dose escalation data of IO-202 as monotherapy and in combination with azacitidine (AZA) in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and R/R chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), and the phase 1b dose expansion data of IO-202 combined with AZA for the treatment of hypomethylating agent (HMA)-naïve CMML.

Prognostic value of arterial spin-labeling perfusion in anoxic brain injury: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Anoxic brain injury is a potentially lethal condition characterized by cerebral hypoperfusion and irreversible neuronal injury. Arterial spin-labeling (ASL) perfusion and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been proposed as tools to detect cerebral ischemic changes and may aid in the assessment of anoxic injury.

Aim: To explore the relationship between regional ASL perfusion patterns and clinical outcomes following cardiac arrest.

Pancancer outcome prediction via a unified weakly supervised deep learning model.

Accurate prognosis prediction is essential for guiding cancer treatment and improving patient outcomes. While recent studies have demonstrated the potential of histopathological images in survival analysis, existing models are typically developed in a cancer-specific manner, lack extensive external validation, and often rely on molecular data that are not routinely available in clinical practice. To address these limitations, we present PROGPATH, a unified model capable of integrating histopathological image features with routinely collected clinical variables to achieve pancancer prognosis prediction.

Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma and Myxofibrosarcoma.

Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) and myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) are among the most common adult soft tissue sarcoma (STS) subtypes. Due to their high genetic complexity, heterogeneity, and lack of specific genetic alterations, no consistent molecular targets for targeted therapy have been identified for UPS and MFS. Recently, immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) has emerged as a promising treatment modality for UPS and MFS.

Conditioning intensity in myelodysplastic patients aged ≥ 50 years undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT): a study on behalf of the chronic malignancies working party of the EBMT.

Reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) is usually used for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), particularly in the elderly or those with comorbidities. The impact of conditioning intensity on patients' outcome remains controversial with clinicians' subjective opinion/ experience remaining a major guide in choosing the intensity. Here, we compare RIC versus MAC in a large EBMT retrospective study in MDS patients aged ≥50 years undergoing allo-HCT between 2014 and 2018.

The β-1,4 GalT-V Interactome-Potential Therapeutic Targets and a Network of Pathways Driving Cancer and Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Diseases.

UDP-Gal-β-1,4 galactosyltransferase-V (GalT-V) is a member of a large family of galactosyltransferases whose function is to transfer galactose from the nucleotide sugar UDP-galactose to a glycosphingolipid glucosylceramide, to generate lactosylceramide (LacCer). It also causes the N and O glycosylation of proteins in the Trans Golgi area. LacCer is a bioactive lipid second messenger that activates an "oxidative stress pathway", leading to critical phenotypes, e.

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy is Associated with Worse 5-Year Overall Survival in Patients with Metaplastic Breast Cancer Compared with Primary Surgery: A National Cancer Database Analysis.

Background: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MpBC) is a rare breast cancer subtype frequently exhibiting triple-negative receptor status and poor response to chemotherapy. The optimal treatment sequence for MpBC remains unclear. This study evaluated overall survival (OS) in MpBC patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) versus upfront surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy using the National Cancer Database (NCDB).

The Role of Liquid Biopsy in the Management of Patients with Genitourinary Malignancies.

Background And Objective: Liquid biopsy testing refers to the use of specific analytical methods to detect disease-related biomarkers in blood or its components. These tests can be either qualitative or quantitative. Liquid biopsy testing is increasingly used in patient care.

Synergistic effect of MDM2 inhibitors and radiotherapy in endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common type of gynecologic malignancy in the United States, with over 69,120 new cases expected in 2025. The total number of mortalities surpasses that of ovarian cancer. Despite our ability to identify different biological clusters of EC, we have yet to understand the functional impact of key genomic alterations associated with varying prognoses and exploit this knowledge for therapeutic benefits.

Circulating genomic landscape following cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors exposure in HR + /HER2- metastatic breast cancer: a retrospective multi-institutional Consortium analysis.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) plus endocrine therapy (ET) are the mainstay of treatment for hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative (HR + /HER2-) metastatic breast cancer (MBC). However, disease progression is inevitable and unveiling resistance mechanisms is crucial to guide post-CDK4/6i therapeutic strategies. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed a real-world, multi-institutional cohort of patients with HR + /HER2- MBC characterized by circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) through next-generation sequencing (NGS) before starting second-line treatment.

HER2 and urothelial carcinoma: current understanding and future directions.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) has emerged as a crucial biomarker across various cancers, shaping therapeutic strategies and prognostic evaluations. In urothelial carcinoma, HER2 positivity rates can reach up to 68% when HER2-low tumours (immunohistochemistry 1+) are included in the analysis. HER2 overexpression and ERBB2 genomic alterations have been linked to advanced disease stages and poor outcomes in urothelial carcinoma.

Safety of having a subsequent pregnancy after prior diagnosis of breast cancer during pregnancy in young BRCA carriers.

Background: For women carrying a germline pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in the BRCA1/2 genes, having a pregnancy following breast cancer diagnosis and treatment is safe. However, no evidence exists on the safety of having a subsequent pregnancy in BRCA carriers with a prior diagnosis of breast cancer during pregnancy (PrBC).

Methods: The BRCA BCY Collaboration (NCT03673306) is an international, multicenter, retrospective cohort study that included BRCA carriers diagnosed with invasive breast cancer at the age ≤40 years between January 2000 and December 2020.

Camidanlumab Tesirine for Relapsed or Refractory Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Phase 2 Study.

Outcomes in classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) have steadily improved; however, additional therapies are needed for patients who relapse or do not respond to novel agents. Here, we report the efficacy and safety of camidanlumab tesirine (Cami), an anti-CD25 antibody-drug conjugate, in patients with relapsed/refractory cHL following brentuximab vedotin/programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor therapies from the phase 2 ADCT-301-201 study. Eligible patients were adults with cHL who had received ≥3 prior lines of systemic therapy (or ≥2 if ineligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplant).

Exploratory subgroup analyses of EV-302: a phase III global study to evaluate enfortumab vedotin in combination with pembrolizumab versus chemotherapy in previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Background: In the phase III EV-302 study (NCT04223856), enfortumab vedotin (EV) plus pembrolizumab (P) demonstrated superior efficacy and safety versus platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with previously untreated locally advanced/metastatic urothelial cancer (la/mUC). We report the efficacy of EV+P in prespecified subgroups, including those defined by cisplatin eligibility status, the presence or absence of liver metastases, and metastatic disease sites.

Methods: Patients with previously untreated la/mUC were randomly assigned 1 : 1 to receive either EV 1.

American College of Rheumatology Guidance Statement for Diagnosis and Management of VEXAS Developed by the International VEXAS Working Group Expert Panel.

Objective: Vacuoles E1 enzyme X-linked autoinflammatory somatic syndrome (VEXAS) is a recently identified rare genetic disorder associated with somatic mutations in the UBA1 gene. VEXAS presents with a combination of inflammatory and hematologic manifestations, leading to increased morbidity and mortality.

Methods: Given the variability in disease presentation and the limited number of studies to date, no clinical documents currently exist to provide guidance to health care providers about the management of VEXAS.

A cross-sectional survey on VEXAS syndrome: insights from a global expert panel.

Background: Vacuolization, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic (VEXAS) syndrome is recently described, for which the diagnosis and management lack official guidelines.

Aims: To assess the diagnostic capabilities and disease management of VEXAS syndrome among physicians in the global context.

Methods: An electronic survey was sent to clinicians with expertise in VEXAS syndrome between January and February 2025 to gather real-life data on the management of VEXAS.

Real-World Experience with Teclistamab for Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma from the US Myeloma Immunotherapy Consortium.

Unlabelled: Teclistamab is an anti-CD3-/B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) bispecific antibody approved for use in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. We undertook a retrospective study of postapproval, real-world outcomes with teclistamab in the US Multiple Myeloma Immunotherapy Consortium. Among 509 patients, 89% would have been ineligible for the MajesTEC-1 trial, primarily due to prior BCMA-directed therapy, cytopenias, or diminished performance status.

Comprehensive Comparison of Somatic, Germline, and Immune Cell Profiles in Upper Tract and Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma.

Purpose: Molecular characterization of anatomically distinct urothelial carcinoma in the upper tract (UTUC) and bladder (UCB) has been challenging because of the rarity of UTUC. However, recent advances in real-world data curation have facilitated the generation of larger UTUC cohorts. In this study, we investigated the somatic, germline, and immunologic landscapes of UTUC compared with UCB.

Combining Missing Data Imputation and Internal Validation in Clinical Risk Prediction Models.

Methods to handle missing data have been extensively explored in the context of estimation and descriptive studies, with multiple imputation being the most widely used method in clinical research. However, in the context of clinical risk prediction models, where the goal is often to achieve high prediction accuracy and to make predictions for future patients, there are different considerations regarding the handling of missing covariate data. As a result, deterministic imputation is better suited to the setting of clinical risk prediction models, since the outcome is not included in the imputation model and the imputation method can be easily applied to future patients.

Induction chemotherapy and molecular MRD influence outcomes in KMT2A-rearranged AML.

We analyzed 217 patients with KMT2A-rearranged AML in two large sequential randomized trials. Those randomized to FLAG-Ida had markedly lower rates of relapse than other chemotherapy regimens. Molecular MRD assessment after cycle two was strongly prognostic for relapse and death.

Cellular and enzymatic features of thrombi in humans are vascular bed dependent.

Mechanisms behind vascular remodeling following thrombosis are unclear. Although acute arterial thrombosis in the cerebrovascular circulation has devastating consequences and requires immediate attention, the management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) varies significantly. Our goal was to determine the molecular signatures and cellular content of thrombus extracted using a catheter to gain insight into vascular remodeling.