Three-dimensional power Doppler (3DPD) ultrasound has been used for assessing adnexal masses, and in this study, we aimed to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate its role in the differential diagnosis of adnexal masses.

A search for primary studies assessing the diagnostic performance of 3DPD in discriminating benign from malignant masses carried out between January 1990 and May 2023 was performed in Medline (PubMed), Scopus, and Web of Science databases with study quality evaluated using QUADAS-2.

We identified 404 citations. Ultimately, 18 studies comprising 2,975 women were included, and the mean prevalence of malignant lesions was 37%. In most cases, the quality of studies was moderate. Overall, pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of 3DPD vascular tree assessment for studies including any type of mass were 77% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 52%–91%), 80% (95% CI = 37%–97%), 3.9 (95% CI = 0.7–20.9), and 0.29 (95% CI = 0.10–0.81), respectively. Heterogeneity was high for both sensitivity and specificity. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of 3DPD vascular tree assessment for studies including only “complex” or “suspicious” adnexal masses were 90% (95% CI = 82%–94%), 88% (95% CI = 74%–95%), 7.3 (95% CI = 3.2–16.4), and 0.12 (95% CI = 0.06–0.22), respectively. Heterogeneity was moderate for both sensitivity and specificity. We could not perform quantitative synthesis for studies estimating 3D vascular indexes.

The diagnostic performance of 3DPD for discriminating benign from malignant adnexal masses is good, and there is great heterogeneity in diagnostic criteria when using this technique.

Cancer treatment has been revolutionized in the last 10 years. Previously, highly toxic chemotherapy regimens that attack both healthy cells and cancer cells as well as induce significant side effects were used. Nowadays, a more targeted approach is employed. Cancer cells are being treated at the molecular level. Patients with carcinoma of unknown primary who previously only had “broad spectrum” combination therapy as a treatment option can now have their cancer’s genome sequenced with next-generation sequencing in a matter of hours and be offered a more targeted approach. Here, we report a case of a patient with metastatic cancer of an unknown primary origin who was progressing on multiple lines of treatment. Next-generation sequencing showed that the patient had a high tumor mutational burden; therefore, he was able to access immunotherapy through a compassionate access scheme, which resulted in a near complete and sustained clinical and radiological response.

Oncology patients undergoing cancer treatment and experiencing episodes of fever are known to be at increased risk for invasive bacterial infection, including bloodstream infection. This study aimed to identify the incidence of bacteremia along with the bloodstream isolates for immunocompromised oncology patients referred to the emergency department (ED) due to fever.

Oncology patients with fever were referred to the ED according to a protocol previously reported. Virtually all children had central venous access devices (CVAD) that underwent sterile access according to Hematology-Oncology (Hem-Onc) and ED protocol. Antibiotics were administered to all patients once CVAD were accessed and laboratory studies, including blood culture, were obtained. Data collected included patient demographic features, complete blood count profiles, proportions receiving antibiotics within 60 minutes of ED arrival and subsequent blood culture results.

Of 1,088 consecutively referred Hem-Onc patients, 439 were eligible for inclusion. The overall blood culture positive rate was 5.7%. Fifty-six percent of patients with positive blood cultures had an absolute neutrophil count greater than 500 µL at the time of ED presentation. Gram-positive organisms comprised 64% of isolates while gram-negative organisms accounted for 36% of the total isolates.

Immunocompromised oncology patients presenting to the ED with fever are susceptible to bloodstream infection caused by an array of gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. Bloodstream infection during episodes of fever includes many patients without severe neutropenia at presentation and with bloodstream isolates not typically associated with catheter-related bloodstream infection alone, highlighting the diversity and variability within this patient population.

Global deaths attributed to gastric cancer (GC) are increasing, yet our understanding of it remains limited. Recently, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatial transcriptomics have provided important insights into the dissection of metastasis-related biological processes in subpopulations of cells in the GC tumor microenvironment, especially intratumoral cellular heterogeneity and cell-cell interactions. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms underlying GC metastasis and potential strategies for developing upcoming immunotherapies by combining advances in scRNA-seq and spatial transcriptomics.

Melanoma has become a severe burden for human beings, with high mortality and a growing incidence. Currently, various nanomedicines integrated with novel therapeutic strategies and precision delivery have been developed to treat melanoma. Although great achievements have been made in the development of nanomedicines, clinical translation is lagging far behind. In this review, three research questions are raised to elucidate the bibliometric study on nanomedicines as melanoma therapeutics. The basic bibliometric properties are presented and analyzed. International cooperation and research foci are emphasized. Finally, future research directions for nanomedicines to promote clinical translation are raised, and several feasible suggestions are proposed. We believe that this review could serve as a guideline document for the development of nanomedicines for melanoma therapeutics.

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations benefit from targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Nevertheless, 50–70% of patients will experience progressive disease during TKI therapy, and nearly half will develop resistance mutations such as T790M, for which a third-generation TKI has been developed and proven to be highly effective. One of the most common sites of metastasis in patients with NSCLC is the central nervous system, significantly impacting their and their relatives’ quality of life as well as the management of the disease. A patient diagnosed with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma showed progression after 21 months of first-line anti-EGFR therapy and showed clear signs of neurological impairment. The interpretation of cerebral involvement was dubious and difficult: while cerebral spinal fluid cytology seemed to confirm leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, no meningeal nodules or abnormal enhancement was detected on magnetic resonance imaging. Liquid biopsy detected the resistance mutation T790M; hence, therapy was switched to the third-generation TKI osimertinib. The first instrumental re-evaluation revealed a partial response, with a reduction in both lung lesion dimensions and brain alterations. This case shows the effectiveness of osimertinib in treating patients with stage IV NSCLC with central nervous system and bone involvement.