Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is a gastrointestinal disorder caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica. The disease is endemic in parts of Africa, Asia, North and South America, leading to several deaths annually. Reported adverse effects associated with the current first-line treatment for amoebiasis, coupled with the evolution of resistance to it, call for the need to search for plant-based alternatives. This study systematically reviews medicinal plants with activity against Entamoeba histolytica.

The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed to retrieve scholarly literature. The study reviewed 70 articles from 7 popular databases: Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Booksc.org, Emerald, Scopus, and MEDLINE, highlighting several plants with anti-amoebic properties.

The primary parts of the plant used in the treatment of Entamoeba histolytica were the leaves (61%), followed by rhizomes (13%), roots (8%), seeds (8%), stems (4%), and fruits (4%). The families Asteraceae (18%) and Zingiberaceae (18%) contain most plants that are effective against Entamoeba histolytica. These medicinal plants families are rich in phytochemicals such as terpenoids and flavonoids that have anti-entamoeba histolytica activity. Maceration is the most commonly used extraction method.

The results suggest that plants are a promising source of new agents to combat amoebiasis caused by Entamoeba histolytica. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves (61%), and the maceration method was the most common extraction technique due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. The majority of studies were limited to in vitro models, with only one plant (Adenophyllum aurantium) tested in vivo. Further research is needed to establish their mechanisms of action, toxicities, and clinical potential.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a major global health problem. The main treatments are surgery and chemoradiotherapy. A drawback of the latter is that repeated treatments are likely to lead to cancer cells developing resistance to the drug, resulting in recurrence, development of metastases, and poor prognosis for patients. Consequently, there is interest in combining chemoradiotherapy with treatment using active components extracted from natural products. One such component is resveratrol (RVT), which is a natural anti-tumor ingredient extracted from plants. Although there are many reviews on the biological activity of RVT, only a few studies have been performed to investigate the diversity of protein binding of RVT with OC and the application of various novel drug formulations containing RVT to treat OC. The review presented here may provide some ideas for the prevention and treatment of OC.

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is one of the acute and serious complications of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression in tumor patients. Antibiotics and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor are the mainstays of its treatment. However, this therapy still faces many challenges and may trigger drug resistance, as well as adverse effects such as bone pain and vasculitis. How to minimize treatment-related toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy has become a key issue to be addressed in current clinical practice. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has demonstrated unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of FN. We conducted a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Web of Science, and CNKI databases using keywords such as TCM and FN, covering the period from their establishment to May 2025. Clinical studies have shown that the combination of TCM and modern medicine can significantly reduce the incidence of FN, while also enhancing the number of granulocytes, shortening the duration of fever, improving the quality of life of patients, and reducing other toxic effects of chemotherapy. These results suggest that TCM is a promising and safe complementary therapy. However, more high-quality trials are needed to verify its benefits. This review summarizes the latest progress in the treatment of FN with TCM and discusses future development directions.

DNA polymerase epsilon catalytic subunit A (POLE) gene plays a crucial role in DNA repair and chromosomal replication. Mutations in the POLE gene have been linked to cancer, particularly colorectal carcinoma (CRC). However, the genomic landscape and pathological significance of POLE mutant CRC remain underreported. This study aimed to characterize the clinicopathologic features and genomic landscape of CRC harboring POLE mutations and to investigate the implications of co-occurring genetic alterations.

We identified thirty-four CRC cases with POLE mutations from our institution’s database using the next-generation sequencing gene panels including 161-gene panel for the cases of 2016–2021 and the 505-gene panel for the case of 2022–2023. We collected clinicopathologic data (age, sex, tumor site, and grading) and conducted comprehensive next-generation sequencing. Survival outcomes were assessed by reviewing patients’ medical records at the time of data collection, with survival status determined based on the most recent clinical follow-up available with overall survival as the primary endpoint and a median follow-up time of 20.5 months. Statistical analyses, including chi-squared testing and CoMutation plotting, were performed using Python.

The enrolled 34 patients had a median age of 60.5 years (range: 37–84); tumors were in the colon (26 cases, 77%) and rectum (8 cases, 23%), with a mismatch repair deficiency rate of 29%. Next-generation sequencing analysis of a 505-gene panel revealed that POLE mutations were predominantly missense (89%). The mutations were distributed across various domains: 11.4% in the exonuclease domain, 25.7% in the catalytic domain, 20% in an unknown functional domain, and 42.9% in a nonfunctional domain. The average number of genomic mutations per case was 12.1 ± 12.3. CoMutation analysis identified two subsets: genomic mutation high (>5 mutations, range 6–60 mutations, n = 22) and mutation low (. Notably, TP53 mutations occurred in 55% of cases, and defects in double-stranded DNA repair proteins occurred in 47% of cases. POLE mutant CRC with co-occurring DNA repair mutations exhibited a significantly higher total number of genomic mutations (19.9 ± 14.4, range 7–60 mutations; chi-squared = 5.1, p-value = 0.02). Although a survival comparison between TP53 wild-type and TP53 mutant subgroups of POLE-mutant CRC is not statistical significant (p = 0.37), it showed a trend toward better survival in the TP53 wild-type group.

Our findings reveal unique genomic landscapes in POLE mutant CRC, particularly with co-occurring TP53 or double-stranded DNA repair mutations, which are critical in colorectal carcinogenesis. These tumors demonstrate increased genetic instability, highlighting potential for immunotherapy.

Precision medicine represents a paradigm shift in healthcare, emphasizing individualized approaches to disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment based on a patient’s genetic, proteomic, and immunologic profile. In the field of oncology, this paradigm has gained traction, particularly with the integration of immunotherapeutic modalities. Among the most promising advancements are therapeutic cancer vaccines, which harness the body’s immune system to fight tumors more effectively. This mini-review highlights recent developments in therapeutic vaccine engineering. It also discusses key barriers to clinical translation and summarizes findings from contemporary human clinical trials evaluating personalized cancer vaccines. In addition, it evaluates the growing potential of these therapies to redefine cancer treatment.

Cervical cancer, driven mainly by persistent high-risk human papillomavirus infection, remains a major public health problem in Bangladesh, with 9,640 new cases and 5,826 deaths in 2022. Early detection of pre-cancerous cervical lesions (PCL) is essential, yet limited evidence exists on factors associated with PCL among Bangladeshi women. This study aimed to identify factors associated with PCL among women attending cervical cancer screening centers at selected tertiary hospitals.

An age-matched (±5 years) case-control study was conducted in two tertiary hospitals. Cases were women who tested colposcopy-positive for PCL, and controls were visual inspection with acetic acid-negative women attending the same screening centers. A total of 38 cases and 76 controls were included. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression identified factors associated with PCL, with significance set at p < 0.05.

A history of sexually transmitted infections (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 36.73; 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.25–414.83), pelvic infections (AOR = 6.48; 95% CI: 1.24–33.85), not living with a husband (AOR = 4.48; 95% CI: 1.06–18.90), and overweight/obesity (AOR = 3.58; 95% CI: 1.14–11.22) were significantly associated with higher odds of PCL. Menstrual irregularity, genital ulcer history, and number of lifetime sexual partners showed no significant association.

Sexually transmitted infections, pelvic infections, overweight/obesity, and not living with husband were identified as factors associated with PCL. Strengthened infection prevention, lifestyle counseling, and targeted health education may support ongoing cervical cancer prevention efforts in Bangladesh.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a double-stranded circular DNA virus with a genome of approximately 7–8 kb. This study aimed to establish an overlapping extension polymerase chain reaction method for the amplification of the entire genome of HPV16.

The HPV16 genome was divided into two larger fragments (with lengths of 3.9 kilobases and 5.3 kilobases, respectively), each of which had overlapping regions of more than 500 base pairs. A nested primer (outer primer: Fout/Rout; inner primer: Fin/Rin) was used to amplify each fragment. The key reaction parameters were optimized, including the selection of two highly accurate DNA polymerases; and a series of diluted samples (initial concentration of 2,000 copies/microliter, diluted to 2, 20, 200, and 2,000 copies/microliter) were used for amplification tests to evaluate the sensitivity of this method.

This study demonstrated high sensitivity for HPV16 detection, with effective amplification of samples as low as 2 copies/µL. For low-concentration samples (<200 copies/µL), the Thermo Fisher enzyme showed 50% and 75% effective amplification success rates at 2 copies/µL and 20 copies/µL, respectively, while the Vazyme enzyme achieved 0% success at both concentrations. Both enzymes enabled stable amplification of high-concentration samples (≥200 copies/µL). The amplified products matched the theoretical size, and Illumina sequencing confirmed Q30 ≥ 96% and >98% identity with the HPV16 reference sequence (K02718.1).

This study provides a highly sensitive and specific method for the full-genome sequence analysis of HPV16, which is applicable to HPV16 full-genome sequencing, variation analysis, and other research.

Infections are frequent and lethal complications of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Reliable biomarkers to distinguish fungal from bacterial infections remain limited. Given the central role of immune dysfunction in ACLF, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum cytokines in differentiating invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) from bacterial pneumonia (BP) in HBV-associated ACLF.

This retrospective case-control study enrolled ACLF patients admitted to the Tongji Hospital, between 2018 and 2022. Patients were categorized into IPA, BP, and non-infection groups. The BP and non-infection groups were propensity score-matched to the IPA cases. Serum cytokines levels (IL-1β, sIL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α) and clinical data were collected, with the diagnostic performance of these cytokines as biomarkers assessed via ROC curves.

A total of 32 IPA, 96 BP, and 96 non-infection patients were enrolled, with balanced baseline characteristics. Compared with the non-infection group, the IPA group had higher sIL-2R (1,606.00 vs. 1,211.50 U/mL, P = 0.019) and IL-6 (69.03 vs. 15.98 pg/mL, P < 0.001) levels, but lower IL-8 levels (62.20 vs. 132.00 pg/mL, P = 0.025). The BP group showed elevated sIL-2R (1,792.00 U/mL), IL-6 (49.42 pg/mL), IL-10 (13.40 pg/mL) levels compared to the non-infection group (all P < 0.001). Also, IL-8 was lower in the IPA group than in the BP group (62.20 vs. 176.00 pg/mL, P < 0.001) and its assessment could best distinguish IPA from BP (AUC = 0.743, cut-off = 76.60 pg/mL; sensitivity = 66.7%, specificity = 82.1%).

Serum IL-8 exhibited superior diagnostic value for IPA in patients with HBV-ACLF and could effectively discriminate Aspergillus infections from bacterial infections.