Caregivers of patients undergoing ambulatory cancer surgery frequently experience heightened anxiety while having limited access to real-time psychosocial support. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a brief, self-guided mindfulness-based audio intervention delivered in the surgical waiting room.

This pilot feasibility study used a primarily quantitative pre-post design. Informal caregivers were recruited via QR code with support from perioperative nurse liaisons. Participants completed the Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety (VAS-A) immediately before and after a 5-minute guided mindfulness meditation and rated satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, and likelihood of future use. Feasibility was assessed using enrollment and completion rates. Brief open-ended survey responses were collected to descriptively contextualize feasibility and acceptability findings.

Of 73 caregivers who accessed the study, 49 (67.1%) enrolled. Among enrolled participants, 44 (89.8%) completed the preintervention assessment and meditation, and 27 (55.1%) completed both pre- and postintervention assessments, meeting predefined feasibility thresholds. Mean anxiety scores decreased significantly from pre- to postintervention (5.67 to 4.41; t(26) = 4.49, P < .001). Acceptability ratings exceeded the neutral midpoint (>3.0) on a five-point scale. Descriptive feedback highlighted the calming quality of the guided audio and appreciation for self-care messaging, alongside minor technical challenges related to volume, background noise, and audio playback.

A brief, self-administered mindfulness meditation delivered via personal devices was feasible, acceptable, and associated with reduced caregiver anxiety in an ambulatory oncology setting.

Ultra-brief, technology-enabled mindfulness interventions can be integrated into perioperative workflows to address acute caregiver distress without disrupting care delivery. Oncology nurses are well positioned to facilitate implementation of such low-burden supports, which may enhance caregiver well-being and preparedness for postoperative care. Future studies should evaluate effectiveness across diverse settings and optimize delivery to minimize technical barriers.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) improve survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), yet current biomarkers such as programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and response criteria (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, RECIST, V.1.1) align poorly with long-term survival. Radiomics has been proposed as a source of novel biomarkers, but standard radiomic approaches suffer from limited biological interpretability and poor generalizability across treatment settings. We address these gaps by developing the Quantitative Vessel Tortuosity (QVT) score, a biologically interpretable imaging biomarker that quantifies tumor vascular complexity-a known mediator of immune evasion-from routine imaging. We hypothesized that QVT score would improve prognostication and enable treatment response monitoring in ICI-treated NSCLC, independent of current biomarkers.

This retrospective, multicenter study analyzed 1,301 CT scans from 682 patients with ICI-treated NSCLC. An automated pipeline segmented lesions and tumor-associated vasculature within each scan, extracting 910 QVT features measuring vascular shape and complexity. Unsupervised clustering of these features in a discovery cohort (N=375) was performed to identify fundamental vascular phenotypes. A continuous QVT score was then derived using regularized logistic regression to map patients along this phenotypic spectrum. QVT score was externally validated in ICI monotherapy (N=172) and chemoimmunotherapy (N=135) cohorts. In a longitudinal cohort (n=143), early on-treatment QVT score changes were evaluated for overall survival (OS) association.

Two robust vascular phenotypes emerged in the discovery cohort: a highly vascularized, chaotic "QVT High" phenotype with poor post-ICI OS and a "QVT Low" phenotype with normalized vasculature and improved ICI outcomes. The continuous QVT score was prognostic for ICI monotherapy (HR=1.17 per 0.1 increase, p=0.0028) and chemoimmunotherapy (HR = 1.23 per 0.1 increase, p = 4.9×10⁻⁵). High QVT status remained prognostic for both treatments after adjustment for PD-L1 and clinical variables (adjusted HR range: 2.13-2.38, p≤0.002). Early decreases in QVT score during therapy, indicating vascular normalization, were associated with improved OS (HR=1.93, p=0.0022) independent of RECIST best overall response and tumor volume change.

QVT score is a novel, biologically interpretable imaging biomarker that quantifies vascular complexity. It enables automated, non-invasive prediction and monitoring of ICI outcomes by capturing treatment-induced vascular remodeling. Integrating QVT score into clinical decision-making and drug development can address critical gaps in precision oncology.

Liquid biopsies are emerging as promising approaches to capture minimal residual disease (MRD) and interpret the heterogeneity of pathological responses after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with early stage cancers. Minimally invasive analyses of circulating cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA) are enabled by advances in next generation sequencing and bioinformatic methodologies, resulting in sensitive and specific ctDNA detection. Emerging data supports the clinical utility of ctDNA status at different timepoints during the treatment trajectory and ctDNA MRD has been shown to predict clinical outcomes. Herein, we critically review ctDNA technologies and their analytical performance together with an assessment of the clinical sensitivity of these approaches to predict disease recurrence.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires private insurance plans to cover preventive services, receiving a Grade A or B rating by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) without cost sharing. Cervical cancer prevention is one such service. Family medicine provides more than half of all the cervical cancer screenings in the US. While the ACA has led to an increase in screening, half of the people assigned female at birth who develop cervical cancer have never been screened. In addition, 20 to 40% of screening-eligible people in the US do not participate in screening. Of those who do screen, and their screen is abnormal, only 34% attend their diagnostic colposcopy examination. Colposcopy with biopsy and endocervical curettage requires consequential copay for the examination and pathology, which increases financial toxicity. Beginning in 2027, policies similar to those in place for breast and colorectal cancer screening that require insurance plans to cover the entire diagnostic workup without cost sharing under the ACA preventive services provision, will be implemented for cervical cancer screening.

A comprehensive preoperative assessment of the patient's physical condition is crucial for predicting the prognosis of patients undergoing radical cholecystectomy for gallbladder cancer (GBC). This study aimed to develop a prognostic model integrating preoperative hematological parameters and clinical information to predict postoperative survival in patients with GBC.

Patients who underwent radical cholecystectomy for GBC between 2000 and 2024 at Xinhua Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and Shigatse People's Hospital were included in this study. Data on demographic features, clinical parameters, laboratory results, and clinical outcomes were collected. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, time-dependent ROC curve analysis, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression were used to identify the key factors for model development. Various machine learning models were constructed based on these findings. Internal validation assessed model stability, while clinical decision analysis evaluated its practical utility.

A total of 184 patients were included, with a mean age of 67 years. Key predictors identified through univariate and multivariate Cox regression, time-dependent ROC, and LASSO analyses were the lymphocyte-to-C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging. The best-performing model was logistic regression, with the following area under the curve (AUC) values: for the training set, 0.785 at 1 year, 0.853 at 2 years, and 0.873 at 3 years; and for the test set, 0.800 at 1 year, 0.870 at 2 years, and 0.872 at 3 years. Clinical decision analysis confirmed the model's clinical applicability.

The machine learning model incorporating LCR and TNM staging is a robust tool for predicting postoperative survival following radical resection for GBC.

To develop efficacious assessment tools to individualize the evaluation of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with testicular cancer.

A total of 30,689 patients diagnosed with testicular cancer between 2004 and 2021 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. The study population was randomly divided into a training cohort and a validation cohort. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were conducted to identify significant predictors, which were subsequently utilized to construct nomograms for predicting 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year OS and CSS. The predictive performance of the nomograms underwent internal and external testing with the application of the concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic curves, and calibration curves. We developed a prognostic scoring system based on the coefficients within the Cox models for each subgroup.

The significant predictors included age, race, marital status, TNM stage, radiation, chemotherapy, surgery and pathology. Age emerged as the most potent factor associated with overall and cancer-specific death (≥ 60 vs. < 30 years old: HR = 12.19 for OS and HR = 5.94 for CSS, p < 0.001). Among all pathological subtypes, choriocarcinoma exhibited the worst OS and CSS (reference seminoma: HR = 2.79 for OS and HR = 5.02 for CSS, p < 0.001). The favorable internal validation (C-index: 0.799 for OS and 0.859 for CSS; area under the curve = 0.773-0.892), external validation (C-index: 0.784 for OS and 0.867 for CSS) and calibration curves indicated the nomograms possessed good predictive ability. We developed a prognostic scoring system for the first time, which is more accurate than the traditional TNM system in evaluating patients' survival outcomes.

The prognostic nomograms and scoring systems are capable of effectively evaluating the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year OS and CSS of testicular cancer patients and providing a reliable tool for optimizing clinical treatment decisions and follow-up management.

Unpaid caregiving is a critical but often under-recognised component of the cancer care continuum. As cancer prevalence rises globally, particularly in lower-income countries, quantifying the time and economic burden of unpaid caregiving across regions is essential for health resource planning, economic participation and support services. This systematic review aimed to quantify the global burden of unpaid cancer caring by examining care hours and associated costs, disaggregated by country income level based on the Socio-Demographic Index (SDI).

We systematically searched databases for studies published up to January 2026 that reported unpaid cancer caregiving hours and/or costs. Data were extracted and synthesised narratively, and where appropriate, pooled using random-effects meta-analysis for unpaid care hours. Study quality was assessed using standard checklists appropriate to the study design.

Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria, with the majority conducted in high-income countries. Unpaid care hours ranged from 1.3 to 113.8 h per week, with a pooled estimate of 48.35 h (95% CI: 17.81-78.89), though heterogeneity was high (I² = 100%). Unpaid care costs varied widely, with monthly costs averaging US$2249 (range: US$346-US$5626) in high-SDI countries; US$196 in high-middle SDI countries; US$26 in middle SDI countries; US$24 in low-middle SDI countries; and US$37 in low-SDI countries. Costing methods varied, with opportunity cost and replacement cost approaches most commonly used.

Unpaid carers dedicate substantial time to support people living with and beyond cancer, offering essential assistance that fills critical gaps in health services. This contribution represents a substantial economic burden that remains largely uncompensated. There is a striking lack of data from low- and middle-income countries, where the incidence of cancer is rising, and unpaid care resources are limited. Future research must prioritise recognition, valuation and support for unpaid carers, thus helping increase economic productivity, particularly in underserved settings.

Smoking and alcohol drinking are established causes of head and neck cancer (HNC), yet their combined effect and variation by anatomic sub-site remain incompletely defined.

We followed 5,985,244 Korean adults (≥ 30 years) who attended National Health Insurance health screening in 2002-2003 until 31 December 2019. Smoking status (never, former, current) and alcohol intake (none, light, moderate, heavy) were self-reported at baseline. Incident HNC was ascertained from the national cancer registry. Sub-distribution hazard ratios (SHRs) were estimated with Fine-Gray competing-risk regression. Additive interaction was quantified by the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion (AP), and synergy index (SI), and multiplicative interaction by a product term.

During 76.5 million person-years of follow-up (mean 13-year follow-up), 13,491 HNC cases were recorded. Current smoking and heavy alcohol drinking independently increased HNC risk in a dose-response manner. Combined exposure to smoking and heavy drinking showed a supra-additive risk for HNC overall (SHR, 2.42; 95% CI, 2.28-2.56; RERI, 0.63; AP, 0.26; SI, 1.79), particularly for the oral cavity, oropharynx, nasal cavity/paranasal sinuses, and larynx. Significant multiplicative interactions were also observed in the oral cavity, oropharynx, and hypopharynx.

Concurrent cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol consumption synergistically elevate the risk of HNC across multiple subsites. Integrated public-health strategies targeting both behaviors are essential to reduce the HNC burden.

to examine the temporal trends of these indicators across the state's health regions to provide evidence that supports improvements in public policies and actions aimed at disease control.

Ecological study conducted in Sergipe state, Brazil. We used anonymized data on malignant prostate neoplasms (ICD-10 C61) from the Aracaju Cancer Registry (ACR) for 1996-2017. Mortality data were obtained from the Mortality Information System (SIM) for 1996-2022. Age-specific and age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were calculated. The Mortality-to-Incidence Ratio (MIR) and its complement (1-MIR) were used as indirect indicators of five-year survival. Temporal trends were assessed using Joinpoint regression (version 5.3.0), estimating APC, AAPC and 95 % confidence intervals using Monte Carlo permutation tests.

A total of 10,133 prostate cancer cases were recorded from 1996 to 2017. The age-standardized incidence rate increased from 42.4 per 100,000 (1996-2005) to 76.8 per 100,000 (2006-2012), decreasing slightly to 72.3 per 100,000 (2013-2017). The overall annual increase was 6.63 %, with Aracaju showing 6.85 %. Declines occurred only in Nossa Senhora do Socorro from 2007 to 2017 (APC: -1.85; 95 %CI: -3.59; -0.26). Between 1980-2022, age-standardized mortality increased 4.20 % annually (95 %CI: 3.35-4.81), with marked rises in Estância (7.20 %), Propriá (6.02 %), Lagarto (5.53 %), Nossa Senhora da Glória (4.83 %), and Itabaiana (2.89 %). MIR-based survival declined from 76.57 % (1996-1999) to 71.27 % (2015-2017), with increased MIR among adults aged 75 + , decreasing MIR among individuals aged 15-54-especially in the capital-and increases across all age groups in Propriá.

Prostate cancer in Sergipe demonstrates significant regional and age-related disparities in incidence, mortality, and survival. Rising incidence and mortality, along with adverse MIR trends, underscore the need for targeted health policies to improve early detection, treatment access and long-term outcomes.

The 2022 European LeukemiaNet (ELN22) genetic risk stratification for AML makes critical changes, including removal of FLT3-internal tandem duplications (ITD) allelic ratio and inclusion of mutations in myelodysplasia-related (MR) genes and in-frame bZIP CEBPA mutations. We evaluated the applicability of ELN22 in a uniformly treated younger AML cohort and explored refinements to improve risk prediction.

We retrospectively analyzed 473 adult patients with AML treated with intensive therapy. A combination of cytogenetics and next-generation sequencing was used to stratify patients into the ELN17 and ELN22 risk. In addition, we also evaluated leukemic stem cell (LSC) burden at diagnosis and postinduction measurable residual disease by multiparametric flow cytometry.

A total of 77 cases (16.3%) were reclassified from ELN17, primarily because of changes associated with FLT3-ITD, CEBPA, and MR gene mutations. As per ELN22, 56.7% of patients were classified as favorable, 28.3% intermediate, and 15.0% adverse risk. ELN22 adverse-risk patients had significantly inferior overall survival and relapse-free survival compared with intermediate- and favorable-risk patients. High LSC burden at diagnosis, presence of WT1 mutations, and DNMT3A-FLT3-ITD comutated NPM1 dichotomized the ELN22 intermediate-risk group.

We conclude that ELN22 is prognostically valid in intensively treated younger patients with AML. Incorporation of WT1 mutation status, triple-mutated NPM1, and LSC burden may improve risk stratification, particularly within the heterogeneous intermediate-risk category.