Stem cell transplant (SCT) is a potential cure for haematological malignancies whose outcomes are predicted to be poor on chemotherapy alone and cases difficult to treat using standard of care treatment. There is growing evidence to show that not all patients who would benefit from SCT receive it due to inequities in the treatment pathway. The role of socioeconomic deprivation on inequities in the SCT setting is unclear due to conflicting findings. We aim to synthesise the UK evidence base in this area from the point of diagnosis to transplant to guide further research and policy to improve survival for underserved patients.

Primary electronic searches will be performed in bibliographic databases including MEDLINE, Embase, Proquest Databases, Central & CDSR, Stem Cell Evidence and Web of Science and Google Scholar for grey literature. Eligibility criteria will include observational studies of UK patients diagnosed with haematological malignancies treated with SCT, where outcomes are reported according to socioeconomic deprivation. Two independent reviewers will screen each study and assess the quality of all included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa grading system. Outcomes of interest include delay in diagnosis/referral, treatments/interventions received, referral to transplant, presence of comorbidities affecting transplant eligibility, transplant utilisation rates, waiting time to transplant and survival rates. Post-transplant outcomes are beyond the scope of this review. Inequities in SCT due to socioeconomic deprivation will be narratively summarised. Meta-analysis will be conducted dependent on data availability. This protocol has been registered with PROSPERO (2024: CRD42024620592).

Ethical approval is not required for this study as it is a secondary analysis of published data.We are not aware of any ethical concerns regarding SCT or treatment of donors in the studies included in this research. This systematic review will retrieve, screen and extract data from UK research. SCT and the treatment of donors in the UK follow the National Health Service (NHS) and NHS Blood and Transplant guidelines and policies and are regulated by the Human Tissue Authority and Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. The data which will be used in this review will consist of data from NHS digital/NHS England or single NHS centre data, which will follow the guidelines and regulations above.The findings will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication, shared at conference presentations, and disseminated to both clinical and patient groups including National (Black, Asian, Mixed Race and Minority Ethnic) BAME Transplant Alliance and the National Institute for Health Research Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Precision Transplant and Cellular Therapeutics.

CRD42024620592.

Hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) cancers frequently develop peritoneal metastases, signalling a poor prognosis and severely limiting the efficacy of systemic treatments. This review evaluates the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) for these malignancies.

We conducted a systematic review in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive, structured search strategy was applied to PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify eligible non-interventional studies involving adult patients with HPB cancers and peritoneal metastases undergoing PIPAC.

Ten studies encompassing 332 patients were included. PIPAC was feasible, with non-access rates ranging from 0% to 11.8%. Patients completed a mean of 1.3-1.8 cycles for hepatobiliary and 2.1-3 cycles for pancreatic cancers. Median overall survival ranged from 85 days to 15.1 months for hepatobiliary malignancies, and 8.5 to 12.7 months for pancreatic cancers. The procedure demonstrated a high safety profile, with no severe postoperative systemic toxicities (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade ≥3) reported.

PIPAC appears to be a safe, feasible and potentially efficacious intervention for HPB peritoneal metastases. However, current evidence remains heterogeneous, necessitating standardised, prospective trials to clearly define its clinical role.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns emerged that hospital-based care could increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among pediatric patients with cancer, especially in resource-limited settings where the capacity to isolate patients would be challenging. Yet, infection rates in this population remain poorly documented, and it is unclear whether prior common human coronavirus (HCoV) exposures influence SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses. Here, we used serology to estimate SARS-CoV-2 exposure in children with and without cancer from Western Kenya and evaluated responses to common HCoVs to explore cross-reactivity.

We performed multiplex antibody profiling to assess SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-specific responses in plasma from children with and without cancer sampled between 2014 and 2022. Unsupervised clustering identified participants with elevated SARS-CoV-2 seroreactivity relative to pre-pandemic samples. Seropositivity was further defined using a multi-antigen approach based on IgG levels to nucleocapsid and receptor-binding domain antigens to improve specificity. Cross-reactivity and cross-boosting by common HCoVs were evaluated through correlation analyses and groupwise comparisons of antibody levels, respectively.

Of 564 children, 474 were healthy (184 pre-pandemic; 290 post-pandemic) and 90 had cancer (16 pre-pandemic; 74 post-pandemic). Post-pandemic, 69% (200) of healthy controls exhibited elevated SARS-CoV-2 seroreactivity, with 51% (148) meeting the criteria for seropositivity. Children with cancer showed similar rates of seroreactivity (67%) and seropositivity (57%) after adjusting for sampling year, with incidence increasing annually from 2020 to 2022. Pre-pandemic samples exhibited weak cross-reactivity to HCoV-OC43 which increased following SARS-CoV-2 infection; however, no significant boosting of HCoV antibodies was observed.

These findings indicate widespread SARS-CoV-2 exposure among children in Western Kenya and provide no evidence that hospitalization heightened infection risk for pediatric patients with cancer.

Left-sided colon-cancer (LCC) and right-sided colon cancer (RCC) harbor different clinical entities and different therapy protocols. Our study aimed to demonstrate genomic expression differences and clarify the clinical differences between LCC and RCC by using in-silico methods.

Our study compares mRNA expression levels between clinical groups to describe variations in molecular characteristics between right-left-sided colon cancer (216 right-141 left) using the TCGA-COAD database. We identified differentially expressed genes and analyzed survival profiles for RCC and LCC. We applied a gene set enrichment analysis and merged the results by group to highlight common and different pathways.

The results reveal that TG, INSL5, EREG and AIRE were found as age-related genes, and TG, INSL5, EREG, AIRE, HOXB8 and FLT3 were found as gender-related genes for RCC and LCC. We found that high expression of the AIRE gene was linked with poor survival in patients with RCC in males and under 65 age groups. High expression of LEP was correlated with poor survival in patients with RCC, regardless of gender. In addition, low expression of the EREG gene was linked with poor survival in women with RCC.

Three genes (AIRE, LEP, EREG), which are effective on the EGFR pathway, would have great predictive and prognostic importance in the context of anti-EGFR therapies.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a highly fatal gynecologic malignancy with complex management challenges and limited long-term survival for advanced stages. Large language models (LLMs)-including systems such as GPT-4, Claude, Google Gemini, and others-are emerging artificial intelligence (AI) tools capable of performing health care-related tasks such as diagnostic support, treatment planning, report generation, and patient communication. However, their applications in OC care have not yet been comprehensively assessed.

This protocol outlines a systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at evaluating the use, performance, and clinical impact of LLMs in OC management. We will examine how LLMs have been applied across various domains (eg, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment planning, and patient engagement), the metrics used to assess their performance (eg, accuracy, sensitivity, and area under the curve), and their strengths and limitations.

This review will be conducted in accordance with PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols) guidelines. A comprehensive search strategy will be implemented across biomedical, technical, and Chinese-language databases (eg, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) from inception to December 31, 2025. Eligible studies include clinical evaluations, validation studies, and real-world implementation reports involving LLMs in OC care. Two independent reviewers will perform screening, data extraction, and quality appraisal using validated tools (eg, version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials, Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions, Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2, and Prediction Model Study Risk of Bias Assessment Tool+AI). Outcomes of interest include model performance metrics, clinical process impacts, safety concerns, and usability. Meta-analyses will be conducted where feasible using random-effects models in R (meta, metafor, and mada packages), including bivariate models for sensitivity and specificity.

The review is currently in progress. The PROSPERO registration has been completed, and the literature search and selection process is underway. Study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment are expected to be completed by mid-2026. Final results will include pooled performance metrics (eg, accuracy, F1-score, and area under the curve), qualitative insights into clinical integration, and identification of limitations such as reporting bias or insufficient external validation.

This systematic review will provide the first comprehensive synthesis of evidence on the application of LLMs in OC care. It will identify promising use cases, highlight safety and reporting challenges, and inform future research directions. The findings are expected to support evidence-based integration of LLMs into gynecologic oncology workflows while promoting transparency and methodological rigor in AI evaluation.

Gasdermin D (GSDMD) executes pyroptosis by forming membrane pores, yet how these structures assemble and are regulated in cells has remained technically inaccessible. We introduce polymer-supported plasma membranes (PSPMs), which preserve native PM properties while providing cytosolic access for nanoscopic imaging. Combining PSPMs with DNA-PAINT super-resolution microscopy, we visualize human and mouse GSDMD nanostructures directly at the PM of pyroptotic cells and uncover species-specific differences in pore size. Quantitative analyses reveal that GSDMD assembles into heterogeneous macromolecular architectures, including ring-shaped structures, which correlate with PM permeabilization. The palmitoylation-deficient C191A mutant retains minor membrane association but fails to form complete rings, indicating that ring assembly, more than membrane binding, determines pore activity. Last, we identify PI(3,4,5)P₃ as a key regulator of pore stabilization. Its early increase during pyroptosis promotes growth of large rings, and mutations in PI(3,4,5)P₃-interacting residues undermine assembly. These findings define the native architecture of GSDMD pores and reveal lipid-dependent stabilization as a central mechanism regulating pyroptotic membrane permeabilization.

Patients with advanced cancer frequently experience high symptom burden and reduced quality of life. Physiotherapy may represent an important nonpharmacological component of palliative care; however, evidence regarding its effectiveness in hospitalized patients remains limited. This study evaluated the effects of individualized physiotherapy on quality of life and symptom burden in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care.

A quasi-experimental study with pre-post evaluation and nonrandomized allocation was conducted. Participants were hospitalized adults with stage IV cancer and a Palliative Performance Scale score of 40%-50%. Participants were allocated to an experimental group receiving physiotherapy or to a control group receiving usual care. The intervention consisted of 12 physiotherapy sessions delivered over approximately 2 weeks. Quality of life and symptom burden were assessed at the baseline and post-intervention using the EORTC QLQ-C30, Version 3. Mixed analysis of variance was used to evaluate changes over time between groups. Ethical approval was obtained, and all participants provided written informed consent.

Sixty patients were included (30 per group). Global health status and quality of life improved significantly in the experimental group, whereas the control group showed no meaningful change. Significant improvements were observed in physical, emotional, and occupational functioning. Reductions were noted in fatigue, pain, dyspnea, insomnia, nausea and vomiting, and appetite loss. Social functioning did not change significantly in either group. Most participants reported favorable perceptions of physiotherapy, with 96.7% indicating perceived benefit.

Individualized physiotherapy was associated with clinically meaningful improvements in quality of life, functional outcomes, and symptom burden in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer. These findings support the integration of physiotherapy within interdisciplinary palliative care teams. However, interpretation should consider the nonrandomized design and the short follow-up period, which may limit causal inference and long-term generalizability.

While the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is a widely used prostate cancer screening tool, its application remains controversial. Opportunistic PSA testing generates complex data in which testing intensities, PSA levels, and prostate cancer diagnosis are interdependent. Conventional analyses rarely model these processes jointly. The objective of this study was to develop a population-based joint model to analyse PSA dynamics, retesting patterns, and prostate cancer risk. We used the Stockholm Prostate Cancer Diagnostics Register to identify 506,761 men with at least one PSA test between 2003 and 2020. We fitted a joint model linking three components: a linear mixed-effects submodel for PSA over age, and two proportional hazards submodels for time to next PSA test and time to prostate cancer diagnosis. PSA increased nonlinearly with age, with substantial between-person heterogeneity and increasing unexplained variation with increasing age. Estimates from models fitted to each time-to-event process separately were attenuated relative to the joint model: hazard ratios per doubling of PSA were 1.61 (95% CI: 1.59-1.62; P < .001) versus 2.01 (95% CI: 1.99-2.02; P < .001) for prostate cancer diagnosis, respectively, and 1.068 (95% CI: 1.066-1.070; P < .001) versus 1.163 (95% CI: 1.161-1.165; P < .001) for retesting, respectively. This pattern is consistent with informative observation bias: men with higher PSA values are tested more frequently, so that part of the association between PSA and the event is absorbed by the unmodelled observation mechanism when the processes are analysed separately. Jointly modelling PSA, testing intensity, and diagnosis through shared random effects accounts for this dependence. As a limitation, the study is primarily limited by its observational nature and a lack of data on non-cancer factors that can elevate PSA, such as urinary tract infections or lower urinary tract symptoms. In conclusion, jointly modelling PSA dynamics and testing behaviour corrects for the informative observation bias inherent in opportunistic testing. This approach yields more accurate population estimates compared to traditional isolated models. Our findings suggest that PSA dynamics may be clinically informative and that screening models should jointly incorporate testing history and PSA trajectories to improve precision.

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a highly curable B-cell lymphoma, but a group of patients may experience resistance to initial treatment or progress to refractory disease. Moreover, they may experience relapses or long-term complications such as infertility and secondary neoplasms. In this retrospective cohort study, 257 patients diagnosed with HL between 2002 and 2022 were included to identify clinical and laboratory predictors of survival that may contribute to managing patient treatment and follow-up strategies. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory data at diagnosis were collected from patients' e-records. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify independent predictors of death. The median age at diagnosis was 29 years, with 54.9% males. Nodular sclerosis was the most common subtype (34.6%). Univariable Cox regression analysis showed that high creatinine levels (HR 7.55, 95% CI 2.62-21.81, p < .001), low platelet count (HR 4.87, 95% CI 1.58-14.94, p = .006), and high total bilirubin (HR 3.76, 95% CI 1.34-10.55, p = .012) are factors associated with poor survival. In the exploratory multivariable Cox regression analysis, poor response to treatment was strongly associated with poor survival (HR 7.89, 95% CI 2.39-26.06, p=<.001), followed by low platelet count (HR 4.72, 95% CI 1.28-17.46, p = 0.020). This may suggest that poor treatment response and low platelet count are independent predictors of poor survival in HL patients but require confirmation in a larger cohort. Early detection of high-risk patients based on these clinical and laboratory results may improve patient treatment and follow-up strategies.

Cervical cancer is a largely preventable and controllable disease. Social perceptions regarding sexual experiences and gynecological visits contribute to stigma, which serves as a major barrier to screening and human papillomavirus vaccination. This study explored how stigma is formed and reinforced within sociocultural norms and personal psychological barriers. Focus group interviews were conducted with 14 Korean women aged 20-29 years, divided into screeners and non-screener groups, on November 23, 2024. Based on the transcriptions, Thematic analysis was performed on the transcripts to organize codes into core themes,(in compliance with qualitative research reporting standards). A total of 28 codes were grouped into 10 sub-themes and classified by group. Among them, three sub-themes were common to both screeners and non-screeners, including negative perceptions of gynecological visits, stigma associated with sexually transmitted diseases, and barriers due to a lack of information. Among screeners, four sub-themes were identified: a desire for alternative notification methods for screening, psychological barriers to screening, a sense of burden from additional tests during visits, and reluctance to share screening experiences due to perceived prejudice from others. Among non-screeners, three sub-themes were identified: stigma toward patients with cervical cancer and lack of awareness of the sensitivity of cervical cancer. To promote cervical cancer preventive behaviors, stigma must be addressed as a social process rather than solely an individual issue. Practical solutions include creating a predictable screening environment (e.g., prior notification of procedures and additional tests with consent), improving patient-centered care, and enhancing notification methods. This study provides a foundation for developing stigma-related indicators and designing follow-up studies. (e.g., individual interviews/large-scale surveys).