Total Neoadjuvant Therapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Insights from the Western Australian Context.

Background: Recent studies have associated total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) with better treatment adherence, decreased toxicity, improved complete clinical response and anal sphincter preservation rates in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). However, real-world experience with TNT in the management of LARC remains limited.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety outcomes of TNT for LARC in Western Australia.

Eribulin in breast cancer: Current insights and therapeutic perspectives.

Eribulin is a non-taxane synthetic analogue approved in many countries as third-line treatment for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer. In addition to its mitotic property, eribulin has non-mitotic properties including but not limited to, its ability to induce phenotypic reversal of epithelial to mesenchymal transition, vascular remodelling, reduction in immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment. Since approval, there has been a surge in studies investigating the application of eribulin as an earlier-line treatment and also in combination with other agents such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy across all breast cancer sub-types, including hormone receptor positive, HER2 positive and triple negative breast cancer, many demonstrating promising activity.

Comparing fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with computed tomography in staging for nodal and distant metastasis in urothelial/bladder cancer.

Objectives: We aim to assess the clinical value of F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron (F-FDG-PET) scan in detecting nodal and distant metastasis compared with computed tomography (CT) scan in patients with urothelial carcinoma or bladder cancer, aiming to improve staging accuracy and thereby better prognosticate and determine therapy.

Methods: A retrospective review of 75 patients with invasive bladder cancer (≥T1) who were staged with both CT and F-FDG-PET within an 8-week interval was performed for the period between 2015 and 2020. Seventy-two per cent (54/75) had formal pelvic lymph node (LN) dissection or biopsy of lesions suspicious for metastases.

Antibiotic use reduces the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with urothelial carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Context: Antibiotics have been suggested to diminish the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) by alterations of the gut microbiota.

Objective: To perform a meta-analysis summarizing the effect of antibiotics on the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of urothelial cancer (UC) patients receiving ICI.

Evidence Acquisition: PubMed, EMBASE (Ovid), and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify studies published up to July 14, 2023.

Triple synchronous malignancies of the stomach, bladder and thyroid in a previously treated prostate cancer patient: A Case Report.

Cancers that develop within six months of the first primary cancer are referred to as synchronous malignancies. These malignancies are difficult to diagnose and treat, with treatment primarily based on case reports.

Stromal inflammation, fibrosis and cancer: An old intuition with promising potential.

It is now well established that the biology of cancer is influenced by not only malignant cells but also other components of the tumour microenvironment. Chronic inflammation and fibrosis have long been postulated to be involved in carcinogenesis. Chronic inflammation can promote tumorigenesis growth factor/cytokine-mediated cellular proliferation, apoptotic resistance, immunosuppression; and free-radical-induced oxidative deoxyribonucleic acid damage.

Gut microbiota diversity and composition in predicting immunotherapy response and immunotherapy-related colitis in melanoma patients: A systematic review.

Background: Gut microbiome (GM) composition and diversity have recently been studied as a biomarker of response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy (ICB) and of ICB-related colitis.

Aim: To conduct a systematic review on the role of GM composition and diversity in predicting response and colitis in patients with melanoma treated with ICB.

Methods: The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO: CRD42021228018.

Anterior pelvic exenteration and synchronous bilateral nephroureterectomy for BK polyoma virus induced urothelial carcinoma of the bladder: A case report.

BK polyoma virus (BKV) is a known risk factor for the development of urothelial carcinoma. There is currently limited data on the management of BKV-induced urothelial carcinoma (BUC) of the bladder, with available data limited to case reports. It remains debatable whether radical cystectomy (RC) with removal of the native urinary tract or RC alone is the most optimal management for BUC of the bladder.

Applications of nanoparticles in cardiovascular imaging and therapeutics.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major health problem afflicting millions of people worldwide. Early detection methods are lacking, and current therapies have significant limitations. Recently, there has been a surge in the number of studies investigating the utilisation of nanoparticles in cardiovascular imaging and therapy.

Application of extracellular vesicles in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer: Implications for clinical practice.

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are cell-derived lipid bilayer-delimited structures providing an important means of intercellular communication. Recent studies have shown that EV, particularly exosomes and large-oncosomes contain miRNA and proteins crucial in prostate cancer (PCa) progression, metastasis and treatment resistance. This includes not just EV released from PCa cells, but also from other cells in the tumor microenvironment.

Adenocarcinoma of the urethra: A rare subtype of urethral cancer.

Urethral adenocarcinoma (UA) is a rare type of urethral cancer with a poor prognosis. We present a case of UA of intestinal subtype in a 57-year-old patient who initially had lower urinary tract symptoms and was subsequently found to have a urethral lesion in a urethral diverticulum on pelvic MRI which was confirmed on biopsy. She had neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by open anterior pelvic exenteration, complete urethrectomy and ileal conduit urinary diversion.

Effect of dimethyl fumarate on renal disease progression in a genetic ortholog of nephronophthisis.

Dimethyl fumarate is an FDA-approved oral immunomodulatory drug with anti-inflammatory properties that induces the upregulation of the anti-oxidant transcription factor, nuclear factor erythroid-derived factor 2. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of dimethyl fumarate on interstitial inflammation and renal cyst growth in a preclinical model of nephronophthisis. Four-week-old female Lewis polycystic kidney disease (a genetic ortholog of human nephronophthisis-9) rats received vehicle (V), 10 mg/kg (D10) or 30 mg/kg (D30) ( n = 8-9 each) dimethyl fumarate in drinking water for eight weeks.