Intratumoral antigen signaling traps CD8 T cells to confine exhaustion to the tumor site.

Immunotherapy advances have been hindered by difficulties in tracking the behaviors of lymphocytes after antigen signaling. Here, we assessed the behavior of T cells active within tumors through the development of the antigen receptor signaling reporter (AgRSR) mouse, fate-mapping lymphocytes responding to antigens at specific times and locations. Contrary to reports describing the ready egress of T cells out of the tumor, we find that intratumoral antigen signaling traps CD8 T cells in the tumor.

Teaching spirituality to Canadian medical students: students' perceptions of a spiritual history taking clinical skills session.

Spirituality involves one's sense of purpose, connection with others, and ability to find meaning in life. We implemented a three-year pilot of a spiritual history taking (SHT) clinical skills session. In small groups, medical students discussed and practiced SHT with clinical scenarios and the FICA framework and received preceptor and peer feedback.

A systematic review to summarize treatment patterns, guidelines, and characteristics of patients with renal cell carcinoma in the Asia-Pacific region.

Introduction: This systematic review evaluated treatment patterns and guidelines in advanced/metastatic and adjuvant renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the Asia-Pacific region.

Areas Covered: Embase, PubMed, and congresses were searched for observational studies and guidelines in accordance with PRISMA. Records published during 2016-2021 (2019-2021 for congresses) were included.

Natural statistics support a rational account of confidence biases.

Previous work has sought to understand decision confidence as a prediction of the probability that a decision will be correct, leading to debate over whether these predictions are optimal, and whether they rely on the same decision variable as decisions themselves. This work has generally relied on idealized, low-dimensional models, necessitating strong assumptions about the representations over which confidence is computed. To address this, we used deep neural networks to develop a model of decision confidence that operates directly over high-dimensional, naturalistic stimuli.

Acupuncture for chemotherapy-associated insomnia in breast cancer patients: an assessor-participant blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial.

Background: Insomnia is a highly prevalent symptom occurred during and post-chemotherapy. Acupuncture may have beneficial effects in the management of chemotherapy-associated insomnia. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in improving chemotherapy-associated insomnia in breast cancer patients.

Parental Feeding Practices in Families Experiencing Food Insecurity: A Scoping Review.

Parental feeding practices and styles influence child diet quality and growth. The extent to which these factors have been assessed in the context of disadvantage, particularly household food insecurity (HFI), is unknown. This is important, as interventions designed to increase responsive practices and styles may not consider the unique needs of families with HFI.

Refining TNM-8 M1 categories with anatomic subgroups for previously untreated de novo metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: To propose a refined M1 classification in de novo metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) based on pooled data from two academic institutions.

Methods: Previously untreated de novo M1 NPC patients prospectively treated at The University of Hong Kong (N = 69) and Fujian Cancer Hospital (N = 114) between 2007 and 2016 were recruited and randomized in a 2:1 ratio to generate training (N = 120) and validation (N = 63) cohorts, respectively. Multivariable analysis (MVA) was performed for the training and validation cohorts to identify anatomic prognostic factors for overall survival (OS).

Electroacupuncture Plus Auricular Acupressure on Chemotherapy-Related Insomnia in Patients With Breast Cancer (EACRI): Study Protocol for a Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial.

Objective: Insomnia is a highly prevalent and disturbing symptom in breast cancer patients under or post chemotherapy. If not appropriately treated, it can persist for years after the completion of cancer treatments. Acupuncture has been widely used for alleviating insomnia.

Statins mediate anti- and pro-tumourigenic functions by remodelling the tumour microenvironment.

Anti-cancer properties of statins are controversial and possibly context dependent. Recent pathology/epidemiology studies of human lung adenocarcinoma showed reduced pro-tumourigenic macrophages associated with a shift to lower-grade tumours amongst statin users but, paradoxically, worse survival compared with that of non-users. To investigate the mechanisms involved, we have characterised mouse lung adenoma/adenocarcinoma models treated with atorvastatin.

Electroacupuncture Plus Auricular Acupressure for Chemotherapy-Associated Insomnia in Breast Cancer Patients: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Chemotherapy-associated insomnia is a highly prevalent complaint in breast cancer patients. This study was undertaken to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of electroacupuncture plus auricular acupressure for chemotherapy-associated insomnia in patients with breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: In this randomized, wait-list controlled trial, thirty breast cancer patients under or post chemotherapy with insomnia were randomly allocated to the acupuncture or wait-list control group.

The Adjunctive Effect of Acupuncture for Advanced Cancer Patients in a Collaborative Model of Palliative Care: Study Protocol for a 3-Arm Randomized Trial.

Background: Cancer is the second leading cause of death before the age of 70. Improved cancer survival has put increasing demands on cancer care. Palliative care is the specialized multi-disciplinary care providing relief from the pain, symptoms, and stress of serious illness.

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Systemic Therapy for Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer.

Background: Currently, approved first-line treatment options of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) include (1) androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) alone, ADT plus one of the following: (2) docetaxel, (3) abiraterone, (4) enzalutamide, and (5) apalutamide. The high cost of novel androgen receptor pathway inhibitors warrants an understanding of the combinations' value by considering both efficacy and cost.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of these five treatment options in mHSPC from the US payer perspective to guide treatment sequence.

Between-subject correlation of heart rate variability predicts movie preferences.

We introduce a novel and simple method for assessing audiences' emotional responses to audiovisuals (e.g. films).

Lymphopenia and Radiation Dose to Circulating Lymphocytes With Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose: We hypothesized that radiation-induced lymphopenia could be predicted by the effective dose to the circulating immune cells (EDIC) in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with trimodality therapy according to the Dutch ChemoRadiotherapy for Oesophageal cancer followed by Surgery Study (CROSS) trial regimen. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effect of EDIC on the degree of lymphocyte drop (lymphocyte nadir).

Methods And Materials: Patients with advanced nonmetastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated in a single tertiary cancer center from 2012 to 2018 were eligible for this study.

Real-world Scenario: CROSS Regimen as Preoperative Therapy for Oesophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Preoperative chemoradiation (CROSS regimen) has been widely adopted worldwide. The survival advantage imparted is especially impressive for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This study aimed at investigating the efficacy of the CROSS regimen in real-world scenario.

Fibroblast-Derived STC-1 Modulates Tumor-Associated Macrophages and Lung Adenocarcinoma Development.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of different cell types, including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs). How these cells interact and contribute to lung carcinogenesis remains elusive. Using KRAS- and BRAF-driven mouse lung models, we identify the pleiotropic glycoprotein stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) as a regulator of TAM-TAF interactions.

Systemic Therapy for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

With more understanding of the tumor biology, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adenocarcinoma are increasingly recognized as different disease entities and are managed with different treatment approaches. Most patients with ESCC need systemic treatment at some point of their disease course, but only until recently, the progress in systemic treatment has been relatively stagnant compared with its adenocarcinoma counterpart. Platinum-based regimens remain the standard of care, while taxanes have been increasingly used upfront and in later lines of treatment.

Literature Review of Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbs-Induced Liver Injury From an Oncological Perspective With RUCAM.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs are commonly regarded to be safe with minimal toxicities in Chinese communities. Cancer patients who are receiving Western oncology therapy often concurrently take TCM herbs for anticancer and symptom relief purposes. We performed a literature review for current evidence on TCM herb-induced liver injury from an oncological perspective.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of Abiraterone Acetate versus Docetaxel in the management of metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer: Hong Kong's perspective.

Background: Several randomized control trials (RCTs) have showed that adding either abiraterone acetate (AA) or docetaxel (D) to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) improves survival of metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer patients (mCSPC). Yet, the cost-effectiveness of these treatment options has not been fully compared under Hong Kong's setting. This cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) serves as the first study in Hong Kong to compare the economic value of these two combinations ADT + AA vs.