International Expert-Based Consensus Definition, Classification Criteria, and Minimum Data Elements for Osteoradionecrosis of the Jaw: An Inter-Disciplinary Modified Delphi Study.

Purpose: Osteoradionecrosis of the jaw (ORNJ) is a severe iatrogenic disease characterized by bone death after radiation therapy (RT) to the head and neck. With over 9 published definitions and at least 16 classification systems, the true incidence and severity of ORNJ are obscured by lack of a standard for disease definition and severity assessment, leading to inaccurate estimation of incidence, reporting ambiguity, and likely under-diagnosis worldwide. This study aimed to achieve consensus on an explicit definition and phenotype of ORNJ and related precursor states through data standardization to facilitate effective diagnosis, monitoring, and multidisciplinary management of ORNJ.

Molecular characterization of HER2-negative breast cancers reveals a distinct patient subgroup with 17q12 deletion and heterozygous loss of ERBB2.

Background: The approval of trastuzumab deruxtecan has prompted the subgrouping of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancers (BCs) to HER2 0 and HER2 low on the basis of immunohistochemistry, although the biological significance of these subgroups remains uncertain. This study is aimed to better understand the molecular and genetic differences among HER2- tumors stratified by quantitative levels of HER2.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed the transcriptomic and genomic data from the Molecular Taxonomy of BC International Consortium (discovery cohort) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (independent validation cohort).

Rethinking the rise of early onset gastrointestinal cancers: a call to action.

Since the early 1990s, there has been a dramatic rise in gastrointestinal cancers diagnosed in patients under age 50 for reasons that remain poorly understood. The most significant change has been the increase in incidence rates of early-onset colorectal cancer, especially rates of left-sided colon and rectal cancers. Increases in gastric, pancreatic, and other gastrointestinal cancer diagnoses have further contributed to this trend.

Treatment of focal anaplastic Wilms tumor: A report from the Children's Oncology Group AREN0321 and AREN03B2 studies.

Background: In the fifth National Wilms Tumor Study, patients received vincristine and dactinomycin (VA) without radiation for stage I focal anaplastic Wilms tumor (FAWT) and VA plus doxorubicin (DD4A) and radiation for stage II-IV FAWT. Four-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) for stage I FAWT were 67.5% and 88.

Association between somatic microsatellite instability, hypermutation status, and specific T cell subsets in colorectal cancer tumors.

Background: Microsatellite instability-high (MSI-high) tumors comprise ~15% of sporadic colorectal cancers (CRC) and are associated with elevated T cell infiltration. However, the universality of this response across T cell subtypes with distinct functions is unknown.

Methods: Including 1,236 CRC tumors from three observational studies, we conducted T cell profiling using a customized 9-plex (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD45RA, CD45RO, FOXP3, KRT, MKI67, and DAPI) multispectral immunofluorescence assay.

Joint EANM/EANO/RANO/SNMMI practice guideline/procedure standard for PET imaging of brain metastases: version 1.0.

This joint practice guideline/procedure standard was collaboratively developed by the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO), and the PET task force of the Response Assessment in Neurooncology Working Group (PET/RANO). Brain metastases are the most common malignant central nervous system (CNS) tumors. PET imaging with radiolabeled amino acids and to lesser extent [F]FDG has gained considerable importance in the assessment of brain metastases, especially for the differential diagnosis between recurrent metastases and treatment-related changes which remains a limitation using conventional MRI.

Autogene cevumeran with or without atezolizumab in advanced solid tumors: a phase 1 trial.

Effective targeting of somatic cancer mutations to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy requires an individualized approach. Autogene cevumeran is a uridine messenger RNA lipoplex-based individualized neoantigen-specific immunotherapy designed from tumor-specific somatic mutation data obtained from tumor tissue of each individual patient to stimulate T cell responses against up to 20 neoantigens. This ongoing phase 1 study evaluated autogene cevumeran as monotherapy (n = 30) and in combination with atezolizumab (n = 183) in pretreated patients with advanced solid tumors.

Impact of Higher Cell-Free DNA Yields on Liquid Biopsy Testing in Glioblastoma Patients.

Background: Minimally invasive molecular profiling using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is increasingly important to the management of cancer patients; however, low sensitivity remains a major limitation, particularly for brain tumor patients. Transiently attenuating cfDNA clearance from the body-thereby, allowing more cfDNA to be sampled-has been proposed to improve the performance of liquid biopsy diagnostics. However, there is a paucity of clinical data on the effect of higher cfDNA recovery.

Phase 1b/2 study of orally administered pexidartinib in combination with radiation therapy and temozolomide in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) has a median survival of <2 years. Pexidartinib (PLX3397) is a small-molecule inhibitor of CSF1R, KIT, and oncogenic FTL3, which are implicated in GBM treatment resistance. Results from glioma models indicate that combining radiation therapy (RT) and pexidartinib reduces radiation resistance.

Molecular Testing for the World Health Organization Classification of Central Nervous System Tumors: A Review.

Importance: Molecular techniques, including next-generation sequencing, genomic copy number profiling, fusion transcript detection, and genomic DNA methylation arrays, are now indispensable tools for the workup of central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Yet there remains a great deal of heterogeneity in using such biomarker testing across institutions and hospital systems. This is in large part because there is a persistent reluctance among third-party payers to cover molecular testing.

Gaps in the management of adrenal insufficiency in melanoma survivors: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Due to limited data on managing immunotherapy-induced secondary adrenal insufficiency (SAI) in melanoma survivors, this study investigated its management strategies and outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed melanoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with SAI (Mel_SAI, n = 161), without SAI (Mel_CON, n = 168), and patients with pituitary adenoma-related SAI (Pit_SAI, n = 106) at our institution from January 2013 to November 2023. We compared glucocorticoid management patterns, quality of life using distress scores, and the impact of different glucocorticoid types on survival outcomes using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Symptom Burden and Survivorship Care for Patients With Prostate Cancer on Androgen Deprivation Therapy.

Prostate cancer survivors represent a growing population of patients with a diagnosis of prostate cancer, whether they were cured using local therapies or continue to receive systemic treatment of advanced disease. Many patients receive androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) during treatment, which is associated with many long-lasting physical and psychological effects. Identifying and addressing the needs of survivors is imperative for improving their health and well-being.

Molecular signatures associated with venous thromboembolism in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent complication of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Objectives: We aimed to identify molecular markers and signatures of leukemia microenvironment associated with VTE in childhood ALL, by dual-omics approach of gene expression (GEP) and DNA-methylation profiling.

Patients/methods: Eligible children were aged 1-21 years old with newly diagnosed ALL enrolled on the Dana Farber Cancer Institute 16-001 trial with available RNA sequencing data from bone marrow at diagnosis.

A foundation model for generalized brain MRI analysis.

Artificial intelligence (AI) applied to brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the potential to improve disease diagnosis and management but requires algorithms with generalizable knowledge that can perform well in a variety of clinical scenarios. The field has been constrained, thus far, by limited training data and task-specific models that do not generalize well across patient populations and medical tasks. Foundation models, by leveraging self-supervised learning, pretraining, and targeted adaptation, present a promising paradigm to overcome these limitations.

Feasibility of an electronic patient-facing cancer family history tool in medically underserved populations.

Purpose: We developed an electronic patient-facing family history collection tool including B-RST 3.0, PREMM risk assessments and "limited family knowledge/structure" information designed for primary care settings. We evaluated the tool's performance compared with genetic-counselor-collected information for clinical risk stratification in a population with barriers to access.

Our Unrealized Imperative: Integrating Mental Health Care into Hospice and Palliative Care.

The field of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) has its roots in the principles, promulgated by Dame Cicely Saunders, that patient and family are the unit of care and that comprehensive integration of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual care is necessary to address suffering in all its dimensions. Although we aspire to provide comprehensive care for our patients, most hospice and palliative care (HPM) physicians lack basic competencies for identifying and managing patients with psychological distress and mental health distress and disorders, a growing segment of our clinical population. In this article, I argue that we are not living up to the founding values of our field in how we practice, how we educate our trainees, our research, and in how we pursue our own professional development as faculty.

Pulsed beam monitoring for electron FLASH.

Background: Safe implementation and translation of FLASH radiotherapy to the clinic requirehs development of beam monitoring devices capable of high temporal resolution with wide dynamic ranges. Ideal detectors should be able to monitor LINAC pulses, withstand high doses and dose rates, and provide information about the beam output, energy/range, and profile.

Purpose: Two novel detectors have been designed and tested for ultra-high dose-rate (UHDR) monitoring: a multilayer nano-structured 3-layer high-energy-current (HEC3) detector, and a segmented large area, 4-section flat (S4) detector with the goal of exploring their properties for a future combined design.

A chromosome-level reference genome for the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, with identification of sex chromosomes.

The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, is a globally distributed pest insect of medical, veterinary, and economic importance. Previous reference genome assemblies for this species were generated from short read sequencing data, resulting in a ~650 Mb composed of thousands of contigs. Here, we present a haplotype-resolved, chromosome-level reference genome, generated from an adult Harlen strain female specimen.

Artificial intelligence research in radiation oncology: a practical guide for the clinician on concepts and methods.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) holds great promise for radiation oncology, with many applications being reported in the literature, including some of which are already in clinical use. These are mainly in areas where AI provides benefits in efficiency (such as automatic segmentation and treatment planning). Prediction models that directly impact patient decision-making are far less mature in terms of their application in clinical practice.