Oncology Nursing for the Future: Multisector Planning Is Needed.

Assessing the landscape for oncology nursing of the future, the biggest problem that faces the specialty is that of workforce shortages. On the practice side, nursing turnover, resignations, and early retirements have contrib.

Next Directions in the Neuroscience of Cancers Arising outside the CNS.

SUMMARY: The field of cancer neuroscience has begun to define the contributions of nerves to cancer initiation and progression; here, we highlight the future directions of basic and translational cancer neuroscience for malignancies arising outside of the central nervous system.

The role of urology and radiology in prostate biopsy: current trends and future perspectives.

PURPOSE: Prostate biopsy is central to the accurate histological diagnosis of prostate cancer. In current practice, the biopsy procedure can be performed using a transrectal or transperineal route with different technologies available for targeting of lesions within the prostate. Historically, the biopsy procedure was performed solely by urologists, but with the advent of image-guided techniques, the involvement of radiologists in prostate biopsy has become more common. Herein, we discuss the pros, cons and future considerations regarding their ongoing role. METHODS: A narrative review regarding the current evidence was completed. PubMed and Cochrane central register of controlled trials were search until January 2024. All study types were of consideration if published after 2000 and an English language translation was available. RESULTS: There are no published studies that directly compare outcomes of prostate biopsy when performed by a urologist or radiologist. In all published studies regarding the learning curve for prostate biopsy, the procedure was performed by urologists. These studies suggest that the learning curve for prostate biopsy is between 10 and 50 cases to reach proficiency in terms of prostate cancer detection and complications. It is recognised that many urologists are poorly able to accurately interpret multi parametric (mp)-MRI of the prostate. Collaboration between the specialities is of importance with urology offering the advantage of being involved in prior and future care of the patient while radiology has the advantage of being able to expertly interpret preprocedure MRI. CONCLUSION: There is no evidence to suggest that prostate biopsy should be solely performed by a specific specialty. The most important factor remains knowledge of the relevant anatomy and sufficient volume of cases to develop and maintain skills.

The evolution of robotics: research and application progress of dental implant robotic systems.

The use of robots to augment human capabilities and assist in work has long been an aspiration. Robotics has been developing since the 1960s when the first industrial robot was introduced. As technology has advanced, robotic-assisted surgery has shown numerous advantages, including more precision, efficiency, minimal invasiveness, and safety than is possible with conventional techniques, which are research hotspots and cutting-edge trends. This article reviewed the history of medical robot development and seminal research papers about current research progress. Taking the autonomous dental implant robotic system as an example, the advantages and prospects of medical robotic systems would be discussed which would provide a reference for future research.

The Future of Basic Science: Development of the Next Generation of Mechanistic Researchers in Female Pelvic Medicine.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) brought together senior and junior members actively engaged in scholarly and educational activities for a consensus conference centered on developing a strategy for sustainable training of the next generation of mechanistic researchers in female pelvic medicine. METHODS: Four a priori identified major foci were explored in a half-day virtual consensus conference. Participants included representatives from various countries and disciplines with diverse backgrounds-clinicians, physician-scientists, and basic scientists in the fields of urogynecology, biomechanical engineering, and molecular biology. Following a keynote address, each focus area was first tackled by a dedicated breakout group, led by the Chair(s) of the most relevant IUGA committees. The break-out sessions were followed by an iterative discussion among all attendees to identify mitigating strategies to address the shortage of mechanistic researchers in the field of female pelvic medicine. RESULTS: The major focus areas included: research priorities for IUGA basic science scholar program; viable strategies for sustainable basic science mentorship; core competencies in basic science training; and the challenges of conducting complex mechanistic experiments in low-resource countries. Key gaps in knowledge and core competencies that should be incorporated into fellowship/graduate training were identified, and existing training modalities were discussed. Recommendations were made for pragmatic approaches to increasing the exposure of trainees to learning tools to enable sustainable training of the next generation of basic science researchers in female pelvic medicine worldwide. CONCLUSIONS: The attendees presented multiple perspectives to gain consensus regarding critical areas of need for training future generations of mechanistic researchers. Recommendations for a sustainable Basic Science Scholar Program were developed using IUGA as a platform. The overarching goal of such a program is to ensure a successful bench-to-bedside-and-back circuit in Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, ultimately improving lives of millions of women worldwide through scientifically rational effective preventative and therapeutic interventions.

Bioinspired and biomimetic strategies for inflammatory bowel disease therapy.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic chronic inflammatory bowel disease with high morbidity and an increased risk of cancer or death, resulting in a heavy societal medical burden. While current treatment modalities have been successful in achieving long-term remission and reducing the risk of complications, IBD remains incurable. Nanomedicine has the potential to address the high toxic side effects and low efficacy in IBD treatment. However, synthesized nanomedicines typically exhibit some degree of immune rejection, off-target effects, and a poor ability to cross biological barriers, limiting the development of clinical applications. The emergence of bionic materials and bionic technologies has reshaped the landscape in novel pharmaceutical fields. Biomimetic drug-delivery systems can effectively improve biocompatibility and reduce immunogenicity. Some bioinspired strategies can mimic specific components, targets or immune mechanisms in pathological processes to produce targeting effects for precise disease control. This article highlights recent research on bioinspired and biomimetic strategies for the treatment of IBD and discusses the challenges and future directions in the field to advance the treatment of IBD.

Medical treatment of advanced breast cancer.

Metastatic breast cancer claims the lives of 1,000 Danish women each year. Current guidelines are focused on the three major immunohistochemical subtypes in breast cancer. This review covers current Danish guidelines for the treatment of advanced breast cancer and highlights the potential future treatments for Danish patients.

Radiomics and Artificial Intelligence in Renal Lesion Assessment.

Radiomics, the extraction and analysis of quantitative features from medical images, has emerged as a promising field in radiology with the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis and management of renal lesions. This comprehensive review explores the radiomics workflow, including image acquisition, feature extraction, selection, and classification, and highlights its application in differentiating between benign and malignant renal lesions. The integration of radiomics with artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as machine learning and deep learning, can help patients' management and allow the planning of the appropriate treatments. AI models have shown remarkable accuracy in predicting tumor aggressiveness, treatment response, and patient outcomes. This review provides insights into the current state of radiomics and AI in renal lesion assessment and outlines future directions for research in this rapidly evolving field.

Opportunity in Complexity: Harnessing Molecular Biomarkers and Liquid Biopsies for Personalized Sarcoma Care.

Due to their rarity and complexity, sarcomas represent a substantial therapeutic challenge. However, the incredible diversity within and across sarcoma subtypes presents an opportunity for personalized care to maximize efficacy and limit toxicity. A deeper understanding of the molecular alterations that drive sarcoma development and treatment response has paved the way for molecular biomarkers to shape sarcoma treatment. Genetic, transcriptomic, and protein biomarkers have become critical tools for diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment selection in patients with sarcomas. In the future, emerging biomarkers like circulating tumor DNA analysis offer the potential to improve early detection, monitoring response to treatment, and identifying mechanisms of resistance to personalize sarcoma treatment. Here, we review the current state of molecular biomarkers for sarcomas and highlight opportunities and challenges for the implementation of new technologies in the future.

Effects of In-House Calls on Medical Students' Perspectives of Surgical Education and Future Career Opportunities.

Background: It has been shown that surgical residents who took few or no in-house calls during medical school felt less prepared for the residency. In this study, our objective was to assess the impact of in-house calls carried out by medical students on their perceptions of medical training, including the influence on specialty choice. Methods: The students were asked to complete an anonymized questionnaire at the first and last day of their general surgery clerkship. Students were asked regarding importance for medical training and education, preparation for the internship, learning opportunities, skills acquisition; negative effects, including fatigue, negative effect over medical training, personal life, and physical and mental health derangements; and the student's perception of the residents' in-house calls and parameters affecting specialty selection: difficulty of the residency, prestige, and future career opportunities. Results: A total of 42 medical students responded to 84 questionnaires. There was a significant difference in the importance of calls among male students before the beginning of the clerkships compared with the end of the clerkship (4.53 versus 4.21, P = .034). At the end of general surgery clerkship, students indicated that the calls less impaired studying during the clerkship (2.5 versus 2.21, P < .05) compared with the beginning of the clerkship. Female students ranked the calls as less demanding at the end of the clerkship (2.53 versus 2.12, P < .05). The impact of the residency difficulty on the selection of their future specialty was rated higher by the students at the end of the clerkship compared with their expectations at the beginning (3.13 versus 2.85, P = .033). Conclusions: In conclusion, our study demonstrates that in-house calls performed by medical students during their general surgery clerkships have a significant influence on their perceptions of medical training and choice of specialty. The study also highlights the importance of gender differences in the students' perception of the importance and impact of calls on their well-being.

Comparing the current short-term cancer incidence prediction models in Brazil with state-of-the-art time-series models.

The World Health Organization has highlighted that cancer was the second-highest cause of death in 2019. This research aims to present the current forecasting techniques found in the literature, applied to predict time-series cancer incidence and then, compare these results with the current methodology adopted by the Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA) in Brazil. A set of univariate time-series approaches is proposed to aid decision-makers in monitoring and organizing cancer prevention and control actions. Additionally, this can guide oncological research towards more accurate estimates that align with the expected demand. Forecasting techniques were applied to real data from seven types of cancer in a Brazilian district. Each method was evaluated by comparing its fit with real data using the root mean square error, and we also assessed the quality of noise to identify biased models. Notably, three methods proposed in this research have never been applied to cancer prediction before. The data were collected from the INCA website, and the forecast methods were implemented using the R language. Conducting a literature review, it was possible to draw comparisons previous works worldwide to illustrate that cancer prediction is often focused on breast and lung cancers, typically utilizing a limited number of time-series models to find the best fit for each case. Additionally, in comparison to the current method applied in Brazil, it has been shown that employing more generalized forecast techniques can provide more reliable predictions. By evaluating the noise in the current method, this research shown that the existing prediction model is biased toward two of the studied cancers Comparing error results between the mentioned approaches and the current technique, it has been shown that the current method applied by INCA underperforms in six out of seven types of cancer tested. Moreover, this research identified that the current method can produce a biased prediction for two of the seven cancers evaluated. Therefore, it is suggested that the methods evaluated in this work should be integrated into the INCA cancer forecast methodology to provide reliable predictions for Brazilian healthcare professionals, decision-makers, and oncological researchers.

Navigating the economic challenges in childhood cancer control in low- and middle-income countries: Insights from the CC-BRIDGE tool and the global initiative for childhood cancer.

The increasing incidence of childhood cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) presents significant economic and logistical challenges, affecting health care provision and equitable treatment access. This editorial explores the economic barriers to pediatric oncology care in LMICs, highlighting resource scarcity, socioeconomic inequities, and health care complexities. It emphasizes the need for detailed cost analysis within health systems complicated by inadequate data and variable treatment protocols. Central to the discussion is the "Childhood Cancers Budgeting Rapidly to Incorporate Disadvantaged Groups for Equity (CC-BRIDGE) Tool" from the manuscript by Nancy Bolous et al., who proposed an innovative method to estimate the cost of integrating childhood cancer services into National Cancer Control Plans. This tool aligns with the World Health Organization's Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer to enhance survival rates and advocate for universal health coverage in pediatric oncology. The CC-BRIDGE tool's methodological rigor provides a structured framework for cost analysis. Yet, it is recognized as an initial step requiring further enhancements for comprehensive economic forecasting and societal cost assessments. In conclusion, the editorial highlights the tool's critical role in incorporating childhood cancer care into national strategies in LMICs, contributing to the broader fight against cancer and advocating for comprehensive, equitable health care. It signifies a vital stride toward addressing pediatric oncology's economic challenges and supporting universal health coverage for childhood cancer care.

The reduced mortality of malignant melanoma at the population level is mainly attributable to treatment advances for the past decade.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) causes most skin cancer deaths in the United States (US). The mortality has been decreasing in the US population. We hypothesize that this population-level reduction is mainly attributable to the treatment advances, rather than the successful primary and secondary prevention. METHODS: Using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) databases, we collected the incidence, incidence-based mortality (IBM), and 5-year survival (5-YS) rates of CMM from 1994 to 2019. Trends by stage and sex were examined by joinpoint regression analyses and age-period-cohort analyses. RESULTS: The overall incidence of CMM rose by 1.6% yearly from 1994 to 2006 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.9% to 2.2%) and then increased with a numerical trend. And we projected the incidence will continue to increase until 2029. In contrast, the IBM for all CMM has decreased yearly by 2.8% (95% CI: -3.9% to -1.8%) since 2010 after continuously increasing by 3.8% annually (95% CI: 3.2% to 4.4%) from 1996 to 2010. For early-stage (localized and regional) CMM, we found the incidence since 2005 plateaued without further increase, while the incidence for CMM at distant stage continuously increased by 1.4% per year (95% CI: 0.9% to 2.0%). Improvements in 5-YS were observed over the study period for all CMM and were most obvious in distant stage. And significant period effects were noted around the year 2010. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated improved survival and reduced mortality of CMM at the US population level since 2010, which were consistent with the introduction of novel therapies. Encouraging effects of primary prevention among adolescents in the most recent cohorts were found. However, the plateaued overall incidence and early diagnosis rates indicated that advances in primary and secondary prevention are very much needed to further control the burden of CMM.