Recent Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy with a Focus on FDA-Approved Vaccines and Neoantigen-Based Vaccines.

Cancer immunotherapies refer to the concept of retraining the immune system to target malignant cells. Multiple immunotherapeutic options exist including immune modulating antibodies, immune stimulating cytokines, chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, and vaccines. Overall, this field has advanced rapidly as knowledge of the tumor microenvironment, immunological pathways, and biotechnology expands. Specifically, advancements in neoantigen identification, characterization, and formulation into a vaccine show promise. This review is focused on previously United States Food and Drug Administration-approved cancer therapeutic vaccines and neoantigen-based vaccine developments along with the associated relevant clinical trials.

Recent Updates on mRNA Vaccines.

Messenger RNA has been studied by everyone, from vaccine developers to high school biology students, since the discovery of its isolation in 1961 [...].

Current Status of HIV-1 Vaccines.

HIV-1 infection and its progression to AIDS remains a significant global health challenge, particularly for low-income countries. Developing a vaccine to prevent HIV-1 infections has proven to be immensely challenging with complex biological acquisition and infection, unforeseen clinical trial disappointments, and funding issues. This paper discusses important landmarks of progress in HIV-1 vaccine development, various vaccine strategies, and clinical trials.

Current challenges and future directions in cardiac imaging.

Imaging is one of the most important accomplishments of medicine during the last 1000 years. The contribution of modern imaging to progress in the delivery of health care is unquestioned. However, we need to refine our use of imaging, limiting its use to those occasions when it can contribute directly or indirectly to improving and lengthening the lives of patients. Technology prowess in imaging alone is not sufficient to deliver value to individuals or to society. Continued investment in imaging technology requires critical appraisal of its use in clinical decision making and patient outcomes.

Utility of panoramic radiographs in detecting cervical calcified carotid atheroma.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the utility of panoramic radiographs for detecting extracranial calcified carotid atheroma and carotid luminal stenosis. STUDY DESIGN: Panoramic radiographs were obtained on 52 adult participants who had carotid ultrasound examination. Extent of carotid calcification and stenosis was determined by a cardiologist from ultrasound reports, which were considered gold standard assessments. A trained and calibrated oral and maxillofacial radiologist interpreted the radiographs for presence or absence of carotid calcifications. We examined the utility of panoramic radiographs to diagnose any carotid artery changes (diagnostic scheme 1) or only moderate to severe changes (scheme 2). Generalized estimating equations were used to account for clustering of observations within subjects. RESULTS: Under diagnostic schemes 1 and 2, radiographs had low sensitivity to detect carotid calcifications (31.1% and 25.0%, respectively) and stenoses (22.7% and 21.4%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: When compared to ultrasonography, panoramic radiography is not a reliable means to detect carotid artery calcifications or stenoses.