A multimodal cross-attention pathotranscriptome integration for enhanced survival prediction of oral squamous cell carcinoma Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for a major part of cancer mortality, with survival outcomes highly dependent on early diagnosis. While many approaches have been proposed for OSCC survival prediction, they often rely on unimodal data, which may be suboptimal. In this study, we introduced a unified cross-attention-based deep learning framework that integrates whole-slide histopathology images (WSIs) and transcriptomic… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Re-evaluating the effect of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination on clinical outcomes in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination (COVID-19 vaccination) within 100 days of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment was reported to improve survival and prevent disease progression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and metastatic melanoma (Grippin et al., Nature, 2025). However, the clinical evidence, derived from real-world observational data, suffers from methodological limitations. Specifically, the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups differed in… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Distinct Sarcoma Microenvironments Predict Benefit from Addition of Pembrolizumab to Preoperative Radiotherapy and Surgery in SU2C-SARC032 The addition of pembrolizumab to preoperative radiotherapy (RT) improved disease-free survival (DFS) for patients with stage III undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) and dedifferentiated/pleomorphic liposarcoma (LPS) in the randomized SU2C-SARC032 trial. To precisely identify patients who benefit from pembrolizumab and RT, we performed comprehensive multi-omics profiling of pre- and post-treatment tumor and blood samples, including bulk RNA-seq, flow cytometry, and cytometry… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Comparison of treatment planning techniques at the linear accelerator for left-sided breast carcinoma considering the treatment volume and organs at risk Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. Nowadays, postoperative radiation therapy is one of the standard treatment procedures. However, the radiation used may not only lead to a positive therapeutic outcome, but also has a negative impact on the surrounding organs at risk. Organs, such as the heart, can also have damaged and serious late effects… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Melanoma to rhabdomyosarcoma plasticity in the setting of immunotherapy Acquired resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remains a significant challenge in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Phenotypic plasticity, such as dedifferentiation and transdifferentiation, is an increasingly recognized mechanism for treatment resistance. We present a case of a man in his 70s with metastatic melanoma who experienced progression through sequential treatments including pembrolizumab in combination with the HDAC inhibitor entinostat,… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Quantum Dot Encoding for In-Solution Single-Molecule Biomarker Counting in Metastatic Prostate Cancer Digital assays are in wide development for biomarker quantification at the single-molecule level, but the common use of surface-pulldown steps limits both analytical sensitivity and throughput. Here, we develop surface-free, wash-free, in-solution assays with a sensitivity slope approaching unity for sequence-specific counting of microRNAs (miRs) relevant to metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). These assays are enabled by DNA nanoflowers (DNFs)… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
DNA Methylation-Based Classification of CNS Tumors: Comparable Performance Between Nanopore and EPIC Technologies Background: DNA methylation profiling enables precise classification of pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) offers same-day, single-sample methylation readouts, but its concordance with Illumina EPIC arrays in routine diagnostic tasks remains incompletely defined. Methods: We profiled 23 pediatric tumors (18 CNS, 5 non-CNS) by EPIC (v1/v2; FFPE w/o FF) and ONT (FF). CNS tumors from both… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Plasma Membrane TRPV4 Relocalization as a Mechanosensitive Prognostic Biomarker in Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Purpose: Reliable prediction of invasive progression remains an unmet need in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Conventional histologic grading provides limited prognostic value. Building on mechanistic evidence that cell crowding in confined ducts engages a TRPV4-dependent mechanotransduction program, we evaluated plasma-membrane TRPV4 (PM-TRPV4) localization as a mechanosensitive, patient-level prognostic biomarker for progression to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Experimental Design: In… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Neoadjuvant ablative radiation plus immune therapy favorably remodels the hepatocellular carcinoma tumor microenvironment Although immune therapy regimens have significantly improved treatment options for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), optimal use of these regimens in earlier disease stages remains poorly defined. We conducted a single-institution, single-arm pilot study (NCT04857684) of neoadjuvant stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) followed by two cycles of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab followed by surgical resection to treat patients with initially… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Life Satisfaction Among Cancer Survivors With and Without Smell and Taste Dysfunction: Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey Background: Chemosensory dysfunction is a common symptom experienced by cancer patients. Albeit common, these symptoms lack guidelines for management and are rarely addressed by healthcare providers, and therefore, how taste and smell dysfunctions affect quality of life in cancer patients is understudied. Methods: To address this gap, we analyzed data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to assess… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Elenagen, a p62/SQSTM1-encoding plasmid, improves overall survival in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients: a phase II trial Background: Platinum-resistant ovarian cancer remains a major therapeutic challenge, with limited benefit from currently available cytotoxic agents. Elenagen is a newly developed plasmid DNA-based anticancer agent that encodes p62/SQSTM1 protein, a multifunctional adaptor protein involved in selective autophagy, signal transduction, and modulation of the inflammatory response. We previously reported the progression-free survival outcomes of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer treated… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
CanBART: A generative foundation model of cancer molecular alterations for synthetic patient generation and genomic profile completion Despite the rapid expansion of genomic profiling in oncology, real-world datasets remain limited in size and unevenly distributed, particularly for rare cancers and underrepresented patient populations. The number of available sequenced cases is often insufficient for robust machine learning, and even within existing cohorts, sequencing panels differ in gene coverage. As a result, crucial molecular features are frequently missing, making… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Landscape assessment to characterize baseline access and multilevel barriers to IMProve Access to CAR-T CD19 therapy (IMPACT study) across Europe. Abstract: Background/Purpose: Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy (CAR T) has revolutionized the treatment of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B ALL), but its global availability is limited. This study assessed current access and barriers to CAR-T CD19 cell therapy for children across Europe. Methods: A country questionnaire developed by the EBMT PDWP, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, and IBFM… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Lead-in therapy targeting PD1 and/or LAG3 imposes distinct immune phenotypes in first-line treatment of metastatic melanoma Simultaneous blockade of lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) and programmed-death-1 (PD-1) pathways enhance anti-tumor activity in patients with melanoma. It is not known if this immunotherapy induces unique immune modulation or how this may relate to clinical outcomes, compared to the single modalities. We conducted a randomized three-arm phase 2 trial (NCT03743766) in advanced melanoma comparing lead-in treatment with one cycle… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
Risk factors for immune checkpoint inhibitor colitis: a retrospective multi-center cohort study using electronic health records Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are effective for many cancers but often cause immune-related adverse events, particularly gastrointestinal (GI) complications such as colitis. Identifying risk factors for ICI colitis (CIC) could improve patient selection and discover potential mechanisms relevant to idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Prior studies on ICI risk factors have methodological limitations. Methods We used electronic health record… medRxiv Oncology November 7, 2025 Original source
A functional map of CDK-drug interactions at single amino acid resolution Proteins that drive or support human disease phenotypes are attractive molecular targets for precision therapy, yet most are nominated by knockout studies and then targeted with drugs that inhibit core catalytic pockets. These strategies cannot resolve which residues are essential, whether non-catalytic sites offer better selectivity or potency, or identify on-target resistance mechanisms. We introduce a framework that integrates precision… bioRxiv Cancer Biology November 7, 2025 Original source
CD38hiCD19dim cells in lymph nodes predict favorable prognosis in patients with stage III melanoma receiving adjuvant PD-1-blockade BackgroundAdjuvant immunotherapy has significantly improved survival for patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma, yet a fraction of patients will not benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). The tumor microenvironment plays a pivotal role in generating durable responses to ICI. By analyzing the cellular composition of tumor-associated subsets, key immune components essential for promoting an anti-tumor environment can be pinpointed. This… bioRxiv Cancer Biology November 7, 2025 Original source
Comprehensive Atlas of Cancer-Type-Specific Molecular Features from Comparative Analysis of TCGA Data Cancer-type-specific molecular alterations often reflect the unique biological context of their tissue of origin and are more likely to represent relevant drivers rather than passenger events. We analyzed data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) spanning 39 cancer types and 6 molecular platforms to create a comprehensive atlas of cancer-type-specific molecular features through unified comparative analyses. Simple nucleotide variation analysis… bioRxiv Cancer Biology November 7, 2025 Original source
Longitudinal Imaging of the Premalignant Tumor Microenvironment Reveals Transient Myeloid States Predictive of Tumor Fate The spontaneous regression of cancer lesions demonstrates the potential of immune surveillance; yet, these transient events have remained inaccessible to systematic study. Using longitudinal intravital microscopy in a carcinogen-induced model of head and neck cancer, we tracked premalignant lesions within the same animals for 24 weeks at single-cell resolution. This approach revealed three trajectories: progression, stability, or regression, and enabled… bioRxiv Cancer Biology November 7, 2025 Original source
Lamin B1 Safeguards the B Cell Genome and Shapes Lymphoma Outcome Lamin B1 is a structural component of the nuclear lamina that participates in diverse cellular processes, including genome regulation and cellular senescence. During adaptive immune responses, B lymphocytes in germinal centres (GCs) undergo clonal expansion and programmed DNA damage at immunoglobulin loci, while simultaneously downregulating Lamin B1. Likewise, Lamin B1 downregulation has been observed in GC-derived lymphomas and myeloid malignancies,… bioRxiv Cancer Biology November 7, 2025 Original source