Journal of Cancer Biology

The protection of health care workers from nosocomial infection is a paramount consideration in the current pandemic involving severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Not only is prevention of viral transmission the most effective means to lessen the public health impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but also both quarantine and illness – that disproportionately affect health care workers – have devastating effects on the ability of hospitals to adequately care for increased patient loads.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2023 significantly affected emergency medical care. Physicians who regularly saw their patients by appointment were redeployed to emergency care, increasing their reported burnout. Understanding how the burnout of specialists increased from this redeployment during COVID-19 is relevant to finding ways to reduce redeployment burnout in these appointment-based physicians when preparing for future pandemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges to each sector of life. The most affected are the health in general and elective services in specific. The postponement of planned surgical procedures is one of the elective services that not only increased the waiting time in the short-term but will strain the healthcare services in the long-run

Background: Breast cancer remains a major global health burden despite therapeutic advances, necessitating further innovations to address persistent challenges like therapeutic resistance, adverse effects, and mortality in subgroups. Emerging technologies offer promising opportunities in this regard through data-driven, precise, and personalized approaches.

The incorporation of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) is essential for assessing whether a cancer treatment enhances overall patient well-being, beyond merely extending survival. This scoping review aimed to identify and analyze the use of PROs in ovarian cancer clinical trials.

Examining BRCA mutations in preoperative breast cancer patients is very important when selecting a surgical procedure. Although there are advantages and disadvantages associated with knowing about the presence of genetic mutations, including for the patient’s family, there are many benefits for the patient. BRCA genetic testing should be recommended for patients who are strongly suspected of being positive for a BRCA mutation. 

Liver masses account for 5 to 6% of pediatric cancer, which includes hepatoblastoma (HBL) along with rare cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The most dangerous form of pediatric liver cancer is aggressive HBL, which can be characterized by chemo-resistance and multiple nodules or metastases at diagnosis, all correlating with worse clinical prognosis. Despite intensive studies and a significant improvement in overall outcomes, very little is known about the key molecular pathways which determine the aggressiveness of pediatric liver cancer.

The recent pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as a health emergency to develop effective therapeutic strategies for restricting deadly disease, COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 infects cells by the endocytosis process via receptor-mediated binding and priming by cellular proteases.

There is a striking likeness between an old model for the action of mobile genetic elements in Maize and recent observations on endogenous retroviruses in human Multiple Sclerosis. Nexø discussed this and other developments in his recent theory on autoimmunity. Specifically, in analogy to the onc genes Nexø suggest that insertion of a retrovirus activates a so-called aut gene. This aut gene may well be an EBV genome. 

This commentary focuses on two recent publications showing deregulation of the transcription factor Slug/Snail2 and TGF-β function in primary bronchial basal/progenitor cells of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and the impact on proliferation and the expression of genes involved in stem cell maintenance. We discuss the molecular mechanisms related to the exhaustion of airway basal stem/progenitor cells in tobacco smoke-induced COPD, as well as putative links between COPD and lung cancer at the molecular level.

Cancer biology involves complex dynamics and interactions between cells and the tissue environment. Mathematical modeling and computer simulation can provide a powerful instrument for considering this complexity. Agent-based modeling is a particular discrete hybrid modeling method.

Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the pillars of locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNSCC) treatment in combination with cisplatin or epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors. Despite a very high local tumor control rate, approximately 50% of patients with locally advanced disease will develop a recurrence.

Retroviruses and EBV have been championed by different schools of thought as inducers of autoimmunity. The present theory suggests ending this competition between schools: They are both right. The viruses synergize! Probably, they even form a hybrid genome.

Streptococcus pyogenes infection continues to be a worldwide public health problem causing various diseases in humans, including impetigo and oropharyngeal infections that are responsible for the development of rheumatic fever (RF), a multi-organ inflammatory disorder, Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is its major sequel that leads to heart valves lesions, clinically classified as regurgitation and/or stenosis.

The effects of COVID-19 have been of increasing interest in all fields of medicine after the pandemic, especially considering the important impact and incidence of patients infected with coronavirus. Numerous studies have reported the vast clinical implications related to permanent organ and tissue damage after infection and long COVID. 

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are occasionally associated with autoimmune manifestations. The prevalence of positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT) in patients with JAK2V617F mutation is not yet known.

According to the International Organization of Physical Therapy in Mental Health (IOPTMH), physiotherapy in mental health is a recognized specialty of physical therapy, with a subgroup representing physiotherapists from around the world before the World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT). It is implemented in different settings, in health, psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells were first clinically tested in trials against metastatic solid tumors without therapeutic benefit; however, these efforts established the necessary domains that are required for a functional CAR T-cell. With the characterization of cells within the immune system, the expression of CD19 was found to dictate B cell lineage that remains present on normal and malignant B cells.

There are many reasons why people may feel hesitant to accept vaccines for their children, with fears about a link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) being one of the most common. In fact, parents of children with ASD are among those most likely to become vaccine hesitant. Vaccine-hesitant parents may delay and/or refuse one or more vaccines for their children, which subsequently places them at increased risk for contracting and spreading vaccine-preventable diseases.

Achieving and maintaining recommended vaccination coverage is a major public health goal [1]. Indeed, rates of childhood vaccine coverage in the U.S. among young children have remained high and stable in recent years [2]. While racial/ethnic disparities in recommended childhood vaccine coverage in the general population have been absent or reduced over time, income disparities have changed at different rates within racial/ethnic groups and in some cases have increased [3].