A new review, published in the peer-reviewed journal AI in Precision Oncology, explores the multifaceted reasons behind the skepticism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in healthcare and advocates for approaches to build confidence in AI applications.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor and the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. The lack of effective treatment strategies may be attributed to tumor recurrence and metastasis. Liver cancer stem cells (LSCs) in the tumor tissues are known to drive HCC initiation, metastasis, and recurrence, and eliminating these cells may offer a promising avenue for improving the outcomes of anti-HCC therapies. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating liver cancer stem cell maintenance is essential to develop novel targeted therapeutic strategies.

Esophageal cancer is a prevalent and aggressive malignancy associated with a poor prognosis. Metabolomics and microbiomics have emerged as promising approaches for investigating the tumor microenvironment and monitoring dynamic changes throughout the treatment process. These methodologies facilitate the direct observation of phenotypic alterations with high sensitivity, throughput, and adaptability across diverse sample types. Microbial genomic data play a crucial role in predicting the metabolic potential of microorganisms, whereas metabolomics offers direct evidence of active metabolic pathways under specific conditions. This review presents novel insights into the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of esophageal cancer through the application of metabolomics and microbiomics. Future advancements in the integration of multi-omics data are expected to further elucidate the metabolic mechanisms and pathophysiological processes underlying esophageal cancer, thereby laying a robust scientific foundation for early diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and personalized treatment strategies.

Australia’s recent move to lower the starting age for bowel (colorectal) cancer screening from 50 down to 45 years old will mean better outcomes – but it will also increase the burden on an already struggling healthcare system, warn Flinders University researchers.

 

They predict that the expanded screening program will likely lead to an influx of younger adults who will require ongoing surveillance with regular colonoscopies, prompting the team to review current clinical guidelines for at risk individuals.

Lung cancer co-opts genes that normally help a fetus develop and evade the mother’s immune system — leading to poorer outcomes in female patients, an MSK research team has found.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed silk iron microparticles (SIMPs)—magnetic, biodegradable carriers designed to deliver therapies directly to disease sites like aneurysms or tumors. The particles are created by chemically bonding iron oxide nanoparticles to regenerated silk fibroin using glutathione, enhancing their magnetic responsiveness while maintaining biocompatibility. These nanoscale carriers, roughly one-hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair, can potentially be guided externally to precise locations in the body. The platform enables localized delivery of therapeutic agents such as extracellular vesicles, regenerative factors, or drugs, offering a minimally invasive approach to treating conditions like abdominal aortic aneurysms and expanding the potential for targeted therapies in regenerative medicine.