A study found that adding pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy improved the response rate in patients with advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, with a nomogram developed to predict treatment outcomes.

Pembrolizumab Improves Response in Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The study found that adding pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy improved the objective response rate (ORR) in patients with locally advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HPSCC), with an ORR of 66.0% compared to 47.6% without pembrolizumab. A nomogram based on pretreatment blood parameters, including lymphocytes and red blood cells, accurately predicted treatment response. This nomogram demonstrated high predictive accuracy, offering precise treatment strategies and optimizing medical resource use.

UROLOGY

ONCOLOGY

A review of 2.27 million participants found no strong evidence that specific dietary factors significantly affect bladder cancer risk.

Diet Shows Limited Evidence of Impact on Bladder Cancer Risk

A systematic review of 32 prospective cohort studies involving more than 2.27 million participants found no strong or consistent evidence that specific dietary factors substantially influence urothelial or bladder cancer risk. Higher fruit and vegetable intake showed modest protective associations, while evidence for fluids, coffee, tea, milk and alcohol remained inconsistent, with smoking-related confounding a major concern.

An interpretable AI model accurately predicts catheter outcomes in spinal cord injury patients with neurogenic bladder.

AI Model Predicts Catheter Outcomes After Spinal Cord Injury

Researchers developed an interpretable machine-learning model to predict indwelling catheter conversion within one year in patients with spinal cord injury and neurogenic bladder. The five-variable model achieved strong predictive accuracy and identified key early factors, including H-reflex, leg motor function, urinary tract infection and bladder independence, helping classify patients into distinct prognosis groups for personalized care.

ENDO-DIABETOLOGY

Targeted obesity treatment could improve secondary prevention and reduce future cardiovascular risk across the Middle East.

Obesity Treatment May Strengthen Heart Disease Prevention in Middle East

New evidence highlights that treating overweight and obesity in people with established cardiovascular disease may improve cardiovascular, liver and kidney outcomes. An analysis estimates that around 34 million people with cardiovascular disease across the Middle East could benefit from targeted obesity management. Experts call for updated guidelines, better reimbursement and treatment strategies focused on obesity-related risk—not weight loss alone.

Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics may modestly reduce waist size and body weight in metabolic syndrome.

Microbiome Therapies May Reduce Central Obesity in Metabolic Syndrome

A meta-analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials found that microbiome-targeted therapies, including probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics, produced modest reductions in waist circumference and body weight among adults with metabolic syndrome. However, they did not significantly improve BMI or blood pressure. Higher doses and longer treatment duration were linked to better results.

PEDIATRICS

Children with cerebral palsy face major barriers to safe, adequate nutrition despite food often being available at home.

Children With Cerebral Palsy Face Major Nutrition Barriers

A South African mixed-methods study found that families caring for children with cerebral palsy often have food in the home but struggle to access meals that meet their children’s specific nutritional and feeding needs. Texture modification, prolonged feeding, financial hardship and transport barriers worsen the challenge, highlighting the need for disability-responsive nutrition policies and stronger caregiver support.

Resistance exercise may help maintain reduced type 2 diabetes risk after weight loss and limit risk rebound.

Resistance Exercise May Sustain Diabetes Risk Reduction After Weight Loss

A study of 221 women with overweight found that weight loss substantially reduced predicted 10-year risks of major cardiovascular events and type 2 diabetes, but benefits partially reversed after weight regain. Women following diet plus resistance exercise maintained a significant reduction in diabetes risk at one year, while exercise adherence was linked to less risk rebound.

Poor sleep and sleep restriction may impair glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity in adults with overweight or obesity.

Poor Sleep May Affect Glucose Metabolism in Overweight Adults

A systematic review of 18 studies involving 7,715 adults found that sleep duration and quality may influence glucose metabolism in people with overweight or obesity. Several studies linked sleep restriction to reduced insulin sensitivity or impaired glucose regulation, although findings were inconsistent. Researchers suggest that improving sleep should be considered alongside diet and exercise for metabolic health.

DERMATOLOGY

Adding 20% vitamin C to yellow light therapy improved melasma outcomes with good tolerability in a clinical trial.

Vitamin C Enhances Yellow Light Therapy for Melasma

A randomized study of 71 patients found that combining 20% vitamin C with yellow light phototherapy produced greater improvements in melasma than yellow light therapy alone. The combination significantly reduced melasma severity and pigmentation, improved skin texture and pore appearance, and achieved higher patient satisfaction without reported adverse events or damage to skin barrier function.

Transition zone PSA density may reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies while maintaining detection of significant cancer.

TZ-PSAD May Reduce Unnecessary Biopsies in PI-RADS 3 Lesions

A study of 395 biopsy-naïve men with PI-RADS 3 prostate lesions found that transition zone PSA density (TZ-PSAD) may improve biopsy decision-making. Using a TZ-PSAD threshold, nearly 75% of biopsies could potentially be avoided while maintaining clinically significant cancer detection comparable to conventional PSA density, supporting more individualized risk assessment.

Rare cancer seeding at tracheostomy sites after head and neck surgery may carry a poor prognosis, review finds.

Rare Tracheostomy-Site Cancer Seeding Linked to Poor Outcomes

A case report and literature review identified 28 cases of malignant seeding to the trachea or tracheostomy site after head and neck cancer surgery. Most involved squamous cell carcinoma originating in the oral cavity. Despite treatment, more than 60% of patients died from the tracheal malignancy, highlighting the importance of preventive surgical strategies in high-risk cases.

GYNAECOLOGY - IVF

CDMR showed comparable short-term outcomes to planned vaginal delivery, with less hemorrhage but longer hospital stays.

Cesarean Delivery on Maternal Request: Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes

Cesarean delivery on maternal request increased significantly over the study period and was associated with a lower risk of postpartum hemorrhage but longer hospital stays than planned vaginal delivery. Overall, appropriately selected and timed CDMR showed comparable short-term maternal and neonatal outcomes, while intrapartum cesarean after planned vaginal delivery carried higher rates of prolonged hospitalization and NICU admission.

DENTISTRY

The oral microbiome may harbor and spread resistance genes, highlighting the need for advanced profiling and prudent antibiotic use.

Oral Microbiome and Antimicrobial Resistance: The Hidden Resistome

The review highlights the oral microbiome as an important reservoir of antimicrobial resistance genes, with horizontal gene transfer within oral biofilms potentially enabling their spread to pathogenic bacteria. Whole-genome sequencing suggests ARGs may be more prevalent in healthy individuals and increasingly mobile with age, underscoring the need for advanced resistome profiling to support prudent antibiotic use in dentistry.

PSYCHIATRY

Grief interventions showed meaningful benefits across diverse settings, supporting culturally sensitive approaches to bereavement care.

Grief Interventions Effective Across Diverse Cultural Settings

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials involving 1,122 bereaved individuals found that grief interventions produced a significant moderate-to-large benefit compared with control conditions. Despite substantial variability between studies, the findings support their potential across underrepresented regions while highlighting the need for culturally sensitive approaches and more high-quality trials.

Normal-range pregnancy glucose levels may predict future type 2 diabetes risk, especially with overweight or obesity.

Normal Pregnancy Glucose Levels Linked to Future Type 2 Diabetes Risk

A large cohort study of 249,190 women found that even glucose challenge test results considered normal during pregnancy were linked to future type 2 diabetes risk in a graded, threshold-free pattern. Risk was particularly high among women with overweight or obesity and higher normal-range glucose levels, suggesting pregnancy glucose values and pre-pregnancy BMI may improve long-term risk stratification.

Forty years after Chernobyl, new insights clarify radiation-related cancer risks and lessons for nuclear safety.

Chernobyl at 40: Long-Term Cancer Risks and Nuclear Safety

Forty years after the Chernobyl disaster, a new Leukemia Perspective revisits the accident’s long-term health effects. Robert P. Gale highlights strong evidence for thousands of childhood thyroid cancers linked to radioactive iodine exposure, but finds no convincing evidence of a major global increase in other cancers, birth defects, or heritable genetic abnormalities. The article also examines nuclear safety and the risks of attacks on nuclear facilities.

Pembrolizumab Boosts Resp...

Pembrolizumab Boosts Response in Hypopharyngeal Cancer