Artificial intelligence-driven radiomics study in cancer:the role of feature engineering and modeling

Modern medicine is reliant on various medical imaging technologies for non-invasively observing patients’anatomy.However,the interpretation of medical images can be highly subjective and dependent on the expertise of clinicians.Moreover,some potentially useful quantitative information in medical images,especially that which is not visible to the naked eye,is often ignored during clinical practice.In contrast,radiomics performs high-throughput feature extraction from medical images,which enables quantitative analysis of medical images and prediction of various clinical endpoints.Studies have reported that radiomics exhibits promising performance in diagnosis and predicting treatment responses and prognosis,demonstrating its potential to be a non-invasive auxiliary tool for personalized medicine.However,radiomics remains in a developmental phase as numerous technical challenges have yet to be solved,especially in feature engineering and statistical modeling.In this review,we introduce the current utility of radiomics by summarizing research on its application in the diagnosis,prognosis,and prediction of treatment responses in patients with cancer.We focus on machine learning approaches,for feature extraction and selection during feature engineering and for imbalanced datasets and multi-modality fusion during statistical modeling.Furthermore,we introduce the stability,reproducibility,and interpretability of features,and the generalizability and interpretability of models.Finally,we offer possible solutions to current challenges in radiomics research.

Immune cells in the B-cell lymphoma microenvironment:From basic research to clinical applications

B-cell lymphoma is a group of hematological malignancies characterized by variable genetic and biological features and clinical behaviors.The tumor microenvironment(TME)is a complex network in tumors,which consists of surrounding blood vessels,extracellular matrix,immune and non-immune cells,and signaling molecules.Increasing evidence has shown that the TME,especially immune cells within,is a double-edged sword,acting either as a tumor killer or as a promoter of tumor progression.These pro-tumor activities are driven by subpopulations of immune cells that express typical markers but have unique transcriptional characteristics,making tumor-associated immune cells good targets for human anti-cancer therapy by ablating immunosuppressive cells or enhancing immune-activated cells.Thus,exploring the role of immune cells in the TME provides distinct insights for immunotherapy in B-cell lymphoma.In this review,we elucidated the interaction between immune cells and tumor cells and their function in the initiation,progression,and prognosis of B-cell lymphoma,from preclinical experiments to clinical trials.Furthermore,we outlined potential therapeutic approaches and discussed the potential clinical value and future perspectives of targeting immune cells in patients with B-cell lymphoma.

Utilizing natural products as new E3 ligase ligands for targeted protein degradation

Targeted protein degradation has emerged as a powerful strategy for manipulating protein levels within cells.By selectively removing disease-causing proteins,this approach holds great promise for treating various disorders.

Ferroptosis in acute leukemia

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death pathway that is different from apoptosis,pyroptosis,and necrosis.The main characteristics of ferroptosis are the Fenton reaction mediated by intracellular free divalent iron ions,lipid peroxidation of cell membrane lipids,and inhibition of the anti-lipid peroxidation activity of intracellular glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4).Recent studies have shown that ferroptosis can be involved in the pathological processes of many disorders,such as ischemia-reperfusion injury,nervous system diseases,and blood diseases.However,the specific mechanisms by which ferroptosis participates in the occurrence and development of acute leukemia still need to be more fully and deeply studied.This article reviews the characteristics of ferroptosis and the regulatory mechanisms promoting or inhibiting ferroptosis.More importantly,it further discusses the role of ferroptosis in acute leukemia and predicts a change in treatment strategy brought about by increased knowledge of the role of ferroptosis in acute leukemia.

Sintilimab for relapsed/refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma: a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 trial (ORIENT-4)

This study(ORIENT-4)aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of sintilimab,a humanized anti-PD-1 antibody,in patients with relapsed/refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma(r/r ENKTL).ORIENT-4 is a multicenter,single-arm,phase 2 clinical trial(NCT03228836).Patients with r/r ENKTL who failed to at least one asparaginase-based regimen were enrolled to receive sintilimab 200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks for up to 24 months.The primary endpoint was the objective response rate(ORR)based on Lugano 2014 criteria.Twenty-eight patients with r/r ENKTL were enrolled from August 31,2017 to February 7,2018.Twenty-one patients(75.0%,95%CI:55.1–89.3%)achieved an objective response.With a median follow-up of 30.4 months,the median overall survival(OS)was not reached.The 24-month OS rate was 78.6%(95%CI,58.4–89.8%).Most treatment-related adverse events(TRAEs)were grade 1–2(71.4%),and the most common TRAE was decreased lymphocyte count(42.9%).Serious adverse events(SAEs)occurred in 7(25.0%)patients,and no patient died of adverse events.Sintilimab is effective and well tolerated in patients with r/r ENKTL and could be a novel therapeutic approach for the control of ENKTL in patients.