This study aimed to predict the short-term prognosis of patients with unresectable advanced recurrent digestive cancers. We analyzed the correlation between BMI, pre-albumin, zinc, CRP, total cholesterol, CONUT score, PNI and survival time using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and a multiple regression analysis in patients who visited our palliative outpatient clinic. The results of the analysis showed that the pre-albumin level and CONUT score were correlated. Using the obtained multiple regression equation values, a cutoff value was calculated from the ROC curve and validated in patients who were receiving chemotherapy in an oncology outpatient clinic. The results showed that it was statistically possible to predict the prognosis on a monthly basis. In clinical practice, chemotherapy for advanced solid tumors is sometimes continued until near the end of life owing to the lack of clear prognostic criteria. Our findings suggest that nutritional indices such as pre-albumin and CONUT score may serve as objective indicators to support timely decision-making regarding the discontinuation of chemotherapy.

Background: Cancer remains one of the world’s leading healthcare challenges, with 1 in 9 people developing cancer in their lifetime. This rise in cancer incidences and mortality rates has increased the need for exploring new therapeutic agents.

Aim: The medicinal plants Cotyledon orbiculata and Salvia africana-lutea were evaluated for their anticancer properties in cervical, breast, prostate and fibroblast cell lines.

Methods:Methanol, hexane and butanol were used as the different extraction solvents. Different cancer cell lines were each treated with varying plant extract concentrations to identify the half‑maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀). The IC₅₀ was then used in subsequent assays.

Results and conclusion: Caspase 3/7 assay revealed that while in some instances caspase activity increased slightly, it was not convincing enough to suggest that these plant extracts induced apoptosis in a caspase 3/7 dependent manner. Following treatment with the plant extracts, the expression of cell cycle and apoptosis related genes was investigated. Once again, comparing results between untreated and those treated with the various extracts did not yield significant differences to conclusively as whether gene expression was markedly improved following treatment. This is not to say that subtle differences were not noted. In conclusion, Cotyledon orbiculata, and Salvia africana-lutea extracts have shown little evidence to suggest potent anticancer properties.

Introduction: Previous studies have revealed the effects of COVID-19 and cancer treatment; however, data from patients receiving cancer drug therapy in Japan remain limited. This study aimed to summarize the clinical characteristics and symptoms of patients who developed COVID-19 during cancer drug therapy and obtain clues indicating COVID-19 infection from a preliminary interview by the nurses.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients undergoing cancer drug therapy who developed COVID-19 between 2020 and 2022 and visited a fever outpatient clinic for COVID-19 screening.

Results: In total, 599 patients were treated with cancer drug therapy, and 74 patients visited the fever outpatient clinic, of whom 12 tested positive for COVID-19, representing 2% of patients treated with cancer drug therapy. Eleven patients displayed initial COVID-19 symptoms; the mean time from COVID-19 diagnosis to resumption of cancer drug therapy was 35.5 (16–70) days. Male sex (p = 0.029), age <65 years, and the simultaneous occurrence of four or more initial cold-like symptoms with fever >38℃ (p = 0.026) were associated with a higher incidence of COVID-19.

Conclusions: Although it remains unclear whether anticancer therapy is a factor promoting COVID-19 infection, the prognostic impact of COVID-19 infection on cancer patients remains a concern. Nurses conducting telephone consultations and pre-examination interviews during anticancer drug therapy should exercise particular caution in cases involving males under 65 years of age who simultaneously exhibit four or more initial symptoms accompanied by a fever of 38 degrees Celsius or higher.