Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide with low survival rates and poor outcomes. The treatment landscape for PC is fraught with obstacles, including drug resistance, lack of effective targeted therapies and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). The resistance of PC to existing immunotherapies highlights the need for innovative approaches, with the TME emerging as a promising therapeutic target. The recent advancements in understanding the role of macrophages, this context highlight their significant impact on tumor development and progression. There are two important types of macrophages: M1 and M2, which play critical roles in the TME. Therapeutics strategies including, depletion of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), reprogramming TAMs to promote anti-tumor activity, and targeting macrophage recruitment can lead to promising outcomes. Targeting macrophage-related pathways may offer novel strategies for modulating immune responses, inhibiting angiogenesis, and overcoming resistance to chemotherapy in PC treatment.

Introduction: Knowledge of the safety of vaccines is crucial, both to prevent and cure them and to decrease the public hesitation in receiving vaccines. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review the adverse events reported for inactivated vaccines and Novavax. Methods: In this systematic review, the databases of PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science were searched on September 15, 2021. Then we identified the eligible studies using a two-step title/abstract and full-text screening process. Data on the subjects, studies, and types of adverse events were extracted and entered in a word table, including serious, mild, local, and systemic adverse events as well as the timing of side effects' appearance. Results: Adverse effects of inactivated coronavirus vaccines side effects were reported from phases 1, 2, and 3 of the vaccine trials. The most common local side effects included injection site pain and swelling, redness, and pruritus. Meanwhile, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, fever, and gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain and diarrhea were among the most common systemic adverse effects. Conclusion: This systematic review indicates that inactivated COVID-19 vaccines, including Sinovac, Sinopharm, and Bharat Biotech, as well as the protein subunit vaccines (Novavax) can be considered as safe choices due to having milder side effects and fewer severe life-threatening adverse events.

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles produced by most cell types. They carry specific markers and biomolecular cargo that reflect the characteristics of cancer cells. These vesicles contain oncoproteins, mutated DNA fragments, and cancer-specific RNA profiles, which can serve as biomarkers for tumor detection, disease progression, and treatment resistance analysis. As a non-invasive diagnostic tool, exosome biomarkers can be obtained from liquid biopsies, including blood, urine, and saliva samples. The cargo of exosomes, such as miRNAs and proteins, is often associated with patient prognosis, providing insights into tumor aggressiveness and survival rates, which helps in patient risk assessment. Due to their natural biocompatibility and minimal immune response, exosomes are promising drug delivery vehicles for anticancer treatments, including chemotherapeutic agents and RNA-based therapies. This review highlights the dual role of exosomes in cancer, focusing on their diagnostic and therapeutic potential.

Despite advancements in assisted reproductive technology (ART), recurrent implantation failure (RIF) continues to pose a significant challenge to achieving pregnancy. We included 2,463 retrospective RIF patients with no gynecological and anatomical anomalies who were referred to a clinical immunologist and received targeted immunotherapies. Twenty-three variables were used to develop a deep learning (TabNet) model to predict live births. Statistical analyses were used to compare characteristics between live birth and implantation failure groups. Model performance was evaluated using a confusion matrix, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and calibration plots. Our model showed an accuracy of 87.4% and an AUROC of 0.952. According to the model, when there were no missing input variables, the most important features were age, Th1/Th2 ratio, BMI, anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO), antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-dsDNA, and anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-TTG), respectively. In conclusion, the TabNet model yielded strong performance in predicting live births in RIF patients using a combination of 23 variables. This model can help improve understanding of the underlying mechanism of implantation failure and stratify patients who may benefit from immune modulation interventions.

Introduction. Smoking status appears to lead to a poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients. However, findings from the studies conducted on this topic have not been consistent, and further exploration is required. Methods. The objective of this umbrella review was to examine the effects of smoking on COVID-19 management and mortality. Online databases that included PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched using relevant keywords up to July 27, 2022. Articles were restricted to the English language, and the PRISMA protocol was followed. Results. A total of 27 systematic reviews, published from 2020 to 2022, were included. Individual studies included in the systematic reviews ranged from 8 to 186, with various population sizes. The consensus from the majority of systematic reviews was that COVID-19 smoker patients experience greater disease severity, disease progression, hospitalization rate, hospital admission duration, mechanical ventilation, ICU admission, and mortality rate. Conclusions. COVID-19 patients with a history of smoking (current and former) are vulnerable to adverse hospital outcomes and worse COVID-19 progression. Effective preventive and supportive approaches are required to decrease the risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in patients with a history of smoking.