Lung cancer and pulmonary tuberculosis are two significant public health problems that continue to take millions of lives each year. They may have similar symptoms and, in some cases, are diagnosed simultaneously or may have a causal relationship. In tuberculosis disease, the chronic inflammation, different produced molecules, genomic changes, and fibrosis are believed to be important factors that may promote carcinogenesis. As a reverse reaction, the development of carcinogenesis and the treatment may induce the reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection. Moreover, the recently used checkpoint inhibitors are a debatable subject since they help treat lung cancer but may lead to the reactivation of pulmonary tuberculosis and checkpoint-induced pneumonitis. Pulmonary rehabilitation is an effective intervention in post-tuberculosis patients and lung cancer patients and should be recommended to improve outcomes in these pathologies.

Knowledge regarding the influence of the microbial community in cancer promotion or protection has expanded even more through the study of bacterial metabolic products and how they can modulate cancer risk, which represents an extremely challenging approach for the relationship between intestinal microbiota and colorectal cancer (CRC). This review discusses research progress on the effect of bacterial dysbiosis from a metabolic point of view, particularly on the biochemical mechanisms of butyrate, one of the main short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) with anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties in CRC. Increased daily intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) significantly increases the density of bacteria that are known to produce butyrate. Omega-3 PUFAs have been proposed as a treatment to prevent gut microbiota dysregulation and lower the risk or progression of CRC.

This review of the meaningful data from 2021 on cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers aims to provide an update of the most clinically relevant studies presented at important oncologic congresses during the year (the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting). Despite the underlying existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the last year has been notable in terms of research, with significant and promising advances in gynecological malignancies. Several major studies reporting the effects of innovative therapies for patients with cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers might change the medical practice in the future.

This study aims to investigate the correlations between burnout, coping strategies, and quality of life among young oncology healthcare workers in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected the data using an online questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic questions, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the COPE questionnaire, and the 15D instrument. A total of 122 healthcare providers responded to our survey. We evaluated the differences in the scores among the three groups of healthcare workers in oncology under 40 years old: medical oncologists (n = 87), radiation oncologists (n = 11), and oncology nurses (n = 24). Finally, we conducted a correlation analysis between the dimensions of burnout, coping, and quality of life. Overall, the medical oncologists exhibited much higher burnout levels than nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, having statistically significant higher levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal achievement. Some factors were inversely associated with burnout: active approach, planning, positive interpretation and growth, and acceptance. Our findings illustrated a very good level of health-related quality of life (average = 0.93, SD = 0.06), and no statistically significant differences were found in the quality of life between the three groups. This study was the first to identify the profile of young oncology providers in Romania. Our findings may be relevant in creating preventive strategies for burnout and increasing the quality of life in Romanian young oncology providers in future crises.

The Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD) Score, determined by evaluating genomic instability through the assessment of loss of heterozygosity (LOH), telomeric allelic imbalance (TAI), and large-scale state transitions (LST), serves as a crucial biomarker for identifying patients who might benefit from targeted therapies, such as PARP inhibitors (PARPi). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of HRD testing in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, tubal, and peritoneal cancer patients who are negative for somatic BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and to evaluate the impact of HRD status on Bevacizumab and PARPi therapy response. A cohort of 100 Romanian female patients, aged 42–77, was initially selected. Among them, 30 patients had unsuitable samples for HRD testing due to insufficient tumor content or DNA integrity. Using the OncoScan C.N.V. platform, HRD testing was successfully performed on the remaining 70 patients, with 20 testing negative and 50 testing positive for HRD. Among the HRD-positive patients, 35 were eligible for and benefited from PARPi maintenance therapy, resulting in a median progression-free survival (PFS) increase from 4 months to 8.2 months. Our findings support the importance of HRD testing in ovarian cancer patients, demonstrating the potential therapeutic advantage of PARPi therapy in HRD-positive patients without somatic BRCA1/2 mutations.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies in women. The treatment landscape underwent significant changes as new agents were introduced in ovarian cancer management over the last decade. We present two cases of long responses to Olaparib in BRCA (BReast CAncer gene) mutant ovarian cancer patients. The first case belongs to a 42-year-old female diagnosed with advanced ovarian carcinoma with a rare germinal mutation (BRCA1 c.68_69delAG, commonly found in descendants of Ashkenazi Jewish populations, but also Arabic and Asian ones) and a significant family history of ovarian and breast cancers. After poorly tolerated neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the patient underwent total hysterectomy, bilateral adnexectomy, and intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy. After eight months, the disease progressed, and first-line platinum chemotherapy was administered. Although not well-tolerated (grade 3 anemia, allergic reactions), chemotherapy resulted in a partial response, and given the patient’s characteristics, maintenance with Olaparib was recommended. Treatment is ongoing (total current duration 69 months) and tolerated well (grade 1 side effects). This case illustrates the long-term benefits that novel therapies like Olaparib may offer in patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer harboring a rare BRCA mutation. The second case highlights a 55-year-old postmenopausal woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer, FIGO stage IVA. Initial treatment included six cycles of chemotherapy, which led to a partial response, followed by interval debulking surgery and another four cycles of chemotherapy. Subsequent Olaparib maintenance therapy post BRCA1 mutation identification contributed to a significant progression-free survival of 65 months until disease recurrence and secondary cytoreductive surgery, showcasing the effectiveness of PARP inhibitors in personalized oncology treatment of ovarian cancer.