Osteolipoma is an uncommon benign lipomatous tumor characterized by the presence of mature adipose tissue intermixed with lamellar bone. We present a unique case of a 22-year-old female with an osteolipoma in the upper cervical paraspinal region, closely associated with the vertebral artery. The patient exhibited atypical symptoms, including intermittent dizziness and numbness around the right eye, which were previously unreported in similar spinal cases. Diagnosis was confirmed through multimodal imaging and CT-guided biopsy. Surgical excision was performed without complications, and the patient experienced complete symptom resolution at follow-up. This report contributes novel clinical and anatomical insights to the limited literature on spinal osteolipomas, emphasizing the importance of individualized evaluation and multidisciplinary management for optimal outcomes.

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare, highly aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Although initial responses to the guideline-recommended first-line high-dose methotrexate induction treatment are high, some patients have refractory disease and most experience relapse. Approved therapies for relapsed or refractory (R/R) PCNSL are limited in the US, and there are none in Europe, creating an urgent unmet need for effective treatments. Tirabrutinib is a highly potent and selective second-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea for patients with R/R PCNSL. Here, we describe the rationale and design of IGNITE (ONO-4059-17), an ongoing, phase III, multiregional, open-label, randomized study of tirabrutinib vs rituximab and temozolomide combination therapy in R/R PCNSL. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival based on blinded independent review committee (BIRC) per International PCNSL Collaborative Group (IPCG) criteria. Key secondary endpoints are overall response rate based on BIRC per IPCG criteria and overall survival. Safety will be assessed by the incidence and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events.Clinical trial registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier is NCT07104032.

Intramedullary solitary fibrous tumor is an exceptionally rare spindle-cell neoplasm of the central nervous system and is rarely diagnosed before surgery because the clinical presentation and imaging findings are non-specific. We report a man in his early 60s with more than 7 years of progressive bilateral lower-extremity numbness that worsened during the month before admission without an identifiable precipitating event. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an enhancing intramedullary lesion at the C7-T1 level. The patient underwent microscopic tumor resection through a posterior C7-T2 laminectomy under intraoperative ultrasound guidance and multimodal intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, including somatosensory evoked potentials, transcranial motor evoked potentials, D-wave monitoring, and free-running electromyography. Gross total resection was achieved without new neurological deficit. Histology showed spindle cells in fascicular and storiform arrangements with branching staghorn-like vessels. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated nuclear STAT6 positivity with co-expression of CD34, CD99, and Bcl-2. Mitotic activity was low, with only 2-3 mitoses per 10 high-power fields, and no definite tumor necrosis was identified, supporting the diagnosis of a CNS WHO grade 1 solitary fibrous tumor. Sensory symptoms improved after surgery, and no recurrence was detected on magnetic resonance imaging at 18-month follow-up. This short-term outcome is encouraging, but long-term radiological surveillance remains necessary.

Histiocytic sarcomas (HSs) are uncommon malignant neoplasms in cats, typically affecting older animals and not previously associated with feline leukemia virus (FeLV). Here, we describe 2 cases of disseminated HS in young FeLV-positive domestic shorthair cats that clinically and grossly mimicked lymphoma. Case 1, a 1-y-old female cat, was presented with hemiplegia and dysuria and was euthanized because of the clinical suspicion of spinal lymphoma. Case 2, a 4-y-old male cat, had hyporexia, ocular abnormalities, and bilateral renal enlargement and was euthanized because of the clinical suspicion of renal and ocular lymphoma. Both cases tested positive for feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection with a SNAP test. At autopsy, case 1 had a white, irregular, intradural spinal cord mass at the C6-C7 segment, and case 2 had coalescing, unencapsulated, white nodules that effaced both renal cortices, along with uveal thickening in the left eye with hyphema. Both cases had highly pleomorphic neoplastic round-cell proliferation in neoplastic masses, with strong cytoplasmic labeling for vimentin and IBA1 on immunohistochemistry and no CD20 or CD3 labeling, confirming disseminated HS. The neoplastic cells also had strong cytoplasmic immunolabeling for FeLV, suggesting a possible oncogenic role of FeLV in feline HSs.

Temozolomide (TMZ) resistance is a major challenge in glioblastoma (GBM). The role of BRCA1-associated RING domain protein 1 (BARD1), a DNA damage response protein, in GBM and its potential link to liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) remain unclear. Bioinformatics analysis of TCGA, CGGA, and GEO datasets revealed that high BARD1 expression correlates with poor prognosis in GBM. Functional studies demonstrated that BARD1 knockdown inhibited glioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. We discovered that BARD1 undergoes LLPS via its intrinsically disordered region (IDR, aa 113-425). Upon TMZ-induced DNA damage, BARD1 forms nuclear condensates that recruit X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 5 (XRCC5) to damage sites, promoting repair and driving TMZ resistance. Disrupting this phase separation capability impaired DNA repair. Through structure-based virtual screening, our results suggest that Ziprasidone and Apomorphine may disrupt the BARD1-XRCC5 interaction. Combining either compound with TMZ enhanced cytotoxicity in vitro and suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Our findings unveil a novel LLPS-mediated mechanism by which BARD1 confers TMZ resistance in GBM, positioning it as a prognostic marker and a therapeutic target. Targeting the BARD1-XRCC5 axis presents a promising strategy to overcome chemoresistance.

Nerve sheath tumors account for approximately 30% of all spinal cord tumors, with schwannomas and neurofibromas being the most common types. These benign lesions often remain asymptomatic until they reach a size sufficient to compress adjacent neural structures. We present a case of a giant thoracolumbar intraspinal schwannoma successfully resected with no recurrence at 13 month follow-up. A 73-year-old Asian woman with controlled hypertension presented with a 2 year history of progressive low back pain, bilateral lower limb numbness, and weakness. MRI revealed an intradural extramedullary tumor extending from T10 to L1. The patient underwent T10-T12 total laminectomy with complete tumor resection and posterolateral bone grafting. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry (S100+, SOX10+) confirmed schwannoma. No recurrence was observed at 13 months postoperatively. Complete microsurgical resection of giant thoracolumbar intraspinal schwannoma is safe and effective. Longterm follow-up is recommended to monitor for recurrence.

Invasive pediatric high-grade gliomas (HGGs) are associated with poor clinical outcomes, and current therapies often cause significant long-term toxicities. This study investigates the influence of nutritional ketosis on the therapeutic efficacy of mebendazole (MBZ) and devimistat (CPI-613) in invasive VM-M3 and non-invasive CT-2A glioblastoma models in juvenile syngeneic mice. Both drugs were also evaluated in the human pediatric glioma cell line SF-188. Mesenchymal-origin VM-M3 tumors exhibited extensive invasion throughout the brain and spinal cord, whereas neural stem cell-derived CT-2A and VM-NM1 tumors did not show distal spread. The greatest reductions in tumor invasion and progression, together with prolonged survival, occurred when drug treatment was combined with a ketogenic diet (KD). MBZ inhibited glycolysis and glutaminolysis in VM-M3 cells and reduced proliferation and viability of SF-188 cells. KD-enabled combination therapy allowed lower drug dosing, reduced toxicity, and improved survival, supporting further investigation of metabolically informed diet-drug strategies for pediatric gliomas.

Cancer treatment remains a critical global health challenge, which often requires multimodal and targeted therapeutic strategies, yet integrating these modalities typically demands complex formulations. Oncolytic bacterial therapy offers unique opportunities for targeted drug delivery and immune modulation, yet clinical translation has been hindered by safety concerns and tedious engineering modification. Here, we report a deformable Bacillus subtilis (DBS), constructed through one-step cisplatin-induced morphological transformation that elongates the bacterium while simultaneously incorporating chemotherapeutic payloads. The resulting DBS integrated three synergistic antitumor mechanisms: Chemotherapy, Starvation, and Immunotherapy. Metabolically, DBS actively consumes glucose and lactate within the tumor microenvironment (TME), thereby depriving tumor cells of key nutrients and reshaping the microenvironment to become more permissive to therapy. Concurrently, anaerobe-targeting DBS releases the encapsulated cisplatin locally in the TME, enabling direct cytotoxic killing while limiting systemic exposure. Furthermore, DBS leverages its intrinsic immunogenicity to potentiate immune cell activation, while its elongated morphology prolongs tumor retention and facilitates enhanced interactions with infiltrating immune cells. Proteases secreted by DBS hydrolyze the extracellular matrix, facilitating immune cell infiltration and boosting anti-tumor immune responses. Surprisingly, DBS exhibits intestinal homing and is safely cleared through fecal excretion after treatment, minimizing systemic side effects. This study presents an efficient and safe live-bacterial platform for cancer therapy, underscoring the broad potential of bacterial morphology engineering as a facile strategy to integrate multiple synergistic antitumor mechanisms within a single microbial therapeutic.