Latest Pathology and Forensic Medicine research

Top 10 this week

Week of 20 September 2026

1. 1

   Chronic endometritis in women undergoing in vitro fertilization: Diagnostic roles of hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy and associations with reproductive outcomes - A systematic review and meta-analysis

   European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology · Q2 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 5 September 2026

2. 2

   Circulating Tumor DNA and Circulating Tumor Cells in Liquid Biopsy as Post-Treatment Prognostic Biomarkers in Early Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

   International journal of molecular sciences · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 28 August 2026

   High-quality evidence in a top journal

3. 3

   Menthol for the Relief of Dyspnea: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

   Lung · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 18 September 2026

   Menthol dyspnea systematic review, clinical symptom focus

4. 4

   Structured exercise interventions and survival outcomes in patients with cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

   British journal of sports medicine · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 15 September 2026

   A meta-analysis of 21 randomized trials found that patients who performed prescribed aerobic or mixed exercise had a 23% lower risk of overall mortality and a 17% lower risk of disease recurrence compared with usual care. Benefits were strongest in early-stage disease and when participants adhered well, but exercise did not improve progression-free survival, highlighting a need for further research on optimal regimens.

5. 5

   Immune checkpoint inhibitors plus chemotherapy for early-stage or locally -advanced triple-negative breast cancer: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis of randomized trials

   Frontiers in oncology · Q2 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 4 September 2026

   A Bayesian network meta-analysis of eight trials (2,073 patients) found that adding a PD-1 inhibitor to neoadjuvant chemotherapy raised pathological complete response odds to about 2.5 times that of chemotherapy alone. Early signals also suggest overall-survival benefits with neoadjuvant PD-L1 and peri-operative PD-1 regimens, but evidence is limited and requires confirmatory head-to-head trials.

6. 6

   The Evolving Role of Artificial Intelligence in Dermatology: A Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Performance, Clinical Applications, and Implementation Challenges (2003-2025)

   Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · Q2 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 31 August 2026

7. 7

   Prasugrel in the management of acute coronary syndromes: a systematic review

   Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · Q2 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 17 September 2026

8. 8

   Cost-utility of NeuroSAFE-guided RARP Versus Standard RARP in Men with Localised Prostate Cancer in the UK

   European urology open science · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 9 September 2026

   In a trial of 407 men, the nerve-sparing NeuroSAFE technique added about £800 in NHS costs and improved quality-adjusted life expectancy by 0.03 QALYs, yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of roughly £26,000 per QALY. The result sits near the upper UK willingness-to-pay threshold, but considerable uncertainty remains, especially beyond the 12-month follow-up.

9. 9

   Assessing the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with T3N0 gastric cancer

   European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 10 September 2026

   In a retrospective cohort of 386 T3N0 patients, five-year overall survival was 93% with chemotherapy versus 91% with surgery alone, and relapse-free survival was similarly close. After statistical adjustment, chemotherapy showed no significant reduction in death or recurrence, leaving its routine use in this stage uncertain.

10. 10

    Short-term versus long-course neoadjuvant chemotherapy for resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PACT-21 CASSANDRA): results from the second randomisation analysis of a randomised, open-label, 2 × 2 factorial phase 3 trial

    EClinicalMedicine · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 5 September 2026

    In the PACT-21/CASSANDRA trial, 86 patients receiving two extra months of chemotherapy before surgery and 79 receiving it after surgery had identical event-free survival (hazard ratio about 1). However, the longer regimen yielded higher CA19-9 response, a 5% complete pathological response rate and more N0 resections. Overall survival data are pending, underscoring the need for more effective neoadjuvant strategies.

Paper of the day, last two weeks

• Spatial architecture of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes adds predictive value beyond stromal TIL density for neoadjuvant response in triple-negative breast cancer

  Frontiers in immunology · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 3 September 2026

  Spatial TIL architecture predicts neoadjuvant response beyond stromal density

• Spatial architecture of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes adds predictive value beyond stromal TIL density for neoadjuvant response in triple-negative breast cancer

  Frontiers in immunology · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 3 September 2026

  Spatial TIL architecture predicts neoadjuvant response beyond stromal density

• Pathological response after neoadjuvant therapy in soft tissue sarcoma: A systematic review of its association with local recurrence, distant metastasis, and survival

  European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology · Q1 journal · SR of cohorts · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 15 September 2026

  A review of 19 studies (2,346 patients) found that measures such as residual viable tumor, necrosis, fibrosis or hyalinization did not consistently correlate with local recurrence, metastasis, or survival. Only a high level of sclerohyalinosis showed a signal for better disease-free survival in one trial, but evidence is low. Consequently, no pathological-response metric is ready for routine clinical decision-making.

• Complementary use of the DNA methylation-based tumor classification by the Bethesda v3 classifier in routine diagnostics: evaluation in a series of 516 cases

  Acta neuropathologica · Q1 journal · Retrospective cohort · Evidence level 4 (Very Low) · 15 September 2026

  DNA methylation classifier, robust for CNS tumor diagnostics

• The diagnostic value of routine muscle at autopsy: high prevalence and systematic under-detection of type 2 myofiber atrophy

  Neuromuscular disorders : NMD · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 28 August 2026

  In a prospective autopsy series, fiber size variation on routine H&E staining accurately predicted type 2 myofiber atrophy (about 90% sensitivity and specificity). Yet a non-neuropathology-trained pathologist identified the lesion in only 10% of cases, revealing a five-fold detection gap. Wider muscle sampling and focused H&E review could close this under-diagnosis.

• The Association of SARIFA with Poor Prognosis and Aggressive Tumor Phenotypes in Cancers: A Meta-Analysis

  Journal of clinical medicine · Q1 journal · SR of cohorts · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 3 September 2026

  Meta-analysis of SARIFA histopathological biomarker

• A clinically-oriented foundation model for intraoperative pathology

  Nature medicine · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 10 September 2026

• Validation of the ninth edition pathological and clinical TNM classifications for salivary gland carcinoma

  Oral oncology · Q1 journal · Cohort · Evidence level 3 (Low) · 13 September 2026

  In a review of 402 salivary gland carcinomas, the new 9th-edition pathologic TNM system distinguished five-year disease-free survival more clearly (83% for N0, 55% for N1, 27% for N2) than the previous edition. Clinical nodal categories remained imprecise, reflecting only moderate agreement between imaging and pathology, so imaging-based staging still needs refinement.

• Detection of myocardial infarction by postmortem CT combined with radiomics-based machine-learning analysis

  European radiology experimental · Q1 journal · Cohort · Evidence level 3 (Low) · 11 September 2026

  Postmortem CT radiomics for MI detection

• Multiregion profiling of genomic and transcriptional heterogeneity in head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma

  ESMO open · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 11 September 2026

  In a prospective analysis of 87 surgically treated head-and-neck cancers, 37% showed regionally heterogeneous pathogenic mutations, including actionable changes in 10% of patients. Higher genomic heterogeneity was associated with a modest reduction in disease-free survival, though the effect weakened after rigorous modelling. The findings underscore spatial molecular diversity but need validation before influencing treatment decisions.

• Major salivary gland carcinomas: A 21-center cohort study of 892 patients with external validation of the UICC 9th edition n-classification

  Oral oncology · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 11 September 2026

  In a 21-center study of 892 patients, tumors that infiltrated the facial nerve were about twice as likely to cause death, disease recurrence, or disease-specific mortality compared with nerve-sparing cancers. Intraparotid lymph node spread occurred in nearly 30% of parotid cases and lowered recurrence-free survival, while higher stromal lymphocyte density improved outcomes. These findings highlight the need for routine nerve assessment and refined nodal staging.

• Endomyocardial Biopsy and Clinical Outcomes in Acute Myocarditis　- Multicenter Cohort Study

  Circulation journal : official journal of the Japanese Circulation Society · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 10 September 2026

  Multicenter cohort on endomyocardial biopsy outcomes

• Diagnostic accuracy of core needle biopsy versus fine-needle aspiration cytology in salivary gland malignancies: A systematic review and metaanalysis

  Clinical and experimental otorhinolaryngology · Q1 journal · SR of cohorts · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 8 September 2026

  Core needle vs FNAC accuracy in salivary malignancies

• Methylation profiling in CNS tumor diagnostics: a single-centre real-world experience from Central Europe

  Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 8 September 2026

  In a prospective series of 291 brain tumors, high-confidence methylation matches were achieved in 70% of cases, and the test altered tumor grade in nearly 40% of lesions that were histologically ambiguous. Over half of lower-confidence results were still clinically useful when combined with pathology, while only 2% were misleading, underscoring the need for integrated interpretation.

Evidence summaries in Pathology and Forensic Medicine

• Skeletal Muscle Histology
• Granulomatous Inflammation