Despite substantial research investments aiming to prevent cancer and develop therapeutic interventions, cancer remains a formidable challenge. In view of the persistent rise in cancer prevalence, the condition should also be recognised as a chronic disease. Such an approach can enhance the quality of life of patients with cancer, inhibit treatment-related adverse events and prevent recurrence via comprehensive post-treatment management. The core objective of this study is to investigate the association between dietary factors and treatment-related adverse events in patients with cancer, with the aim of providing individualised dietary recommendations to reduce adverse events and enhance quality of life.

The study cohort will include 600 participants aged ≥20 years. The participants will be assessed for dietary intake, cancer therapy-related adverse events and single-nucleotide polymorphisms using genomic DNA extracted from saliva. In addition, general and clinical information, lifestyle patterns and general/biochemical data of the blood will also be collected. The primary outcome is dietary factors that mitigate chemotherapeutic adverse events, and the secondary outcome is the association between nutritional status and survival in Korean patients with cancer. Considering the potential impact of dietary habits on the adverse events of cancer treatment, the findings of this study can be used as a basis for the establishment of new dietary guidelines for patients with cancer.

The Institutional Review Board of Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System, Seoul, Korea, approved the study protocol (4-2021-1110). Further, all participants provided a written informed consent prior to the study. The findings will be shared via publications.

Prognosis estimation is the basis for establishing the personal interventions in sepsis patients. Serum biomarkers are potential tools for predicting the outcomes of sepsis patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Here, we plan to perform a prospective study to investigate the prognostic value of serum biomarkers. We named this study Hospital Outcome of Host Heterogeneity, Organ dysfunction and Trajectory in sepsis (HOHHOT).

This prospective cohort study is being performed in several hospitals in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region between 2025 and 2027. The inclusion criteria were adult sepsis patients admitted to the ICU. A serum specimen will be collected at the onset of sepsis and stored at –80°C for future use. The endpoint of the HOHHOT study includes, but is not limited to, hospital outcome (eg, mortality, occurrence of organ dysfunction, treatment response and the progression of sepsis). We will analyse the predictive value of serum biomarkers for outcomes using a receiver operating characteristic curve and decision curve analysis. The association between baseline characteristics and serum biomarkers will be estimated using a logistic regression model, net reclassification index and integrated discriminatory index. We will also construct some predictive models using machine learning algorithms.

The HOHHOT study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University (NO: KY2025005). The findings derived from the HOHHOT study will be submitted to international academic journals.

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2500100770); pre-results.

Although caesarean sections (CSs) are essential for the management of obstructed labour and other obstetric complications, postoperative pain, delayed recovery and complication risks continue to be significant challenges in perioperative management. Improvements in traditional medications and surgical techniques have helped, yet issues, including medication side effects and extended recovery times, persist. Therefore, it is particularly important to seek non-pharmacological interventions, such as acupoint stimulation, to optimise the perioperative management of CS. The aim of this systematic review protocol is to synthesise the available evidence and assess the effect of acupoint stimulation in the perioperative period of CS.

We plan to search PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, the Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, from their inception to August 2025. Primary outcome indicators will include pain, time to first defecation, time to first bowel movement and time to return of bowel sounds. Secondary outcome indicators will include postoperative complications, such as nausea and vomiting, bloating, anxiety and depression, as well as length of hospital stay and morphine consumption. Subgroup analyses, meta-regression and sensitivity analyses will be used to investigate the potential sources of heterogeneity and to test the stability of the results. Trial sequential analysis will be introduced to enhance the reliability of the evidence.

No ethical approval is required as this study synthesises the existing published data. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. Any protocol amendments will be documented in PROSPERO and detailed in the final publication.

CRD42024558572.