Digital-Focused Approaches in Cancer Patients’ Management in the Post-COVID Era: Challenges and Solutions

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In this manuscript, Ilona Georgescu et al. discuss the transformative role of digital health technologies in cancer patient management, particularly in the post-COVID era. It highlights the accelerated adoption of telemedicine and wearable devices, which offer opportunities for personalized healthcare, remote monitoring, and continuous data collection. However, challenges such as the need for standardized methods for measuring patient metrics, cost, and integration into clinical practice are emphasized. The article underscores the potential for these technologies to improve patient outcomes and the necessity for innovation and robust digital infrastructures to support their widespread use in oncology.

 

Comments:

 

One suggestion for the article is to include a discussion of previous review articles or opinion pieces that have covered similar topics or research areas. Summarize their key points and then articulate how your article differs from them. Highlight the innovative aspects of your work and explain how these distinctions benefit the reader.

Another suggestion for the article is to include a dedicated section that thoroughly addresses the key limitations and challenges associated with this research topic. This section should explore the technical and conceptual barriers that currently exist, such as the difficulties in achieving accurate data interpretation or the constraints imposed by current methodologies. It would be beneficial to discuss ethical and privacy issues that may arise, particularly in relation to data handling and patient confidentiality. Additionally, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration could provide insights into how combining expertise from different fields might overcome existing challenges. Finally, considering the integration of AI into future research could open new avenues for innovation, particularly in data analysis and predictive modeling.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Moderate editing of English language required.

Author Response

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In this review titled "Digital-Focused Approaches in Cancer Patient Management in the Post-COVID Era: Challenges and Solutions," the authors explore the impact of recent technological advancements and the growing consumer interest in personalized healthcare and patient awareness. While the motivation behind this manuscript is commendable, the manuscript has several issues, particularly regarding the lack of content and depth. I strongly encourage the authors to consider these comments and revise the paper accordingly. The detailed review suggestions are as follows:

1.      In Figure 1, the first letter of "english" should be capitalized.

2.      The structure of the sections in the manuscript needs to be adjusted, as the content between different parts is currently fragmented. In Section 3.1, the author discuss the applications of various commercial smart devices (mainly smartphones and smartwatches) in the digital management of cancer patients. However, in Section 3.2, which focuses on microneedles, I feel that the microneedles described are not sufficiently "digital," which creates a disconnect from the overall theme of the manuscript. The authors should consider revising this section to better align with the title. Additionally, the discussion of artificial intelligence (AI) in Section 3.3 is too brief and lacks depth. Given the significant potential of AI in non-contact diagnostics, this section should be expanded to offer more insights and a more thorough evaluation. Lastly, there are important connections between smart devices, microneedles, and AI that should also be reflected in the manuscript.

3.      I also recommend that the authors include more insights in the Conclusion section, such as the current limitations in the accuracy of vital sign measurements by smart devices, the lack of standardized criteria for measurement precision in commercial smart devices, and the factors hindering the widespread commercialization of microneedles. Additionally, offering a forward-looking perspective on the development of digital wearable devices would be highly valuable. Such discussions could significantly enhance the impact of the manuscript. Here, I provide some relevant review articles for the authors' reference.

(1) Wearable Sweat Biosensors Refresh Personalized Health/Medical Diagnostics. Research. 2021.

(2) Pioneering healthcare with soft robotic devices: A review. Smart Medicine. 2024.

 

(3) Functional microneedles for wearable electronics. Smart Medicine. 2023.

Author Response

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript “Digital-Focused Approaches in Cancer Patients' Management in the Post-Covid Era: Challenges and Solutions” aims to summarize the current landscape of digital health technologies within the context of cancer management. manuscript is well-written, with comprehensive analysis.

 

I would like to suggest strengthening the technical discussion, to improve the quality of this manuscript. Currently, there is not much in-depth discussion for the cited study. For example, line 355, the author cited one study and concluded “data from patients with lung cancer was assessed by an NLP model, which correctly predicted mortality in patients according to improvements and worsening events noted by oncologists”. I would suggest the author to include more material evidence, such as how many patients are involved, what are the data types assessed, and what lung cancers (there are various type of lung cancers).

Author Response

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I think the revised manuscript is now good for publication.