Publications by authors named "Aarts M"

Objective: To evaluate the process of an online cognitive rehabilitation program aimed at supporting cancer survivors experiencing cognitive problems at work.

Methods: Cancer survivors (n = 279) were randomized to one of the intervention groups (i.e.

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Aims: Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) treated by breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy aims to decrease the probability of locally recurrent disease. The role of whole breast irradiation, specifically in DCIS having low recurrence risk and low risk of becoming invasive, is increasingly debated. Also, the added value of applying boost irradiation in DCIS has been questioned.

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Efforts to improve photosynthetic performance are increasingly employing natural genetic variation. However, genetic variation in the organellar genomes (plasmotypes) is often disregarded due to the difficulty of studying the plasmotypes and the lack of evidence that this is a worthwhile investment. Here, we systematically phenotyped plasmotype diversity using as a model species.

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Background: Historically, patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) have been offered upfront cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) followed by systemic therapy. Currently, CN is no longer the standard of care (SOC) based on the randomised phase 3 CARMENA study performed in the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor era. With the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) combination therapy in first line, the role of CN needs to be reassessed.

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Background And Aims: The Brassiceae tribe encompasses many economically important crops and exhibits high intraspecific and interspecific phenotypic variation. After a shared whole-genome triplication (WGT) event (Br-α, ~15.9 million years ago), differential lineage diversification and genomic changes contributed to an array of divergence in morphology, biochemistry, and physiology underlying photosynthesis-related traits.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Lung cancer remains the top cause of cancer deaths globally with a low 5-year survival rate, but the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) like nivolumab in 2015 has improved patient survival rates and treatment strategies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
  • - An analysis of the Netherlands Cancer Registry from 2016-2020 reveals a dramatic increase in ICI usage from 1.1% to 54.9% among first-line NSCLC patients, with trends indicating a shift away from chemotherapy, though survival rates varied and showed some decline in recent years.
  • - The study highlights that the median overall survival (OS) was different based on treatment lines: first-line patients had a
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  • Natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana, particularly from the Netherlands, were studied to understand how plants adapt to subtle environmental changes despite a generally mild climate.
  • The research identified key genetic variations, including mutations in the GA5 gene leading to semidwarf accessions with better wind tolerance and the FSD3 gene affecting iron deficiency tolerance.
  • The findings suggest that genetic diversity in this localized population is comparable to broader global collections, providing insights into the genetic mechanisms behind plant adaptation to environmental factors like drought and nutrient availability.
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Background: Adjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy improves relapse free survival in stage III melanoma, but also leads to immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Older patients are of particular interest due to comorbidities and frailty, which may impact their ability to tolerate irAEs and benefit from anti-PD-1 therapy. This study aimed to explore associations between clinical parameters and the occurrence of grade ≥ 3 irAEs and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in older patients with radically resected stage III/IV cutaneous melanoma treated with adjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy.

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  • Thallium (Tl) is a highly toxic pollutant, and plants from the Brassicaceae family, like Biscutella laevigata, can accumulate it significantly, with some capable of holding over 32,000 μg Tl per gram of dry weight in their leaves.
  • Two different accessions of Biscutella laevigata were studied under controlled conditions to examine their capacity to absorb Tl, revealing that one accession had a much higher accumulation ability compared to the other.
  • The research identifies Biscutella laevigata as a valuable model for understanding how some plants tolerate and accumulate thallium, due to its strong hyperaccumulation characteristics and genetic diversity across different populations.
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Aims: This nationwide study provides an overview of trends and variations in radiotherapy use as part of multimodal treatment of invasive non-metastatic breast cancer in the Netherlands in 2008-2019.

Materials And Methods: Women with invasive non-metastatic breast cancer were selected from the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry. Treatments trends were presented over time.

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Importance: Long-term survival data from clinical trials show that survival curves of patients with advanced melanoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) gradually reach a plateau, suggesting that patients have a chance of achieving long-term survival.

Objective: To investigate long-term survival in patients with advanced melanoma treated with ICIs outside clinical trials.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cohort study using prospectively collected data from the nationwide Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry, including patients in the Netherlands with advanced melanoma treated with first-line ICIs from 2012 to 2019.

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: The difference in incidence and severity of anti-PD-1 therapy-related adverse events (irAEs) between adjuvant and advanced treated melanoma patients remains unclear, as no head-to-head studies have compared these groups. : This multi-center cohort study analyzed melanoma patients treated with anti-PD-1 in adjuvant or advanced settings between 2015 and 2021. Comorbidities and ECOG performance status were assessed before treatment, and grade III-IV irAEs were monitored during treatment.

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Photosynthesis is the only yield-related trait not yet substantially improved by plant breeding. Previously, we have established H. incana as the model plant for high photosynthetic light-use efficiency (LUE).

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Introduction: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is treated with local surgery or noninvasive treatment modalities. If a BCC remains untreated, it can develop into a locally advanced BCC or a metastatic BCC.

Case Presentation: Here we report in detail the management of three complex advanced BCC (aBCC) after treatment failure with vismodegib.

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Background: Patients with testicular cancer treated with chemotherapy have an increased risk of developing early cardiovascular events. Identification of patients with testicular cancer at a high risk of these events enables the development of preventative strategies. This study validates the vascular fingerprint tool to identify these patients.

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Previous studies demonstrated limited efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in unresectable acral melanoma (AM); it remains unclear how this translates to the adjuvant setting. This study investigates clinical outcomes of acral compared to cutaneous melanoma (CM) patients treated with adjuvant anti-PD-1 after complete resection. All stages III-IV AM and CM patients receiving adjuvant anti-PD-1 after complete resection between 2018 and 2022 were included from the prospective nationwide Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry.

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Background: Recent studies indicate an association between immunosuppression for immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and impaired survival in patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitors. Whether this is related to corticosteroids or second-line immunosuppressants is unknown. In the largest cohort thus far, we assessed the association of immunosuppressant type and dose with survival in melanoma patients with irAEs.

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Article Synopsis
  • In a study comparing neoadjuvant (before surgery) and adjuvant (after surgery) immunotherapy for stage III melanoma, neoadjuvant treatment showed greater effectiveness.
  • The trial involved random assignment of 423 patients to receive either two cycles of neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab followed by surgery, or surgery followed by 12 cycles of adjuvant nivolumab.
  • Results indicated a significantly higher 12-month event-free survival rate in the neoadjuvant group (83.7%) compared to the adjuvant group (57.2%), with neoadjuvant therapy leading to better patient outcomes and more major pathological responses despite a higher incidence of severe adverse events.
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Background: Patients with irresectable stage III or metastatic melanoma presenting with poor prognostic factors are usually treated with a combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), consisting of ipilimumab and nivolumab. This combination therapy is associated with severe immune related adverse events (irAEs) in about 60% of patients. In current clinical practice, patients are usually treated with ICIs for up to two years or until disease progression or the occurrence of unacceptable AEs.

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We evaluated the prognostic value of hypoalbuminemia in context of various biomarkers at baseline, including clinical, genomic, transcriptomic, and blood-based markers, in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with anti-PD-1 monotherapy or anti-PD-1/anti-CTLA-4 combination therapy (n = 178). An independent validation cohort (n = 79) was used to validate the performance of hypoalbuminemia compared to serum LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) levels. Pre-treatment hypoalbuminemia emerged as the strongest predictor of poor outcome for both OS (HR = 4.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Brassicaceae family, especially its tribe Brassiceae, has species known for above-average photosynthetic efficiency, offering insights to boost crop photosynthesis.
  • Recent advancements, like chlorophyll fluorescence measurements using specialized cameras (e.g., FluorCams), enable efficient photosynthetic analysis but are limited by plant size adaptability.
  • This chapter outlines our methodology for measuring photosynthetic parameters (ϕPSII and Fv/Fm) in various Brassicaceae species, focusing on adaptations needed for a diverse range of plant sizes, including the high-efficiency species Hirschfeldia incana.
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Electrified solid-liquid interfaces (SLIs) are extremely complex and dynamic, affecting both the dynamics and selectivity of reaction pathways at electrochemical interfaces. Enabling access to the structure and arrangement of interfacial water in situ with nanoscale resolution is essential to develop efficient electrocatalysts. Here, we probe the SLI energy of a polycrystalline Au(111) electrode in a neutral aqueous electrolyte through in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy.

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Background: Half (49%) of clinically diagnosed allergic rhinitis (AR) patients are sensitized to house dust mite (HDM). If allergen avoidance and symptomatic medication fail, allergen immunotherapy may be indicated.

Objective: We investigated safety and tolerability of HDM-sublingual immunotherapy by HDM-SLIT tablets in Dutch daily clinical practice.

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Background: The DRUG Access Protocol provides patients with cancer access to registered anti-cancer drugs that are awaiting reimbursement in the Netherlands and simultaneously collects prospective real-world data (RWD). Here, we present RWD from PD-1 blocker cemiplimab in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (laCSCC; mCSCC).

Methods: Patients with laCSCC or mCSCC received cemiplimab 350 mg fixed dose every three weeks.

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