Identifying the drivers of overall rating of cancer care: Insights from the second wave of the Swiss Cancer Patient Experiences study.

Background: Patient experience surveys gather information on various aspects of care via numerous survey items. Identifying the most critical areas of patient experience to prioritize for quality care improvement can be challenging. The objective of this study was to determine which care experience items are the drivers influencing patients' overall rating of cancer care.

A quantitative model for virus uncoating predicts influenza A infectivity.

For virus infection of new host cells, the disassembly of the protective outer protein shell (capsid) is a critical step, but the mechanisms and host-virus interactions underlying the dynamic, active, and regulated uncoating process are largely unknown. Here, we develop an experimentally supported, multiscale kinetics model that elucidates mechanisms of influenza A virus (IAV) uncoating in cells. Biophysical modeling demonstrates that interactions between capsid M1 proteins, host histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), and molecular motors can physically break the capsid in a tug-of-war mechanism.

Quality of life, effectiveness, and safety of aflibercept plus FOLFIRI in older patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: An analysis of the prospective QoLiTrap study.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) mainly affects older patients. The pivotal VELOUR phase III trial of aflibercept plus FOLFIRI in metastatic CRC (mCRC) included only 5.9% of patients aged ≥75 years.

[PARP inhibitors - A better selection of patients].

PARP inhibitors (PARPi) have established themselves as a class of essential anti-cancer drugs. They inhibit PARP proteins involved in DNA damage repair. Their anti-tumor action requires a concomitant abnormality in DNA damage repair, the homologous recombination deficiency (HRD).

Deep and lasting response and acquired resistance to BRAFV600E targeting in a low-grade ovarian cancer patient.

The treatment of BRAFV600E mutant melanoma has been revolutionized by BRAF inhibitors. Furthermore, the BRAF/MEK combination has shown further improvement in clinical outcomes in advanced and in adjuvant melanoma patients. In low-grade ovarian tumors, BRAF inhibitor use has been also proposed.

Patients' experiences with cancer care in Switzerland: Results of a multicentre cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: The objectives were to describe patients' experiences of cancer care in Switzerland and explore the variation of these experiences by type of cancer.

Methods: The Swiss Cancer Patient Experiences (SCAPE) study was a cross-sectional, multicentre survey conducted in 2018. Adult patients (n = 7145) with breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, skin or haematological cancer from four large hospitals in French-speaking Switzerland were invited to complete a survey.

Real-World Evaluation of Quality of Life, Effectiveness, and Safety of Aflibercept Plus FOLFIRI in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: The Prospective QoLiTrap Study.

Aflibercept plus FOLFIRI prolongs overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after the failure of oxaliplatin-containing therapy. QoLiTrap prospectively evaluated the quality of life (QoL) and effectiveness of this regimen in daily clinical practice, according to RAS status, sex, and prior targeted therapy, especially epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFR-I). The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients whose EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status (GHS) improved or reduced by <5% from baseline during the first 12 weeks of therapy.

High-Titer Neutralizing Antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Induced by Alhydroxyquim-II-Adjuvanted Trimeric Spike Antigens.

Global control of COVID-19 will require the deployment of vaccines capable of inducing long-term protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. In this report, we describe an adjuvanted subunit candidate vaccine that affords elevated, sustained, and cross-variant SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in multiple animal models. Alhydroxiquim-II is a Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) 7/8 small-molecule agonist chemisorbed on aluminum hydroxide (Alhydrogel).

Patterns of care and economic consequences of using bone-targeted agents for castration-sensitive prostate cancer patients with bone metastases to prevent skeletal-related events in Switzerland - the SAKK 95/16 prostate study.

Background: International guidelines state that bone-targeted agents such as denosumab or zoledronic acid at doses used for bone metastasis are not indicated for patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) with bone metastases. Whereas denosumab has never been studied in this patient population, zoledronic acid has been shown to be ineffective in decreasing the risk for skeletal-related events. This study estimates the prevalence and economic consequences of real-world use of bone-targeted agents for mCSPC patients in Switzerland.

Quality of life and pain in patients with metastatic bone disease from solid tumors treated with bone-targeted agents- a real-world cross-sectional study from Switzerland (SAKK 95/16).

Background: Bone-targeted agents (BTAs) are widely used in the management of patients with bone metastases from solid tumors. Knowledge of the impact of their routine care use on patient-reported pain and bone pain-related quality of life (QoL) is limited.

Methods: This real world, cross-sectional study enrolled patients over a 3-month period through oncologists across Switzerland.

[Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor and skin toxicity].

Dermatologic toxicities appear to be the most prevalent immunotherapy related adverse effects, both with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 agents, as well as with the newly developed anti-PD-L1. They occur in more than one-third of the patients treated with immune check point inhibitors, regardless of the cancer being treated. They mainly manifest in the form of self-limiting maculopapular rashes and pruritus.

Rising to the medication's requirements: The experience of elderly cancer patients receiving palliative chemotherapy in the elective oncogeriatrics field.

A new subfield of oncology has emerged in the last twenty years to raise awareness and address the specific needs of elderly cancer patients, a population that was long neglected in oncology. We sought to understand the individual experiences, as well as moral and social implications of considering elderly cancer patients as "treatable". Following an anthropological critical interpretative approach focusing on practical and symbolic effects of chemotherapy in a rapidly evolving medical field, we conducted 20 semi-structured interviews and observations of medicine storage places at home among elderly cancer patients aged 70 and over in a clearly incurable situation receiving palliative chemotherapy.

Prospective, observational practice survey of applied skin care and management of cetuximab-related skin reactions: PROSKIN study.

Purpose: The study aimed to investigate strategies to prevent and treat cetuximab-induced skin reactions and their perceived effectiveness in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and recurrent/metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN).

Methods: This open-label, prospective observational study was conducted in Switzerland.

Results: A total of 125 patients were included (n = 91 mCRC, n = 34 SCCHN; mean age 63.

[Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors and hepatitis].

Immunotherapy, with « checkpoint » inhibitors (CPIs), has become an essential therapeutic weapon against cancer. Autoimmune disorders related to overactivation of the immune system are well known side effects. The risk of reactivation of the hepatitis B and C viruses and exacerbation of the hepatitis, known from the introduction of immunosuppressive drugs such as chemotherapy, is poorly documented under immunotherapy.

Influenza A Virus Genetic Tools: From Clinical Sample to Molecular Clone.

Implementation of reverse genetics for influenza A virus, that is, the DNA-based generation of infectious viral particles in cell culture, opened new avenues to investigate the function of viral proteins and their interplay with host factors on a molecular level. This powerful technique allows the introduction, depletion, or manipulation of any given sequence in the viral genome, as long as it gives rise to replicating virus progeny. Reverse genetics can be used to generate targeted reassortant viruses by mixing segments of different viral strains, thus providing insight into phenotypes of potentially pandemic viruses arising from natural reassortment.

Locoregional Control and Toxicity in Head and Neck Carcinoma Patients following Helical Tomotherapy-Delivered Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Compared with 3D-CRT Data.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility and efficacy of intensity-modulated radiation implemented with helical tomotherapy image-guided with daily megavoltage computed tomography for head and neck cancer.

Methods: Between May 2010 and May 2013, 72 patients were treated with curative intent. The median age was 64 years, with 57% undergoing definitive and 43% postoperative radiotherapy.

[Oncology trajectories of elderly patients in a palliative situation : « The long and winding road »].

This paper focuses on trajectories of elderly patients with metastatic cancer who experience several lines of systemic palliative cancer treatments. Based on photographs representing paths, the representations between patients and professional caregivers vary. Where the latter see wearisome treatments and spaces of negotiation, the patients wish to be seen as fighters, a figure that ought to be adopted to face cancer and its treatments, day after day, to meet medical and social expectations.

[Hemolytic anemia in cancer].

Hemolysis (from the Greek word: hemolysis: hema = blood + lysis = liberation) is a medical term that describes red blood cell's destruction by mechanisms of lysis of the membrane. An hemolytic anemia occurs when excessive destruction of red blood cells overwhelms bone marrow's capacity of regeneration. Although anemia is frequently associated with an oncologic disease, hemolytic anemia is rarely diagnosed in oncologic patients.

Molecular response to nitrogen starvation by Frankia alni ACN14a revealed by transcriptomics and functional analysis with a fosmid library in Escherichia coli.

The transcriptome of Frankia alni strain ACN14a was compared between in vitro ammonium-replete (N-replete) and ammonium-free dinitrogen-fixing (N-fixing) conditions using DNA arrays. A Welch-test (p < 0.05) revealed significant upregulation of 252 genes under N-fixing vs.

Severe viral respiratory infections in children with loss-of-function mutations.

Viral respiratory infections are usually mild and self-limiting; still they exceptionally result in life-threatening infections in previously healthy children. To investigate a potential genetic cause, we recruited 120 previously healthy children requiring support in intensive care because of a severe illness caused by a respiratory virus. Using exome and transcriptome sequencing, we identified and characterized three rare loss-of-function variants in which encodes an RIG-I-like receptor involved in the sensing of viral RNA.

[Diarrhea caused by systemic anti-cancer treatments].

Diarrhea is one of the most common complaints in oncologic patients. Causes are multiple including bowel resection, infections, radiation and systemic anti-cancer treatments. In the latter case, the pathophysiology is partially elucidated and requires the etiology to be precisely identified : chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy.

[Renal toxicities in oncology therapies].

Development of oncological treatments has progressively and significantly reduced both mortality and morbidity. Chemotherapy and more recently immunotherapy may have short- and long-term side effects among which, renal involvement is one of the most frequent complications, which may alter therapeutic options and quality of life. High cumulative doses of chemotherapy, concomitant administration of nephrotoxic treatment and pre-existing nephropathy are to be carefully considered.