Introduction: Preconception obesity is a risk factor for pregnancy and delivery, which is why giving birth in a perinatal center (care levels I and II) is recommended. There are currently no studies which have investigated the birth outcomes of obese patients based on the care level of the maternity hospital. This study aims to assess the effect of a higher body mass index prior to conception on maternal and fetal outcomes in a maternity hospital (care level IV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The phenotypes of tumor cells change during disease progression, but invasive rebiopsies of metastatic lesions are not always feasible. Here we aimed to determine whether initially HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients with HER2-positive circulating tumor cells (CTCs) benefit from a HER2-targeted therapy.
Methods: The open-label, interventional randomized phase III clinical trial (EudraCT Number 2010-024238-46, CliniclTrials.
Introduction: Oncological second opinions are becoming increasingly important in the era of complex treatments and established certified cancer centers. Oncological guidelines with the highest levels of evidence are available, but these can only be effective to the extent that they are implemented. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of second opinions with regard to their agreement with first opinions and conformity with guidelines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: In breast cancer, a pathological complete response (pCR) has been described as generally resulting in a favorable prognosis. However, there are subgroups, such as patients with a mutation in or , in which the effect of pCR on the prognosis is suspected to be weaker. Patients with a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer may therefore react differently in relation to pCR and prognosis, and this is investigated in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Oncological second opinions are becoming increasingly important given more complex treatment strategies, simultaneously more patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and many comprehensive cancer centers initiate integrative medicine programs. The present study focuses on analyzing the effects of a second opinion in relation to attitudes toward CAM.
Methods: In this prospective study patients (n = 97) with a diagnosis of breast cancer or gynecological malignancies who had requested a second opinion received a questionnaire before and after the second opinion concerning their attitudes toward CAM.