Publications by authors named "Debacker Jens"

Article Synopsis
  • A new method has been developed to accurately align high-resolution PET images, CT scans, and histopathology slides of breast cancer specimens to enhance understanding of radiotracer distribution.
  • The method involves acquiring detailed images of tissue samples before and after fixation, along with creating a co-registration algorithm to align the images effectively.
  • The study successfully imaged 22 breast cancer specimens, achieving a minimal co-registration error of 0.74 mm, allowing for a detailed analysis of standardized uptake values in various breast tissues.
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  • The field of cancer immunotherapy is rapidly evolving, but the complex tumor microenvironment still leads to inconsistent treatment outcomes, highlighting the need for better predictive biomarkers.
  • Noninvasive nuclear imaging techniques using radiolabeled substances are showing promise in helping select patients and monitor their responses to treatment, ultimately aiming for personalized care and improved clinical results.
  • Nanobodies, which are small antibodies derived from camels, are being developed for nuclear imaging to detect specific cancer targets more effectively, with ongoing advancements at both preclinical and clinical levels to enhance cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
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Background: Patients diagnosed with radioiodine refractory (RAI-R) thyroid carcinoma (TC) have a significantly worse prognosis than patients with radiosensitive TC. These refractory malignancies are often dedifferentiated, hindering the effectiveness of iodine-based imaging. Additionally, the role of metabolic imaging using [F]FDG PET/CT is also limited in these cases, making adequate staging of RAI-R TC challenging.

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Interprofessional communication is crucial for patient care, yet there is a dearth of comprehensive assessment tools essential to train and assess healthcare students. While the Interprofessional Educational Collaborative framework (IPEC) outlines eight sub-competencies, it lacks detailed behavioral indicators. This study aimed to create a repository of interprofessional communication behaviors to complement the IPEC sub-competencies.

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Purpose: Intestinal-type adenocarcinoma (ITAC) is a rare sinonasal malignancy. Curative treatment requires multidisciplinary approach, with surgical options consist of the endonasal endoscopic approach (EEA) and external surgery (EXTS). Here, we provide the post-operative and survival results from a single-center long-term follow-up.

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Background: Salvage total laryngectomy (STL) is a preferred treatment for patients with residual, recurrent, and second primary squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx/hypopharynx after (chemo)radiation. To individually estimate postoperative oncological outcomes, we designed and validated prognostic nomograms.

Methods: We used a dataset of 290 patients who underwent STL.

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Article Synopsis
  • Surgical resection is crucial for treating various cancers, aiming for the complete removal of tumors and preventing relapse, which can negatively affect survival and quality of life.
  • Fluorescence imaging enhances surgical outcomes by allowing surgeons to visualize malignant tissues through the use of fluorescent contrast agents, particularly utilizing Nanobodies (Nbs) that target specific tumor markers like the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
  • A preliminary study in healthy dogs demonstrated that the fluorescently labeled anti-EGFR Nb 7D12-s775z was well tolerated without adverse effects, with encouraging imaging results suggesting rapid clearance, supporting further investigations in cancer treatments.
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Article Synopsis
  • Monoclonal antibodies have significantly advanced personalized cancer treatment, but their size can hinder effective tumor targeting in some cases.
  • Nanobodies, smaller and structurally distinct from monoclonal antibodies, are being explored as alternatives in cancer diagnostics and therapies.
  • Current research highlights both clinical trials and preclinical developments of nanobodies, suggesting a promising future for their clinical application in oncology.
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Purpose: Recent technical advancements in PET imaging have improved sensitivity and spatial resolution. Consequently, clinical nuclear medicine will be confronted with PET images on a previously unfamiliar resolution. To better understand [F]FDG distribution at submillimetric scale, a direct correlation of radionuclide-imaging and histopathology is required.

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The surgical treatment of head and neck malignancies relies on the complete removal of tumoral tissue, while inadequate margins necessitate the use of adjuvant therapy. However, most positive margins are identified postoperatively as deep margins, and intraoperative identification of the deep positive margins could help achieve adequate surgical margins and decrease adjuvant therapies. To improve deep-margin identification, we investigated whether the use of high-resolution preclinical PET and CT could increase certainty about the surgical margins in three dimensions.

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An increased presence of CD206-expressing tumor associated macrophages in solid cancers was proposed to be associated with worse outcomes in multiple types of malignancies, but contradictory results are published. We performed a reproducible systematic review and meta-analysis to provide increased evidence to confirm or reject this hypothesis following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses statement. The Embase, Web of Science, and MEDLINE-databases were systematically searched for eligible manuscripts.

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We analyzed complications and functional outcomes and aimed at identifying prognostic factors for functional outcomes and complications in patients who underwent salvage total laryngectomy (STL) for residual, recurrent, and second primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx and hypopharynx after initial (chemo)radiation. Retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent STL in four major Belgian reference hospitals between 2002 and 2018. Prognostic factors for functional outcomes and complications were identified with uni- and multivariable analysis.

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Objective: We aimed to analyze oncologic outcomes and identify patterns of failure and negative prognostic factors in patients who underwent salvage total laryngectomy (STL) for residual, recurrent, and second primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx and hypopharynx.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent STL in four major Belgian reference hospitals between 2002 and 2018 for residual/recurrent/second primary SCC in the larynx or hypopharynx after initial (chemo)radiation. Prognostic factors for oncologic outcomes were identified using univariable and multivariable analysis.

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Background: The origin of tinnitus has been attributed to a peripheral auditory lesion, inducing bottom-up changes and resulting in the perception of a "phantom sound." However, non-auditory factors can co-exist as well, and can even lie at the origin of tinnitus development. An increasing body of literature focuses on psychological, (neuro)muscular, cardiovascular and many other influences and their respective associations with tinnitus prevalence.

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Gamma-carboxylation, performed by gamma-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX), is an enzymatic process essential for activating vitamin K-dependent proteins (VKDP) with important functions in various biological processes. Mutations in the encoding gene are associated with multiple phenotypes, amongst which vitamin K-dependent coagulation factor deficiency (VKCFD1) is best known. Other patients have skin, eye, heart or bone manifestations.

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