Pelophen B is a non-taxoid binding microtubule-stabilizing agent with promising preclinical anticancer properties.

Taxanes, such as paclitaxel (PTX), stabilize microtubules and are used as a first-line therapy in multiple cancer types. Disruption of microtubule equilibrium, which plays an essential role in mitosis and cell homeostasis, ultimately results in cell death. Even though PTX is a very potent chemotherapy, its use is associated with major side effects and therapy resistance.

Need for recovery after work and associated risk factors in working menopausal women.

Objectives: To explore relationships between 'need for recovery' (NFR), a strong predictor of burnout, and menopause symptoms and to identify work-related factors that are associated with a high NFR in Belgian menopausal women.

Study Design: 760 menopausal women took part in a cross-sectional questionnaire study. NFR, presence of menopause symptoms, job type, age category, work activity, physical workload, psychosocial and physical work environment, balance of work and private life and the opportunity to discuss menopause at work were assessed.

Nocturia in Menopausal Women: The Link Between Two Common Problems of the Middle Age.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The aim of this review is to discuss the link between menopause and nocturia and to give an overview of the increasing prevalence, risk factors, causative factors, treatment needs and options for nocturia in peri-menopausal women.

Methods: This opinion article is a narrative review based on the expertise and consensus of a variety of key opinion leaders, in combination with an extensive literature review. This literature search included a thorough analysis of potential publications on both the PubMed Database and the Web of Science and was conducted between November 2022 and December 2022.

Treatment of women with BRCA mutation.

The cumulative risk for breast and ovarian cancer is high in or mutation carriers. The lifetime risk of breast cancer by the age of 80 years is respectively up to 72% and 69% in and mutation carriers. The risk of ovarian cancer is higher (44%) in than in (17%) mutation carriers.

Menopause hormone therapy significantly alters pathophysiological biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: This increasing body of literature indicates that menopause hormonal replacement therapy (MHT) may substantially mitigate the risk of developing late-life cognitive decline due to progressive Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology. For the first time, we investigated the question whether MHT impacts AD biomarker-informed pathophysiological dynamics in de-novo diagnosed menopausal women.

Methods: We analyzed baseline and longitudinal differences between MHT-taking and -not women in terms of concentrations of core pathophysiological AD plasma biomarkers, validated in symptomatic and cognitively healthy individuals, including biomarkers of (1) the amyloid-β (Aβ) pathway, (2) tau pathophysiology, (3) neuronal loss, and (4) axonal damage and neurodegeneration.

Recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin induces signaling pathways towards cancer prevention in the breast of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.

Background: Strategies for breast cancer prevention in women with germline BRCA1/2 mutations are limited. We previously showed that recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (r-hCG) induces mammary gland differentiation and inhibits mammary tumorigenesis in rats. The present study investigated hCG-induced signaling pathways in the breast of young nulliparous women carrying germline BRCA1/2 mutations.

Establishment of reference values for plasma neurofilament light based on healthy individuals aged 5-90 years.

The recent development of assays that accurately quantify neurofilament light, a neuronal cytoskeleton protein, in plasma has generated a vast literature supporting that it is a sensitive, dynamic, and robust biomarker of neuroaxonal damage. As a result, efforts are now made to introduce plasma neurofilament light into clinical routine practice, making it an easily accessible complement to its cerebrospinal fluid counterpart. An increasing literature supports the use of plasma neurofilament light in differentiating neurodegenerative diseases from their non-neurodegenerative mimics and suggests it is a valuable biomarker for the evaluation of the effect of putative disease-modifying treatments (e.

Does hormonal therapy affect the bladder or the kidney in postmenopausal women with and without nocturnal polyuria: Results of a pilot trial?

Aim: To observe the impact of hormonal treatment (HT) on voiding patterns and renal circadian rhythms in postmenopausal women with and without nocturnal polyuria (NP).

Material And Methods: A prospective, observational study was executed at the menopause clinic of a tertiary hospital. HT was based on patients' choice and was in the form of either oral and transdermal oestrogen.

Tumour characteristics of screen-detected and interval cancers in the Flemish Breast Cancer Screening Programme: A mammographic breast density study.

Objective: The objective is to investigate tumour prognostic factors versus breast density in screen-detected cancers and interval cancers. The results may highlight the need for more personalised screening protocols based on breast density in organized screening programmes.

Study Design: A retrospective study was performed of tumour characteristics of screen-detected cancers (n=468) and interval cancers (n=515) of 983 women who participated in the Flemish Breast Cancer Screening Programme in 2009-2010.

Reproducibility of repeated breathhold and impact of breathhold failure in whole breast and regional nodal irradiation in prone crawl position.

In whole breast and regional nodal irradiation (WB + RNI), breathhold increases organ at risk (OAR) sparing. WB + RNI is usually performed in supine position, because positioning materials obstruct beam paths in prone position. Recent advancements allow prone WB + RNI (pWB + RNI) with increased sparing of OARs compared to supine WB + RNI.

Safety of pre- or postoperative accelerated radiotherapy in 5 fractions: A randomized pilot trial.

Objective: Neo-adjuvant radiotherapy (NART) for breast cancer has shown promising survival results in retrospective trials. However, there are some obstacles such as a chemotherapy delay, an increased overall treatment time (OTT) and the risk of increasing surgical morbidity. Accelerated radiotherapy (RT) in 5 fractions allows to deliver NART in a very short time span and minimizes the delay of surgery and chemotherapy.

MISpheroID: a knowledgebase and transparency tool for minimum information in spheroid identity.

Spheroids are three-dimensional cellular models with widespread basic and translational application across academia and industry. However, methodological transparency and guidelines for spheroid research have not yet been established. The MISpheroID Consortium developed a crowdsourcing knowledgebase that assembles the experimental parameters of 3,058 published spheroid-related experiments.

Hormone therapy as a possible solution for postmenopausal women with nocturia: results of a pilot trial.

Objective: To observe the impact of different hormonal treatment options on nocturia, its causative factors and bother in postmenopausal women.

Methods: This prospective study recruited 245 postmenopausal women and divided them into four treatment groups based on patient's choice: Estrogen + Progesterone (E+P), Estrogen-only in patients with a prior hysterectomy, tissue-selective estrogen complex (TSEC) and no treatment. Nocturia and its causative factors were observed using two standardized questionnaires before and after treatment: the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Nocturia Module and the Targeting the individual's Aetiology of Nocturia to Guide Outcomes (TANGO).

Prolonged recombinant pregnancy hormone use in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Background: An early first full-time pregnancy substantially reduces the risk of developing breast cancer later in life. Extensive studies indicate that this protective effect is mediated by the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG).

Methods: In this proof-of-concept study 33 women with a BRCA mutation received recombinant-hCG (r-hCG).

Nocturia through the menopausal transition and beyond: a narrative review.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Nocturia, defined as the act of waking to pass urine during sleeping, is a common problem in older women and is associated with significant morbidity and impairments in health-related quality of life. The aim of this review was to synthesize the current evidence regarding the incidence, impact, pathophysiology, and specific diagnostic approach of nocturia in the postmenopausal population.

Methods: We searched PubMed and Web of Science databases to identify relevant studies published through June 2020.

Characterizing nocturia among Belgian healthy postmenopausal women: Prevalence, degree of bother, etiology and risk factors for nocturia.

Introduction: Limited literature concerning nocturia in early postmenopausal women is available. However, due to the lack of endogenous estrogen in these women, an increased prevalence of nocturia is expected.

Material And Methods: This prospective observational trial recruited 210 'early' postmenopausal women consulting the Ghent University menopause clinic.

Crawl positioning improves set-up precision and patient comfort in prone whole breast irradiation.

Prone positioning for whole-breast irradiation (WBI) reduces dose to organs at risk, but reduces set-up speed, precision, and comfort. We aimed to improve these problems by placing patients in prone crawl position on a newly developed crawl couch (CrC). A group of 10 right-sided breast cancer patients requiring WBI were randomized in this cross-over trial, comparing the CrC to a standard prone breastboard (BB).

A randomized trial on the effect of oral combined estradiol and drospirenone on glucose and insulin metabolism in healthy menopausal women with a normal oral glucose tolerance test.

Background: Menopause is often associated with a central accumulation of body fat. This provokes insulin resistance. The resulting hyperinsulinemia may increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and breast cancer.

18F-FDG micro-PET/CT for intra-operative margin assessment during breast-conserving surgery.

Positive surgical margins for invasive breast cancer (BC) treated with breast-conserving surgery (BCS) are defined as ink on tumor. The rate of positive margins is approximately 20%, since a time- and cost-effective method for margin assessment is lacking. In this study, we investigated margin status by intra-operative imaging using high-resolution F-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and X-ray computed tomography (CT).

Author Correction: 20 Years of DIEAP Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Big Data Analysis.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

20 Years of DIEAP Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Big Data Analysis.

With every hospital admission, a vast amount of data is collected from every patient. Big data can help in data mining and processing of this volume of data. The goal of this study is to investigate the potential of big data analyses by analyzing clinically relevant data from the immediate postoperative phase using big data mining techniques.

Breast levonorgestrel concentrations in women using a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system.

Objective: To measure breast tissue and serum LNG concentrations in women using a LNG-IUS.

Study Design: This pilot study was performed in 25 healthy women undergoing breast surgery at the Ghent University hospital. LNG concentrations were measured in serum and microdissected breast tissue samples using a validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay.