Development of a Maturity Model for Medical Patient Registries - A Community Approach.

Objective: Development of a generic model to visualize the potential for use and further development of registries to assess the suitability of the registry for a specific purpose.

Methods: Multi-stage community approach.

Results: The maturity model has 9 categories with 105 items.

Nuclear ELAC2 overexpression is associated with increased hazard for relapse after radical prostatectomy.

ELAC2 is a ubiquitously expressed enzyme potentially involved in tRNA processing and cell signaling pathways. Mutations of the ELAC2 gene have been found to confer increased prostate cancer susceptibility in families. ELAC2 protein expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 9,262 patients and Kaplan-Meier curves of PSA recurrence-free survival were calculated in 8,513 patients treated with radical prostatectomy.

The independent prognostic impact of the GATA2 pioneering factor is restricted to ERG-negative prostate cancer.

GATA2 is a pioneering transcription factor governing androgen receptor expression and signaling in prostate cells. To understand the prognostic potential of GATA2 assessment in prostate cancer, we analyzed nuclear GATA2 expression on an annotated tissue microarray with 12,427 prostate cancer samples. Normal prostate glands were negative to weakly positive.

SNW1 is a prognostic biomarker in prostate cancer.

Background: SNW1 is a nuclear receptor co-activator involved in splicing and transcription control, including androgen receptor signaling. Overexpression of SNW1 has been linked to adverse prognosis in different cancer types, but studies on the role of SNW1 in prostate cancer are lacking.

Methods: Using immunohistochemistry, we analyzed SNW1 expression in 10,310 prostate cancers in a tissue microarray (TMA) with attached clinical and molecular data.

High expression of class III β-tubulin in upper gastrointestinal cancer types.

Class III β-tubulin (TUBB3) is a component of microtubules of neuronal cells that is upregulated in various cancer entities. To better understand the role of TUBB3 in upper gastrointestinal tract cancer types, the present study assessed TUBB3 expression in tissue microarrays including 189 gastric and 428 esophageal cancer. TUBB3 expression was detected in 62.

Upregulation of centromere protein F is linked to aggressive prostate cancers.

Background: Centromere protein F (CENPF) is a key component of the kinetochore complex and plays a crucial role in chromosome segregation and cell cycle progression. Recent work suggests that CENPF upregulation is linked to aggressive tumor features in a variety of malignancies including prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: Using a highly annotated tissue microarray, we analyzed CENPF protein expression from a cohort of 8,298 prostatectomized patients by immunohistochemistry to study its effect on prostate-specific antigen recurrence-free survival.

13q deletion is linked to an adverse phenotype and poor prognosis in prostate cancer.

Deletions of chromosome arm 13q belong to the most frequent molecular alterations in prostate cancer. To better understand the role of 13q deletion in prostate cancer we took advantage of our large prostate cancer tissue microarray comprising more than 12 000 cancer samples with full pathological and clinical follow-up data. Fluorescence in situ hybridization with probes for ENOX1 (13q14.

Up regulation of the steroid hormone synthesis regulator HSD3B2 is linked to early PSA recurrence in prostate cancer.

HSD3B2 plays a crucial role in steroid hormone biosynthesis and is thus of particular interest in hormone dependent tumors such as prostate cancer. To clarify the clinical relevance of HSD3B2 expression in prostate cancer, we analyzed HSD3B2 protein expression by immunohistochemistry on our preexisting tissue microarray with 12.247 annotated cancers.

Immunohistochemically detected IDH1 mutation is rare and mostly heterogeneous in prostate cancer.

Background: IDH1 mutations are oncogenic through induction of DNA damage and genome instability. They are of therapeutic interest because they confer increased sensitivity to radiation and cytotoxic therapy and hold potential for vaccination therapy.

Methods: In this study, we analyzed more than 17,000 primary prostate cancer tissues with a mutation-specific antibody for the IDH1 mutation.

Assessment of shoulder position variation and its impact on IMRT and VMAT doses for head and neck cancer.

Background: For radiotherapy of the head and neck, 5-point mask immobilization is used to stabilize the shoulders. Still, the daily position of the shoulders during treatment may be different from the position in the treatment plan despite correct isocenter setup. The purpose of this study was to determine the interfractional displacement of the shoulders relative to isocenter over the course of treatment and the associated dosimetric effect of this displacement.

Characterization of connective tissue growth factor expression in primary cultures of human tubular epithelial cells: modulation by hypoxia.

Tubular epithelial cells secrete connective tissue growth factor (CTGF, CCN2), which contributes to tubulointerstitial fibrosis. However, the molecular regulation of CTGF in human primary tubular epithelial cells (hPTECs) is not well defined. Therefore, CTGF expression was characterized in hPTECs isolated from healthy parts of tumor nephrectomies, with special emphasis on the regulation by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and hypoxia, essential factors in the development of fibrosis.

Hypoxia interferes with connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) gene expression in human proximal tubular cell lines.

Background: Hypoxia plays an important role in kidney injury. By the stabilization of the transcription factor HIF-1, hypoxia affects gene expression also in tubular epithelial cells. Increased expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is observed in different kidney diseases and is associated with deteriorating renal function.