Prediction of pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for HER2-negative breast cancer patients with routine immunohistochemical markers.

Background: Pathological complete response (pCR) is an established surrogate marker for prognosis in patients with breast cancer (BC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Individualized pCR prediction based on clinical information available at biopsy, particularly immunohistochemical (IHC) markers, may help identify patients who could benefit from preoperative chemotherapy.

Methods: Data from patients with HER2-negative BC who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy from 2002 to 2020 (n = 1166) were used to develop multivariable prediction models to estimate the probability of pCR (pCR-prob).

Sulfonatocalix[4]arene-Based Scavengers for V-Type Nerve Agents with Enhanced Detoxification Activity.

Synthetic small molecule scavengers that rapidly detoxify nerve agents in vivo allow (pre)treatment of nerve agent poisoning. However, scavengers that detoxify persistent V-type nerve agents at pH 7.4 and 37 °C with sufficient efficiency are still unknown.

Prognosis prediction with the IHC3 score in patients with node-negative, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer.

Background: Prognostication has been used to identify patient populations that could potentially benefit from treatment de-escalation. In patients with hormone receptor-positive (HRpos), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2neg) early breast cancer (eBC), treatment de-escalation classically involved omitting chemotherapy. With recently developed specialized therapies that require hands-on side-effect management, the therapeutic landscape is changing and therapy decisions are no longer based only on prognosis, but also consider potential side-effects.

Effects of single housing on behavior, corticosterone level and body weight in male and female mice.

Background: Experimental mice are often single-housed either for an individual analysis (feeding behavior, imaging, calorimetry) or as a stress paradigm (social isolation) in translational biomedical research. Reports of the influence of single housing in rodents are conflicting and may depend on age and duration of isolation. Sex is often not included as a factor.

Correlation of RANK and RANKL with mammographic density in primary breast cancer patients.

Purpose: The receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B (RANK) and its ligand (RANKL) have been shown to promote proliferation of the breast and breast carcinogenesis. The objective of this analysis was to investigate whether tumor-specific RANK and RANKL expression in patients with primary breast cancer is associated with high percentage mammographic density (PMD), which is a known breast cancer risk factor.

Methods: Immunohistochemical staining of RANK and RANKL was performed in tissue microarrays (TMAs) from primary breast cancer samples of the Bavarian Breast Cancer Cases and Controls (BBCC) study.

Clinical and Surgical Evaluation of Sentinel Node Biopsy in Patients with Early-Stage Endometrial Cancer and Atypical Hyperplasia.

Introduction: The medical and surgical treatment of endometrial cancer (EC) is evolving toward a more patient-centered and personalized approach. The role of laparoscopic sentinel node biopsy (SNB) for early-stage EC is unclear, and very few data are available for atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH). The present study investigated the effectiveness of SNB combined with laparoscopic hysterectomy in patients with early-stage EC and AEH.

Primary results of the AGO-Zervix-1 Study: A prospective, randomized phase III study to compare the effects of paclitaxel and topotecan with those of cisplatin and topotecan in the treatment of patients with recurrent and persistent cervical cancer.

Background: Before the era of immunotherapies and antibody-drug conjugates, there were limited chemotherapeutic options for patients with recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer. Combination therapies with cisplatin have shown some superiority over monotherapy. This study examined platinum-free treatment regimens, comparing a combination of topotecan and paclitaxel (TP) with topotecan and cisplatin (TC) in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, with or without prior platinum-based treatment.

Impact of the Corona Pandemic on Cervical Cancer Screening Assessment.

Background/aim: The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in disruptions to healthcare systems throughout the world. The numbers of cytology examinations, human papillomavirus (HPV) tests, and women referred for colposcopy decreased in many countries. There have been no reports on cervical cancer screening in Germany.

Long-term Follow-up and Safety of Patients after an Upfront Therapy with Letrozole for Early Breast Cancer in Routine Clinical Care - The PreFace Study.

Introduction: Adjuvant treatment of patients with early-stage breast cancer (BC) should include an aromatase inhibitor (AI). Especially patients with a high recurrence risk might benefit from an upfront therapy with an AI for a minimum of five years. Nevertheless, not much is known about the patient selection for this population in clinical practice.

Spatial expression of claudin 18.2 in matched primaries and metastases of tubo-ovarian carcinoma of all subtypes.

Physiologically, claudin 18 splice variant 2 (CLDN18.2) expression is restricted to the gastric epithelium, but its expression has been detected in solid cancers. Zolbetuximab, a chimeric IgG1 antibody targeting CLDN18.

PD-L1 Expression and Silva Invasion Pattern in Villoglandular Adenocarcinoma of the Uterine Cervix.

Villoglandular adenocarcinoma (VGA) of the uterine cervix is a rare subtype of endocervical adenocarcinoma in young women. Between 2007 and 2020, all women with endocervical adenocarcinoma were retrospectively reviewed to find patients with VGA. Eight patients in whom pure VGA had been diagnosed were included.

Chronic exposure to imipramine induces a switch from depression-like to mania-like behavior in female serotonin transporter knockout rats: Role of BDNF signaling in the infralimbic cortex.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly burdensome psychiatric disorder characterized by alternating states of mania and depression. A major challenge in the clinic is the switch from depression to mania, which is often observed in female BD patients during antidepressant treatment such as imipramine. However, the underlying neural basis is unclear.

Leadership in ophthalmology by humanity and competence.

Leadership in healthcare institutions has a direct impact on the practice of the medical and nursing professions. The respective leadership style that is cultivated in a medical institution therefore has a direct impact on the personnel and thus a direct impact on the treatment of patients, in both senses of the word. Leadership in healthcare should therefore inspire, motivate, and guide healthcare workers to use their individual and collective skills as well as the available resources in the best possible way for the benefit of patients.

RANK and RANKL Expression in Tumors of Patients with Early Breast Cancer.

Introduction: The receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (RANK) pathway was associated with the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Several studies attempted to link the RANK/RANKL pathway to prognosis; however, with inconsistent outcomes. We aimed to further contribute to the knowledge about RANK/RANKL as prognostic factors in breast cancer.

Psilocybin does not induce the vulnerability marker HSP70 in neurons susceptible to Olney's lesions.

S-ketamine, a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, and psilocybin, a 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (serotonin) 2A receptor (5-HTR) agonist, are reported as effective rapid-acting antidepressants. Both compounds increase glutamate signalling and evoke cortical hyperexcitation. S-ketamine induces neurotoxicity especially in the retrosplenial cortex (Olney's lesions).

Evidence-based comparative severity assessment in young and adult mice.

In animal-based research, welfare assessments are essential for ethical and legal reasons. However, accurate assessment of suffering in laboratory animals is often complicated by the multidimensional character of distress and pain and the associated affective states. The present study aimed to design and validate multidimensional composite measure schemes comprising behavioral and biochemical parameters based on a bioinformatics approach.

Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of HER2-0 and HER2-Low-Positive Breast Cancer Patients: Real-World Data from Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

In our study, we observed the long-term survival outcomes investigated for HER2-0 and HER2-low-positive breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Between 1998 and 2020, 10,333 patients with primary breast cancer were treated, including 1373 patients with HER2-0 or HER2-low-positive disease with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Descriptive analyses were performed, and logistic regression models and survival analyses were calculated for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

Evidence-based severity assessment of the forced swim test in the rat.

The forced swim test (FST) is a traditional assay, which has been used for more than 40 years to assess antidepressant effects of novel drug candidates. In recent years, a debate about the test has focused on the assumption that the FST is highly aversive and burdening for the animals because of the earlier anthropomorphic interpretation and designation as a "behavioral despair test". The Directive 2010/63/EU and the German Animal Welfare law require a prospective severity classification of the planned experimental procedures.

Predicting mammographic density with linear ultrasound transducers.

Background: High mammographic density (MD) is a risk factor for the development of breast cancer (BC). Changes in MD are influenced by multiple factors such as age, BMI, number of full-term pregnancies and lactating periods. To learn more about MD, it is important to establish non-radiation-based, alternative examination methods to mammography such as ultrasound assessments.

Cytology and HPV Co-Testing for Detection of Vaginal Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Retrospective Study.

(1) Background: Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VaIN) is a rare premalignant disease caused by persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Diagnosing VaIN is challenging; abnormal cytology and positive HPV tests are usually the first signs, but published data on their accuracy for detecting it are rare and contradictory. The aim of this study is to compare the results of hrHPV and cytology co-testing with the histological findings of the vagina.