Publications by authors named "Geertruida De Bock"

Objectives: This study aimed to explore differences in demographics, tumour characteristics and outcomes in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients with a history of non-smoking, non-drinking (NSND) versus smoking and/or drinking (SD).

Materials And Methods: Newly diagnosed OSCC patients undergoing curative surgical treatment were prospectively included in OncoLifeS, a data biobank. Cox regression analysis was performed yielding hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs).

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Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can induce immune-related adverse events (irAEs). This study investigates the relationship between CT-assessed sarcopenia and irAEs in patients with lung cancer who are receiving ICIs.

Methods: Patients were enrolled if they had lung cancer treated with ICIs at the University Medical Center Groningen (2015-2021) and had undergone low-dose CT scans that included the third lumbar vertebral level (L3).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected colorectal cancer screening rates and intervals in Flanders, Belgium, focusing on the impact of socioeconomic status (SES).
  • Analysis revealed that during the pandemic, areas with lower population density and lower income saw decreases in screening uptake, while wealthier areas tended to have increased delays in screening intervals.
  • The findings suggest a need for targeted communication strategies to encourage screening participation among low SES populations and timely reminders for those delaying their screenings.
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Background: Multimorbidity is linked to poor quality of life, and increased healthcare costs, and multimorbidity risk is potentially mitigated by a healthy lifestyle. This study evaluated the individual and joint contributions of an extensive set of lifestyle factors to the development of multimorbidity.

Methods: A prospective study of 133,719 adults (age 45.

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  • Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) significantly lowers the risk of high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) in women carrying BRCA1/2 genetic variants, but some still develop HGSC after the procedure.
  • A study involving 2,519 women found that the 20-year cumulative incidence of HGSC was low (1.5% for BRCA1 and 0.2% for BRCA2 carriers), with particular risk factors identified, such as older age at RRSO and incomplete embedding of RRSO specimens.
  • Implementing strict guidelines for timely RRSO and ensuring complete specimen embedding could further minimize the risk of developing HGSC in these patients
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Objectives: The World Health Organization supports both the screen-and-treat (ST) approach and the screen, triage and treat (STT) approach to cervical cancer screening using high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing. For Uganda, the sequence of hrHPV-ST and hrHPV-STT could be similar, with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) after positive hrHPV tests in both. To consider potential tradeoffs (overtreatment in ST versus missed cancer cases in STT), we compared hrHPV-STT with VIA triage (STT-VIA), and STT with HPV 16/18 genotyping risk stratification, to hrHPV-ST for Uganda, in terms of overtreatment, cervical cancer incidence, and life years, for the general female population of Uganda.

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  • Low-dose CT (LDCT) screening in high-risk populations reduces mortality from lung cancer, but identifying malignant nodules among benign ones is challenging.
  • * The NELSON trial, the largest lung cancer screening trial in Europe, uses nodule size and growth rate to differentiate between benign and malignant nodules.
  • * This review analyzes the NELSON study's findings on nodule characteristics and compares them with other studies to enhance lung nodule management strategies in screening programs.
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  • - Lung cancer remains the top cause of cancer deaths globally with a low 5-year survival rate, but the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) like nivolumab in 2015 has improved patient survival rates and treatment strategies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
  • - An analysis of the Netherlands Cancer Registry from 2016-2020 reveals a dramatic increase in ICI usage from 1.1% to 54.9% among first-line NSCLC patients, with trends indicating a shift away from chemotherapy, though survival rates varied and showed some decline in recent years.
  • - The study highlights that the median overall survival (OS) was different based on treatment lines: first-line patients had a
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Background: Uganda has a high burden of cervical cancer and its current coverage of screening based on visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) is low. High-risk HPV (hrHPV) testing is recommended by the World Health Organization as part of the global elimination strategy for cervical cancer. In this context, country-specific health economic evaluations can inform national-level decisions regarding implementation.

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Serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC) is regarded as the origin of most high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSC). After a diagnosis of isolated STIC, risk of developing HGSC is substantial. Since surveillance cannot detect HGSC in time to cure the disease, there is no consensus on the optimal treatment after a diagnosis of isolated STIC, but chemotherapy is considered one of the possible strategies.

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Background Most of the data regarding prevalence and size distribution of solid lung nodules originates from lung cancer screening studies that target high-risk populations or from Asian general cohorts. In recent years, the identification of lung nodules in non-high-risk populations, scanned for clinical indications, has increased. However, little is known about the presence of solid lung nodules in the Northern European nonsmoking population.

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Aim: Manual detection and scoring of Ki67 hotspots is difficult and prone to variability, limiting its clinical utility. Automated hotspot detection and scoring by digital image analysis (DIA) could improve the assessment of the Ki67 hotspot proliferation index (PI). This study compared the clinical performance of Ki67 hotspot detection and scoring DIA algorithms based on virtual dual staining (VDS) and deep learning (DL) with manual Ki67 hotspot PI assessment.

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Background CT-derived bronchial parameters have been linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma severity, but little is known about these parameters in healthy individuals. Purpose To investigate the distribution of bronchial parameters at low-dose CT in individuals with healthy lungs from a Dutch general population. Materials and Methods In this prospective study, low-dose chest CT performed between May 2017 and October 2022 were obtained from participants who had completed the second-round assessment of the prospective, longitudinal Imaging in Lifelines study.

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Epidemiological results on the link between chronic stress and cancer initiation have been inconsistent. This study examined the relation between chronic biological stress, indicated as hair cortisol (HairF) and hair cortisone (HairE), and cancer incidence, adjusting for metabolic syndrome (MetS) components. We analyzed HairF and HairE samples from 6341 participants from the population-based cohort Lifelines in 2014.

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Since 2017, a self-sampling device has been introduced to the Dutch population-based screening program to enable higher participation rates. However, routine triage cytology cannot be performed on self-sampling material. Methylation is an alternative triage method that can be performed directly on DNA extracted from self-samples.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the long-term outcome of asymptomatic BRCA1/2 germline pathogenic variant (GPV) carriers with high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) in their risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) specimen.

Methods: In a previously described cohort of asymptomatic BRCA1/2 GPV carriers derived from the Hereditary Breast and Ovarian cancer in the Netherlands (HEBON) study, women with HGSC at RRSO were identified. Main outcome was ten-year disease-free survival (DFS).

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Purpose: We determine and compare the prevalence, subtypes, severity, and risk factors for emphysema assessed by low-dose CT(LDCT) in Chinese and Dutch general populations.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included LDCT scans of 1143 participants between May and October 2017 from a Chinese Cohort study and 1200 participants with same age range and different smoking status between May and October 2019 from a Dutch population-based study. An experienced radiologist visually assessed the scans for emphysema presence (≥trace), subtype, and severity.

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Analyzing tumor pathogenic variants (TPVs) in epithelial tubal/ovarian cancers (EOCs) has become an essential part of the diagnostic workflow in many centers to guide treatment options and genetic cascade testing. However, there is no standardization of testing procedures, including techniques, gene assays, or sequencers used, and data on the execution of tumor tests remains scarce. Therefore, we evaluated characteristics of tumor testing in advanced-stage EOC with real-world national data.

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Background: This population-based study aimed to identify the risk factors for lung nodules in a Western European general population.

Methods: We quantified the presence or absence of lung nodules among 12 055 participants of the Dutch population-based ImaLife (Imaging in Lifelines) study (age ≥45 years) who underwent low-dose chest computed tomography. Outcomes included the presence of 1) at least one solid lung nodule (volume ≥30 mm) and 2) a clinically relevant lung nodule (volume ≥100 mm).

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the relationship between metformin and statin use in the prevention of breast cancer among women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using a large dataset from the ZODIAC project.
  • During a median follow-up of 5 years, results indicated that both metformin and statin usage were linked to a decrease in breast cancer incidence, with statin use enhancing the protective effects of metformin.
  • Findings suggest that combining metformin and statin therapies could be a promising strategy for reducing breast cancer risk in women with T2DM.
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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare reliability, costs, and radiation dose of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to MRI and CT in measuring muscle mass for the diagnosis of sarcopenia.

Methods: Thirty-four consecutive DXA scans performed in surgically menopausal women from November 2019 until March 2020 were analyzed by two observers. Observers analyzed muscle mass of the lower limbs in every scan twice.

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Objective: To evaluate the willingness of healthcare providers to perform population-based screening in primary healthcare institutions in China.

Methods: Healthcare providers of 262 primary healthcare institutions in Tianjin were invited to fill out a questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics, workload, and knowledge of, attitude towards and willingness to perform breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening. Willingness to screen was the primary outcome.

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Background: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication in older patients with cancer and is associated with decreased quality of life and increased disability and mortality rates. Systemic inflammation resulting in neuroinflammation is considered important in the pathogenesis of POCD. The aim of this study was to explore the association between the early surgery-induced inflammatory response and POCD within 3 months after surgery in older cancer patients.

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Objectives: To identify associations between frailty and non-response to follow-up questionnaires, in a longitudinal head and neck cancer (HNC) study with patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).

Materials And Methods: Patients referred with HNC were included in OncoLifeS, a prospective data-biobank, underwent Geriatric Assessment (GA) and frailty screening ahead of treatment, and were followed up at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after treatment using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 and Head and Neck 35. Statistical analysis for factors associated with non-response was done using Generalized Linear Mixed Models.

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