Publications by authors named "Hemelrijck M"
Importance: Active surveillance (AS) for patients with prostate cancer (PC) often includes fixed repeat prostate biopsies that do not account for the varying risk of reclassification to significant disease. Given the invasive nature and potential complications of biopsies, a personalized approach is needed to balance the burden of biopsies with the risk of missing disease progression.
Objective: To develop and externally validate a dynamic model that predicts an individual's risk of PC reclassification during AS.
Background And Objective: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used to capture the patients' perspective of their functional status and quality of life (QoL). Big data can help us better understand patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Using prospectively collected data from the Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Enhancement Through the Power of Big Data in Europe (PIONEER) consortium, we aimed to describe the functional status and QoL in men with prostate cancer (PCa) treated with active surveillance (AS), radical prostatectomy (RP), and radiotherapy (RT), and to demonstrate the applicability of PROM data on a large scale and at a European level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong 3127 episodes of suspected infective endocarditis, the 2023 Duke-International Society for Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases clinical criteria showed an accuracy of 90% for infective endocarditis diagnosis. A new heart murmur was present in 690 (22%) episodes. Excluding imaging and surgical findings decreased the accuracy to 73%, while using the physical examination criterion slightly improved the accuracy to 78%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To explore patients' experience of decision making regarding treatment of localised kidney cancer.
Methods: A total of 21 patients with localised kidney cancer, across three countries, participated in either four focus groups or seven semi-structured interviews that lasted on average 2 h. Focus groups and interviews were all conducted in the participants' native language, recorded, transcribed and (if applicable) translated into English.
Background: Oesophago-gastric cancer surgery negatively affects quality of life with a high postoperative symptom burden. Several conditions that may be diagnosed and treated after surgery are recognised. However, consensus regarding their definition and management is lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: When faced with treatment options, patients are asked to participate in decision-making. We sought to determine which treatment aspects matter most for individuals treated for muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), with an aim to improve understanding of patient preferences and what trade-offs patients are willing to accept. Our study consisted of a discrete choice experiment (DCE): a type of questionnaire used to elicit preferences in the absence of real-world choice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study examines the relationship between oral bacteria and infective endocarditis (IE), highlighting the shift in antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) guidelines in 2007/2008 that limited AP to high-risk patients only.
- Researchers analyzed data from University Hospital Zurich (2000-2022) to determine if oral streptococcal IE cases rose in moderate-risk patients following these guideline changes.
- Results showed that moderate-risk patients had a significantly higher risk of oral streptococcal IE after the guidelines were updated, suggesting that expanding AP to include certain moderate-risk groups, particularly those with congenital valve anomalies, may be necessary.*
Article Synopsis
- Stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has low survival rates and lacks a standardized treatment, making patient management difficult.
- This study analyzed 142 patients to assess overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), finding the median OS to be 31 months, with no significant differences between treatment methods.
- The results emphasize the need for personalized treatment plans and collaborative decision-making among healthcare professionals, with future research aimed at new therapies and multi-centre trials.
Article Synopsis
- - PIONEER is a European initiative that combines the efforts of 34 organizations across 9 countries to enhance prostate cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment using big data analytics.
- - The project has created a comprehensive platform that integrates various data sources, helping to respond to critical research questions and improve understanding of prostate cancer management at different stages.
- - Despite successes, challenges with real-world data persist, necessitating ongoing collaboration and knowledge sharing, which PIONEER aims to support as part of the UroEvidenceHub initiative by the European Association of Urology.
Article Synopsis
- The study reviews the role of glycosylation in human IgE (Immunoglobulin E) and how it affects its structure, function, and relation to diseases, especially allergies.
- It emphasizes that despite inconsistent findings from various studies, there is evidence of different glycosylation patterns in allergic vs. healthy individuals and their functional implications in allergic reactions.
- The review suggests that certain glycosylation changes could lead to potential therapeutic targets and underscores the need for improved research methods to further investigate these effects.
Article Synopsis
- A study involving 302 cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) showed a one-year mortality rate of 31%.
- Early-onset PVE (within 6 months of valve surgery) did not result in worse outcomes compared to late-onset PVE, with mortality rates of 21% versus 32% (p=0.126).
- Both early and late-onset categories required similar rates of redo valve surgeries.
Article Synopsis
- Active surveillance (AS) is a safe and acceptable treatment strategy for men with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer, showing a high overall survival (OS) rate of 84.1% and metastasis-free survival (MFS) exceeding 99% over a follow-up period of more than 6 years.
- The study analyzed clinical data from nearly 27,000 men across 15 countries, revealing that while there was no significant change in overall survival rates over time, metastasis-free survival rates improved notably.
- Treatment changes were primarily driven by anxiety or tumor progression, with the most common radical treatment being surgery, which resulted in 90% of men remaining free from biochemical recurrence after 5 years.
Article Synopsis
- Diagnosing infective endocarditis (IE) is complex, and this study compared the effectiveness of the 2015 and 2023 Duke clinical criteria for diagnosing the condition.
- Conducted in two Swiss University Hospitals, researchers analyzed data from 3127 patients suspected of having IE, with 1177 confirmed cases, to assess the agreement between the clinical criteria and expert diagnoses.
- Results showed that the 2023 criteria had a higher sensitivity (69%) compared to the 2015 criteria (59%), although both versions categorized about one-third of episodes as possible IE.
Background: Rapid diagnostic clinics (RDCs) provide a streamlined holistic pathway for patients presenting with non-site specific (NSS) symptoms concerning of malignancy. The current study aimed to: 1) assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression, and 2) identify a combination of patient characteristics and symptoms associated with severe anxiety and depression at Guy's and St Thomas' Foundation Trust (GSTT) RDC in Southeast London. Additionally, we compared standard statistical methods with machine learning algorithms for predicting severe anxiety and depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: We aimed to develop a European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life (QoL) module tailored for patients with advanced (resectable or unresectable stage III/IV) melanoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors or targeted therapy.
Methods: Following the EORTC QoL Group module development guidelines, we conducted phases 1 and 2 of the development process. In phase 1, we generated a list of health-related (HR)QoL issues through a systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients with advanced melanoma.
Article Synopsis
- Advancements in understanding myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS) have revealed important cellular and molecular factors that influence disease progression, highlighting the significance of immune dysregulation in the bone marrow during MDS evolution.
- Despite these advancements, immunotherapy for MDS has lagged due to a lack of effective immune classifications for patient stratification and no widely accepted immune panels for clinical use.
- To address these challenges, the i4MDS consortium proposes standardized immune monitoring approaches, including flow cytometry panels and cytokine assays, aiming to improve patient stratification and develop predictive markers for treatment response in MDS.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on the experiences of patients across all health disciplines, especially those of cancer patients. The study aimed to understand the experiences of cancer patients who underwent surgery during the first two waves of the pandemic at Guy's Cancer Centre, which is a large tertiary cancer centre in London.
Methods: A mixed-methods approach was adopted for this study.
Indications and outcomes of second aortic procedures after acute type A dissection repair.
Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg
May 2024
Objectives: Aortic arch or aortic root replacement is not performed in all cases of acute type A aortic dissection (ATAD), and a second aortic procedure will become necessary over time for some patients. Indications and outcomes, of second aortic procedures have not been studied extensively.
Methods: Characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of all patients undergoing surgical repair for type A acute aortic dissection were analysed and patients needing second aortic procedure during follow-up were identified.
Background: To identify 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake patterns in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) caused by infection, inflammation, surgical material, and/or graft coating.
Methods And Results: Of 610 consecutive patients with thoracic aortic graft surgery, 60 patients with 187 PET/CT were retrospectively included. We quantified FDG uptake in all grafts using maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) alone and in relation to liver background (SUVratio) and determined the uptake pattern.
Objective: To analyse the effectiveness of rapid diagnostic clinics (RDCs) as an alternative pathway for patients with concerning symptoms and a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) result <10. Our primary endpoint was rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) detection. Second endpoints were rates of other cancers and gastrointestinal (GI) serious benign conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objective: The treatment landscape of metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) has evolved significantly over the past two decades. Despite this, the optimal therapy for patients with mPCa has not been determined. This systematic review identifies available predictive models that assess mPCa patients' response to treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- A study looked at how well doctors and patients talk to each other, especially for men with prostate cancer in Europe.
- The researchers asked 372 men about their communication experiences with their doctors during diagnosis and treatment.
- Most men felt their conversations were good, but there were still ways to improve communication, like making sure patients understand their treatment and addressing their emotional needs.
Article Synopsis
- PD-L1 expression is a key biomarker for predicting the effectiveness of immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and is linked to glucose metabolism.
- This study analyzed data from 210 patients with resectable NSCLC to see how metabolic parameters from [F]FDG-PET/CT scans relate to PD-L1 expression levels in tumors and lymph nodes.
- Results showed that while certain metabolic scores were higher in patients with PD-L1 expression ≥ 1%, the accuracy of these scores for predicting PD-L1 positivity was only moderate, indicating limited reliability in clinical settings.
Article Synopsis
- The study assessed the diagnostic effectiveness of the Duke-ISCVID 2023 criteria for infective endocarditis (IE) against earlier versions from 2000 and 2015.
- Conducted at two university hospitals between 2014 and 2022, it involved 2132 patients, 1101 of whom were confirmed to have IE.
- Results showed the new criteria improved sensitivity to 84% (up from 70%) but decreased specificity to 60% (down from 74%), suggesting a need for further refinements to balance these diagnostic metrics.