Publications by authors named "Kerst J"

Background: Patients with testicular cancer treated with chemotherapy have an increased risk of developing early cardiovascular events. Identification of patients with testicular cancer at a high risk of these events enables the development of preventative strategies. This study validates the vascular fingerprint tool to identify these patients.

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  • The study highlights that over half (58.5%) of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors experience health-related conditions after diagnosis, with many having multiple issues.
  • The analysis included 3,776 AYA cancer survivors, revealing common health problems related to vision, digestion, endocrine systems, and mental health.
  • Understanding the risk factors and mechanisms behind these conditions is crucial for improving the long-term health and support of cancer survivors.
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Purpose: To describe recall of fertility-related consultations and cryopreservation and to examine reproductive goals and reproduction post-treatment in long-term survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) (age, 18-39 years) cancer.

Methods: This study included n = 1457 male and n = 2112 female long-term survivors (M = 43-45 years; 5-22 years from diagnosis) who provided self-report. Clinical data were supplied by the Netherlands Cancer Registry.

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Background: With increasing survival rates of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with breast cancer, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) becomes more important. An important aspect of HRQoL is sexual QoL. This study examined long-term sexual QoL of AYA breast cancer survivors, compared sexual QoL scores with that of other AYA cancer survivors, and identified factors associated with long-term sexual QoL of AYA breast cancer survivors.

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Background: Testicular cancer incidence among adolescents and young adults (AYAs, aged 18-39 years at diagnosis) is increasing worldwide and most patients will survive the initial disease. Still, detailed epidemiological information about testicular cancer among AYAs is scarce. This study aimed to provide a detailed overview of testicular cancer trends in incidence, treatment, long-term relative survival and mortality by histological subtype among AYAs diagnosed in the Netherlands between 1989 and 2019.

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Purpose: For adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors with a good prognosis, having a healthy lifestyle prevents morbidity and mortality after treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of (un)healthy lifestyle behaviors and related determinants in AYA cancer survivors.

Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study was performed among long-term (5-20 years) AYA cancer survivors (18-39 years old at diagnosis) registered within the Netherlands Cancer Registry.

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Purpose: Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYAs) are at increased risk of long-term and late effects, and experience unmet needs, impacting their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). In order to provide and optimize supportive care and targeted interventions for this unique population, it is important to study HRQoL factors' interconnectedness on a population level. Therefore, this network analysis was performed with the aim to explore the interconnectedness between HRQoL factors, in the analysis described as nodes, among long-term AYAs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Testicular cancer survivors (TCS) who received platinum-based chemotherapy are at a higher risk for developing colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to average-risk individuals.
  • A study involving TCS from four Dutch hospitals found that 8.7% of them had advanced neoplasia, significantly higher than the 1.7% found in matched controls.
  • The results indicate that TCS have a greater prevalence of colorectal neoplasia and advanced neoplasia, suggesting that colonoscopy screenings may be beneficial for this group; further cost-effectiveness studies are needed to determine the best screening practices.
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Background: Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYAs, aged 18-39 years at first diagnosis) have a higher second cancer risk. Accelerated aging is hypothesized as underlying mechanism and has been described clinically by 6 indicators; fatigue, low quality of sleep, low mood, lack of motivation, subjective memory complaints, and poor exercise tolerance. Using patient-reported outcomes, we aimed to identify clusters of accelerated aging among AYA cancer survivors and to investigate their association with second cancer development.

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The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among long-term Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors (AYACS) and an age- and sex-matched normative population was examined. Although the HRQoL of AYACS was worse compared to the normative population before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the scores of AYACS improved over time in contrast to the normative population. Presumably, AYACS are used to adjusting their lives to stressful life events.

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Background: Despite growing (inter)national awareness and appreciation, age-specific care is still not always self-evident and accepted as standard of care for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients. It is unknown whether long-term AYA cancer survivors have missed age-specific care, and if so, which survivors missed it and regarding which topics.

Methods: The Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR) identified all long-term AYA cancer survivors (aged 18-39 years at initial cancer diagnosis, 5-20 years past diagnosis) in the Netherlands, who were invited to participate in a population-based, observational, cross-sectional questionnaire study (SURVAYA study), including questions on care needs.

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Purpose: Testicular cancer (TC) treatment is clearly associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. To enable development of preventive strategies for cardiovascular disease (CVD), we assessed cardiometabolic risk factors and quality of life (QoL) in TC survivors.

Methods: Incidence of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and heart failure after TC treatment was assessed in a multicenter cohort comprising 4,748 patients treated at the age of 12-50 years between 1976 and 2007.

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  • The study focused on understanding the participation of adolescents and young adults with cancer (AYAs) in patient-reported outcome research, as their long-term health outcomes are not well understood.
  • A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted with 4,010 AYAs, showing a 36% participation rate; factors like gender, socio-economic status, and type of cancer affected participation levels.
  • Effective recruitment strategies, such as including a paper questionnaire and sending reminders, increased response rates, highlighting the need to engage AYAs in research to improve representativeness in future studies.
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Introduction: The risk of developing gastric cancer is increased in patients treated with radiotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) or testicular cancer (TC). This study aims to assess if gastric adenocarcinoma after treatment for HL/TC (t-GC) is molecularly different from gastric adenocarcinoma in the general population.

Methods: Patients were diagnosed with t-GC ≥5 years after treatment for HL/TC.

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Purpose: To evaluate the outcome of robot-assisted residual mass resection (RA-RMR) in nonseminomatous germ cell tumor (NSGCT) patients with residual tumor following chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective medical chart analysis of all patients with NSGCT undergoing RA-RMR at two tertiary referral centers between January 2007 and April 2019. Patients were considered for RA-RMR in case of a residual tumor between 10 and 50 mm at cross-sectional computed tomography (CT) imaging located ventrally or laterally from the aorta or vena cava, with normalized tumor markers following completion of chemotherapy, and no history of retroperitoneal surgery.

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Angiosarcoma is an extremely rare and aggressive malignancy. Standard of care of localized tumors includes surgery ± radiation. Despite this multimodal treatment, >50% of the angiosarcoma patients develop local or distant recurrent disease.

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  • Researchers are exploring new prognostic markers to better predict clinical outcomes for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients, despite existing markers.
  • The study analyzed serum samples from 51 CLL patients before treatment, identifying key proteomic markers linked to treatment response.
  • High levels of markers like sCD23, sCD27, SPINT1, and LY9 were associated with shorter event-free survival, especially among patients with unmutated immunoglobulin heavy chain variable genes.
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We describe a patient with a testosterone-producing metastasis discovered during the follow-up of prostate cancer. The patient had a history of a Leydig cell tumor (LCT) in the right testicle for which he underwent radical orchiectomy at the age of 60 years. Within a year after orchiectomy, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

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  • Trabectedin and ifosfamide are effective treatments for advanced soft tissue sarcomas, particularly showing better outcomes for L-sarcomas.
  • In a comparison of the two drugs, trabectedin showed a median progression-free survival of 5.2 months for L-sarcoma patients, whereas ifosfamide had less favorable results.
  • The economic analysis indicated that while trabectedin is more expensive, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of €80,000 per QALY gained may be considered acceptable in the Dutch healthcare system.
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Objectives: To report the long-term results of the sentinel node (SN) approach in patients with clinical stage I testicular tumours in our facility.

Patients And Methods: We conducted an analysis of 27 consecutive patients suspected of clinical stage I testicular germ cell tumour (TGCT) and treated with an SN procedure at our tertiary referral centre. SNs were identified using lymphoscintigraphy with or without single-photo-emission computed tomography with CT (SPECT/CT).

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  • The study assessed the safety and effectiveness of using panitumumab with radiotherapy in treating invasive bladder cancer following chemotherapy and pelvic lymph node removal.
  • A total of 31 out of 38 patients experienced low rates of severe toxicity (16%), and a remarkable 94% achieved complete remission after treatment.
  • The findings suggest that this combination therapy is as safe as historical methods involving cisplatin and radiotherapy while demonstrating excellent outcomes for bladder preservation.
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Background: While the risk of diabetes is increased following radiation exposure to the pancreas among childhood cancer survivors, its association among testicular cancer (TC) survivors has not been investigated.

Methods: Diabetes risk was studied in 2998 1-year TC survivors treated before 50 years of age with orchidectomy with/without radiotherapy between 1976 and 2007. Diabetes incidence was compared with general population rates.

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  • Lenalidomide is effective in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) but has a challenging toxicity profile, which can impact combination treatments.
  • A phase 1-2 study evaluated a treatment regimen combining chlorambucil, rituximab, and variable doses of lenalidomide, showing that 89% of patients completed the initial treatment cycle, with an 83% overall response rate and a median progression-free survival of 49 months.
  • While some significant toxicities were observed, including high rates of neutropenia, the study concluded that lenalidomide combined with chemotherapy and sequential monotherapy achieves promising remission rates and manageable toxicity through individualized dosing.
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  • The study examined long-term effects of chemotherapy on brain function in testicular cancer survivors, focusing on patients more than 14 years post-treatment.
  • It found that survivors who underwent chemotherapy displayed increased functional connectivity in several brain networks at rest, suggesting a compensatory mechanism, while their brain activation was lower during an emotional processing task.
  • Cognitive assessments showed similar cognitive changes over time for both chemotherapy and surgery-only groups, indicating potential underlying neurotoxic effects from chemotherapy that may impact brain function.
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Purpose Testicular cancer (TC) treatment increases risk of subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMNs). It is unknown whether changes in TC treatment over time have affected SMN risk. Methods Solid SMN risk was evaluated in a multicenter cohort comprising 5,848 1-year survivors treated for TC before age 50 years between 1976 and 2007.

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