Publications by authors named "L Pisters"

Background: We previously reported that increases in circulating sphingolipids are associated with elevated risk of biopsy Gleason grade group (GG) upgrading in men on Active Surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer. Here, we aimed to validate these findings and establish a blood-based sphingolipid biomarker panel for identifying men on AS who are at high-risk of biopsy GG upgrading.

Methods: Men diagnosed with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer in one of two AS cohorts (CANARY PASS and MDACC) were followed for GG upgrading after diagnostic and confirmatory biopsy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT) is a rare type of tumor found in the testis, with only seven cases documented before this study, which adds five more cases from a single institution, making it the largest series reported.
  • The patients had a mean age of 44, and most had prior testicular germ cell tumors treated with chemotherapy; ETT appeared in metastatic sites many years later, and its diagnosis was often associated with unusual histological features that can resemble other types of cancer.
  • Despite treatment, the outcomes were poor, with two patients dying within 17 months of diagnosis and three others remaining alive with metastatic disease averaging 20 months post-diagnosis, highlighting the aggressive nature of ETT.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how the timing of radiotherapy (RT) after radical prostatectomy influences long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in men with prostate cancer, focusing on sexual, urinary, and bowel health.
  • - Researchers analyzed data from two cohorts, comparing outcomes between three groups: men who had just prostatectomy, those who received early RT (within 12 months), and those who had late RT (12 months or later).
  • - Findings revealed that men who underwent RT after prostatectomy experienced greater declines in aspects of HRQOL compared to those who did not receive RT, highlighting the potential negative effects of post-surgery radiation timing.
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Germ cell tumor of the testis (GCT) is a curable cancer even when it is widely metastatic; however, outcomes can differ based on tumor histology. Chemo-resistance in certain phenotypes, such as teratoma and yolk sac tumor, contributes to poor clinical outcomes in some patients with GCT. Despite this resistance to S-YSTemic therapy, many of these tumor subtypes remain amenable to surgical resection and possible cure.

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Objectives: To determine whether 6 months of preoperative apalutamide for intermediate-risk prostate cancer (IRPCa) reduces the aggregate postoperative radiotherapy risk and to evaluate associations of molecular perturbations with clinical outcomes in this study cohort.

Patients And Methods: Between May 2018 and February 2020, eligible patients with IRPCa (Gleason 3 + 4 or 4 + 3 and clinical T2b-c or prostate-specific antigen level of 10-20 ng/mL) were treated with apalutamide 240 mg/day for 6 months followed by radical prostatectomy (RP) in this single-arm, phase II trial. The primary endpoint was presence of any adverse pathological feature at risk of pelvic radiation (pathological T stage after neoadjuvant therapy [yp]T3 or ypN1 or positive surgical margins).

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