A battle of surgical strategies: Clinically enlarged lateral lymph nodes in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer; extended mesorectal excision (e-TME) versus traditional surgery (TME-alone) a meta-analysis.

Background: The infiltration of lateral lymph nodes (LLN) plays a crucial role in the staging and treatment of individuals with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). This meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy of extended mesorectal excision (eTME) versus traditional mesorectal excision (TME-alone) in patients with clinically enlarged (LLN) concomitant neoadjuvant chemoradiation.

Methods: This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023457805).

OPPORTUNISTIC ASSESSMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK USING AI-DERIVED STRUCTURAL AORTIC AND CARDIAC PHENOTYPES FROM NON-CONTRAST CHEST COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY.

Background: Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease relies on accurate risk assessment using scores such as the Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE) and PREVENT. However, necessary input variables for these scores are often unavailable in the electronic health record (EHR), and information from routinely collected data (e.g.

Association of Epicardial Adipose Tissue Changes on Serial Chest CT Scans with Mortality: Insights from the National Lung Screening Trial.

Background Individuals eligible for lung cancer screening with low-dose CT face a higher cardiovascular mortality risk. Purpose To investigate the association between changes in epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) at the 2-year interval and mortality in individuals undergoing serial low-dose CT lung cancer screening. Materials and Methods This secondary analysis of the National Lung Screening Trial obtained EAT volume and density from serial low-dose CT scans using a validated automated deep learning algorithm.

Efficacy of CTLA-4 checkpoint therapy is dependent on IL-21 signaling to mediate cytotoxic reprogramming of PD-1CD8 T cells.

The mechanisms underlying the efficacy of anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) therapy are incompletely understood. Here, by immune profiling responding PD-1CD8 T (T) cell populations from patients with advanced melanoma, we identified differential programming of T cells in response to combination therapy, from an exhausted toward a more cytotoxic effector program. This effect does not occur with anti-PD-1 monotherapy.

Automated anonymization of radiology reports: comparison of publicly available natural language processing and large language models.

Purpose: Medical reports, governed by HIPAA regulations, contain personal health information (PHI), restricting secondary data use. Utilizing natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLM), we sought to employ publicly available methods to automatically anonymize PHI in free-text radiology reports.

Materials And Methods: We compared two publicly available rule-based NLP models (spaCy; NLP, accuracy-optimized; NLP, speed-optimized; iteratively improved on 400 free-text CT-reports (test set)) and one offline LLM approach (LLM-model, LLaMa-2, Meta-AI) for PHI-anonymization.

Worse cholecystectomy outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: were staff shortages or a change in patient case-mix the culprit?

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the field of surgery, mostly through infectious risks, staff shortages, reduced hospital capacities, and changed patient pathways. Prompted by an increase in wound complications, we performed an in-depth analysis of an example surgical procedure.

Methods: A consecutive cohort of 195 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy was studied retrospectively.

Gender- and personality-specific differences in academic qualifications, research motivation, and attractiveness of leadership positions: a survey among radiologists from Germany.

This study investigated gender- and personality-specific differences in academic qualifications, research motivation, and options to increase the attractiveness of leadership positions in radiology.A validated questionnaire with 66 questions was distributed via the German Roentgen Society and individually sent to 4,500 radiologists in Germany. Participants were asked about their gender.

Anti-PD-1 cancer immunotherapy induces central nervous system immune-related adverse events by microglia activation.

Cancer treatment with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy can cause central nervous system immune-related adverse events (CNS-irAEs). The role of microglia in anti-PD-1 immunotherapy-induced CNS-irAEs is unclear. We found that anti-PD-1 treatment of mice caused morphological signs of activation and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II up-regulation on microglia.

Deep learning analysis of epicardial adipose tissue to predict cardiovascular risk in heavy smokers.

Background: Heavy smokers are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and may benefit from individualized risk quantification using routine lung cancer screening chest computed tomography. We investigated the prognostic value of deep learning-based automated epicardial adipose tissue quantification and compared it to established cardiovascular risk factors and coronary artery calcium.

Methods: We investigated the prognostic value of automated epicardial adipose tissue quantification in heavy smokers enrolled in the National Lung Screening Trial and followed for 12.

Lipocalin-2 expression identifies an intestinal regulatory neutrophil population during acute graft-versus-host disease.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a life-threatening complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), for which therapeutic options are limited. Strategies to promote intestinal tissue tolerance during aGVHD may improve patient outcomes. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we identified a lipocalin-2 (LCN2)-expressing neutrophil population in mice with intestinal aGVHD.

Advanced CT measures of coronary artery disease with intermediate stenosis in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) and severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) frequently coexist. While pre-transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) computed tomography angiography (CTA) allows to rule out obstructive CAD, interpreting hemodynamic significance of intermediate stenoses is challenging. This study investigates the incremental value of CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR), quantitative coronary plaque characteristics (e.

Reduction of contrast medium for transcatheter aortic valve replacement planning using a spectral detector CT: a prospective clinical trial.

Introduction: This study investigated the use of dual-energy spectral detector computed tomography (CT) and virtual monoenergetic imaging (VMI) reconstructions in pre-interventional transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) planning. We aimed to determine the minimum required contrast medium (CM) amount to maintain diagnostic CT imaging quality for TAVR planning.

Methods: In this prospective clinical trial, TAVR candidates received a standardized dual-layer spectral detector CT protocol.

Parameters predicting postoperative pain and quality of life after hemorrhoidectomy: follow-up results from a prospective multicenter randomized trial.

Purpose: Pain and reduced quality of life (QoL) are major subjects of interest after surgery for hemorrhoids. The aim of this study was to find predictive parameters for postoperative pain and QoL after hemorrhoidectomy.

Methods: This is a follow-up analysis of data derived from a multicenter randomized controlled trial including 770 patients, which examines the usefulness of tamponade after hemorrhoidectomy.

CT-guided biopsies of unspecified suspect intrahepatic lesions: pre-procedure Lipiodol-marking improves the biopsy success rate.

Background: While computed tomography (CT)-guided liver biopsies are commonly performed using unenhanced images, contrast-enhanced images are beneficial for challenging puncture pathways and lesion locations. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of CT-guided biopsies for intrahepatic lesions using unenhanced, intravenous (IV)-enhanced, or intra-arterial Lipiodol-marked CT for lesion marking.

Patients And Methods: Six-hundred-seven patients (men: 358 [59.

MDM2 Inhibition Enhances Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Efficacy by Increasing IL15 and MHC Class II Production.

Unlabelled: The treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) leads to impressive response rates but primary and secondary resistance to ICI reduces progression-free survival. Novel strategies that interfere with resistance mechanisms are key to further improve patient outcome during ICI therapy. P53 is often inactivated by mouse-double-minute-2 (MDM2), which may decrease immunogenicity of melanoma cells.

Work expectations, their fulfillment, and exhaustion among radiologists of all career levels: what can be learned from the example of Germany.

Objectives: To evaluate work expectations of radiologists at different career levels, their fulfillment, prevalence of exhaustion, and exhaustion-associated factors.

Methods: A standardized digital questionnaire was distributed internationally to radiologists of all career levels in the hospital and in ambulatory care via radiological societies and sent manually to 4500 radiologists of the largest German hospitals between December 2020 and April 2021. Statistics were based on age- and gender-adjusted regression analyses of respondents working in Germany (510 out of 594 total respondents).

German Radiological Society and the Professional Association of German Radiologists Position Paper on Coronary computed tomography: Clinical Evidence and Quality of Patient Care in Chronic Coronary Syndrome.

This position paper is a joint statement of the German Radiological Society (DRG) and the Professional Association of German Radiologists (BDR), which reflects the current state of knowledge about coronary computed tomography. It is based on preclinical and clinical studies that have investigated the clinical relevance as well as the technical requirements and fundamentals of cardiac computed tomography. CITATION FORMAT: · Langenbach MC, Sandstede J, Sieren M et al.

[German Radiological Society and the Professional Association of German Radiologists position paper on coronary computed tomography: clinical evidence and quality of patient care in chronic coronary syndrome].

This position paper is a joint statement of the German Radiological Society (DRG) and the Professional Association of German Radiologists (BDR), which reflects the current state of knowledge about coronary computed tomography (CT). It is based on preclinical and clinical studies that have investigated the clinical relevance as well as the technical requirements and fundamentals of cardiac computed tomography.

Coronary calcium scoring using virtual non-contrast reconstructions on a dual-layer spectral CT system: Feasibility in the clinical practice.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical applicability of a prototype virtual non-contrast (VNC) reconstruction algorithm based on coronary CT angiography (cCTA) to assess calcified coronary plaques by calcium scoring (CACS).

Methods: Eighty consecutive patients suspected of coronary artery disease were retrospectively included. All patients underwent a cardiac CT using a dual-layer spectral-detector CT system.

Free-breathing accelerated whole-body MRI using an automated workflow: Comparison with conventional breath-hold sequences.

Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become increasingly popular in oncology. However, the long acquisition time might hamper its widespread application. We sought to assess and compare free-breathing sequences with conventional breath-hold examinations in whole-body MRI using an automated workflow process.

Targeting MDM2 enhances antileukemia immunity after allogeneic transplantation via MHC-II and TRAIL-R1/2 upregulation.

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often achieve remission after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) but subsequently die of relapse driven by leukemia cells resistant to elimination by allogeneic T cells based on decreased major histocompatibility complex II (MHC-II) expression and apoptosis resistance. Here we demonstrate that mouse-double-minute-2 (MDM2) inhibition can counteract immune evasion of AML. MDM2 inhibition induced MHC class I and II expression in murine and human AML cells.

Tamponade dressing versus no dressing after haemorrhoidectomy: multicentre, randomized clinical trial.

Background: Symptomatic haemorrhoids are a common anorectal disorder. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the omission of tamponade dressings after haemorrhoidectomy reduces postoperative pain without increasing the risk of severe bleeding.

Method: This was an open-label, randomized clinical trial conducted at 14 German hospitals.