This paper explores the underutilized educational potential of tumor boards as a platform for medical student education. Acknowledging the complexity and multidisciplinary nature of tumor boards, we propose 12 strategic interventions aimed at integrating undergraduate medical students into these meetings to enhance their learning experience. These strategies emphasize active student engagement, critical analysis, patient interaction, reflective practice, and the integration of digital learning tools, with a focus on fostering an in-depth understanding of team-based, patient-focused oncology care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The main obstacle to achieving an HIV-1 cure is the proviral reservoir. To promote equity in HIV cure strategies, it is crucial to study the viral reservoir of the predominant HIV-1 subtype C in both women and men. Therefore, we investigated the dynamics of the (intact) viral reservoir in relation to plasma viral load (VL), CD4 T cell count, and immune activation before and during 96 weeks of successful antiretroviral therapy (ART).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Hepatitis A (hepA) vaccination is highly immunogenic in healthy individuals, however there is uncertainty about the immunogenicity in immunocompromised populations (ICPs).
Methods: In this prospective cohort study, people living with HIV (PLWH), patients on immunosuppressive mono- and combination therapy, and controls received two hepA vaccine doses at months 0 and 6-12, or three combined hepA/B vaccine doses at months 0, 1 and 6-12. Antibody levels were measured before and at different time-points post-vaccination (T2, 6, 8, 12 months).
Background: The hepatitis E virus (HEV) can cause acute viral hepatitis with or without neurological manifestations, and occasionally progresses to chronic infection in immunocompromised individuals. The management of chronic HEV infection in cancer patients may be challenging due to the complex immunological constellation. Furthermore, the diagnostic workflow and the impact on quality of life of neurological HEV manifestations in immunocompromised patients have not been sufficiently delineated previously.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chronic immune activation is one of the hallmarks of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pathogenesis. Persistent upregulation of interferons (IFNs) and interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) has previously been associated with chronic immune activation and HIV progression. Here a longitudinal analysis of the IFN and ISG response during HIV infection was performed to gain insights into the ongoing immune activation during HIV infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: After initial COVID-19, immune dysregulation may persist and drive post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). We described longitudinal trajectories of cytokines in adults up to 6 months following SARS-CoV-2 infection and explored early predictors of PASC.
Methods: RECoVERED is a prospective cohort of individuals with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between May 2020 and June 2021 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
A relevant number of cancer patients who receive potentially neurotoxic cytostatic agents develop a chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy over time. Moreover, the increasing use of immunotherapies and targeted agents leads to a raising awareness of treatment-associated peripheral neurotoxicity, e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cancer Res Clin Oncol
November 2023
Purpose: Tumor boards serve as established platforms for interdisciplinary expert discussions and therapeutic recommendations tailored to individual patient characteristics. Despite their significance, medical students often lack exposure to such interdisciplinary discussions as tumor boards are currently not integrated into medical curricula. To address this, we aimed to enhance future physicians' interdisciplinary communication skills and subject-specific knowledge by introducing an interactive series of five linked tumor board seminars within the domain of neuro-oncology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Core fucosylation by fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8) is an important posttranslational modification that impacts components of the immune system. Genetic variations in FUT8 can alter its function and could, therefore, play a role in the antiviral immune response and pathogenesis of HIV-1. This study analysed the effect of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in FUT8 on the clinical course of HIV-1 infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: People receiving home care usually have complex healthcare needs requiring the involvement of informal caregivers and various health professionals. In this context, successful collaboration is an important element of person-centred care, which is often insufficiently implemented. Consequences might be found in avoidable hospitalisations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Modern, personalized treatment concepts in oncology require an interdisciplinary and multiprofessional collaboration. In addition to its relevance in patient care, interdisciplinary collaboration is also becoming increasingly important in clinical research as well as medical education and resident training in oncology.
Methods: Between November 2021 and March 2022, an online survey was conducted among German early career research groups, represented by Young Oncologists United (YOU).
Neuro-oncology, with its various conservative, surgical, and interventional disciplines, is ideally suited to teach basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes important to medical practice in general. However, training is less about teaching specific treatment protocols and more about fostering skills for interdisciplinary collaboration, development of treatment recommendations, communication skills, and an ethical stance. To adequately teach this content, new and innovative formats are needed to test and learn high levels of student interaction, communication, and collaboration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To improve interprofessional collaboration between registered nurses (RNs) and general practitioners (GPs) for nursing home residents (NHRs), the interprof ACT intervention package was developed. This complex intervention includes six components (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Cell Infect Microbiol
June 2022
Background And Aims: With current standard of care a functional cure for Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) is only achieved in 1-3% of patients and therefore novel therapies are needed. Disease activity during CHB can be determined by a broad range of virological biomarkers, however these biomarkers are also targets for novel treatment strategies. The aim of this study was to identify novel miRNAs that are differentially expressed in plasma and liver in CHB, and determine whether these miRNAs may serve as biomarkers of disease stage or treatment outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The role of resection in progressive glioblastoma (GBM) to prolong survival is still controversial. The aim of this study was to determine 1) the predictors of post-progression survival (PPS) in progressive GBM and 2) which subgroups of patients would benefit from recurrent resection.
Methods: We have conducted a retrospective bicentric cohort study on isocitrate dehydrogenase () wild-type GBM treated in our hospitals between 2006 and 2015.
Objective: The exact role of the extent of resection or residual tumor volume on overall survival in glioblastoma patients is still controversial. Our aim was to create a statistical model showing the association between resection extent/residual tumor volume and overall survival and to provide a nomogram that can assess the survival benefit of individual patients and serve as a reference for non-randomized studies.
Methods: In this retrospective multicenter cohort study, we used the non-parametric Cox regression and the parametric log-logistic accelerated failure time model in patients with glioblastoma.
The discovery of the oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1-mutated (IDH1-mutated) tumor entities affirmed the role of metabolism in cancer. However, large databases with tissue metabolites that are modulated by IDH1 mutation remain an area of development. Here, we present an unprecedented and valuable resource for tissue metabolites in diffuse glioma and their modulations by IDH1 mutation, histology, and tumor treatments in 101 tissue samples from 73 diffuse glioma patients (24 astrocytoma, 17 oligodendroglioma, 32 glioblastoma), investigated by NMR-based metabolomics and supported by RNA-Seq.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In Germany, up to 50% of nursing home residents are admitted to a hospital at least once a year. It is often unclear whether this is beneficial or even harmful. Successful interprofessional collaboration and communication involving general practitioners (GPs) and nurses may improve medical care of nursing home residents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We recently reported that the levels of activation, exhaustion, and terminal differentiation within the peripheral T-cell compartment were increased in men who have sex with men (MSM) compared with blood bank donors. During activation and differentiation, T cells undergo metabolic changes to maintain their energy demand.
Methods: The effect of cytomeglovirus (CMV) infection and risk behavior on the immune phenotype of peripheral T cells and the immune bioenergy metabolism profile in human immunodeficiency virus-negative MSM (with high or low sexual risk behavior) and blood bank donors was evaluated.
Objective: As clinical trials evolve in complexity, clinical trial data models that can capture relevant trial data in meaningful, structured annotations and computable forms are needed to support accrual.
Material And Methods: We have developed a clinical trial information model, curation information system, and a standard operating procedure for consistent and accurate annotation of cancer clinical trials. Clinical trial documents are pulled into the curation system from publicly available sources.
Objectives: Recently, the activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) and tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase 2 (TPST2) have been identified as important host dependency factors (HDFs) for in-vitro HIV-1 replication. To determine whether these genes play a role in HIV-1 pathogenesis, we analysed whether naturally occurring genetic variations were associated with the clinical course of infection.
Design/methods: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ALCAM and TPST2 were analysed in a cohort of 304 HIV-1-infected men who have sex with men and survival analysis was used to determine their effect on the outcome of untreated HIV-1 infection.
The HIV latent reservoir forms the major hurdle to an HIV cure. The discovery of CD32 as marker of this reservoir has aroused much interest, but subsequent reports have challenged this finding. Here, we observe a positive correlation between the percentages of CD32 cells among CD4 T cells of aviremic cART-treated, HIV-infected individuals and their HIV DNA loads in peripheral blood.
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