Publications by authors named "Mick van de Wiel"
Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of Do not Resuscitate (DNR) code registration in patients with a geriatric profile admitted to Antwerp University Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Flanders, Belgium, and the impact of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) on DNR code registration.
Patients And Methods: Retrospective analysis of a population of 543 geriatric patients (mean age 82.4 ± 5.
Method: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted between February 2021 and April 2021 for all doctors and doctors in training, working in the Antwerp University Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results: 127 doctors participated in this study. The familiarity with the different scores used in the triage during the COVID-10 pandemic was 51% for the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and 20% for the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).
Background: Cure and long-term survival for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains hard to achieve. Cellular senescence, an emerging hallmark of cancer, is considered as an endogenous tumor suppressor mechanism. However, senescent cancer cells can paradoxically affect the surrounding tumor microenvironment (TME), ultimately leading to cancer relapse and metastasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Palliative care (PC) is a strongly emerging discipline worldwide. Despite efforts to integrate this important topic in the medical curriculum in Belgium, still little time is spent on PC and its implementation during theoretical and practical training.
Materials & Methods: We had two cohorts of second master's year MD students at the University of Antwerp complete a survey compromising a custom-built PC knowledge test and a self-confidence assessment of communicative skills used in end-of-life conversations.
This paper describes where and how sex matters in today's management of lung cancer. We consecutively describe the differences between males and females in lung cancer demographics; sex-based differences in the immune system (including the poorer outcomes in women who are treated with immunotherapy but no chemotherapy); the presence of oncogenic drivers and the response to targeted therapies according to sex; the greater benefit women derive from lung cancer screening and why they get screened less; and finally, the barriers to smoking cessation that women experience. We conclude that sex is an important but often overlooked factor in modern-day thoracic oncology practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Patients with advanced lung cancer experience high physical symptom burden with substantial psychological distress. Depressive and anxiety symptoms are common and associated with worse quality of life (QoL). Early palliative care (EPC) addresses the complex supportive care needs improving QoL and mood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeoadjuvant systemic therapy in breast cancer: Challenges and uncertainties.
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
March 2017
Article Synopsis
- The management of locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) is still a big problem, even with new ways to diagnose and treat it.
- Using neoadjuvant therapy (treatment before surgery) is becoming popular because it helps shrink tumors and allows doctors to see how well the treatment works.
- Researchers are looking into the best sequences for chemotherapy and how using special medicines, like antibodies for HER-2 and platina derivatives, can improve long-term results for breast cancer patients.
Article Synopsis
- The study looked at how cancer cachexia (a condition that causes weight loss and weakness in cancer patients) affects survival rates.
- It compared two definitions of cachexia: one by Fearon, which focuses mainly on weight loss, and one by Evans, which includes more symptoms like fatigue and nutrition problems.
- The results showed that the Evans definition is better at predicting how long patients will live, suggesting that other symptoms besides weight loss are important to consider.
Article Synopsis
- Metastatic cancer treatment used to rely on separate chemotherapy steps, but now doctors are looking at a more connected way to pick treatments, called the "continuum of care."
- This new strategy aims to help patients live longer, feel better, and avoid unnecessary treatments by planning the treatment better from the start.
- Bevacizumab is an important drug in this approach, and it should be part of the first treatment for most patients, while certain combinations with other drugs can also be used depending on specific patient needs.