No Significant Association Between Herpes Zoster and Breast Cancer: A German Outpatient Study with over 120,000 Participants.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate a possible association between Herpes Zoster (HZ) and the subsequent diagnosis of breast cancer (BC).

Methods: Utilizing the Disease Analyzer database, anonymized medical records from German office-based practices were accessed. Longitudinal data of female patients aged 18 years and above diagnosed with HZ between 2005 and 2021 were included.

Current Developments from Silicon Valley - How Artificial Intelligence is Changing Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an omnipresent topic in the media. Lively discussions are being held on how AI could revolutionize the global healthcare landscape. The development of innovative AI models, including in the medical sector, is increasingly dominated by large high-tech companies.

Awareness and intention-to-use of digital health applications, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology in breast cancer care.

Emerging digital technologies promise to improve breast cancer care, however lack of awareness among clinicians often prevents timely adoption. This study aims to investigate current awareness and intention-to-use of three technologies among breast cancer healthcare professionals (HCP): (1) digital health applications (DHA), (2) artificial intelligence (AI), and (3) blockchain technology (BC). A 22-item questionnaire was designed and administered before and after a 30 min educational presentation highlighting technology implementation examples.

NGS-Guided Precision Oncology in Breast Cancer and Gynecological Tumors-A Retrospective Molecular Tumor Board Analysis.

Precision oncology treatments are being applied more commonly in breast and gynecological oncology through the implementation of Molecular Tumor Boards (MTBs), but real-world clinical outcome data remain limited. A retrospective analysis was conducted in patients with breast cancer (BC) and gynecological malignancies referred to our center's MTB from 2018 to 2023. The analysis covered patient characteristics, next-generation sequencing (NGS) results, MTB recommendations, therapy received, and clinical outcomes.

Challenging ChatGPT 3.5 in Senology-An Assessment of Concordance with Breast Cancer Tumor Board Decision Making.

With the recent diffusion of access to publicly available large language models (LLMs), common interest in generative artificial-intelligence-based applications for medical purposes has skyrocketed. The increased use of these models by tech-savvy patients for personal health issues calls for a scientific evaluation of whether LLMs provide a satisfactory level of accuracy for treatment decisions. This observational study compares the concordance of treatment recommendations from the popular LLM ChatGPT 3.

Therapy delay due to COVID-19 pandemic among European women with breast cancer: prevalence and associated factors.

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer (BC) care, analyzing treatment delays and factors associated with them.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed data from the Oncology Dynamics (OD) database. Surveys of 26,933 women with BC performed between January 2021 and December 2022 in Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain were examined.

Resilience of Gynecological and Obstetric Inpatient Care in Central Germany in Times of Repetitive Socioeconomic Shocks-An Epidemiological Study Assessing Standardized Health Services Indicators and Economic Status According to the aG-DRG Catalog.

Sequential socioeconomic shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession, or energy and refugee crises in the face of violent conflicts, have led to the failure of healthcare systems in Europe. Against this background, the aim of this study was to evaluate the resilience of regional gynecological and obstetric inpatient care using the example of a regional core medical provider in central Germany. Base data were retrieved from Marburg University Hospital and underwent standardized calculation and descriptive statistical assessment pursuant to the aG-DRG catalog.

Association between gout and subsequent breast cancer: a retrospective cohort study including 67,598 primary care patients in Germany.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to analyze the cumulative incidence of breast cancer following gout and to investigate the association between gout and subsequent breast cancer in 67,598 primary care patients in Germany.

Methods: This study included adult female patients (≥ 18 years) with an initial diagnosis of gout in 1284 general practices in Germany between January 2005 and December 2020. Individuals without gout were matched to gout patients using propensity score matching based on average yearly consultation frequency during the follow-up period, diabetes, obesity, chronic bronchitis/COPD diagnoses, and diuretic therapy.

Initiation of Antiresorptive Drug Treatment during Endocrine Therapy for Breast Cancer-A Retrospective Cohort Study of 161,492 Patients in Germany.

Background: The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to measure the proportion of women with an initial prescription of an antiresorptive drug (bisphosphonates or denosumab) during five years of endocrine breast cancer therapy.

Methods: The study included women with an initial prescription of tamoxifen (TAM) or aromatase inhibitors (AIs) between January 2016 and December 2020. Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to show the cumulative incidence of antiresorptive drug prescription for TAM and AIs separately for four age groups.

Intercontinental comparison of women with breast cancer treated by oncologists in Europe, Asia, and Latin America: a retrospective study of 99,571 patients.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the baseline data of women with breast cancer (BC) undergoing treatment in an intercontinental comparison.

Methods: This study included 99,571 women with BC from Europe (70,834), Asia (18,208), and Latin America (10,529) enrolled between 2017 and 2021, based on data from IQVIA's Oncology Dynamics database. This source is supplied with information by means of a cross-sectional partially retrospective survey collecting anonymized data on inpatients and outpatients treated by a representative panel of oncologists.

Isolation of Lymphocytes from Human Skin and Murine Tissues: A Rapid and Epitope-Preserving Approach.

Tissue-resident immune cells have been shown to play an important role in skin health and disease. However, owing to limited access to human skin samples and time-consuming, technically demanding protocols, the characterization of tissue-derived cells remains challenging. For this reason, blood-derived leukocytes are frequently used as a surrogate specimen, although they do not necessarily reflect local immune responses in the skin.

[Clinically relevant molecular pathological diagnostics in breast cancer].

In breast cancer, the current guideline for pathological workup includes recommendations for advanced molecular analysis of certain predictive molecular markers in addition to basic immunohistochemical diagnostics. These markers are determined depending on tumor stage, including sequencing techniques and immunohistochemical methods. This comprises the systematic investigation of molecular alterations such as PIK3CA or BRCA1,2 mutations, NTRK fusions, or microsatellite instability as a basis for targeted therapy.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gyne-Oncological Treatment-A Retrospective Single-Center Analysis of a German University Hospital with 30,525 Patients.

The study pursues the objective of drawing a comparison between the data of gyne-oncology, gynecology, and obstetrics patient collectives of a German university hospital regarding the progression of patient number and corresponding treatment data during the five-year period of 2017-2021 to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gyne-oncological treatment. Descriptive assessment is based on data extracted from the database of the hospital controlling system QlikView for patients hospitalized at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Marburg University Hospital. Gynecology and gyne-oncology experience a maintained decline in patient number (n: -6% 2019 to 2020, -5% 2019 to 2021; n: -6% 2019 to 2020, -2% 2019 to 2021) with varying effects on the specific gyne-oncological main diagnoses.

Association between Parkinson's Disease Medication and the Risk of Lower Urinary Tract Infection (LUTI): A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: The occurrence of autonomic dysfunctions (e.g., urological dysfunctions) is a common phenomenon during the course of Parkinson's disease (PD) and resulting complications such as lower urinary tract infections (LUTI) are one of the leading causes of hospitalizations and mortality in patients with the condition.

Antihypertensive Therapy and Incidence of Cancer.

Antihypertensive pharmacological therapy includes diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers and angiotensin II receptor blockers. Besides their use in arterial hypertension, these drugs also play a major role in the therapy of portal hypertension, heart failure and coronary artery disease. Systematic analyses on the possible influence of these medications on cancer incidence are lacking.

Use Case Evaluation and Digital Workflow of Breast Cancer Care by Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Technology Application.

This study aims at evaluating the use case potential of breast cancer care for artificial intelligence and blockchain technology application based on the patient data analysis at Marburg University Hospital and, thereupon, developing a digital workflow for breast cancer care. It is based on a retrospective descriptive data analysis of all in-patient breast and ovarian cancer patients admitted at the Department of Gynecology of Marburg University Hospital within the five-year observation period of 2017 to 2021. According to the German breast cancer guideline, the care workflow was visualized and, thereon, the digital concept was developed, premised on the literature foundation provided by a Boolean combination open search.

Chronological Development of Cardiovascular Disease in Times of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of Hospitalized Diseases of the Circulatory System and COVID-19 Patients of a German University Hospital.

This study aims at examining the chronological development of hospitalized cardiovascular and COVID-19 patients and comparing the effects on related sub-disciplines and main diagnoses for pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and pandemic (2020-2021) years in the setting of a German university maximum care provider. Data were retrospectively retrieved from the hospital performance controlling system for patient collectives with main diagnosis of diseases of the circulatory system (n) and COVID-19 secondary diagnosis (n). The cardiovascular patient collective (n = 25,157) depicts a steady state in terms of relative yearly development of patient numbers (+0.

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Cervical Cancer Screening in Gynecological Practices in Germany.

Purpose: the aim of this cross-sectional study was to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Cervical Cancer Screening (CCS) in gynecological practices in Germany. Methods: The basis of the analysis was the Uniform Evaluation Standard (EBM) of the Statutory Health Insurance Scheme. This cross-sectional study included all women aged ≥20 years with at least one CCS (clinical and cytological examination) in 223 gynecological practices in Germany during the period 2018−2021.

Persistence with tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors in Germany: a retrospective cohort study with 284,383 patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the persistence of women on tamoxifen (TAM) and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) in Germany, and to investigate possible determinants of non-persistence.

Methods: The present retrospective cohort study was based on the IQVIA longitudinal prescription database (LRx). The study included women with an initial prescription of TAM or AIs (anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane) between January 2016 and December 2020 (index date).

Combined Focused Next-Generation Sequencing Assays to Guide Precision Oncology in Solid Tumors: A Retrospective Analysis from an Institutional Molecular Tumor Board.

Background: Increasing knowledge of cancer biology and an expanding spectrum of molecularly targeted therapies provide the basis for precision oncology. Despite extensive gene diagnostics, previous reports indicate that less than 10% of patients benefit from this concept.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all patients referred to our center's Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) from 2018 to 2021.

Association between anti-seizure medication and the risk of lower urinary tract infection in patients with epilepsy.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the incidence of lower urinary tract infections (LUTI) and antibiotic prescriptions within 12 months after initial prescription of anti-seizure medication (ASM) between January and December 2020 (index date) and to investigate the association between a broad spectrum of ASMs and the risk of LUTI in patients with epilepsy.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included a total of 9186 adult patients (≥18 years) with an initial diagnosis of epilepsy and a prescription of an ASM treated in 1284 general practices in Germany between January 2010 and December 2020 (index date). Six frequently prescribed ASMs with at least 1000 available patients were analyzed.