Predicting treatment response and survival in rectal cancer: insights from 18 FDG-PET/MRI post-neoadjuvant therapy.

Introduction: Accurate identification of patients with pathologic complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy (RCT) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is essential. 18-FDG PET/MRI provides metabolic information that complements the morphological assessment of standard MRI, potentially enhancing the differentiation between fibrotic and tumorous tissues post-treatment. This study aims to evaluate the performance of 18-FDG PET/MRI in assessing treatment response compared to standard MRI.

Integration of responses to lithium in mussels at different levels of biological complexity.

The increasing use of lithium (Li) in modern technology and medicine has raised up concerns in the scientific community due to the potential impact of this metal on the aquatic environment. Although several effects have been reported in different organisms, there is still scarce information concerning the mechanisms and chronic effects of Li toxicity in marine life. Our main objective is to determine biological effects of sub-lethal concentrations in Mytilus galloprovincialis at different biological organization levels using the biomarker approach.

Randomized trial investigating the utility of a liver tissue transcriptional biomarker in identifying adult liver transplant recipients not requiring maintenance immunosuppression.

The maintenance of stable allograft status in the absence of immunosuppression, known as operational tolerance, can be achieved in a small proportion of liver transplant recipients, but we lack reliable tools to predict its spontaneous development. We conducted a prospective, multi-center, biomarker-strategy design, immunosuppression withdrawal clinical trial to determine the utility of a predictive biomarker of operational tolerance. The biomarker test, originally identified in a patient cohort with high operational tolerance prevalence, consisted of a 5-gene transcriptional signature measured in liver tissue collected before initiating immunosuppression weaning.

Average direct cost of peripherally inserted central catheterization by nurses in hospitalized patients: a cost estimate.

Objective: This study aimed to estimate the direct costs of peripherally inserted central catheterization by nurses for hospitalized patients.

Methods: A cost estimation study using a quantitative approach was conducted in a public teaching hospital in northern Paraná to calculate the direct costs of peripherally inserted central catheterization. The population included all medical records of patients between 15 and 99 years of age who were hospitalized and underwent peripherally inserted central catheterization by nurses between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021, totaling 664 insertions.