Background: While large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used in medicine, their effectiveness compared with human experts remains unclear. This study evaluates the quality and empathy of Expert + AI, human experts, and LLM responses in neuro-ophthalmology.
Methods: This randomized, masked, multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2023.
Background: Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) are electric fields that disrupt processes critical for cancer cell survival, leading to immunogenic cell death and enhanced antitumour immune response. In preclinical models of non-small-cell lung cancer, TTFields amplified the effects of chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors. We report primary results from a pivotal study of TTFields therapy in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cancer is related to not only physical but also mental suffering. Notably, body image disturbances are highly relevant to cancer-related changes often persisting beyond recovery from cancer. Scalable and low-barrier interventions that can be blended with face-to-face psychotherapy for cancer survivors are highly warranted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The inclusion of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the treatment of operable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer is becoming a new standard. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) protein expression on tumor cells has emerged as the most important biomarker for sensitivity to ICIs targeting the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)-PD-L1 axis. Little is known about the impact of neoadjuvant treatment on PD-L1 expression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To compare the efficacy and toxicity of pemetrexed versus docetaxel in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with chemotherapy.
Patients And Methods: Eligible patients had a performance status 0 to 2, previous treatment with one prior chemotherapy regimen for advanced NSCLC, and adequate organ function. Patients received pemetrexed 500 mg/m intravenously (IV) day 1 with vitamin B, folic acid, and dexamethasone or docetaxel 75 mg/m IV day 1 with dexamethasone every 21 days.
Introduction: Cancer-related impairments often co-occur with bodily disturbances. Body psychotherapy (BPT) can improve bodily wellbeing, yet evidence in cancer survivors is scarce. Hence, we aimed to evaluate whether blended group BPT alleviates bodily disturbances in post-treatment cancer patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Premature trial discontinuation and non-publication of trial results are still major issues negatively affecting reliable evidence generation.
Objectives: To investigate trial completion and publication rate of cancer trials conducted within the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK).
Design: Cohort study of clinical trials.
Background: An increasing number of clinical trials are being conducted exploring the efficacy of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors. Surrogate end-points for overall survival (OS) are urgently needed.
Methods: Phase II or III trials of neoadjuvant immunotherapy that reported data on OS and surrogate end-points were identified from January 1, 2000, to November 25, 2022.
Personalized treatment of metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) requires detailed molecular characterization of the tumour including detection of predictive driver mutations and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Complete detection is influenced by the amount of tumour cells sampled as well as their quality. Different sampling techniques may be necessary to provide sufficient tumour material for comprehensive molecular characterization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Although many cancer patients suffer from malnutrition or cancer cachexia, there is no standard of care so far due to limited intervention trials. Pooled data from two combined trials were analyzed regarding nutritional status and survival time.
Materials And Methods: Data from two trials with advanced cancer patients were included.
Background: Sotorasib is a specific, irreversible inhibitor of the GTPase protein, KRAS. We compared the efficacy and safety of sotorasib with a standard-of-care treatment in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with the KRAS mutation who had been previously treated with other anticancer drugs.
Methods: We conducted a randomised, open-label phase 3 trial at 148 centres in 22 countries.
Background: Standard treatment options for patients with stage IIA or stage IIB seminoma include either para-aortic and pelvic radiotherapy or three to four cycles of cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy. These options result in 3-year progression free survival rates of at least 90%, but bear risks for acute and late toxic effects, including secondary malignancies. We tested a novel approach combining de-escalated chemotherapy with de-escalated involved node radiotherapy, with the aim of reducing toxicity while preserving efficacy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Surgical treatment of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer including single or multilevel N2 remains a matter of debate. Several trials demonstrate that selected patients benefit from surgery if R0 resection is achieved. We aimed to assess resectability and outcome of patients with locally advanced clinical T3/T4 (American Joint Committee on Cancer 8 edition) tumors after induction treatment followed by surgery in a pooled analysis of 3 prospective multicenter trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: These are the final results of a national registry on cancer patients with COVID-19 in Switzerland. Methods: We collected data on symptomatic COVID-19-infected cancer patients from 23 Swiss sites over a one-year period starting on 1 March 2020. The main objective was to assess the outcome (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The SAKK 17/16 study showed promising efficacy data with lurbinectedin as second- or third-line palliative therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma. Here, we evaluated long-term outcome and analyzed the impact of lurbinectedin monotherapy on the tumor microenvironment at the cellular and molecular level to predict outcomes.
Material And Methods: Forty-two patients were treated with lurbinectedin in this single-arm study.
Background: Chemoradiotherapy with durvalumab consolidation has yielded excellent results in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Therefore, it is essential to identify patients who might benefit from a surgical approach.
Material And Methods: Data from 437 patients with operable stage III NSCLC enrolled in four consecutive Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) trials (16/96, 16/00, 16/01, 16/08) were pooled and outcomes were analyzed in 431 eligible patients.
The relevance of extracellular magnesium in cellular immunity remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the co-stimulatory cell-surface molecule LFA-1 requires magnesium to adopt its active conformation on CD8 T cells, thereby augmenting calcium flux, signal transduction, metabolic reprogramming, immune synapse formation, and, as a consequence, specific cytotoxicity. Accordingly, magnesium-sufficiency sensed via LFA-1 translated to the superior performance of pathogen- and tumor-specific T cells, enhanced effectiveness of bi-specific T cell engaging antibodies, and improved CAR T cell function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: While osimertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is the standard treatment in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with sensitising EGFR and acquired T790M mutations, progression inevitably occurs. The angiogenic pathway is implicated in EGFR TKI resistance.
Patients And Methods: BOOSTER is an open-label randomised phase II trial investigating the efficacy and safety of combined osimertinib 80 mg daily and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks, versus osimertinib alone, in patients with EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC and acquired T790M mutations after failure on previous EGFR TKI therapy.
The anatomical location and extent of primary lung tumors have shown prognostic value for overall survival (OS). However, its manual assessment is prone to interobserver variability. This study aims to use data driven identification of image characteristics for OS in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Radiomics is a promising tool for identifying imaging-based biomarkers. Radiomics-based models are often trained on single-institution datasets; however, multi-centre imaging datasets are preferred for external generalizability owing to the influence of inter-institutional scanning differences and acquisition settings. The study aim was to determine the value of preselection of robust radiomic features in routine clinical positron emission tomography (PET) images to predict clinical outcomes in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: For patients with resectable stage IIIA(N2) non-small-cell lung cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin and docetaxel followed by surgery resulted in a 1-year event-free survival (EFS) rate of 48% in the SAKK 16/00 trial and is an accepted standard of care. We investigated the additional benefit of perioperative treatment with durvalumab.
Methods: Neoadjuvant treatment consisted of three cycles of cisplatin 100 mg/m and docetaxel 85 mg/m once every 3 weeks followed by two doses of durvalumab 750 mg once every 2 weeks.