Publications by authors named "Ripperger T"

Zoonotic transmission of avian influenza viruses into mammals is relatively rare due to anatomical differences in the respiratory tract between species. Recently, clade 2.3.

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Familial Platelet Disorder with associated Myeloid Malignancy (FPDMM, FPD/AML, -FPD), caused by monoallelic deleterious germline variants, is characterized by bleeding diathesis and predisposition for hematologic malignancies, particularly myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Clinical data on FPDMM-associated AML (FPDMM-AML) are limited, complicating evidence-based clinical decision-making. Here, we present retrospective genetic and clinical data of the largest cohort of FPDMM patients reported to date.

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Article Synopsis
  • A recent outbreak of H5 avian influenza in cattle has spread across the U.S., affecting not only birds but also other mammals, including humans, with mostly mild symptoms reported in infected individuals.
  • Research shows that mice with immunity to previous influenza strains were protected against severe H5N1 infections, and similarly, mice vaccinated with a live-attenuated influenza vaccine exhibited good protection against lethal H5N1 challenges.
  • Ferrets with mixed immunity from vaccination or previous infections were also protected against a variant of the H5N1 virus, suggesting that factors beyond just antibody response, like T cell memory, might play a crucial role in providing protection against this virus.
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  • Genetic alterations play a crucial role in cancer development, highlighting the need for effective genetic counselling to support patient decision-making in EU Member States.
  • A study of national legislation across 27 EU countries revealed that 22 have laws on genetic counselling, but practices and regulations differ significantly.
  • Common barriers include workforce capacity and genetic literacy, with calls for better integration of genetic counsellors and updated laws to improve the overall practice.
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Article Synopsis
  • * A study analyzed a large international group of patients with specific genetic variants (RUNX1, GATA2, DDX41) to identify unique genetic patterns linked to the development of these malignancies, particularly noting different tendencies for early-onset clonal hematopoiesis (CH).
  • * Findings suggest that further monitoring and clinical trials should focus on specific genetic variants to improve preemptive treatments and surveillance for patients, especially those with RUNX1 and DDX41 mutations.
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Introduction: International guidelines recommend genetic testing for women with familial breast cancer at an expected prevalence of pathogenic germline variants (PVs) of at least 10%. In a study sample of the German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (GC-HBOC), we have previously shown that women with TNBC diagnosed before the age of 50 years but without a family history of breast or ovarian cancer (sTNBC) meet this criterion. The present study investigates the PV prevalence in and nine additional cancer predisposition genes in an extended sTNBC study sample including a cohort of women with a later age at sTNBC diagnosis.

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The European Union-funded COST Action (LEukaemia GENe Discovery by data sharing, mining, and collaboration) LEGEND was an international and multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and researchers that covered a range of aspects of genetic predisposition in childhood leukemia. Within this framework, we explored the perception and handling of genetic predisposition in the daily practice of European treatment centers. Herein, we present the results of our questionnaire-based survey.

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Although hematologic malignancies (HM) are no longer considered exclusively sporadic, additional awareness of familial cases has yet to be created. Individuals carrying a (likely) pathogenic germline variant (e.g.

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Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) may arise as a consequence of germline variants in cancer predisposition genes (CPGs). We believe that elucidating germline sarcoma predisposition is critical for understanding disease biology and therapeutic requirements. Participation in surveillance programs may allow for early tumor detection, early initiation of therapy and, ultimately, better outcomes.

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Background & Aims: Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD) is a rare recessive childhood cancer predisposition syndrome caused by germline mismatch repair variants. Constitutional microsatellite instability (cMSI) is a CMMRD diagnostic hallmark and may associate with cancer risk. We quantified cMSI in a large CMMRD patient cohort to explore genotype-phenotype correlations using novel MSI markers selected for instability in blood.

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Background: Most malignant diseases develop sporadically. However, a significant proportion of cancers are based on genetic predispositions. In this case, cancer develops as a result of causal germline variants.

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Background: Genetic predisposition is has been identified as a cause of cancer, yet little is known about the role of adult cancer predisposition syndromes in childhood cancer. We examined the extent to which heterozygous pathogenic germline variants in BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, ATM, CHEK2, MSH2, MSH6, MLH1, and PMS2 contribute to cancer risk in children and adolescents.

Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of 11 studies that incorporated comprehensive germline testing for children and adolescents with cancer.

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Pathogenic loss-of-function germline variants cause autosomal dominantly-inherited familial platelet disorder with predisposition to hematologic malignancies (RUNX1-FPD). RUNX1-FPD is characterized by incomplete penetrance and a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes, even within affected families. Heterozygous germline variants set the basis for leukemogenesis, but, on their own, they are not transformation-sufficient.

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Familial platelet disorder with associated myeloid malignancies (RUNX1-familial platelet disorder [RUNX1-FPD]) is caused by heterozygous pathogenic germline variants of RUNX1. In the present study, we evaluate the applicability of transactivation assays to investigate RUNX1 variants in different regions of the protein. We studied 11 variants to independently validate transactivation assays supporting variant classification following the ClinGen Myeloid Malignancies Variant Curation Expert Panel guidelines.

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Background: In recent years great improvements in the diagnosis and differentiation of hereditary syndroms with predisposition for kidney cancer have been achieved. It has been assumed that 5-8% of all kidney cancer have a hereditary origin. In reality, this number will probably be much higher as many genetic aspects of kidney cancer are still not entirely known.

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Vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have shown high efficacy, but immunocompromised participants were excluded from controlled clinical trials. In this study, we compared immune responses to the BNT162b2 mRNA Coronavirus Disease 2019 vaccine in patients with solid tumors (n = 53) who were on active cytotoxic anti-cancer therapy to a control cohort of participants without cancer (n = 50). Neutralizing antibodies were detected in 67% of patients with cancer after the first immunization, followed by a threefold increase in median titers after the second dose.

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Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have shown high efficacy, but immunocompromised participants were excluded from controlled clinical trials. We compared immune responses to the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine in solid tumor patients (n=53) on active cytotoxic anti-cancer therapy to a control cohort (n=50) as an observational study. Using live SARS-CoV-2 assays, neutralizing antibodies were detected in 67% and 80% of cancer patients after the first and second immunizations, respectively, with a 3-fold increase in median titers after the booster.

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