Modified Delphi Procedure to Achieve Consensus for the Concept of a National Curriculum for Minimally Invasive and Robot-assisted Surgery in Germany (GeRMIQ).

The rapid development of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and robot-assisted surgery (RAS) requires standardized training to ensure high-quality patient care. In Germany, there is currently a lack of a standardized curriculum that teaches these specialized skills. The aim of this study is to find a consensus for the development of a nationwide curriculum for MIS and RAS with the subsequent implementation of the consented content.

[Evidence for the extent and oncological benefit of lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer].

The oncological standard for curative treatment of non-metastasized gastric cancer is surgical resection with systematic D2 lymphadenectomy. Early stage carcinomas (pT1a) with circumscribed prerequisites are an exception as they can be endoscopically resected; however, by infiltration of invasive gastric cancer into submucosal layers (pT1b) the risk for lymph node metastases is up to 25-28%. Due to the lack of screening programs in the western world, most gastric cancers are diagnosed in an advanced stage and the treatment is multimodal with perioperative multiple chemotherapy and increasingly more also with immunotherapy.

Glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) induces mucosal healing via intestinal stem cell niche activation.

Mucosal healing is critical to maintain and restore intestinal homeostasis in inflammation. Previous data provide evidence that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) restores epithelial integrity by largely undefined mechanisms. Here, we assessed the role of GDNF for mucosal healing.