Effects of Mobile Application-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Psychological Outcomes in Women Treated for Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial in Germany.

Objective: Breast cancer has a strong impact on the mental state of those affected. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one effective approach to reduce disease burden. This randomized controlled pilot trial aimed to assess the effect of the digital CBT-based application Living Well on psychological outcomes in a German female breast cancer population.

Death Anxiety in Patients With Advanced Cancer and Their Family Caregivers.

Context: Death anxiety is associated with fears of suffering and uncertainty at the end of life. It is also relevant to patients' family caregivers, who can experience fears about the patients' death and dying.

Objectives: This study investigates the prevalence of death anxiety in advanced cancer patients and their family caregivers and its association with sociodemographic and medical characteristics.

Cancer-Related Cognitive Dysfunction: A Narrative Review for Clinical Practice.

Background: Cancer-related cognitive dysfunction (CRCD) is a major functional disorder in patients with cancer. This central nervous dysfunction is found in up to 60% of patients after tumour therapy, often significantly limits the quality of life, and significantly impedes participation in working life. For this reason, diagnosis and treatment of CRCD are of central importance.

Laser-accelerated electron beams at 1 GeV using optically-induced shock injection.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), both regarding the increase in electron energy, charge and stability as well as the reduction of bandwidth of electron bunches. Simultaneous optimization of these parameters is, however, still the subject of an ongoing effort in the community to reach sufficient beam quality for next generation's compact accelerators. In this report, we show the design of slit-shaped gas nozzles providing centimeter-long supersonic gas jets that can be used as targets for the acceleration of electrons to the GeV regime.

Effectiveness of brief psychosocial support for patients with cancer and their relatives: a quasi-experimental evaluation of cancer counselling centres.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of brief psychosocial support for patients with cancer and their relatives regarding their mental health.

Design: Quasi-experimental controlled trial with measurements at three time points (baseline, after 2 weeks and after 12 weeks).

Setting: The intervention group (IG) was recruited at two cancer counselling centres in Germany.

Effect of depression, anxiety, and distress screeners on the need, intention, and utilization of psychosocial support services among cancer patients.

Purpose: In clinical cancer care, distress screening is recommended to identify highly burdened patients in objective need for psychosocial support to improve psychological distress and quality of life and to enhance patient empowerment. It is however unclear whether distress screeners are suitable for psychosocial care planning and thus whether they can predict the willingness that is need, intention, and utilization, to seek psychosocial support.

Methods: In a secondary analysis of a cluster intervention study, we assessed cancer patients with three distress screeners (DT, PHQ-9, GAD-7) at baseline.

Decision Conflicts in Clinical Care during COVID-19: A Multi-Perspective Inquiry.

Background: The early COVID-19-pandemic was characterized by changes in decision making, decision-relevant value systems and the related perception of decisional uncertainties and conflicts resulting in decisional burden and stress. The vulnerability of clinical care professionals to these decisional dilemmas has not been characterized yet. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study (540 patients, 322 physicians and 369 nurses in 11 institutions throughout Germany) was carried out.

Decision Conflicts in Clinical Care during COVID-19: A Patient Perspective.

(1) Background: Uncertainty is typical for a pandemic or similar healthcare crisis. This affects patients with resulting decisional conflicts and disturbed shared decision making during their treatment occurring to a very different extent. Sociodemographic factors and the individual perception of pandemic-related problems likely determine this decisional dilemma for patients and can characterize vulnerable groups with special susceptibility for decisional problems and related consequences.

An Information Directory App InHouse Call for Streamlining Communication to Optimize Efficiency and Patient Care in a Hospital: Pilot Mixed Methods Design and Utility Study.

Background: Communication failures disrupt physician workflow, lead to poor patient outcomes, and are associated with significant economic burden. To increase efficiency when contacting a team member in a hospital, we have designed an information directory app, InHouse Call.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the design of InHouse Call, objectively compare the usefulness of the app versus that of traditional methods (operator or pocket cards, etc), and determine its subjective usefulness through user surveys and a net promoter score (NPS).

Evaluation of an electronic psycho-oncological adaptive screening program (EPAS) with immediate patient feedback: findings from a German cluster intervention study.

Purpose: Distress screening has become mandatory and essential in comprehensive cancer care. We evaluated an electronic psycho-oncological adaptive screening (EPAS) which assesses objective indicators of care needs and subjectively perceived care needs and subsequently provides patient feedback with individualized recommendations about psychosocial care services.

Methods: Patients were assessed within clusters, i.

Clinical and Biological Characteristics of Medullary and Extramedullary Plasma Cell Dyscrasias.

Extramedullary plasma cell (PC) disorders may occur as extramedullary disease in multiple myeloma (MM-EMD) or as primary extramedullary plasmocytoma (pEMP)/solitary osseous plasmocytoma (SOP). In this study, we aimed to obtain insights into the molecular mechanisms of extramedullary spread of clonal PC. Clinical and biological characteristics of 87 patients with MM-EMD ( = 49), pEMP/SOP ( = 20) and classical MM ( = 18) were analyzed by using immunohistochemistry (CXCR4, CD31, CD44 and CD81 staining) and cytoplasmic immunoglobulin staining combined with fluorescence hybridization (cIg-FISH).

Development and preliminary psychometric investigation of the German Satisfaction with Comprehensive Cancer Care (SCCC) Questionnaire.

Purpose: The assessment of patient satisfaction during treatment is essential to provide patient-centered high-quality cancer care. Nevertheless, no German instrument assesses patient satisfaction with comprehensive cancer care, which not only includes oncological treatment, but also interpersonal quality of care as well as psychosocial support services. Based on the French REPERES-60, we developed the German Patient Satisfaction with Comprehensive Cancer Care (SCCC) questionnaire.

[Basic principles of immunotherapy].

Immunotherapy for malignant diseases is defined as a systematic therapeutic approach that aims to target the individual's immune system to prevent the development of malignancies or to combat existing tumors. Nowadays, this includes various therapeutic approaches, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, BiTEs (bispecific T‑cell engagers), CAR T‑cells (CAR: chimeric antigen receptors) and oncolytic viruses, which have not only different mechanisms of action and points of attack, but also have very different efficiencies in the treatment of solid and hematological malignancies. These approaches undoubtedly enrich the therapeutic portfolio in oncology-in palliative systematic therapy and also in the interaction with operative and ablative local therapeutic approaches.

Observational non-randomised controlled evaluation of the effectiveness of cancer counselling centres: a study protocol.

Introduction: In recent years, medical treatment for cancer has improved, thereby increasing the life expectancy of patients with cancer. Hence, the focus in healthcare shifted towards analysing treatments that offer to decrease distress and improve the quality of life of patients with cancer. The psychological burden of patients with cancer originates from all kinds of psychosocial challenges related to diagnosis and treatment.

I-BEAT: Ultrasonic method for online measurement of the energy distribution of a single ion bunch.

The shape of a wave carries all information about the spatial and temporal structure of its source, given that the medium and its properties are known. Most modern imaging methods seek to utilize this nature of waves originating from Huygens' principle. We discuss the retrieval of the complete kinetic energy distribution from the acoustic trace that is recorded when a short ion bunch deposits its energy in water.

Psychosocial Impact of Personalized Therapies in Oncology.

Personalized medicine is a keyword in modern oncology summarizing biomarker-driven targeted therapies. Those novel agents enhance our therapeutic portfolio and offer new options for our patients. But the term is often misleading and implicates a tailored therapy to the individual person, but it rather means a treatment stratified on genetic characteristics of the tumor.

Investigating the temporal course, relevance and risk factors of fatigue over 5 years: a prospective study among patients receiving allogeneic HSCT.

Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) features severe physical and psychological strain, no previous study has prospectively investigated fatigue beyond 3 years after transplantation. We investigated the temporal course of fatigue over 5 years, compared patients with the general population (GP) and tested for treatment- and complication-related risk factors. Patients were assessed before conditioning (T0, N=239) and at 100-day (T1, N=150), 1-year (T2, N=102) and 5-year (T3, N=45) follow-up.

Improved nutrition in adolescents and young adults after childhood cancer - INAYA study.

Background: Multimodality treatment improves the chance of survival but increases the risk for long-term side effects in young cancer survivors, so-called" Adolescents and Young Adults"(AYAs). Compared to the general population AYAs have a 5 to 15-fold increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity. Thus, improving modifiable lifestyle risk factors is of particular importance.

Death-Related Anxiety in Patients With Advanced Cancer: Validation of the German Version of the Death and Dying Distress Scale.

Context: Distress and anxiety about issues related to death and dying is commonly experienced in patients with advanced disease and a limited life expectancy.

Objectives: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the German version of the Death and Dying Distress Scale (DADDS-G) in advanced cancer patients.

Methods: We recruited advanced patients with mixed tumor entities (Union for International Cancer Control [UICC] Stage III/IV) treated in two German University Medical Centers during their outpatient treatment.