Management of primary and renal hyperparathyroidism: guidelines from the German Association of Endocrine Surgeons (CAEK).

Background And Aims: The purpose of this review is to provide updated recommendations for the surgical management of primary (pHPT) and renal (rHPT) hyperparathyroidism, formulating a new guideline of the German Association of Endocrine Surgeons (CAEK).

Methods: Evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and therapy of pHPT and rHPT were assessed by a multidisciplinary panel using PubMed for a comprehensive literature search together with a structured consensus dialogue (S2k guideline of the Association of the German Scientific Medical Societies, AWMF).

Results: During the last 20 years, a variety of new preoperative localization procedures, such as sestamibi-SPECT, 4D-CT, and various PET/CT procedures, were established for pHPT.

Ten-year follow-up of a prospective trial for the targeted therapy of gastric cancer with the human monoclonal antibody PAT-SC1.

The fully human monoclonal antibody PAT-SC1 is specific for an isoform of CD55 (decay-accelerating factor) designated CD55PAT-SC1. This antigen is expressed in the majority (80%) of gastric cancers (GCs), and the antibody induces tumour cell-specific apoptosis in vitro as well as in vivo. PAT-SC1, therefore, has been deemed promising as a therapeutic agent.

Neoadjuvant therapy of gastric cancer with the human monoclonal IgM antibody SC-1: impact on the immune system.

Adjuvant therapies for minimal residual disease are a promising approach to improve the poor survival rates after surgery of gastric tumors. A pilot study of a neoadjuvant therapy was performed using a human monoclonal IgM antibody (SC-1) specifically inducing apoptosis in signet ring cell stomach carcinomas. However, scarce information exists on how such a treatment affects the immune system, in particular what are the effects of apoptosis induction and infusion of large amounts of IgM.

The advantages and disadvantages of nerve monitoring during thyroid surgery in childhood.

Background: Intraoperative damage of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (EBSLN) are common and cause complications in thyroid surgery. The method of intraoperative electrophysiological neuromonitoring (IONM) of the RLN and the EBSLN has been used in adults for several years. The question is whether IONM can be used in paediatric surgery for the identification and functional control of the RLN and the EBSLN, and what the advantages and disadvantages of using it are.