Impact of metformin, statins, and beta blockers on survival in patients with primary ovarian cancer: combined analysis of four prospective trials of AGO-OVAR and ENGOT/GCIG collaborators.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of co-medication with metformin, a statin, or beta blocker with survival in patients with primary ovarian cancer.

Methods: Individual data from three phase III, randomized controlled trials (AGO-OVAR 11, AGO-OVAR 12, and AGO-OVAR 16) and one phase II trial (AGO-OVAR 15) were pooled and analyzed. Patients were classified as ever user if the specific co-medication was documented at least once during the trial, and were compared with never users as controls.

CT Fluoroscopy-Guided Percutaneous Gastrostomy in the Palliative Management of Advanced and Relapsed Ovarian Cancer: The Charité Experiences and a Review of the Literature.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis-associated malignant bowel obstruction is a common feature that merits more attention in advanced and recurrent ovarian cancer. Decompressive gastrostomy is one of the most preferred methods to palliate distressing symptoms and maintain patients' quality of life. We retrospectively identified 31 patients with ovarian cancer-associated MBO, who underwent decompressive CT fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous gastrostomy (CT-PG) between September 2015 and April 2023 at our institution.

Statement of the AGO Kommission Ovar, AGO Study Group, NOGGO, AGO Austria, Swiss AGO, BGOG, CEEGOG, GEICO, and SFOG regarding the use of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in epithelial ovarian cancer.

An international joint statement about the use of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in ovarian cancer was published in 2016, warning about the uncritical use of HIPEC outside controlled studies. This statement has now been updated after the most recent literature was reviewed by the participating study groups and societies. HIPEC became a treatment option in patients with advanced colon cancer after positive results of a randomized trial comparing surgery and HIPEC versus palliative treatment alone.

Standardised Tool for the Assessment of Bruxism.

Objective: This paper aims to present and describe the Standardised Tool for the Assessment of Bruxism (STAB), an instrument that was developed to provide a multidimensional evaluation of bruxism status, comorbid conditions, aetiology and consequences.

Methods: The rationale for creating the tool and the road map that led to the selection of items included in the STAB has been discussed in previous publications.

Results: The tool consists of two axes, specifically dedicated to the evaluation of bruxism status and consequences (Axis A) and of bruxism risk and etiological factors and comorbid conditions (Axis B).

Influence of professional dental hygiene on oral and general health of retirement home residents: A comparative study.

Objectives: The oral status of nursing home residents is poor. This could compromise general health. The controlled study investigated the influence of quarterly professional dental hygiene interventions on oral and general health of elderly.

Optical brain imaging and its application to neurofeedback.

Besides passive recording of brain electric or magnetic activity, also non-ionizing electromagnetic or optical radiation can be used for real-time brain imaging. Here, changes in the radiation's absorption or scattering allow for continuous in vivo assessment of regional neurometabolic and neurovascular activity. Besides magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), over the last years, also functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was successfully established in real-time metabolic brain imaging.

Can Fried Frailty Score predict postoperative morbidity and mortality in gynecologic cancer surgery? Results of a prospective study.

Background: Aim of this study is to evaluate the predictive ability of Fried Frailty Score for surgical outcomes in patients undergoing gynecologic cancer surgery.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study at an academic gynecological cancer center from Oct 2015 through Jan 2017. We applied systematically numerous screening tools, geriatric questionnaires and single measurements which may provide predictions for surgical outcomes.

Angiosarcomas of Primary Gynecologic Origin - A Case Series and Review of the Literature.

Background/aim: Angiosarcoma of primary gynecologic origin is an extremely rare and highly malignant tumor of endothelial origin with a 5-year survival rate of less than 35%. To date, only 61 cases have been described in the literature. The aim of this study was to present more cases and discuss potential therapy options.

Guidelines for vulvar and vaginal surgery: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society recommendations.

This is the first collaborative Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society guideline for optimal perioperative care for vulvar and vaginal surgeries. An Embase and PubMed database search of publications was performed. Studies on each topic within the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery vulvar and vaginal outline were selected, with emphasis on meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, and prospective cohort studies.

Management of Adverse Events During Rucaparib Treatment for Relapsed Ovarian Cancer: A Review of Published Studies and Practical Guidance.

The poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor rucaparib is approved as monotherapy in the treatment and maintenance settings for women with relapsed ovarian cancer in the European Union and the United States. We review the safety profile of rucaparib in both settings and provide recommendations for the clinical management of the main adverse events (AEs) that may occur during rucaparib treatment. We searched PubMed and congress proceedings for safety data on oral rucaparib monotherapy (600 mg twice daily) from clinical trials involving patients with relapsed ovarian cancer.

Rituximab With Involved Field Irradiation for Early-stage Nodal Follicular Lymphoma: Results of the MIR Study.

The MabThera and Involved field Radiotherapy study investigated efficacy and safety of involved field (IF) radiotherapy in combination with the anti-CD20 antibody Rituximab for early-stage follicular lymphoma (FL) in a prospective, single-arm multicenter phase 2 design. Eighty-five stage I-II FL patients received 8 cycles of Rituximab (375 mg/m) and IF irradiation (30/40 Gy). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) 2 years from treatment start.

The prognostic and predictive role of pain before systemic chemotherapy in recurrent ovarian cancer: an individual participant data meta-analysis of the North-Eastern German Society of Gynecological Oncology (NOGGO) of 1226 patients.

Background: Aim of this study was to analyze the impact of pain on quality of life and survival in recurrent OC patients.

Methods: Raw data including the QLQ-C30 questionnaire from three phase II/III trials ("Topotecan phase III," "Hector," and "TRIAS") conducted by the North-Eastern German Society of Gynecological Oncology (NOGGO) were synthesized and analyzed using logistic and Cox regression analyses.

Results: Data on pain was available for 952 patients out of 1226.

Survival and prognostic factors in patients with recurrent low-grade epithelial ovarian cancer: An analysis of five prospective phase II/III trials of NOGGO metadata base.

Objective: Low-grade epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC), constitute the minority among all epithelial cancers. Our study objective was to focus on low-grade recurrent EOC and compare the survival with high-grade disease, as well as in regard to "platinum-sensitive" and "-resistant" recurrences according to platinum-free interval.

Methods: This is an exploratory analysis within the North-Eastern German Society of Gynecological Oncology (NOGGO) database including five randomized phase II/III trials comparing different chemotherapy regimens in recurrent EOC.

Analysis of Proteasome-Generated Antigenic Peptides by Mass Spectrometry.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is today one of the most important analytical techniques in biosciences. The development of electro spray ionization (ESI) as a gentle method, in which molecules are not destroyed, has revolutionized the analytic of peptides. MS is an ideal technique for detection and analysis of peptides generated by purified 20S proteasomes in in vitro experiments.

Prognostic role of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in recurrent ovarian cancer patients: results of an individual participant data meta-analysis in 1213.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the potential impact of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) on dose reductions, discontinuation of chemotherapy, and survival.

Patients And Methods: This study was designed as individual participant data meta-analysis with the original study data of three phase II/III trials that were conducted by the North-Eastern German Society of Gynecological Oncology (NOGGO) including 1213 patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. Logistic and Cox regression analyses were used to estimate odds and hazard ratios after adjusting for age, ECOG, amount of delivered cycles, amount of recurrences, and amount of comedications and study.

Impact of Body Mass Index (BMI) on Chemotherapy-associated Toxicity in Ovarian Cancer Patients. A Pooled Analysis of the North-Eastern German Society of Gynecological Oncology (NOGGO) Databank on 1,213 Patients.

Background/aim: Chemotherapy-associated toxicity is one of the limiting factors regarding treatment efficacy, patient outcome and quality of life in this collective. Underweight or obese patients represent a major group in which the therapy seems to be more challenging. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the impact of BMI on the toxicity in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Checkpoint-inhibition in ovarian cancer: rising star or just a dream?

The introduction of checkpoint inhibitors revolutionized immuno-oncology. The efficacy of traditional immunotherapeutics, like vaccines and immunostimulants was very limited due to persistent immune-escape strategies of cancer cells. Checkpoint inhibitors target these escape mechanisms and re-direct the immune system to anti-tumor toxicity.

Clinical Outcome After Completion Surgery in Patients With Ovarian Cancer: The Charite Experience.

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate surgical outcome and survival benefit after completion surgery.

Methods: We evaluated 164 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent incomplete primary cytoreductive surgery or rather received only staging procedures from January 2000 to December 2014 in outside institutions. Patient-related data were registered in prospective database of Tumor Bank Ovarian Cancer.

Development of a Questionnaire for Monitoring Risk Factors for Chemotherapy-induced Nausea and Vomiting - A NOGGO Pilot Study.

Background: Despite many years of clinical research and development, nausea and vomiting remain challenging toxicities related to chemotherapy. The aim of our study was to clarify the significance of non-pharmacological, patient-related risk factors for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Furthermore, we aimed to develop a unique patient-related risk score predicting nausea and vomiting in patients with gynaecological malignancies under chemotherapy.

Metabolic control of type 1 diabetes in youth with autism spectrum disorder: A multicenter Diabetes-Patienten-Verlaufsdokumentation analysis based on 61 749 patients up to 20 years of age.

Background: A paucity of reports in the literature exists concerning the co-existence between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Objective: To compare clinical characteristics, diabetes management and metabolic control in youth with T1D and ASD (T1D-ASD) with youth without ASD (T1D-non ASD).

Methods: Using the German/Austrian diabetes patient follow-up registry, this study analyzed aggregated data from the last available year of observation for each patient with T1D, ages 1-20 with consistent data on insulin regimen and glycated hemoglobin (A1C), between January, 2005 and March, 2017.

Diagnostic markers for the detection of ovarian cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers.

Background: Screening for ovarian cancer (OC) in women at high risk consists of a combination of carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) and transvaginal ultrasound, despite their low sensitivity and specificity. This could be improved by the combination of several biomarkers, which has been shown in average risk patients but has not been investigated until now in female BRCA mutation carriers.

Methods: Using a multiplex, bead-based, immunoassay system, we analyzed the concentrations of leptin, prolactin, osteopontin, insulin-like growth factor II, macrophage inhibitory factor, CA125 and human epididymis antigen 4 in 26 healthy wild type women, 26 healthy BRCA1 mutation carriers, 28 wildtype OC patients and 26 OC patients with BRCA1 mutation.

The growth of uterine myomas in untreated women: influence factors and ultrasound monitoring.

Purpose: Until now there are no systematic studies about the long-term course of myoma growth. Therefore, the aims of the present study were: (1) ultrasound monitoring of the natural course of growth of uterine leiomyomas; (2) assessment of whether the growth of myomas depends on the age of the patients, the location, or the initial size (possible co-factors/predictor criteria for increase of growth); influence of oral contraceptives (OC).

Methods: Patient records (2010-May 2016) were retrospectively and systematically evaluated in regards to their growth and clinical course.

Pleomorphic Rhabdomyosarcoma of the Uterus - Case Report and a Systematic Review of the Literature.

Background: Pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcomas of the uterus, mainly occurring in postmenopausal women with leading symptoms of vaginal bleeding and abdominal pain, are very rare malignant tumors of the female genital tract. Due to the inefficiency of the adjuvant therapy, the outcome remains poor in the majority of the reported cases.

Patient And Methods: We present a case of a 73-year-old patient diagnosed with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma of the uterus.

Endogenous lysophosphatidic acid participates in vascularisation and decidualisation at the maternal-fetal interface in the rat.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) affects several female reproductive functions through G-protein-coupled receptors. LPA contributes to embryo implantation via the lysophospholipid LPA receptor. In the present study we investigated the participation of endogenous LPA signalling through the LPA receptor in vascularisation and decidualisation, two crucial events at the maternal-fetal interface.