Peer review analysis in the field of radiation oncology: results from a web-based survey of the Young DEGRO working group.

Purpose: To evaluate the reviewing behaviour in the German-speaking countries in order to provide recommendations to increase the attractiveness of reviewing activity in the field of radiation oncology.

Methods: In November 2019, a survey was conducted by the Young DEGRO working group (jDEGRO) using the online platform "eSurveyCreator". The questionnaire consisted of 29 items examining a broad range of factors that influence reviewing motivation and performance.

Living longer but less healthy: The female disadvantage in health expectancy. Results from the KORA-Age study.

Objectives: We explored the male-female health-survival paradox in the context of health expectancy (HE) at age 65 and thereafter, using three different morbidity measures and different severity cut-offs with and without adjustments for the share of nursing home residents.

Methods: HE at ages 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 was estimated with the Sullivan method, linking morbidity prevalence from the KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg)-Age study to 2016 Bavarian mortality data. Morbidity measures comprised deficit accumulation (Frailty Index, FI, cut-offs 0.

NetCoMi: network construction and comparison for microbiome data in R.

Motivation: Estimating microbial association networks from high-throughput sequencing data is a common exploratory data analysis approach aiming at understanding the complex interplay of microbial communities in their natural habitat. Statistical network estimation workflows comprise several analysis steps, including methods for zero handling, data normalization and computing microbial associations. Since microbial interactions are likely to change between conditions, e.

Effect of BMI on health care expenditures stratified by COPD GOLD severity grades: Results from the LQ-DMP study.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation, which is progressive and not fully reversible. In patients with COPD, body mass index (BMI) is an important parameter associated with health outcomes, e.g.

The relationship between body mass index and health-related quality of life in COPD: real-world evidence based on claims and survey data.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is an important parameter associated with mortality and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, informed guidance on stratified weight recommendations for COPD is still lacking. This study aims to determine the association between BMI and HRQoL across different severity grades of COPD to support patient management.

Association of early life and acute pollen exposure with lung function and exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). A prospective study up to adolescence in the GINIplus and LISA cohort.

Background: Pollen exposure has both acute and chronic detrimental effects on allergic asthma, but little is known about its wider effects on respiratory health. This is increasingly important knowledge as ambient pollen levels are changing with the changing global climate.

Objective: To assess associations of pollen exposure with lung function and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) at age 15 in two prospective German birth cohorts, GINIplus and LISA.

A proof-of principal study using phase-contrast imaging for the detection of large airway pathologies after lung transplantation.

In this study we aim to evaluate the assessment of bronchial pathologies in a murine model of lung transplantation with grating-based X-ray interferometry in vivo. Imaging was performed using a dedicated grating-based small-animal X-ray dark-field and phase-contrast scanner. While the contrast modality of the dark-field signal already showed several promising applications for diagnosing various types of pulmonary diseases, the phase-shifting contrast mechanism of the phase contrast has not yet been evaluated in vivo.

Lung cancer risk in painters: results from the SYNERGY pooled case-control study consortium.

Objectives: We evaluated the risk of lung cancer associated with ever working as a painter, duration of employment and type of painter by histological subtype as well as joint effects with smoking, within the SYNERGY project.

Methods: Data were pooled from 16 participating case-control studies conducted internationally. Detailed individual occupational and smoking histories were available for 19 369 lung cancer cases (684 ever employed as painters) and 23 674 age-matched and sex-matched controls (532 painters).

Small airway dysfunction as predictor and marker for clinical response to biological therapy in severe eosinophilic asthma: a longitudinal observational study.

Background: Anti-T2 biological therapies have proven to effectively reduce acute exacerbations and daily doses of oral steroids in severe eosinophilic asthma. Despite the remarkable clinical efficacy, there are usually only moderate improvements in airflow limitation, suggesting that other measures of lung function like small airway dysfunction (SAD) might better reflect the clinical response. We aimed to investigate if measures of small airway function would predict and correlate with the clinical response to anti-T2 therapy.

Association of Planning Target Volume with Patient Outcome in Inoperable Stage III NSCLC Treated with Chemoradiotherapy: A Comprehensive Single-Center Analysis.

Inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents a highly heterogeneous patient cohort. Multimodal treatment approaches including radiotherapy have been the new standard of care, with promising outcomes. The planning target volume (PTV), including the primary tumor, involved lymph node stations and safety margins, can vary widely.

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension phenotypes determined by cluster analysis from the COMPERA registry.

The term idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is used to categorize patients with pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension of unknown origin. There is considerable variability in the clinical presentation of these patients. Using data from the Comparative, Prospective Registry of Newly Initiated Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension, we performed a cluster analysis of 841 patients with IPAH based on age, sex, diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO; <45% vs ≥45% predicted), smoking status, and presence of comorbidities (obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus).

Determinants of health-related quality of life decline in interstitial lung disease.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients is impaired. We aimed to identify baseline predictors for HRQL decline within a 12-month observation period.

Methods: We analyzed 194 ILD patients from two German ILD-centers in the observational HILDA study.

Relationship between clinical and radiological signs of bronchiectasis in COPD patients: Results from COSYCONET.

Bronchiectasis (BE) might be frequently present in COPD but masked by COPD symptoms. We studied the relationship of clinical signs of bronchiectasis to the presence and extent of its radiological signs in patients of different COPD severity. Visit 4 data (GOLD grades 1-4) of the COSYCONET cohort was used.

Prediction of air trapping or pulmonary hyperinflation by forced spirometry in COPD patients: results from COSYCONET.

Background: Air trapping and lung hyperinflation are major determinants of prognosis and response to therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They are often determined by body plethysmography, which has limited availability, and so the question arises as to what extent they can be estimated spirometry.

Methods: We used data from visits 1-5 of the COPD cohort COSYCONET.

Association of lung function with overall mortality is independent of inflammatory, cardiac, and functional biomarkers in older adults: the ActiFE-study.

Reduced lung function is associated with overall and cardiovascular mortality. Chronic low grade systemic inflammation is linked to impaired lung function and cardiovascular outcomes. We assessed the association of lung function with overall 8-year mortality in 867 individuals of the Activity and Function in the Elderly study using confounder-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models (including gait speed and daily walking time as measures of physical function) without and with adjustment for inflammatory and cardiac markers.

Maximum standardized uptake value of primary tumor (SUVmax_PT) and horizontal range between two most distant PET-positive lymph nodes predict patient outcome in inoperable stage III NSCLC patients after chemoradiotherapy.

Background: 18F-FDG-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) is a standard for initial staging in patients with locally advanced stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We evaluated a PET/CT staging score to characterize disease extension and patient outcome in this disease.

Methods: Ninety-nine consecutive patients with NSCLC stage IIIA-B (UICC 7th edition), who underwent 18F-FDG-PET/CT before the start of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) were analyzed.

Chemoradioimmunotherapy of inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer: immunological rationale and current clinical trials establishing a novel multimodal strategy.

Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have dramatically changed the landscape of lung cancer treatment. Preclinical studies investigating combination of ICI with radiation show a synergistic improvement of tumor control probability and have resulted in the development of novel therapeutic strategies. For advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), targeting immune checkpoint pathways has proven to be less toxic with more durable treatment response than conventional chemotherapy.

Associations of oxygenated hemoglobin with disease burden and prognosis in stable COPD: Results from COSYCONET.

We studied whether in patients with stable COPD blood gases (BG), especially oxygenated hemoglobin (OxyHem) as a novel biomarker confer information on disease burden and prognosis and how this adds to the information provided by the comorbidity pattern and systemic inflammation. Data from 2137 patients (GOLD grades 1-4) of the baseline dataset of the COSYCONET COPD cohort were used. The associations with dyspnea, exacerbation history, BODE-Index (cut-off ≤2) and all-cause mortality over 3 years of follow-up were determined by logistic and Cox regression analyses, with sex, age, BMI and pack years as covariates.

Delayed contrast dynamics as marker of regional impairment in pulmonary fibrosis using 5D MRI - a pilot study.

Objective: To analyse delayed contrast dynamics of fibrotic lesions in interstitial lung disease (ILD) using five dimensional (5D) MRI and to correlate contrast dynamics with disease severity.

Methods: 20 patients (mean age: 71 years; M:F, 13:7), with chronic fibrosing ILD: = 12 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and = 8 non-IPF, underwent thin-section multislice CT as part of the standard diagnostic workup and additionally MRI of the lung. 2 min after contrast injection, a radial gradient echo sequence with golden-angle spacing was acquired during 5 min of free-breathing, followed by 5D image reconstruction.

How does the EQ-5D-5L perform in asthma patients compared with an asthma-specific quality of life questionnaire?

Background: Asthma patients experience impairments in health-related quality of life (HRQL). Interventions are available to improve HRQL. EQ-5D-5L is a common generic tool used to evaluate health interventions.