679 results match your criteria: "GROW-School for Oncology and Reproduction[Affiliation]"

Breast Cancer in the Tissue of the Contralateral Breast Reduction.

Cancers (Basel)

January 2024

Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Center+, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women worldwide, and the increasing number of survivors is due to advances in early diagnosis and treatment efficacy. Consequently, the risk of developing contralateral breast cancer (CBC) among these survivors has become a concern. While surgical intervention with lumpectomy is a widely used primary approach for breast cancer, post-operative breast asymmetry is a potential concern.

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Longitudinal associations of plasma kynurenines and ratios with anxiety and depression scores in colorectal cancer survivors up to 12 months post-treatment.

Psychoneuroendocrinology

May 2024

Department of Epidemiology, CARIM School for Cardiovascular Diseases, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, CAPHRI School for Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors often experience neuropsychological symptoms, including anxiety and depression. Mounting evidence suggests a role for the kynurenine pathway in these symptoms due to potential neuroprotective and neurotoxic roles of involved metabolites. However, evidence remains inconclusive and insufficient in cancer survivors.

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Diagnostic accuracy of MRI, CT, and [F]FDG-PET-CT in detecting lymph node metastases in clinically early-stage cervical cancer - a nationwide Dutch cohort study.

Insights Imaging

February 2024

Department of Research & Development, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), Godebaldkwartier 419, DT, Utrecht, 3511, The Netherlands.

Article Synopsis
  • A retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness of MRI, CT, and [F]FDG-PET-CT in detecting lymph node involvement in early-stage cervical cancer using data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry.
  • The study included 1676 patients evaluated with MRI, 926 with CT, and 379 with [F]FDG-PET-CT, finding that [F]FDG-PET-CT had the highest sensitivity for detecting nodal metastases at 80%, compared to 48% and 40% for MRI and CT, respectively.
  • While [F]FDG-PET-CT outperformed MRI and CT in sensitivity, MRI and CT had higher specificity, indicating that [F]FDG-PET
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Impact of low dose superparamagnetic iron oxide tracer for sentinel node biopsy in breast conserving treatment on susceptibility artefacts on magnetic resonance imaging and contrast enhanced mammography.

Surg Oncol

April 2024

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, the Netherlands; Department of Medical Imaging, Zuyderland Medical Centre, Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands; GROW School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Background: Residual particles of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) tracer, used for sentinel node biopsy, cause susceptibility artefacts on breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). We investigated the impact of these artefacts on the imaging quality of MRI and explored whether contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) could be an alternative in the follow-up of breast cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: Data on patients' characteristics, injection site, presence, size (mm) of artefacts on full-field digital mammography (FFDM)/CEM, MRI after 1 ml SPIO was recorded.

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Multi-sequence MRI radiomics of colorectal liver metastases: Which features are reproducible across readers?

Eur J Radiol

March 2024

Department of Radiology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands; GROW School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Purpose: To assess the inter-reader reproducibility of radiomics features on multiple MRI sequences after segmentations of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM).

Method: 30 CRLM (in 23 patients) were manually delineated by three readers on MRI before the start of chemotherapy on the contrast enhanced T1-weighted images (CE-T1W) in the portal venous phase, T2-weighted images (T2W) and b800 diffusion weighted images (DWI). DWI delineations were copied to the ADC-maps.

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Germinal centres within tumour positive sentinel lymph nodes are positively associated with tumour infiltrating lymphocytes and tertiary lymphoid structures in breast cancer.

Pathol Res Pract

February 2024

Department of Pathology, GROW School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Pathology and Data Analytics, Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St. James's, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • Scientists studied a type of immune response in breast cancer by looking at special cells called germinal centers in lymph nodes and comparing them to tumor-related immune indicators.
  • They found that patients with high levels of immune cells (sTILs) and specific immune structures had more germinal centers in their lymph nodes.
  • The study suggests that examining these germinal centers could help understand how the body fights breast cancer and might be useful for future research.
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Here, we establish a CT-radiomics based method for application in invasive, orthotopic rodent brain tumour models. Twenty four NOD/SCID mice were implanted with U87R-Luc2 GBM cells and longitudinally imaged via contrast enhanced (CE-CT) imaging. Pyradiomics was employed to extract CT-radiomic features from the tumour-implanted hemisphere and non-tumour-implanted hemisphere of acquired CT-scans.

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Novel systemic therapies for breast cancer are being rapidly implemented into clinical practice. These drugs often have different mechanisms of action and side-effect profiles compared with traditional chemotherapy. Underpinning practice-changing clinical trials focused on the systemic therapies under investigation, thus there are sparse data available on radiotherapy.

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A prediction model for response to immune checkpoint inhibition in advanced melanoma.

Int J Cancer

May 2024

Department of Epidemiology, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Predicting who will benefit from treatment with immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) in patients with advanced melanoma is challenging. We developed a multivariable prediction model for response to ICI, using routinely available clinical data including primary melanoma characteristics. We used a population-based cohort of 3525 patients with advanced cutaneous melanoma treated with anti-PD-1-based therapy.

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Purpose: Next generation sequencing (NGS) is an important tool used in clinical practice to obtain the required molecular information for accurate diagnostics of high-grade adult-type diffuse glioma (HGG). Since individual centers use either in-house produced or standardized panels, interlaboratory variation could play a role in the practice of HGG diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to investigate the current practice in NGS application for both primary and recurrent HGG.

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Background: The symptom of heavy menstrual bleeding has a substantial impact on professional, physical, and social functioning. In 2021, results from a randomized controlled trial comparing a 52-mg levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system and radiofrequency nonresectoscopic endometrial ablation as treatments for women with heavy menstrual bleeding were published. Both treatment strategies were equally effective in treating heavy menstrual bleeding during 2-year follow-up.

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This study aims to construct and evaluate a deep learning model, utilizing ultrasound images, to accurately differentiate benign and malignant thyroid nodules. The objective includes visualizing the model's process for interpretability and comparing its diagnostic precision with a cohort of 80 radiologists. We employed ResNet as the classification backbone for thyroid nodule prediction.

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Background: Cognitive problems contribute to decline in work performance. We evaluated (1) the effectiveness of basic self-management and extensive therapist-guided online cognitive rehabilitation on attainment of individually predetermined work-related goals among occupationally active cancer survivors, and (2) whether effectiveness of the programs differed for survivors with and without formal cognitive impairment.

Methods: In a 3-arm randomized controlled trial (NCT03900806), 279 non-central nervous system cancer survivors with cognitive complaints were assigned to the basic program (n = 93), the extensive program (n = 93), or a waiting-list control group (n = 93).

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Background: Studies have shown that cancer survivors experience difficulties maintaining physical activity levels after participation in a supervised exercise rehabilitation program. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a six-month remote coaching intervention, following a supervised exercise oncology rehabilitation program on maintenance of PA levels; and improvement of aerobic capacity, muscle strength and patient-reported outcomes in cancer survivors.

Methods: Ninety-seven participants from a Dutch University Hospital's exercise rehabilitation program were randomised to the COACH group (n = 46), receiving 6 months of remote coaching after completing the exercise program, or the CONTROL group (n = 50), receiving no additional intervention.

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Belgian Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study on Zoonotic Avian spp. in Chickens.

Microorganisms

January 2024

Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.

, and are the most common spp. in chickens and have a confirmed or suggested zoonotic potential. No recent data are available on their prevalence and impact in the Belgian chicken industry or in the recreational chicken branch.

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Promising Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches Based on VHHs for Cancer Management.

Cancers (Basel)

January 2024

The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW-School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, 6211 LK Maastricht, The Netherlands.

The discovery of the distinctive structure of heavy chain-only antibodies in species belonging to the Camelidae family has elicited significant interest in their variable antigen binding domain (VHH) and gained attention for various applications, such as cancer diagnosis and treatment. This article presents an overview of the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of VHHs as compared to conventional antibodies, and their usage in diverse applications. The singular properties of VHHs are explained, and several strategies that can augment their utility are outlined.

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Objectives: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a treatment option for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are unfit for surgery. Some patients may experience distant metastasis. This study aimed to develop and validate a radiomics model for predicting distant metastasis in patients with early-stage NSCLC treated with SBRT.

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A taskforce for national improvement of innovation implementation in radiotherapy.

Radiother Oncol

March 2024

Department of Radiation Oncology (Maastro), GROW School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Background And Purpose: Previous research among Dutch radiotherapy centres (RTCs) showed that 69% of innovations was simultaneously implemented in 7/19 centres, with a success rate of 51%. However, no structure to share lessons learned about the implementation process existed. Therefore, a national Taskforce Implementation (TTI) was raised to stimulate efficient implementation of innovations.

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Introduction: The peritoneum is the second most affected organ for the dissemination of colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients with colorectal peritoneal metastases (CPM) face a poor prognosis, despite the majority of patients being treated with palliative systemic therapy. The efficacy of palliative systemic therapy is limited due to the plasma-peritoneum barrier.

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Contrast-enhanced breast imaging: Current status and future challenges.

Eur J Radiol

February 2024

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Background: Contrast-enhanced breast MRI and recently also contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) are available for breast imaging. The aim of the current overview is to explore existing evidence and ongoing challenges of contrast-enhanced breast imaging.

Methods: This narrative provides an introduction to the contrast-enhanced breast imaging modalities breast MRI and CEM.

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The first Stakeholder Network Meeting of the EU Horizon 2020-funded ONTOX project was held on 13-14 March 2023, in Brussels, Belgium. The discussion centred around identifying specific challenges, barriers and drivers in relation to the implementation of non-animal new approach methodologies (NAMs) and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), in order to help address the issues and rank them according to their associated level of difficulty. ONTOX aims to advance the assessment of chemical risk to humans, without the use of animal testing, by developing non-animal NAMs and PRA in line with 21st century toxicity testing principles.

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies indicate that accelerated recovery protocols after colorectal surgery can be effective, but protocols vary and most studies involve small patient groups, complicating the ability to determine the best approach.
  • A systematic review analyzed trials from various databases showing that accelerated recovery led to shorter hospital stays (14 hours to 3.4 days) with varying complication (0-35.7%) and readmission rates (0-17%).
  • Despite promising findings, the data is inconsistent and lacks comprehensive outcome measures, meaning accelerated recovery can't yet be classified as the new standard of care, although it seems to be safe for certain patients.
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Objectives: To perform a survey among members of the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) regarding the use of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM).

Methods: A panel of nine board-certified radiologists developed a 29-item online questionnaire, distributed to all EUSOBI members (inside and outside Europe) from January 25 to March 10, 2023. CEM implementation, examination protocols, reporting strategies, and current and future CEM indications were investigated.

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Purpose: To assess the clinical utility of chest computed tomography (CT) reports for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) staging generated by inexperienced readers using structured reporting (SR) templates from the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR-SR) and the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology (SIRM-SR), compared to traditional non-systematic reports (NSR).

Methods: In a cohort of 30 NSCLC patients, six third-year radiology residents reported CT examinations in two 2-month-apart separate sessions using NSR in the first and NSR, RCR-SR, or SIRM-SR in the second. Couples of expert radiologists and thoracic oncologists in consensus evaluated completeness, accuracy, and clarity.

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Objective: Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is the preferred treatment for non-invasive large (≥20 mm) non-pedunculated colorectal polyps (LNPCPs) but is associated with an early recurrence rate of up to 30%. We evaluated whether standardised EMR training could reduce recurrence rates in Dutch community hospitals.

Design: In this multicentre cluster randomised trial, 59 endoscopists from 30 hospitals were randomly assigned to the intervention group (e-learning and 2-day training including hands-on session) or control group.

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