Stress, psychosocial resources and possible interventions: a qualitative study among dental students.

Background: Prior studies found that dental students are affected by various stressors during their studies. Those stressors can exert adverse effects on their (mental) health. Our study addresses the lack of qualitative data on students' perspectives by exploring perceived stressors and resources among dental students and interventions suggested by them.

High interobserver variability of PTEN immunohistochemistry defining PTEN status in low- to intermediate-risk prostate cancer: results of the first German ring trial.

The prognostication of individual disease trajectory and selection of optimal therapy in patients with localized, low-grade prostate cancer often presents significant difficulty. The phosphatase and tensin homolog on chromosome 10 (PTEN) has emerged as a potential novel biomarker in this clinical context, based on its demonstrated prognostic significance in multiple retrospective studies. Incorporation into standard clinical practice necessitates exceptional diagnostic accuracy, and PTEN's binary readout-retention or loss-suggests its suitability as a biomarker.

Lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF1) immunostaining as a surrogate for β-catenin () mutations.

Aims: Mutations affecting exon 3 of the β-catenin () gene result in constitutive activation of WNT signalling and are a diagnostic hallmark of several tumour entities including desmoid-type fibromatosis. They also define clinically relevant tumour subtypes within certain entities, such as endometrioid carcinoma. In diagnostics, β-catenin immunohistochemistry is widely used as a surrogate for mutations.

Exploring the Spectrum of Comorbidities Associated with Primary Aldosteronism: Insights from a Large Real-World Case-Control Study.

: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a common cause of endocrine hypertension, characterized by excessive aldosterone secretion leading to hypertension, hypokalemia, and metabolic alkalosis. While historically diagnosed based on this classic triad of symptoms, current understanding reveals a more nuanced presentation. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of PA-associated diseases in a large German population.

EANO guideline on molecular testing of meningiomas for targeted therapy selection.

Meningiomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors of adults. For meningiomas that progress or recur despite surgical resection and radiotherapy, additional treatment options are limited due to lack of proven efficacy. Meningiomas show recurring molecular aberrations, which may serve as predictive markers for systemic pharmacotherapies with targeted drugs or immunotherapy, radiotherapy or radioligand therapy.

Practical hints for the diagnosis of mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms of the digestive system.

In this editorial, a comment on the article by Díaz-López published in the recent issue of the 2024 is provided. We focus on the practical implications critical for providing a correct and complete diagnosis of mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasm (MiNEN) in the gastrointestinal system. The diagnosis of MiNEN begins with the recognition of neuroendocrine features in one component of a biphasic tumor.

MSIreg: an R package for unsupervised coregistration of mass spectrometry and H&E images.

Summary: Joint analysis of mass spectrometry images (MS images) and microscopy images of hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained tissues assists pathologists in characterizing the morphological structure of the tissues, and in performing diagnosis. Unfortunately, the analysis is undermined by substantial differences between these modalities in terms of aspect ratios, spatial resolution, number of channels in each image, as well as by large global or small local elastic spatial deformations of one image with respect to the other. Therefore, accurate coregistration of the images is a critical pre-requisite for their joint interpretation.

Impact of F-FDG PET/MRI on Therapeutic Management of Women with Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer: Results from a Prospective Double-Center Trial.

Our rationale was to investigate whether F-FDG PET/MRI in addition to (guideline-recommended) conventional staging leads to changes in therapeutic management in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer and compare the diagnostic accuracy of F-FDG PET/MRI with that of conventional staging for determining the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) stage. In this prospective, double-center study, 208 women with newly diagnosed, therapy-naïve invasive breast cancer were enrolled in accordance with the inclusion criteria. All patients underwent guideline-recommended conventional staging and whole-body F-FDG PET/MRI with a dedicated breast examination.

Bone mineral density as a prognostic marker in patients with biliary tract cancer undergoing surgery.

Background: Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies and surgery represents the only curative treatment approach. However, even in patients with complete tumor resection 5-year survival rates are below 30%. So far, prognostic markers to assess the outcome of these patients are lacking.

Chemotherapy increases CDA expression and sensitizes malignant pleural mesothelioma cells to capecitabine treatment.

The combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed remains the gold standard chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), although resistance and poor response pose a significant challenge. Cytidine deaminase (CDA) is a key enzyme in the nucleotide salvage pathway and is involved in the adaptive stress response to chemotherapy. The cytidine analog capecitabine and its metabolite 5'-deoxy-5-fluorocytidine (5'-DFCR) are converted via CDA to 5-fluorouracil, which affects DNA and RNA metabolism.

SWI/SNF Complex-Deficient Undifferentiated Carcinoma of the Pancreas: Clinicopathologic and Genomic Analysis.

Inactivating alterations in the SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable (SWI/SNF) Chromatin Remodeling Complex subunits have been described in multiple tumor types. Recent studies focused on SMARC subunits of this complex to understand their relationship with tumor characteristics and therapeutic opportunities. To date, pancreatic cancer with these alterations has not been well studied, although isolated cases of undifferentiated carcinomas have been reported.

Multicenter Study on Tumor Budding in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Comparison Between Biopsy and Resection With Interobserver Variability Assessment.

Grading lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is controversial and not universally accepted. The histomorphologic feature of tumor budding (TB) is an established independent prognostic factor in colorectal cancer, and its importance is growing in other solid cancers, making it a candidate for inclusion in tumor grading schemes. We aimed to compare TB between preoperative biopsies and resection specimens in pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma and assess interobserver variability.

Artificial Intelligence-based Segmentation of Residual Pancreatic Cancer in Resection Specimens Following Neoadjuvant Treatment (ISGPP-2): International Improvement and Validation Study.

Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) has become routine in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. Pathologists examine pancreatic cancer resection specimens to evaluate the effect of NAT. However, an automated scoring system to objectively quantify residual pancreatic cancer (RPC) is currently lacking.

Inhibition of proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 restores cardioprotection by remote ischaemic preconditioning in type 2 diabetes.

Background And Purpose: Remote ischaemic preconditioning (rIPC) for cardioprotection is severely impaired in diabetes, and therapeutic options to restore it are lacking. The vascular endothelium plays a key role in rIPC. Given that the activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is inhibited by proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2), we hypothesized that pharmacological Pyk2 inhibition could restore eNOS activity and thus restore remote cardioprotection in diabetes.

Risk of Lymphoma and Leukemia in Thyroid Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Germany.

Thyroid cancer is the ninth most common cancer worldwide. While differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) has a high survival rate, concerns arise regarding optimal treatment strategies and potential long-term risks, including second primary malignancies (SPMs), associated with therapies such as radioiodine (RAI). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between thyroid cancer and the incidence of subsequent lymphoma and leukemia in Germany.

Caffeine intake enhances bowel recovery after colorectal surgery: a meta-analysis of randomized and non-randomized studies.

Postoperative ileus (POI) after colorectal surgery is a major problem that affects both patient recovery and hospital costs highlighting the importance of preventive strategies. Therefore, we aimed to perform a systematic analysis of the effects of postoperative caffeine consumption on bowel recovery and surgical morbidity after colorectal surgery. A comprehensive literature search was conducted through September 2023 for randomized and non-randomized trials comparing the effect of caffeinated versus non-caffeinated drinks on POI by evaluating bowel movement resumption, time to first flatus and solid food intake, and length of hospital stay (LOS).

Predictive factors of 90-day mortality after curative hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma: a western single-center observational study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify predictive risk factors associated with 90-day mortality after hepatic resection (HR) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: All patients undergoing elective resection for HCC from a single- institutional and prospectively maintained database were included. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify pre- and intraoperative as well as histopathological predictive factors of 90-day mortality after elective HR.

Which factors predict tumor recurrence and survival after curative hepatectomy in hepatocellular carcinoma? Results from a European institution.

Background: High tumor recurrence and dismal survival rates after curative intended resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still concerning. The primary goal was to assess predictive factors associated with disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in a subset of patients with HCC undergoing hepatic resection (HR).

Methods: Between 08/2004-7/2021, HR for HCC was performed in 188 patients at our institution.

High-Affinity-Mediated Viral Entry Triggers Innate Affinity Escape Resulting in Type I IFN Resistance and Impaired T Cell Immunity.

Increased receptor binding affinity may allow viruses to escape from Ab-mediated inhibition. However, how high-affinity receptor binding affects innate immune escape and T cell function is poorly understood. In this study, we used the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) murine infection model system to create a mutated LCMV exhibiting higher affinity for the entry receptor α-dystroglycan (LCMV-GPH155Y).

Routine closed-suction drainage reduces seromas following totally extraperitoneal (TEP) inguinal hernia repair: A meta-analysis.

Background: The value of prophylactic closed-suction drainage in totally extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair (TEP) is still a matter of controversy. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies examining postoperative seroma rates in patients with or without routine placement of closed-suction drainage tubes.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted for trials comparing the outcome of TEP with or without routine drainage placement.

Epigenetic modification and characterization of the promoter region using CRISPRoff in glioblastoma cells.

The methylation status of the O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter region is a critical predictor of response to alkylating agents in glioblastoma. However, current approaches to study the MGMT status focus on analyzing models with non-identical backgrounds. Here, we present an epigenetic editing approach using CRISPRoff to introduce site-specific CpG methylation in the promoter region of glioma cell lines.