Predicting Urinary Function Outcomes Following Low-dose-rate Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer.

Background And Objective: Our aim was to develop a tool using readily available clinical parameters to predict the probability of poor urinary function following low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT) for localized prostate cancer.

Methods: Data from the multicentre, prospective Swiss LDR-BT cohort were analyzed for men treated with LDR-BT. Inclusion criteria were minimum follow-up of 3 yr or postoperative treatment with transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).

Venous Leak Embolization Results in Clinical Improvement of Patients with Mixed Arterio-Venous Erectile Dysfunction Not Responding to Arterial Revascularization Alone.

Purpose: To analyze the safety and efficacy of additional venous leak embolization after an initial arterial revascularization to treat patients with combined arteriogenic and venogenic erectile dysfunction (ED).

Materials And Methods: Single-center observational study from October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2022, including 26 patients with ED resistant to phosphodiesterase-5-inhibitors (PDE5i) and without significant clinical benefit after arterial revascularization of erection-related arteries. Additional treatment with venous leak embolization was performed 458 ± 424 days after arterial revascularization.

Antiplatelet therapy guided by point-of-care pharmacogenetics plus multidimensional treatment decisions.

Implementation of point-of-care (POC) pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing with personalized treatment recommendations. POC genotyping plus expert evaluation of risk factors for ischemic and bleeding events. 167 patients underwent PGx testing, 54 (32.

Lower alpha frequency of intraoperative frontal EEG is associated with postoperative delirium: A secondary propensity-matched analysis.

Background: Postoperative delirium (POD) is a serious complication of surgery, especially in the elderly patient population. It has been proposed that decreasing the amount of anesthetics by titrating to an EEG index will lower POD rate, but clear evidence is missing. A strong age-dependent negative correlation has been reported between the peak oscillatory frequency of alpha waves and end-tidal anesthetic concentration, with older patients generating slower alpha frequencies.

Erectile dysfunction: role of computed tomography cavernosography in the diagnosis and treatment planning of venous leak.

Background: Venous leak appears to be the most common cause of vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED), which can be treated with venous embolization. Traditionally, conventional cavernosography was used for the diagnosis and treatment planning of venous leak. Recently, computed tomography (CT) cavernosography was introduced as a novel cross-sectional imaging method proposed to be advantageous over conventional cavernosography.

The Lucerne Toolbox 2 to optimise axillary management for early breast cancer: a multidisciplinary expert consensus.

Clinical axillary lymph node management in early breast cancer has evolved from being merely an aspect of surgical management and now includes the entire multidisciplinary team. The second edition of the "Lucerne Toolbox", a multidisciplinary consortium of European cancer societies and patient representatives, addresses the challenges of clinical axillary lymph node management, from diagnosis to local therapy of the axilla. Five working packages were developed, following the patients' journey and addressing specific clinical scenarios.

Long-Term Outcomes of Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation for Patients With Atherosclerotic Erectile Dysfunction not Responding to PDE-5-Inhibitors.

Purpose: Endovascular therapy of erection-related arteries was shown to be a promising treatment option for patients with severe erectile dysfunction. Purpose of this study was to assess the longer-term safety and clinical success rate of endovascular revascularization of erection-related arteries with the Angiolite BTK stent in patients with arteriogenic erectile dysfunction.

Materials And Methods: A total of 147 consecutive men (63.

Venous Leak Embolization in Patients with Venogenic Erectile Dysfunction via Deep Dorsal Penile Vein Access: Safety and Early Efficacy.

Purpose: This all-comers registry aimed to assess safety and early efficacy of venous embolization in patients with venogenic erectile dysfunction due to venous leak in an unselected cohort.

Methods: Between October 2019 and September 2022, patients with venogenic erectile dysfunction resistant to phosphodiesterase-5-inhibitors were treated with venous embolization using ultrasound-guided anterograde access via a deep dorsal penile vein in a single center. A mix of ethiodized oil and modified cyanoacrylate-based glue n-butyl 2 cyanoacrylate (NBCA) monomer plus methacryloxy-sulpholane monomer (Glubran-2, GEM, Italy) was used as liquid embolic agent.

Oncoplastic breast consortium recommendations for mastectomy and whole breast reconstruction in the setting of post-mastectomy radiation therapy.

Aim: Demand for nipple- and skin- sparing mastectomy (NSM/SSM) with immediate breast reconstruction (BR) has increased at the same time as indications for post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) have broadened. The aim of the Oncoplastic Breast Consortium initiative was to address relevant questions arising with this clinically challenging scenario.

Methods: A large global panel of oncologic, oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgeons, patient advocates and radiation oncologists developed recommendations for clinical practice in an iterative process based on the principles of Delphi methodology.

Association of the COVID-19 outbreak with acute stroke care in Switzerland.

Background And Purpose: In Switzerland, the COVID-19 incidence during the first pandemic wave was high. Our aim was to assess the association of the outbreak with acute stroke care in Switzerland in spring 2020.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis based on the Swiss Stroke Registry, which includes consecutive patients with acute cerebrovascular events admitted to Swiss Stroke Units and Stroke Centers.

Prepectoral versus subpectoral implant-based breast reconstruction after skin-sparing mastectomy or nipple-sparing mastectomy (OPBC-02/ PREPEC): a pragmatic, multicentre, randomised, superiority trial.

Introduction: The emphasis on aesthetic outcomes and quality of life (QoL) has motivated surgeons to develop skin-sparing or nipple-sparing mastectomy (SSM/ NSM) for breast cancer treatment or prevention. During the same operation, a so-called immediate breast reconstruction is performed. The breast can be reconstructed by positioning of a breast implant above (prepectoral) or below (subpectoral) the pectoralis major muscle or by using the patients' own tissue (autologous reconstruction).

Supportive Care: Low Cost, High Value.

Supportive care aims to prevent and manage adverse effects of cancer and its treatment across the entire disease continuum. Research and clinical experience in dedicated centers have demonstrated that early appropriate supportive care interventions improve symptoms, quality of life, and overall survival in a cost-effective manner. The challenge is to assess symptoms and needs with validated tools regularly and, ideally, between clinic appointments; electronic patient-reported outcome measures and dedicated easily accessible supportive care units can help.

Frequency and anatomic distribution of arterial obstructions in patients with vasculogenic erectile dysfunction not responding to intracavernous prostaglandin.

: The extent of arterial disease in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) non-responsive to intracavernosal injection of Alprostadil is of importance for therapeutic options. However, published evidence, in particular angiographically validated is scarce. Here we investigated arterial lesion patterns in this specific patient cohort by selective angiography.

Long-term oncological and functional follow-up in low-dose-rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer: results from the prospective nationwide Swiss registry.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term oncological, functional and toxicity outcomes of low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT) in relation to risk factors and radiation dose in a prospective multicentre cohort.

Patients And Methods: Data of patients from 12 Swiss centres undergoing LDR-BT from September 2004 to March 2018 were prospectively collected. Patients with a follow-up of ≥3 months were analysed.

Incidental findings during computed tomographic angiography diagnostic work-up in patients with arteriogenic erectile dysfunction.

Aim: To analyse the incidental findings during computed tomographic angiography (CTA) diagnostic work-up in patients with arteriogenic erectile dysfunction (ED).

Patients And Methods: The medical records of all patients with suspected arteriogenic ED were entered into a database. Risk factors and underlying comorbidities were also collected.

Endovascular Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction-Who Benefits Most? Insights From a Single-Center Experience.

Purpose: To report the 1-year outcomes of a single-center, all-comers registry aimed to assess effectiveness and safety of endovascular revascularization for atherosclerotic erectile dysfunction (ED) in an unselected patient cohort.

Materials And Methods: Between April 2016 and October 2017, 50 consecutive patients (mean age 59.6±10.

Oncoplastic Breast Consortium consensus conference on nipple-sparing mastectomy.

Purpose: Indications for nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) have broadened to include the risk reducing setting and locally advanced tumors, which resulted in a dramatic increase in the use of NSM. The Oncoplastic Breast Consortium consensus conference on NSM and immediate reconstruction was held to address a variety of questions in clinical practice and research based on published evidence and expert panel opinion.

Methods: The panel consisted of 44 breast surgeons from 14 countries across four continents with a background in gynecology, general or reconstructive surgery and a practice dedicated to breast cancer, as well as a patient advocate.

Use of a stent graft in tumor erosion of the common femoral artery with life-threatening bleeding.

We report a case of a 56-year-old male patient with a life-threatening left common femoral artery bleeding due to tumor erosion. The patient had a history of advanced high-grade pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma of the left groin with pulmonary metastasis. Clinical examination revealed a massive tumor bulking at the left groin with necrosis and phleb- and lymphedema.

Are life-saving anticancer drugs reaching all patients? Patterns and discrepancies of trastuzumab use in the European Union and the USA.

Background: The development of trastuzumab is considered to be one of the greatest improvements in breast cancer treatment in recent years. This study aims to evaluate changes in the uptake of trastuzumab over the last 12 years and to determine whether its use is proportional to patient needs in the European Union and the USA.

Methods: Using national registry data, the number of new cases of HER2-positive breast cancer patients per year was estimated.

Hurdles and delays in access to anti-cancer drugs in Europe.

Demographic changes in the world population will cause a significant increase in the number of new cases of cancer. To handle this challenge, societies will need to adapt how they approach cancer prevention and treatment, with changes to the development and uptake of innovative anticancer drugs playing an important role. However, there are obstacles to implementing innovative drugs in clinical practice.

An exploratory analysis of the factors leading to delays in cancer drug reimbursement in the European Union: the trastuzumab case.

Background: The European Union (EU) has adopted a common procedure for granting marketing authorisation for cancer drugs. Nevertheless, pricing and reimbursement decisions are a competency of EU national governments, and their policies are diverse. We aimed to evaluate the time for trastuzumab reimbursement approval and its association to health expenditure, to health policy performance, to the availability of cost-effectiveness studies and to breast cancer outcome.

The dose-response relationship of peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin in the treatment of patients coinfected with HIV-HCV.

Purpose: The relationship between peginterferon/ribavirin exposure and the probability of achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR) in HIV-HCV coinfected patients is not well described. We conducted a retrospective analysis of HIV-HCV coinfected patients randomized to 48 weeks of treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a (40 kD) 180 µg/week and ribavirin 800 mg/day in the multinational APRICOT study to define optimal exposure thresholds.

Method: Actual drug exposure was estimated in 287 patients, taking into consideration dose reductions for adverse events or laboratory abnormalities.