An assessment of Prostate Cancer Research International: Active Surveillance (PRIAS) criteria for active surveillance of clinically low-risk prostate cancer patients.

Introduction: Active surveillance is a strategy to delay or prevent treatment of indolent prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Research International: Active Surveillance (PRIAS) criteria were developed to select patients for prostate cancer active surveillance. The objective of this study was to compare pathological findings from PRIAS-eligible and PRIAS-ineligible clinically low-risk prostate cancer patients.

Alcohol consumption and gastric cancer risk-A pooled analysis within the StoP project consortium.

An association between heavy alcohol drinking and gastric cancer risk has been recently reported, but the issue is still open to discussion and quantification. We investigated the role of alcohol drinking on gastric cancer risk in the "Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project," a consortium of epidemiological studies. A total of 9,669 cases and 25,336 controls from 20 studies from Europe, Asia and North America were included.

Management of Patients with Advanced Prostate Cancer: The Report of the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference APCCC 2017.

Background: In advanced prostate cancer (APC), successful drug development as well as advances in imaging and molecular characterisation have resulted in multiple areas where there is lack of evidence or low level of evidence. The Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC) 2017 addressed some of these topics.

Objective: To present the report of APCCC 2017.

Quick, efficient and effective patient-specific intensity-modulated radiation therapy quality assurance using log file and electronic portal imaging device.

Aim: The aim of work is to explore a quick, efficient, and effective patient-specific intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) quality assurance (QA).

Materials And Methods: Software tools were developed to extract and analyze the multi-leaf collimator (MLC) leaf positions (LPs) from electronic portal imaging device (EPID) images for Varian C-series machine and TrueBeam, to extract useful data from MLC log file of C-series linear accelerator (LINAC), to extract useful information from the trajectory log binary file of TrueBeam LINAC, to compare LPs derived from EPID images with log file/trajectory log data, and to analyze IMRT treatment files using the MATLAB programming language. The difference in LP determined from the trajectory log and EPID images was proposed for patient-specific QA.

Commissioning and quality assurance for VMAT delivery systems: An efficient time-resolved system using real-time EPID imaging.

Purpose: An ideal commissioning and quality assurance (QA) program for Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) delivery systems should assess the performance of each individual dynamic component as a function of gantry angle. Procedures within such a program should also be time-efficient, independent of the delivery system and be sensitive to all types of errors. The purpose of this work is to develop a system for automated time-resolved commissioning and QA of VMAT control systems which meets these criteria.

Towards a global cancer knowledge network: dissecting the current international cancer genomic sequencing landscape.

Background: While next generation sequencing has enhanced our understanding of the biological basis of malignancy, current knowledge on global practices for sequencing cancer samples is limited. To address this deficiency, we developed a survey to provide a snapshot of current sequencing activities globally, identify barriers to data sharing and use this information to develop sustainable solutions for the cancer research community.

Methods: A multi-item survey was conducted assessing demographics, clinical data collection, genomic platforms, privacy/ethics concerns, funding sources and data sharing barriers for sequencing initiatives globally.

Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression and Steroid Treatment: A Systematic Review.

Study Design: Systematic review.

Objectives: We conducted a systematic review of the literature to answer the following questions regarding the use of steroid therapy in metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC): 1. In cases of MSCC, what is the effect of steroid administration before definitive radiotherapy or surgery on ambulatory status, bowel and bladder function and survival? 2.

Failure of MIBG scan to detect metastases in SDHB-mutated pediatric metastatic pheochromocytoma.

I-meta-iodo benzyl guanidine (MIBG) scans are considered the gold standard imaging in neuroblastoma; however, flouro deoxy glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scans have increased sensitivity in adults with pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. We describe a pediatric patient initially considered to have localized neuroblastoma based on anatomical imaging and I-MIBG scan, but subsequent investigations revealed germline succinate dehydrogenase complex iron sulfur subunit B (SDHB) mutation-associated pheochromocytoma with multiple FDG-avid skeletal metastases. We then compared I-MIBG and FDG-PET scans in children with metastatic pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma.

Reporting and Staging of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors: The International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Testicular Cancer Consultation Conference Recommendations.

The International Society of Urological Pathology held a conference devoted to issues in testicular and penile pathology in Boston in March 2015, which included a presentation and discussion led by the testis microscopic features working group. This conference focused on controversies related to staging and reporting of testicular tumors and was preceded by an online survey of the International Society of Urological Pathology members. The survey results were used to initiate discussions, but decisions were made by expert consensus rather than voting.

What explains the differences between centres in the European screening trial? A simulation study.

Background: The European Randomised study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) is a multicentre, randomised screening trial on men aged 55-69 years at baseline without known prostate cancer (PrCa) at randomisation to an intervention arm invited to screening or to a control arm. The ERSPC has shown a significant 21% reduction in PrCa mortality at 13 years of follow-up. The effect of screening appears to vary across centres, for which several explanations are possible.

Adoptive transfer of ex vivo expanded Vγ9Vδ2 T cells in combination with zoledronic acid inhibits cancer growth and limits osteolysis in a murine model of osteolytic breast cancer.

Bone metastases occur in over 75% of patients with advanced breast cancer and are responsible for high levels of morbidity and mortality. In this study, ex vivo expanded cytotoxic Vγ9Vδ2 T cells isolated from human peripheral blood were tested for their anti-cancer efficacy in combination with zoledronic acid (ZOL), using a mouse model of osteolytic breast cancer. In vitro, expanded Vγ9Vδ2 T cells were cytotoxic against a panel of human breast cancer cell lines, and ZOL pre-treatment further sensitised breast cancer cells to killing by Vγ9Vδ2 T cells.

What questionnaires to use when measuring quality of life in sacral tumor patients: the updated sacral tumor survey.

Background Context: Patient-reported outcomes are becoming increasingly important when investigating results of patient and disease management. In sacral tumor, the symptoms of patients can vary substantially; therefore, no single questionnaire can adequately account for the full spectrum of symptoms and disability.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze redundancy within the current sacral tumor survey and make a recommendation for an updated version based on the results and patient and expert opinions.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations: an uncharacterised phenotype of dyskeratosis congenita and related telomere biology disorders.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations are under-recognized in telomere biology disorders and present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.

Cigarette smoking and gastric cancer in the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project.

Tobacco smoking is a known cause of gastric cancer, but several aspects of the association remain imprecisely quantified. We examined the relation between cigarette smoking and the risk of gastric cancer using a uniquely large dataset of 23 epidemiological studies within the 'Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project', including 10 290 cases and 26 145 controls. We estimated summary odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by pooling study-specific ORs using random-effects models.

Preoperative Membranous Urethral Length Measurement and Continence Recovery Following Radical Prostatectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Context: Membranous urethral length (MUL) measured prior to radical prostatectomy (RP) has been identified as a factor that is associated with the recovery of continence following surgery.

Objective: To undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of all studies reporting the effect of MUL on the recovery of continence following RP.

Evidence Acquisition: A comprehensive search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus databases up to September 2015 was performed.

METastasis Reporting and Data System for Prostate Cancer: Practical Guidelines for Acquisition, Interpretation, and Reporting of Whole-body Magnetic Resonance Imaging-based Evaluations of Multiorgan Involvement in Advanced Prostate Cancer.

Context: Comparative reviews of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (CT; with different radiotracers) have shown that metastasis detection in advanced cancers is more accurate than with currently used CT and bone scans. However, the ability of WB-MRI and positron emission tomography/CT to assess therapeutic benefits has not been comprehensively evaluated. There is also considerable variability in the availability and quality of WB-MRI, which is an impediment to clinical development.

How Does the Level of Nerve Root Resection in En Bloc Sacrectomy Influence Patient-Reported Outcomes?

Background: For patients with sacral tumors, who are well enough for surgery, en bloc resection is the preferred treatment. Survival, postoperative complications, and recurrent rates have been described, but patient-reported outcomes often are not included in these studies.

Questions/purposes: The purposes of this study were (1) to compare patient-reported outcomes after en bloc sacrectomy, based on the level of sacral nerve root resection, in terms of mental health, physical health, bowel function, and sexual function; and (2) to assess differences in terms of mental health, physical health, and pain between patients with and without a colostomy.

D25V apolipoprotein C-III variant causes dominant hereditary systemic amyloidosis and confers cardiovascular protective lipoprotein profile.

Apolipoprotein C-III deficiency provides cardiovascular protection, but apolipoprotein C-III is not known to be associated with human amyloidosis. Here we report a form of amyloidosis characterized by renal insufficiency caused by a new apolipoprotein C-III variant, D25V. Despite their uremic state, the D25V-carriers exhibit low triglyceride (TG) and apolipoprotein C-III levels, and low very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)/high high-density lipoprotein (HDL) profile.

Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Prostate Cancer Screening: A Pilot Study Within the Göteborg Randomised Screening Trial.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and targeted biopsies (TB) have shown potential to more accurately detect significant prostate cancer compared with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and systematic biopsies (SB).

Objective: To compare sequential screening (PSA+MRI) with conventional PSA screening.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Of 384 attendees in the 10th screening round of the Göteborg randomised screening trial, 124 men, median age 69.