Patient-provider communication during second opinion consultations in oncology.

Objective: Providing a second opinion (SO) in oncology is complex, and communication during SOs remains poorly understood. This study aimed to systematically observe how patients and oncologists communicate about SO-specific topics (i.e.

Penile Rehabilitation and Treatment Options for Erectile Dysfunction Following Radical Prostatectomy and Radiotherapy: A Systematic Review.

After radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction (ED) is the main complication next to urinary incontinence, affecting quality of life. The pathophysiology of ED after these treatments is believed to include neuropraxia causing reduced oxygenation and structural changes of the tissue in the corpora cavernosa. Next to the option of sparing the nerves during RP, research has been focusing on methods for penile rehabilitation after RP and RT, since it occurs often, even after nerve-sparing techniques were used.

Individual patient data meta-analysis of prophylactic cranial irradiation in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) was compared to observation in several randomized trials (RCTs), and a reduction greater than 50% was shown regarding the incidence of brain metastases (BM). However, none of these studies showed an improvement of overall survival (OS), possibly related to relatively small sample sizes and short follow-up. The aim of this meta-analysis was therefore to assess the impact of PCI on long term OS for stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to observation based on the pooled updated individual patient RCT data.

Incidence, Survival, and Mortality Trends of Cancers Diagnosed in Adolescents and Young Adults (15-39 Years): A Population-Based Study in The Netherlands 1990-2016.

Adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients, aged 15-39 years at primary cancer diagnosis, form a distinct, understudied, and underserved group in cancer care. This study aimed to assess long-term trends in incidence, survival, and mortality of AYA cancer patients within the Netherlands. Data on all malignant AYA tumours diagnosed between 1990-2016 ( = 95,228) were obtained from the Netherlands Cancer Registry.

Dutch Oncology COVID-19 consortium: Outcome of COVID-19 in patients with cancer in a nationwide cohort study.

Aim Of The Study: Patients with cancer might have an increased risk for severe outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To identify risk factors associated with a worse outcome of COVID-19, a nationwide registry was developed for patients with cancer and COVID-19.

Methods: This observational cohort study has been designed as a quality of care registry and is executed by the Dutch Oncology COVID-19 Consortium (DOCC), a nationwide collaboration of oncology physicians in the Netherlands.

Androgen receptor signalling in macrophages promotes TREM-1-mediated prostate cancer cell line migration and invasion.

The androgen receptor (AR) is the master regulator of prostate cancer (PCa) development, and inhibition of AR signalling is the most effective PCa treatment. AR is expressed in PCa cells and also in the PCa-associated stroma, including infiltrating macrophages. Macrophages have a decisive function in PCa initiation and progression, but the role of AR in macrophages remains largely unexplored.

Cost-Effectiveness of Surgery Versus Organ Preservation in Advanced Laryngeal Cancer.

Objective: Treatment decision-making for patients with laryngeal cancer consists of a complex trade-off between survival and quality of life. For decision makers on coverage and guidelines, costs come in addition to this equation. Our aim was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of surgery (laryngectomy with or without radiotherapy) versus organ preservation (OP: radiotherapy, chemo- and/or bioradiation) in advanced laryngeal cancer patients from a healthcare perspective.

Reducing uncertainty: motivations and consequences of seeking a second opinion in oncology.

Background: Cancer patients increasingly seek second opinion (SO) consultations, but there is scarce empirical evidence to substantiate medical and psychological benefits for patients. This is the first study to examine patient- and oncologist-reported (1) motivations and expectations of patients to seek a SO, (2) the perceived medical outcome, and (3) psychological consequences of SOs over time (i.e.

From community-acquired pneumonia to COVID-19: a deep learning-based method for quantitative analysis of COVID-19 on thick-section CT scans.

Objective: To develop a fully automated AI system to quantitatively assess the disease severity and disease progression of COVID-19 using thick-section chest CT images.

Methods: In this retrospective study, an AI system was developed to automatically segment and quantify the COVID-19-infected lung regions on thick-section chest CT images. Five hundred thirty-one CT scans from 204 COVID-19 patients were collected from one appointed COVID-19 hospital.

Artificial intelligence for breast cancer detection in mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis: State of the art.

Screening for breast cancer with mammography has been introduced in various countries over the last 30 years, initially using analog screen-film-based systems and, over the last 20 years, transitioning to the use of fully digital systems. With the introduction of digitization, the computer interpretation of images has been a subject of intense interest, resulting in the introduction of computer-aided detection (CADe) and diagnosis (CADx) algorithms in the early 2000's. Although they were introduced with high expectations, the potential improvement in the clinical realm failed to materialize, mostly due to the high number of false positive marks per analyzed image.

Evaluating the Age-Based Recommendations for Long-Term Follow-Up in Breast Cancer.

Background: After 5 years of annual follow-up following breast cancer, Dutch guidelines are age based: annual follow-up for women <60 years, 60-75 years biennial, and none for >75 years. We determined how the risk of recurrence corresponds to these consensus-based recommendations and to the risk of primary breast cancer in the general screening population.

Subjects, Materials, And Methods: Women with early-stage breast cancer in 2003/2005 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (n = 18,568).

Fecal Volatile Organic Compound Profiles are Not Influenced by Gestational Age and Mode of Delivery: A Longitudinal Multicenter Cohort Study.

Fecal volatile organic compounds (VOC) reflect human and gut microbiota metabolic pathways and their interaction. VOC behold potential as non-invasive preclinical diagnostic biomarkers in various diseases, e.g.

Stand-alone artificial intelligence - The future of breast cancer screening?

Although computers have had a role in interpretation of mammograms for at least two decades, their impact on performance has not lived up to expectations. However, in the last five years, the field of medical image analysis has undergone a revolution due to the introduction of deep learning convolutional neural networks - a form of artificial intelligence (AI). Because of their considerably higher performance compared to conventional computer aided detection methods, these AI algorithms have resulted in renewed interest in their potential for interpreting breast images in stand-alone mode.

Characteristics and Outcome of -Mutant Breast Cancer Defined through AACR Project GENIE, a Clinicogenomic Registry.

AKT inhibitors have promising activity in -mutant estrogen receptor (ER)-positive metastatic breast cancer, but the natural history of this rare genomic subtype remains unknown. Utilizing AACR Project GENIE, an international clinicogenomic data-sharing consortium, we conducted a comparative analysis of clinical outcomes of patients with matched -mutant ( = 153) and -wild-type ( = 302) metastatic breast cancer. -mutant cases had similar adjusted overall survival (OS) compared with -wild-type controls (median OS, 24.

Phase Ib/II trial testing combined radiofrequency ablation and ipilimumab in uveal melanoma (SECIRA-UM).

Approximately, 50% of patients with uveal melanoma develop distant metastasis for which no standard therapy is established. In contrast to cutaneous melanoma, the anti-CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab showed no clinical activity in uveal melanoma. Liver directed therapies improve local control, but fail to show overall survival (OS) benefit.

CAF Subpopulations: A New Reservoir of Stromal Targets in Pancreatic Cancer.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are one of the most significant components in the tumour microenvironment (TME), where they can perform several protumourigenic functions. Several studies have recently reported that CAFs are more heterogenous and plastic than was previously thought. As such, there has been a shift in the field to study CAF subpopulations and the emergent functions of these subsets in tumourigenesis.

Health-related quality of life after prophylactic cranial irradiation for stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients: Results from the NVALT-11/DLCRG-02 phase III study.

Background And Purpose: The NVALT-11/DLCRG-02 phase III trial (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01282437) showed that, after standard curative intent treatment, prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) decreased the incidence of symptomatic brain metastases (BM) in stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients compared to observation. In this study we assessed the impact of PCI on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Facilities that make the PDB data collection more powerful.

We describe a series of databases and tools that directly or indirectly support biomedical research on macromolecules, with focus on their applicability in protein structure bioinformatics research. DSSP, that determines secondary structures of proteins, has been updated to work well with extremely large structures in multiple formats. The PDBREPORT database that lists anomalies in protein structures has been remade to remove many small problems.

Evaluation of acute esophageal radiation-induced damage using magnetic resonance imaging: a feasibility study in mice.

Background: Thoracic and head and neck cancer radiation therapy (RT) can cause damage to nearby healthy organs such as the esophagus, causing acute radiation-induced esophageal damage (ARIED). A non-invasive method to detect and monitor ARIED can facilitate optimizing RT to avoid ARIED while improving local tumor control. Current clinical guidelines are limited to scoring the esophageal damage based on the symptoms of patients.

High-throughput compound screen reveals mTOR inhibitors as potential therapeutics to reduce (auto)antibody production by human plasma cells.

Antibody production by the B cell compartment is a crucial part of the adaptive immune response. Dysregulated antibody production in the form of autoantibodies can cause autoimmune disease. To date, B-cell depletion with anti-CD20 antibodies is commonly applied in autoimmunity, but pre-existing plasma cells are not eliminated in this way.

Association Between Pembrolizumab-related Adverse Events and Treatment Outcome in Advanced Melanoma: Results From the Dutch Expanded Access Program.

Toxicity of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as ipilimumab and nivolumab is likely associated with clinical efficacy. In this study, we aim to evaluate this association for pembrolizumab. To this end, data of 147 patients included in the Dutch cohort of the Pembrolizumab Expanded Access Program were collected.

SCAF4 and SCAF8, mRNA Anti-Terminator Proteins.

Accurate regulation of mRNA termination is required for correct gene expression. Here, we describe a role for SCAF4 and SCAF8 as anti-terminators, suppressing the use of early, alternative polyadenylation (polyA) sites. The SCAF4/8 proteins bind the hyper-phosphorylated RNAPII C-terminal repeat domain (CTD) phosphorylated on both Ser2 and Ser5 and are detected at early, alternative polyA sites.