The Co-IMPACT Consortium: Integrating Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography and Radiotherapy in Prostate Cancer Care.

The Co-IMPACT consortium addresses knowledge gaps in prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography-guided radiotherapy for prostate cancer by establishing a global database (46 centres from 16 countries) to standardise and analyse data across four distinguished clinical scenarios. A collaborative model with the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference aligns urgent clinical needs with actionable research insights.

Choice of activation protocol impacts the yield and quality of CAR T cell product, particularly with older individuals.

Objectives: In clinical chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, one of the strongest correlates of favorable patient responses is lower levels of differentiation in T cells from the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) starting material or the CAR T cell product. T cells from older patients are inherently more differentiated, but we hypothesised that specific activation protocols could be used to limit CAR T cell differentiation during manufacturing, particularly in older patients.

Methods: We used PBMCs from young (20-30 years old) and older (60+ years old) healthy donors to generate CAR T cells using two activation protocols: soluble anti-(α) CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) immune complexes of αCD3 and αCD28 mAbs.

Bleeding us dry: The financial impact of full blood examinations in the immediate postoperative period.

Introduction And Objectives: Full blood examinations, often referred to as FBE, are commonly ordered postoperatively, despite limited utility in many of its markers in the acute phase. It is estimated that in the 2022-2023 financial year, the Australian healthcare system billed over $13 million for full blood examinations (FBEs) to Medicare. This study aims to assess the cost of using FBE following surgery.

Biomarkers to predict and diagnose pulmonary complications in children post haematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Objectives: Haematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is a cellular therapy for a group of high-risk children with cancer, immunodeficiency and metabolic disorders. Whilst curative for a child's underlying condition, HCT has significant risks associated, including lung injury. These complications are associated with increased post HCT mortality and require improved methods of risk stratification, diagnosis and treatment.

Pulmonary complications post allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant in children.

Objectives: Haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) is a cellular therapy that, whilst curative for a child's underlying disease, carries significant risk of mortality, including because of pulmonary complications. The aims of this study were to describe the burden of pulmonary complications post-HCT in a cohort of Australian children and identify risk factors for the development of these complications.

Methods: Patients were identified from the HCT databases at two paediatric transplant centres in Australia.

Radiation-induced angiosarcoma-An unusual cause of recurrent pleural effusion.

Although rare, radiotherapy can induce secondary malignancies, such as radiation-induced angiosarcoma (RIAS), which is associated with a poor prognosis. Early detection is crucial for improving outcomes. The modified Cahan criteria are instrumental in diagnosing RIAS, which is ultimately confirmed through histological examination.

A case for the use of chemotherapy in hereditary mitochondrial optic neuropathies: Successful administration of cisplatin/etoposide in a male patient with testicular seminoma and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy.

We report on the successful use of chemotherapy for treatment of stage 2B testicular seminoma in a carrier of the Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy 11778 mitochondrial mutation. Neurotoxic chemotherapy may not prompt disease conversion.

Spontaneous omental infarction as a rare differential for right iliac fossa pain: A case report and review of the literature.

Omental infarction is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain, often benign and self-limiting. The significance of infarction lies in the fact that it can mimic other abdominal pathologies including appendicitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, or reflux disease. Diagnostic laparoscopy provides the definitive diagnosis of omental infarction, but it is invasive and limited due to resources.

Poor outcomes for trial-ineligible patients receiving polatuzumab for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in routine care: An Australian Lymphoma and Related Diseases Registry project.

Polatuzumab vedotin (Pola) is an approved therapy in combination with rituximab and bendamustine for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (RR-DLBCL) based on positive results of the landmark phase II randomised G029365 trial. However, trial results for many approved novel therapies in RR-DLBCL have not been replicated in routine care cohorts, as RR-DLBCL patient populations are heterogeneous and trial eligibility is increasingly restrictive. We evaluated outcomes from pola ± bendamustine and rituximab in patients with RR-DLBCL enrolled in a compassionate access program with no alternative treatment options identified via the Australasian Lymphoma and Related Diseases Registry according to their eligibility for the original phase II published study.

CD4 T cell immunity against cutaneous melanoma encompasses multifaceted MHC II-dependent responses.

Whereas CD4 T cells conventionally mediate antitumor immunity by providing help to CD8 T cells, recent clinical studies have implied an important role for cytotoxic CD4 T cells in cancer immunity. Using an orthotopic melanoma model, we provide a detailed account of antitumoral CD4 T cell responses and their regulation by major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II) in the skin. Intravital imaging revealed prominent interactions of CD4 T cells with tumor debris-laden MHC II host antigen-presenting cells that accumulated around tumor cell nests, although direct recognition of MHC II melanoma cells alone could also promote CD4 T cell control.

Co-designing an online treatment decision aid for men with low-risk prostate cancer: Navigate.

Objectives: To develop an online treatment decision aid (OTDA) to assist patients with low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC) and their partners in making treatment decisions.

Patients And Methods: , an OTDA for LRPC, was rigorously co-designed by patients with a confirmed diagnosis or at risk of LRPC and their partners, clinicians, researchers and website designers/developers. A theoretical model guided the development process.

Intravenous methadone in the management of acute postoperative pain in a chronic cancer pain patient: A case report and review of the literature.

Key Clinical Message: The current landscape of literature highlights that there is insufficient well-powered and robust evidence to support the integration of intravenous methadone into current guidelines and frameworks in supporting the pain management of cancer patient with complex pain syndromes. However, there is preliminary evidence, both from the literature as well as this case study that highlights intravenous methadone may be efficaciously and safety used for the management of postoperative pain in cancer patients with chronic pain undergoing operative management. Further research is required to fully elucidate key considerations of integrating this medication into clinical practice including consideration into dosing, opioid conversion, tolerance, and safety.

Persistence of tandem duplications in remission in acute myeloid leukaemia.

tandem duplications are recurrent in adult and paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia and have been reported to be associated with a poor prognosis. Co-mutations in and are common while morphological dysplasia is frequent. The role of UBTF-TDs in leukemogenesis is yet to be elucidated; however they have been proposed as early initiating events, making them attractive for assessment of MRD and a potential therapeutic target.

Assessing the quality of care for people dying of cancer in hospital: development of the QualDeath framework.

Objective High-quality end-of-life care involves addressing patients' physical, psychosocial, cultural and spiritual needs. Although the measurement of the quality of care associated with dying and death is an important component of health care, there is a lack of evidence-based, systematic processes to examine the quality of dying and death of patients in hospital settings. Our purpose was to develop a systematic appraisal framework (QualDeath) for reviewing the quality of dying and death for patients with advanced cancer.

The Psychological and Wellbeing Impacts of Quarantine on Frontline Workers during COVID-19 and Beyond.

Objective: The current study investigated the experiences, wellbeing impacts, and coping strategies of frontline workers who participated in "Hotels for Heroes", an Australian voluntary hotel quarantine program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was open to those who were COVID-19 positive or exposed to COVID-19 as part of their profession.

Methods: Frontline workers who had stayed in voluntary quarantine between April 2020 and March 2021 were invited to participate in a voluntary, anonymous, cross-sectional online survey including both quantitative and qualitative responses.

Estrogen receptor beta expression in triple negative breast cancers is not associated with recurrence or survival.

Background: Triple negative BCa (TNBC) is defined by a lack of expression of estrogen (ERα), progesterone (PgR) receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) as assessed by protein expression and/or gene amplification. It makes up ~ 15% of all BCa and often has a poor prognosis. TNBC is not treated with endocrine therapies as ERα and PR negative tumors in general do not show benefit.

Factors associated with polyacrylamide hydrogel outcomes in women with stress urinary incontinence.

Knowledge of factors associated with superior outcomes in women treated with urethral bulking agents for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) remains limited. The aim of this study was to examine associations between post-treatment outcomes in women who had undergone polyacrylamide hydrogel injections for SUI, and physiological and self-reported variables captured during pre-treatment clinical evaluation. A cross-sectional study was undertaken in female patients treated for SUI with polyacrylamide hydrogel injections by a single urologist between January 2012 and December 2019.

Prospective comprehensive profiling of immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination in patients on zanubrutinib therapy.

Zanubrutinib-treated and treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia were recruited in this prospective study to comprehensively profile humoral and cellular immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination. Overall, 45 patients (median 72 years old) were recruited; the majority were male (71%), had CLL (76%) and were on zanubrutinib (78%). Seroconversion rates were 65% and 77% following two and three doses, respectively.

Asystole following spinal anaesthesia: the hazards of intrinsic cardiac reflexes.

Unwanted initiation of intrinsic cardiac reflexes can precipitate bradycardia and cardiac arrest after spinal anaesthesia. We report the case of a 40-year-old man who suffered sudden asystolic cardiac arrest following spinal anaesthesia prior to planned abdominal surgery, likely due to the initiation of one or more intrinsic cardiac reflexes including the Bezold-Jarisch reflex, the reverse Bainbridge reflex and the pacemaker stretch reflex. The characteristics of this patient placed him at increased risk of this underappreciated cause of bradycardia and hypotension.

Cribriform pattern disease over-represented in pelvic lymph node metastases identified on GA PSMA-PET/CT.

Objectives: To determine whether any specific histologic subtype of prostate cancer was preferentially represented in pelvic lymph node metastases identified on GA-PSMA-PET/CT.

Subjects And Methods: A consecutive series of 66 men with biochemical recurrent prostate cancer was evaluated with GA-PSMA-PET/CT. Where disease was confined to pelvic lymph nodes, patients were offered salvage extended pelvic lymph node dissection.