Impact of sex hormones on pheochromocytomas, paragangliomas, and gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Objective: The effects of sex hormones remain largely unexplored in pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) and gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

Methods: We evaluated the effects of estradiol, progesterone, Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and testosterone on human patient-derived PPGL/GEP-NET primary culture cell viability (n = 38/n = 12), performed next-generation sequencing and immunohistochemical hormone receptor analysis in patient-derived PPGL tumor tissues (n = 36).

Results: In PPGLs, estradiol and progesterone (1 µm) demonstrated overall significant antitumor effects with the strongest efficacy in PPGLs with NF1 (cluster 2) pathogenic variants.

First Experiences with Fusion of PET-CT and MRI Datasets for Navigation-Assisted Percutaneous Biopsies for Primary and Metastatic Bone Tumors.

The aim of this study was to compare the technique of navigation-assisted biopsy based on fused PET and MRI datasets to CT-guided biopsies in terms of the duration of the procedure, radiation dose, complication rate, and accuracy of the biopsy, particularly in anatomically complex regions. Between 2019 and 2022, retrospectively collected data included all navigated biopsies and CT-guided biopsies of suspected primary bone tumors or solitary metastases. Navigation was based on preoperative CT, PET-CT/-MRI, and MRI datasets, and tumor biopsies were performed using intraoperative 3D imaging combined with a navigation system.

Determinants of perceived patient benefit in a longitudinal cohort study of patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) should be used to assess treatment success in psoriasis (PSO). However, the DLQI does not assess the importance and achievement of treatment goals. The Patient Benefit Index (PBI) is a questionnaire that takes both into account.

The sarcoma ring trial: a case-based analysis of inter-center agreement across 21 German-speaking sarcoma centers.

Purpose: The management of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) at reference centers with specialized multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTB) improves patient survival. The German Cancer Society (DKG) certifies sarcoma centers in German-speaking countries, promoting high standards of care. This study investigated the variability in treatment recommendations for localized STS across different German-speaking tertiary sarcoma centers.

Broth microdilution protocol for determining antimicrobial susceptibility of Legionella pneumophila to clinically relevant antimicrobials.

Currently there is no detailed, internationally agreed protocol defined to evaluate antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for Legionella pneumophila (required to establish epidemiological cut-off value or "ECOFF" boundaries); therefore, antimicrobial resistance in these isolates cannot be defined. AST methods utilising media containing activated charcoal as an ingredient, to enable Legionella growth, are unreliable as noted in an internationally authored opinion paper and a new gold standard is required. Here we define a detailed protocol for broth microdilution (BMD) using defined cell culture collection-deposited control reference strains (Philadelphia-1 and Knoxville-1) as well as two accessible reference strains with moderately (lpeAB-carrying) and markedly (23S rRNA mutation-carrying) elevated azithromycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).

Optimized for routine: highly sensitive fluorescent Telomeric Repeat Amplification Protocol (f-TRAP).

The strict suppression of telomerase activity (TA) in terminally differentiated human cells causes a shortening of the chromosome ends after each cell division. This tumor suppression surveillance mechanism is associated with a limited number of cell divisions known as Hayflick limit. Here we present an optimized protocol for measuring TA that combines a fluorescently labeled bait primer and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with analytical capillary electrophoresis (CE) to achieve a detection limit of one telomerase-positive cell per ten thousand negative cells.

Challenging Situations in the Treatment of Cancer-Associated Thrombosis.

Cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) is a common clinical problem in the treatment of cancer patients posing some unique challenges. These include the need to balance between the risk of recurrent thromboembolic events and bleeding complications in the individual cancer patient. A frequently encountered dilemma is the need for long-term anticoagulation in the setting of active malignancy.

Navigating the Spectrum: Assessing the Concordance of ML-Based AI Findings with Radiology in Chest X-Rays in Clinical Settings.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into radiology aims to improve diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, particularly in settings with limited access to expert radiologists and in times of personnel shortage. However, challenges such as insufficient validation in actual real-world settings or automation bias should be addressed before implementing AI software in clinical routine. This cross-sectional study in a maximum care hospital assesses the concordance between diagnoses made by a commercial AI-based software and conventional radiological methods augmented by AI for four major thoracic pathologies in chest X-ray: fracture, pleural effusion, pulmonary nodule and pneumonia.

Position Paper of the German Society for Interventional Radiology and Minimally Invasive Therapy (DeGIR) and the German Roentgen Society (DRG) on Structural and Professional Requirements in Interventional Oncology.

Interventional oncology (IO) employs various techniques to enable minimally invasive, image-guided treatment of tumor diseases with both curative and palliative goals. Additionally, it significantly contributes to managing tumor-related and perioperative complications, offering diverse supportive procedures for patients at all stages of their diseases. The execution of IO procedures places unique demands on the equipment, personnel, and structural organization of radiological clinics, necessitating specific expertise from interventional radiologists.

Germline variants of homology-directed repair or mismatch repair genes in cervical cancer.

While cervical cancer is associated with a persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, the progression to cancer is influenced by genomic risk factors that have remained largely obscure. Pathogenic variants in genes of the homology-directed repair (HDR) or mismatch repair (MMR) are known to predispose to diverse tumour entities including breast and ovarian cancer (HDR) or colon and endometrial cancer (MMR). We here investigate the spectrum of HDR and MMR germline variants in cervical cancer, with particular focus on the HPV status and histological subgroups.

Experience Matters: Impact on Technical Success and Complication Rate in Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage.

Rationale And Objectives: To investigate factors influencing the success and complication rate of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD).

Materials And Methods: PTBD procedures between 2017 and 2022 were enrolled retrospectively. Success rate, complications, and technical considerations were compared using Mann-Whitney U-, X-, and Fishers exact tests.

The implications of measuring lipoprotein(a) in clinical practice.

Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is a well-recognized causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and calcific aortic valve stenosis. There are ongoing challenges with screening and management in primary and secondary prevention; however, future recommendations for clinical practice await the outcomes of clinical trials that are in progress.

Synovial fluid D-lactate - a pathogen-specific biomarker for septic arthritis: a prospective multicenter study.

Objectives: The performance of synovial fluid biomarker D-lactate to diagnose septic arthritis (SA) and differentiate it from crystal-induced arthritis (CA), other non-infectious rheumatic joint diseases (RD) and osteoarthrosis (OA) was evaluated.

Methods: Consecutive adult patients undergoing synovial fluid aspiration due to joint pain were prospectively included in different German and Swiss centers. Synovial fluid was collected for culture, leukocyte count and differentiation, detection of crystals, and D-lactate concentration.

Subcutaneous infliximab in Crohn's disease patients with previous immunogenic failure of intravenous infliximab.

Purpose: Immunogenicity is a major reason for secondary loss of response to infliximab (IFX). Recent work suggested potentially lower immunogenicity of subcutaneous (SC) compared to intravenous (IV) IFX. However, it is unknown whether re-exposure to IFX SC after secondary loss of response and immunogenicity to its intravenous formulation is safe and effective.

Comprehensive sequential genetic analysis delineating frequency, patterns, and prognostic impact of genomic dynamics in a real-world cohort of patients with lower-risk MDS.

The acquisition of subsequent genetic lesions (clonal evolution, CE) and/or the expansion of existing clones (CEXP) contributes to clonal dynamics (CD) in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Although CD plays an important role in high-risk patients in disease progression and transformation into acute myeloid leukemia (AML), knowledge about CD in lower-risk MDS (LR-MDS) patients is limited due to lack of robust longitudinal data considering the long clinically stable courses of the disease. In this retrospective analysis, we delineate the frequency and the prognostic impact of CD in an unselected real-world cohort of LR-MDS patients.

Axolotl mandible regeneration occurs through mechanical gap closure and a shared regenerative program with the limb.

The mandible plays an essential part in human life and, thus, defects in this structure can dramatically impair the quality of life in patients. Axolotls, unlike humans, are capable of regenerating their lower jaws; however, the underlying mechanisms and their similarities to those in limb regeneration are unknown. In this work, we used morphological, histological and transcriptomic approaches to analyze the regeneration of lateral resection defects in the axolotl mandible.

A Database Tool Integrating Genomic and Pharmacologic Data from Adrenocortical Carcinoma Cell Lines, PDX, and Patient Samples.

Unlabelled: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and highly heterogeneous disease with a notably poor prognosis due to significant challenges in diagnosis and treatment. Emphasizing on the importance of precision medicine, there is an increasing need for comprehensive genomic resources alongside well-developed experimental models to devise personalized therapeutic strategies. We present ACC_CellMinerCDB, a substantive genomic and drug sensitivity database (available at https://discover.

Converging deep learning and human-observed tumor-adipocyte interaction as a biomarker in colorectal cancer.

Background: Tumor-Adipose-Feature (TAF) as well as SARIFA (Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas) are two histologic features/biomarkers linking tumor-associated adipocytes to poor outcomes in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Whereas TAF was identified by deep learning (DL) algorithms, SARIFA was established as a human-observed histopathologic biomarker.

Methods: To study the overlap between TAF and SARIFA, we performed a systematic pathological review of TAF based on all published image tiles.