Predictive Biomarkers for Endocrine Therapy: Retrospective Study in Tamoxifen and Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational (TEAM) Trial.

Background: Aromatase inhibitors improve disease-free survival compared with tamoxifen in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The Tamoxifen and Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational (TEAM) trial compared exemestane monotherapy with sequential therapy of tamoxifen followed by exemestane. The trial failed to show a statistically significant difference between treatment arms.

Impact of age on breast cancer mortality and competing causes of death at 10 years follow-up in the adjuvant TEAM trial.

Aim: Due to increasing life expectancy, patients with breast cancer remain at risk of dying due to breast cancer over a long time. This study aims to assess the impact of age on breast cancer mortality and other cause mortality 10 years after diagnosis.

Methods: Postmenopausal patients with hormone-receptor positive breast cancer were included in the Tamoxifen and Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational (TEAM) trial between 2001 and 2006.

Inherently Radiopaque Narrow-Size-Calibrated Microspheres: Proof of Principle in a Pig Embolization Model.

Purpose: To investigate radiopacity, size and size calibration, morphology, and vascular distribution of inherently radiopaque microspheres in vitro and in a pig embolization model.

Materials And Methods: We compared three types of microspheres: DCBead™ (size 100-300 µm) and Embozene™ (250 µm) as clinically established microspheres, and the prototype Visible (250 µm) that contains additional radiopaque material. Size and size calibration of microspheres were examined by laser diffraction.

Development of a Polymer-Based Biodegradable Neurovascular Stent Prototype: A Preliminary In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

Biodegradable stents are not established in neurovascular interventions. In this study, mechanical, radiological, and histological characteristics of a stent prototype developed for neurovascular use are presented. The elasticity and brittleness of PLA 96/4, PLDL 70/30, PCL, and PLGA 85/15 and 10/90 polymers in in vitro experiments are first analyzed.

Molecular endoscopic imaging in cancer.

Cancer is one of the major causes of death in both the USA and Europe. Molecular imaging is a novel field that is revolutionizing cancer management. It is based on the molecular signature of cells in order to study the human body both in normal and diseased conditions.

A 6-month open-label extension study of the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous belimumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective To evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of subcutaneous (SC) belimumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) beyond 1 year. Methods This was a 24-week, open-label extension following a 52-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of belimumab SC. Patients who completed the double-blind phase were eligible to enter the open-label phase.

Cecal Resection with Bipolar Sealing Devices in a Rat Model.

: Bipolar sealing devices are routinely used to seal blood vessels. The aim of the study is to evaluate the feasibility and safety of colonic sealing with the use of the bipolar energy devices in rats as model for experimental appendectomy. : Seventy-five male Wistar rats underwent a cecal resection with four different bipolar sealing devices or a linear stapler.

Widespread expression of perilipin 5 in normal human tissues and in diseases is restricted to distinct lipid droplet subpopulations.

Diseases associated with the accumulation of lipid droplets are increasing in western countries. Lipid droplet biogenesis, structure and degradation are regulated by proteins of the perilipin family. Perilipin 5 has been shown to regulate basal lipolysis in oxidative tissues.

Three-years outcomes of diabetic patients treated with coronary bioresorbable scaffolds.

Background: Diabetes is among the strongest predictors of outcome after coronary artery stenting and the incidence of negative outcomes is still high in this specific group. Data of long-term outcomes comparing diabetic patients with non-diabetic patients treated with bioresorbable scaffolds are still incomplete. This work evaluates the long-term outcomes after implantation of a coronary bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) in diabetic patients compared to non-diabetics.

High psychosocial burden in relatives of malignant brain tumor patients.

Objective: Not only tumor patients suffer enormously from their disease, also the caregivers are massively affected by the disease of their relatives. In this study, we investigate the psychological burden in caregivers of outpatient malignant brain tumor patients.

Patients And Methods: Fifty caregivers of patients with primary malignant brain tumors were included in our study.

Obesity exacerbates colitis-associated cancer via IL-6-regulated macrophage polarisation and CCL-20/CCR-6-mediated lymphocyte recruitment.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide in which the vast majority of cases exhibit little genetic risk but are associated with a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Although the mechanisms underlying CRC and colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) remain unclear, we hypothesised that obesity-induced inflammation predisposes to CAC development. Here, we show that diet-induced obesity accelerates chemically-induced CAC in mice via increased inflammation and immune cell recruitment.

Lung allocation score: the Eurotransplant model versus the revised US model - a cross-sectional study.

Both Eurotransplant (ET) and the US use the lung allocation score (LAS) to allocate donor lungs. In 2015, the US implemented a new algorithm for calculating the score while ET has fine-tuned the original model using business rules. A comparison of both models in a contemporary patient cohort was performed.

Opioid Rotation in Cancer Pain Treatment.

Background: Rotating several different WHO level III opioid drugs is a therapeutic option for patients with chronic cancer-related pain who suffer from inadequate analgesia and/or intolerable side effects. The evidence favoring opioid rotation is controversial, and the current guidelines in Germany and other countries contain only weak recommendations for it.

Methods: This review is based on pertinent publications retrieved by a systematic review of the literature on opioid rotation for adult patients with chronic cancerrelated pain who are regularly taking WHO level III opioids by the oral or trans - dermal route.

Current concepts in cleft care: A multicenter analysis.

The current surgical techniques used in cleft repair are well established, but different centers use different approaches. To determine the best treatment for patients, a multi-center comparative study is required. In this study, we surveyed all craniofacial departments registered with the German Society of Maxillofacial Surgery to determine which cleft repair techniques are currently in use.

Acceptance of Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer in Germany: A Survey of Current Practice.

Background: Guidelines support the use of neoadjuvant (NAC) and adjuvant (AC) chemotherapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, data from North America reported the underutilization of NAC in favor of AC despite the lower level of scientific evidence supporting AC. We aimed to assess current practice patterns of NAC and AC in -Germany.

Contact force facilitates the achievement of an unexcitable ablation line during pulmonary vein isolation.

Aims: Contact force (CF) catheters provide catheter-tissue contact information to improve outcome of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). We evaluated different target-CF values for achievement of the additional endpoint of an unexcitable ablation line.

Methods: A total of 106 patients undergoing PVI were randomized into three groups (G) (G1: target-CF 15 g, G2: target-CF 10 g, G3: CF concealed from operator).

Deep brain stimulation of the supero-lateral branch of the medial forebrain bundle does not lead to changes in personality in patients suffering from severe depression.

Background: Reports of changes in patients' social behavior during deep brain stimulation (DBS) raised the question whether DBS induces changes in personality. This study explored if (1) DBS is associated with changes in personality in patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression (TRD), (2) how personality dimensions and depression are associated, and (3) if TRD patients' self-ratings of personality are valid.

Methods: TRD patients were assessed before DBS (n = 30), 6 months (t2, n = 21), 2 (t3, n = 17) and 5 years (t4, n = 11) after the initiation of DBS of the supero-lateral branch of the medial forebrain bundle (slMFB-DBS).

Polyneuropathies.

Background: Polyneuropathies (peripheral neuropathies) are the most common type of disorder of the peripheral nervous system in adults, and specifically in the elderly, with an estimated prevalence of 5-8%, depending on age. The options for treatment depend on the cause, which should therefore be identified as precisely as possible by an appropriate diagnostic evaluation.

Methods: This review is based on the current guidelines and on large-scale cohort studies and randomized, controlled trials published from 2000 to 2017, with an emphasis on non-hereditary types of polyneuropathy, that were retrieved by a selective search in PubMed.

New and emerging techniques for endoscopic treatment of Zenker's diverticulum: State-of-the-art review.

Zenker's diverticulum (ZD), or pharyngeal pouch, is an anatomical defect characterized by herniation of the posterior pharyngeal wall through Killian's dehiscence, and may result in dysphagia and regurgitation. Multiple therapeutic modalities including surgery, rigid and flexible endoscopy have been developed to manage ZD. Although surgical management with open and endoscopically assisted techniques have historically been the mainstay of ZD treatment, minimally invasive flexible endoscopic techniques, carried out under conscious sedation, are increasingly favored.

Diagnostic performance of different perfusion algorithms for the detection of angiographical spasm.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic utility of different perfusion algorithms for the detection of angiographical terial spasm.

Method: During a 2-year period, 45 datasets from 29 patients (54.2±10,75y, 20F) with suspected cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were included.

Incidence of intracardiac thrombus formation prior to electrical cardioversion in respect to the mode of oral anticoagulation.

Aims: To evaluate the incidence of newly diagnosed intracardiac thrombi (ICT) in respect to the mode of OAC in patients undergoing cardioversion (CV).

Methods And Results: We prospectively assessed transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and OAC therapy prior to CV in AF patients with ≥48-hour duration scheduled for CV. A total of 60 first-time ICT (4.

Genomic CDKN2A/2B deletions in adult Ph ALL are adverse despite allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

We investigated the role of copy number alterations to refine risk stratification in adult Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (aSCT). Ninety-seven Ph ALL patients (median age 41 years; range 18-64 years) within the prospective multicenter German Multicenter ALL Study Group studies 06/99 (n = 8) and 07/2003 (n = 89) were analyzed. All patients received TKI and aSCT in first complete remission (CR1).

Appendiceal goblet cell carcinoids and adenocarcinomas ex-goblet cell carcinoid are genetically distinct from primary colorectal-type adenocarcinoma of the appendix.

The appendix gives rise to goblet cell carcinoids, which represent special carcinomas with distinct biological and histological features. Their genetic background and molecular relationship to colorectal adenocarcinoma is largely unknown. We therefore performed a next-generation sequencing analysis of 25 appendiceal carcinomas including 11 goblet cell carcinoids, 7 adenocarcinomas ex-goblet cell carcinoid, and 7 primary colorectal-type adenocarcinomas, using a modified Colorectal Cancer specific Panel comprising 32 genes linked to colorectal and neuroendocrine tumorigenesis.