Endoscopic papillectomy for ampullary lesions in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis compared with sporadic lesions: a propensity score-matched cohort.

Background: Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a rare inherited syndrome that predisposes the patient to cancer. Treatment of FAP-related ampullary lesions is challenging and the role of endoscopic papillectomy has not been elucidated. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of endoscopic papillectomy in matched cohorts of FAP-related and sporadic ampullary lesions (SALs).

Low-dose interleukin-2 promotes immune regulation in face transplantation: A pilot study.

Face transplantation is a life-changing procedure for patients with severe composite facial defects. However, it is hampered by high acute rejection rates due to the immunogenicity of skin allograft and toxicity linked to high doses of immunosuppression. To reduce immunosuppression-associated complications, we, for the first time in face transplant recipients, used low-dose interleukin 2 (IL-2) therapy to expand regulatory T cells (Tregs) in vivo and to enhance immune modulation, under close immunological monitoring of peripheral blood and skin allograft.

Analysis of Hand Joint Space Morphology in Women and Men with Hereditary Hemochromatosis.

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) causes unbalanced iron deposition in many organs including the joints leading to severe cartilage loss and bone damage in the metacarpophalangeal joints (MCPJ). High-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) and its joint space width (JSW) quantification algorithm quantifies in vivo 3D joint morphology. We therefore aimed to (i) determine feasibility and performance of the JSW algorithm in HH, (ii) quantify joint space morphology, and (iii) investigate the relationship between morphological and clinical parameters in HH.

Facial Expression after Face Transplant: An International Face Transplant Cohort Comparison.

Background: Assessment of motor function restoration following face transplant (FT) is difficult, as standardized, bilateral tests are lacking. This study aims to bolster support for software-based analysis through international collaboration.

Methods: FaceReader (Noldus, Wageningen, The Netherlands), a facial expression analysis software, was used to analyze posttransplant videos of eight FT patients from Boston, Massachusetts (range, 1 to 9 years after transplant), two FT patients from Helsinki, Finland (range, 3 to 4 years after transplant), and three FT patients from Antalya, Turkey (range, 6.

Assessing critical temperature dose areas in the kidney by magnetic resonance imaging thermometry in an ex vivo Holmium:YAG laser lithotripsy model.

Purpose: We aimed to assess critical temperature areas in the kidney parenchyma using magnetic resonance thermometry (MRT) in an ex vivo Holmium:YAG laser lithotripsy model.

Methods: Thermal effects of Ho:YAG laser irradiation of 14 W and 30 W were investigated in the calyx and renal pelvis of an ex vivo kidney with different laser application times (t) followed by a delay time (t) of t/t = 5/5 s, 5/10 s, 10/5 s, 10/10 s, and 20/0 s, with irrigation rates of 10, 30, 50, 70, and 100 ml/min. Using MRT, the size of the area was determined in which the thermal dose as measured by the Cumulative Equivalent Minutes (CEM) method exceeded a value of 120 min.

Experimental in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models in prostate cancer research.

Androgen deprivation therapy has a central role in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, often causing initial tumour remission before increasing independence from signal transduction mechanisms of the androgen receptor and then eventual disease progression. Novel treatment approaches are urgently needed, but only a fraction of promising drug candidates from the laboratory will eventually reach clinical approval, highlighting the demand for critical assessment of current preclinical models. Such models include standard, genetically modified and patient-derived cell lines, spheroid and organoid culture models, scaffold and hydrogel cultures, tissue slices, tumour xenograft models, patient-derived xenograft and circulating tumour cell eXplant models as well as transgenic and knockout mouse models.

Role of Bcl-2 inhibition in myelodysplastic syndromes.

Myelodysplasic syndromes (MDS) are diseases occurring mainly in the elderly population. Although hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only hope for cure, a majority of the patients suffering from MDS are too old or frail for intensive treatment regimens such as intensive chemotherapy and transplantation. The gold standard for those patients is currently treatment with hypomethylating agents, although real-life data could not reproduce the overall survival rates reported for the pivotal azacitidine phase III study.

Development and external validation of an MRI-based neural network for brain metastasis segmentation in the AURORA multicenter study.

Background: Stereotactic radiotherapy is a standard treatment option for patients with brain metastases. The planning target volume is based on gross tumor volume (GTV) segmentation. The aim of this work is to develop and validate a neural network for automatic GTV segmentation to accelerate clinical daily routine practice and minimize interobserver variability.

Sarcopenia as a Prognostic Marker in Elderly Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients Undergoing (Chemo-)Radiation.

Sarcopenia is associated with reduced survival and increased toxicity in malignant diseases. The prevalence of sarcopenia increases with age and is an important cause of functional decline. We analyzed sarcopenia and sarcopenia dynamics in elderly head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients undergoing (chemo)radiation.

Mocravimod, a Selective Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor Modulator, in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Malignancy.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains the sole curative option for patients with acute myelogenous leukemia. Outcomes are limited by leukemia relapse, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and abnormal immune reconstitution. Mocravimod (KRP203) is an oral sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) modulator that blocks the signal required by T cells to egress from lymph nodes and other lymphoid organs.

Bloodstream Infections in Patients with Cancer: Differences between Patients with Hematological Malignancies and Solid Tumors.

Objectives: To assess the clinical features and outcomes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infection (PA BSI) in neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies (HM) and with solid tumors (ST), and identify the risk factors for 30-day mortality. Methods: We performed a large multicenter, retrospective cohort study including onco-hematological neutropenic patients with PA BSI conducted across 34 centers in 12 countries (January 2006−May 2018). Episodes occurring in hematologic patients were compared to those developing in patients with ST.

Validation of the Chinese version of the Somatic Symptom Scale-8 in patients from tertiary hospitals in China.

Objective: To validate the Chinese language version of the Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8) in a sample of outpatients attending tertiary hospitals in China.

Materials And Methods: A Chinese language version of the SSS-8 was completed by outpatients ( = 699) from psychosomatic medicine, gastroenterology/neurology, and traditional Chinese medicine clinics of nine tertiary hospitals between September 2016 and January 2018 to test the reliability. The Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale, the Medical Outcome Study 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO DAS 2.

In vivo fluorescence imaging: success in preclinical imaging paves the way for clinical applications.

Advances in diagnostic imaging have provided unprecedented opportunities to detect diseases at early stages and with high reliability. Diagnostic imaging is also crucial to monitoring the progress or remission of disease and thus is often the central basis of therapeutic decision-making. Currently, several diagnostic imaging modalities (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography, among others) are routinely used in clinics and present their own advantages and limitations.

Non-glomerular Tip Lesion Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis as a Negative Predictor in Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy.

Objective: To assess the significance of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) variants on clinicopathological characteristics and short-term outcomes in idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) patients.

Methods: The clinicopathological data of 146 IMN patients diagnosed between December 2016 and March 2019 in our center were collected and analyzed. These patients were divided into the pure IMN group, IMN with glomerular tip lesion (GTL) group, and IMN with non-GTL FSGS group.

Decoding the Geography of Natural TBEV Microfoci in Germany: A Geostatistical Approach Based on Land-Use Patterns and Climatological Conditions.

Tickborne-encephalitis (TBE) is a potentially life-threating neurological disease that is mainly transmitted by ticks. The goal of the present study is to analyze the potential uniform environmental patterns of the identified TBEV microfoci in Germany. The results are used to calculate probabilities for the present distribution of TBEV microfoci in Germany based on a geostatistical model.

Benefits and challenges of cancer peer support groups: A systematic review of qualitative studies.

Introduction: Although cancer self-help groups (CSHGs) have increased in importance in recent years, certain aspects have not yet been sufficiently investigated in studies to date. In particular, little is known about members' experiences in face-to-face peer led CSHGs. This systematic review aims to synthesise qualitative studies documenting personal experiences of CSHG members and to enlighten group processes and mechanisms.

Palliative radiotherapy of bone metastases in octogenarians: How do the oldest olds respond? Results from a tertiary cancer center with 288 treated patients.

Background: Accompanied by the demographic change, the number of octogenarian cancer patients with bone metastases will increase in the future. Palliative radiotherapy constitutes an effective analgesic treatment; however, as pain perception and bone metabolism change with increasing age, the analgesic efficacy of radiotherapy may be altered in elderly patients. We therefore investigated the treatment outcomes of palliative radiotherapy for bone metastases in octogenarians.

Laser enucleation of the prostate in men with very large glands ≥175 ml: A systematic review.

Background: Surgical treatment options for lower urinary tract symptoms can differ according to prostate size. There are few studies on the efficacy and safety of endoscopic enucleation of prostate (EEP) in patients with very large prostates focusing on laser as energy source. In this systematic review, we aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of laser-based EEP on prostate glands ≥150 ml.

Management of juvenile and aneurysmal bone cysts: a systematic literature review with meta-analysis.

Purpose: Numerous approaches to the management of juvenile and aneurysmal bone cysts (ABC) are described in the specialist literature together with discussion of the associated healing and recurrence rates. Since there is currently no evidence-based treatment standard for these conditions, the aim of this systematic literature review with meta-analysis was to examine the different management approaches, evaluate the corresponding clinical outcomes and, as appropriate, to formulate a valid treatment recommendation.

Methods: A systematic search on OVID Medline based on a pre-existing search strategy returned 1333 publications.

Comprehensive cancer predisposition testing within the prospective MASTER trial identifies hereditary cancer patients and supports treatment decisions for rare cancers.

Background: Germline variant evaluation in precision oncology opens new paths toward the identification of patients with genetic tumor risk syndromes and the exploration of therapeutic relevance. Here, we present the results of germline variant analysis and their clinical implications in a precision oncology study for patients with predominantly rare cancers.

Patients And Methods: Matched tumor and control genome/exome and RNA sequencing was carried out for 1485 patients with rare cancers (79%) and/or young adults (77% younger than 51 years) in the National Center for Tumor Diseases/German Cancer Consortium (NCT/DKTK) Molecularly Aided Stratification for Tumor Eradication Research (MASTER) trial, a German multicenter, prospective, observational precision oncology study.

Altered EEG variability on different time scales in participants with autism spectrum disorder: an exploratory study.

One of the great challenges in psychiatry is finding reliable biomarkers that may allow for more accurate diagnosis and treatment of patients. Neural variability received increasing attention in recent years as a potential biomarker. In the present explorative study we investigated temporal variability in visually evoked EEG activity in a cohort of 16 adult participants with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and 19 neurotypical (NT) controls.

Monitoring of Measurable Residual Disease Using Circulating DNA after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Relapse of the underlying disease is a frequent complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). In this study, we describe the clinical utility of measurable residual disease (MRD) and mixed chimerism (MC) assessment in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis to detect earlier relapse in patients with hematological malignancies after allo-HSCT. A total of 326 plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) samples obtained from 62 patients with myeloid malignancies were analyzed by droplet-digital PCR (median follow-up: 827 days).

Cost effectiveness and health-related quality of life of chemoradiotherapy versus radiation therapy alone in elderly head and neck cancer patients.

Purpose: Radiotherapy (RT) constitutes a mainstay in the treatment of elderly patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), but use of simultaneous chemoradiotherapy (CRT) remains controversial. We have conducted a prospective analysis based on real-world patient data to examine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and cost effectiveness (CE) of CRT vs. RT in elderly HNC patients.