PD-L1 expression associates with favorable survival of patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) not treated with checkpoint inhibitors.

Purpose: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a heterogeneous entity with limited overall survival (OS) in most patients. Prognostic biomarkers are needed, particularly for treatment stratification. We investigated the impact of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression as prognostic marker in immunotherapy-naïve CUP patients.

Identification, risk factors, and clinical course of CNS relapse in DLBCL patients across 19 prospective phase 2 and 3 trials-a LYSA and GLA/ DSHNHL collaboration.

Progression or relapse in the central nervous system (CNS) remains a rare but mostly fatal event for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In a retrospective analysis of 5189 patients treated within 19 prospective German and French phase 2/3 trials, we identified 159 patients experiencing a CNS event (relapse: 62%, progression: 38%). Intracerebral, meningeal, intraspinal, or combined involvement was reported in 44%, 31%, 3%, and 22% of patients, respectively.

Risk willingness in multiple system atrophy and Parkinson's disease understanding patient preferences.

Disease-modifying therapeutics in the α-synucleinopathies multiple system atrophy (MSA) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) are in early phases of clinical testing. Involving patients' preferences including therapy-associated risk willingness in initial stages of therapy development has been increasingly pursued in regulatory approval processes. In our study with 49 MSA and 38 PD patients, therapy-associated risk willingness was quantified using validated standard gamble scenarios for varying severities of potential drug or surgical side effects.

Linear energy transfer dependent variation in viability and proliferation along the Bragg peak curve in sarcoma and normal tissue cells.

The energy deposition of photons and protons differs. It depends on the position in the proton Bragg peak (BP) and the linear energy transfer (LET) leading to a variable relative biological effectiveness (RBE). Here, we investigate LET dependent alterations on metabolic viability and proliferation of sarcoma and endothelium cell lines following proton irradiation in comparison to photon exposure.

Sustained improvements in patient-reported outcomes after long-term sutimlimab in patients with cold agglutinin disease: results from the CADENZA study open-label extension.

Background: Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare subtype of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia characterised by classical complement pathway-mediated haemolysis, fatigue, and poor quality of life (QoL). Sutimlimab, a C1s inhibitor, rapidly halted haemolysis, and improved patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with CAD in two phase 3 trials (CARDINAL and CADENZA). Here we report PROs from the CADENZA open-label extension (Part B).

Investigation of screening questions to identify insomnia in cancer patients.

The high prevalence of insomnia in cancer patients leads to a significant reduction in the quality of life of those affected. A detailed record of symptoms therefore plays an essential role for further course of treatment. Which screening instruments enable identification of cancer patients with insomnia is the subject of this single-arm nonrandomized study.

Introducing MCC-PS: a novel prognostic score for Merkel cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive skin cancer with a poor prognosis, which only improved with the introduction of immunotherapies. An MCC prediction model with high diagnostic accuracy is lacking. The aim was to develop an MCC prognostic score (MCC-PS) based on combinations of previously proposed risk factors.

Myelofibrosis and anemia: A German claims data analysis to describe epidemiology and current treatment.

Objectives: There is limited data on the incidence, prevalence, and treatments for myelofibrosis (MF) in Germany. This retrospective study examined claims data from 3.3 million insured individuals, spanning from 2010 to 2021.

Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus sunitinib for first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma: extended 8-year follow-up results of efficacy and safety from the phase III CheckMate 214 trial.

Background: Nivolumab plus ipilimumab (NIVO+IPI) has demonstrated superior overall survival (OS) and durable response benefits versus sunitinib (SUN) with long-term follow-up in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC). We report updated analyses with 8 years of median follow-up from CheckMate 214.

Patients And Methods: Patients with aRCC (N = 1096) were randomized to NIVO 3 mg/kg plus IPI 1 mg/kg Q3W × four doses, followed by NIVO (3 mg/kg or 240 mg Q2W or 480 mg Q4W); or SUN (50 mg) once daily for 4 weeks on, 2 weeks off.

International Benchmark for Total Metabolic Tumor Volume Measurement in Baseline F-FDG PET/CT of Lymphoma Patients: A Milestone Toward Clinical Implementation.

Total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) is prognostic in lymphoma. However, cutoff values for risk stratification vary markedly, according to the tumor delineation method used. We aimed to create a standardized TMTV benchmark dataset allowing TMTV to be tested and applied as a reproducible biomarker.

Aspergillus fumigatus: Is Dual-Tracer 18 FDG/ 68 Ga-FAPI PET/CT Capable of Distinguishing Fungal Infection and Unspecific Inflammation From Recurrent Lung Cancer?

A 61-year-old woman, referred for recurrent pneumonia over a period of 3 months with insufficient response to antibiotic treatment, presented with coughing and intense right-sided chest pain. Previously, she underwent right upper lobectomy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and subsequent partial chest wall resection with polytetrafluoroethylene net insert due to a pleurocutaneous fistula. 18 FDG plus a 68 Ga-labeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor ( 68 Ga-FAPI) PET/CT scans were performed to rule out non-small cell lung cancer recurrence.

Cranioencephalic functional lymphoid units in glioblastoma.

The ecosystem of brain tumors is considered immunosuppressed, but our current knowledge may be incomplete. Here we analyzed clinical cell and tissue specimens derived from patients presenting with glioblastoma or nonmalignant intracranial disease to report that the cranial bone (CB) marrow, in juxtaposition to treatment-naive glioblastoma tumors, harbors active lymphoid populations at the time of initial diagnosis. Clinical and anatomical imaging, single-cell molecular and immune cell profiling and quantification of tumor reactivity identified CD8 T cell clonotypes in the CB that were also found in the tumor.

A MYCN-driven de-differentiation profile identifies a subgroup of aggressive retinoblastoma.

Retinoblastoma are childhood eye tumors arising from retinal precursor cells. Two distinct retinoblastoma subtypes with different clinical behavior have been described based on gene expression and methylation profiling. Using consensus clustering of DNA methylation analysis from 61 retinoblastomas, we identify a MYCN-driven cluster of subtype 2 retinoblastomas characterized by DNA hypomethylation and high expression of genes involved in protein synthesis.

Exploring membranous NECTIN-4 expression patterns and enfortumab vedotin response in prostate cancer.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a novel type of targeted cancer therapy combining the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the cytotoxicity of conventional chemotherapy. Recently, ADCs have demonstrated practice-changing efficacy across diverse solid cancers. The anti-NECTIN-4 ADC enfortumab vedotin (EV) has just been approved for patients with urothelial cancer and is currently under investigation for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC e.

Relevance of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Patients with Cancer: Detection of Underrated Psychological Distress of Palliative Care Patients in an Outpatient Setting.

Background: The overall level of physical and psychological symptom burden of advanced cancer patients (ACP) in an outpatient setting is notoriously difficult to assess. Therefore, more efficient and objective assessment is needed to accomplish this important task.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the physical and psychological symptom burden rated by palliative care nurse (PCN) versus patient's self-rating.

Determining the cut-off value for the Minimal Documentation System (MIDOS2) screening tool to initiate specialized palliative care based on patient's subjective need for palliative support and symptom burden in inpatients with advanced cancer.

Purpose: The Minimal Documentation System (MIDOS2) is recommended as a systematic screening tool for assessing symptom burden and patient needs in advanced cancer patients. Given the absence of an optimal weighting of individual symptoms and a corresponding cut-off value, this study aims to determine a threshold based on inpatient's subjective need for palliative support. Additionally, we investigate the correlation between symptom burden and subjective need for palliative support collected through a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) with survival duration of less or more than one year.

Understanding homologous recombination repair deficiency in biliary tract cancers: clinical implications and correlation with platinum sensitivity.

Background: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) exhibit high mortality rates and significant heterogeneity in both clinical and molecular characteristics. This study aims to molecularly characterize a cohort of patients with BTC, with a specific focus on genomic alterations within homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes in a real-world setting.

Patients And Methods: We carried out a retrospective analysis on 256 patients with BTC treated at five Austrian centers and one German comprehensive cancer center between 2016 and 2023 utilizing comprehensive genomic profiling platforms to assess HRR status and its correlation with clinical outcomes after platinum-based chemotherapy.

Orthanq: transparent and uncertainty-aware haplotype quantification with application in HLA-typing.

Background: Identification of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types from DNA-sequenced human samples is important in organ transplantation and cancer immunotherapy and remains a challenging task considering sequence homology and extreme polymorphism of HLA genes.

Results: We present Orthanq, a novel statistical model and corresponding application for transparent and uncertainty-aware quantification of haplotypes. We utilize our approach to perform HLA typing while, for the first time, reporting uncertainty of predictions and transparently observing mutations beyond reported HLA types.

Future Perspectives of Artificial Intelligence in Bone Marrow Dosimetry and Individualized Radioligand Therapy.

Radioligand therapy is an emerging and effective treatment option for various types of malignancies, but may be intricately linked to hematological side effects such as anemia, lymphopenia or thrombocytopenia. The safety and efficacy of novel theranostic agents, targeting increasingly complex targets, can be well served by comprehensive dosimetry. However, optimization in patient management and patient selection based on risk-factors predicting adverse events and built upon reliable dose-response relations is still an open demand.