Ferric carboxymaltose for anemia in late pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.

Over 46% of African pregnant women are anemic. Oral iron is recommended but often suboptimal, particularly late in pregnancy. Intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) could treat anemia in women in the third trimester in sub-Saharan Africa.

Evidence for glial reactivity using positron-emission tomography imaging of translocator Protein-18 kD [TSPO] in both sham and nerve-injured rats in a preclinical model of orofacial neuropathic pain.

Chronic neuropathic pain is a debilitating condition that results from damage to the nervous system. Current treatments are largely ineffective, with limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms hindering development of effective treatments. Preclinical models of neuropathic pain have revealed that non-neural changes are important for the development of neuropathic pain, although these data are derived almost exclusively from post-mortem histological analyses.

Integrating behaviour change techniques into a video intervention to promote physical activity during cancer treatment (VidEx): a qualitative, theory-informed study.

Purpose: Exercising during cancer treatment reduces fatigue, improves quality of life, and increases survival, yet 60-70% of Australians undergoing cancer treatment do not meet current physical activity (PA) recommendations. This study aimed to explore barriers and enablers to PA amongst people undergoing cancer treatment and develop a video resource targeting these barriers.

Methods: The study was guided by the capability, opportunity, motivation, behaviour (COM-B) and behaviour change wheel (BCW) frameworks.

Demographics and Health Characteristics Associated With the Likelihood of Participating in Digitally Delivered Exercise Rehabilitation for Improving Heart Health Among Breast Cancer Survivors: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.

Background: Strong evidence supports the benefits of exercise following both cardiovascular disease and cancer diagnoses. However, less than one-third of Australians who are referred to exercise rehabilitation complete a program following a cardiac diagnosis. Technological advances make it increasingly possible to embed real-time supervision, tailored exercise prescription, behavior change, and social support into home-based programs.

Postpartum maternal and infant haematological effects of second-trimester ferric carboxymaltose versus standard-of-care oral iron in Malawi: longitudinal follow-up of a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Anaemia is common in mothers and infants in the first year postpartum, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated whether treating anaemia in the second trimester of pregnancy with a single dose of intravenous iron, ferric carboxymaltose, compared with standard-of-care oral iron could alleviate anaemia in postpartum women and their infants.

Methods: REVAMP (ACTRN12618001268235), an open-label, individually randomised, controlled trial done across nine urban and five rural health centres in Malawi, recruited women if they were in the second trimester of singleton pregnancy, had a capillary haemoglobin concentration of less than 10·0 g/dL, and had a negative malaria rapid diagnostic test.

Nationwide, Couple-Based Genetic Carrier Screening.

Background: Genomic sequencing technology allows for identification of reproductive couples with an increased chance, as compared with that in the general population, of having a child with an autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic condition.

Methods: We investigated the feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes of a nationwide, couple-based genetic carrier screening program in Australia as part of the Mackenzie's Mission project. Health care providers offered screening to persons before pregnancy or early in pregnancy.

Discovery of Plasma Lipids as Potential Biomarkers Distinguishing Breast Cancer Patients from Healthy Controls.

The development of a sensitive and specific blood test for the early detection of breast cancer is crucial to improve screening and patient outcomes. Existing methods, such as mammography, have limitations, necessitating the exploration of alternative approaches, including circulating factors. Using 598 prospectively collected blood samples, a multivariate plasma-derived lipid biomarker signature was developed that can distinguish healthy control individuals from those with breast cancer.

Effects of iron supplements and iron-containing micronutrient powders on the gut microbiome in Bangladeshi infants: a randomized controlled trial.

Anemia is highly prevalent globally, especially in young children in low-income countries, where it often overlaps with a high burden of diarrheal disease. Distribution of iron interventions (as supplements or iron-containing multiple micronutrient powders, MNPs) is a key anemia reduction strategy. Small studies in Africa indicate iron may reprofile the gut microbiome towards pathogenic species.

Outcomes following extended resection of radiation-induced angiosarcoma of the breast: a sarcoma unit experience and systematic review.

Purpose: Radiation-induced angiosarcoma (RIAS) of the breast is a rare tumour with high rate of local recurrence. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of radical resections.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent extended surgical resection for RIAS of the breast between 2013 and 2022.

Exercise in cancer care for people with lung cancer: A narrative synthesis.

Objectives: Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed worldwide, resulting in significant physical and psychological consequences. In this narrative review, we explore the role of exercise as an adjunct therapy to counteract health issues experienced by people before, during and after treatment for lung cancer, and offer recommendations for exercise prescription and future research.

Design: Narrative cornerstone review.

Serum iron and transferrin saturation variation are circadian regulated and linked to the harmonic circadian oscillations of erythropoiesis and hepatic Tfrc expression in mice.

Serum iron has long been thought to exhibit diurnal variation and is subsequently considered an unreliable biomarker of systemic iron status. Circadian regulation (endogenous ~24-h periodic oscillation of a biologic function) governs many critical physiologic processes. It is unknown whether serum iron levels are regulated by circadian machinery; likewise, the circadian nature of key players of iron homeostasis is unstudied.

Community use of oral antibiotics transiently reprofiles the intestinal microbiome in young Bangladeshi children.

Antibiotics may alter the gut microbiome, and this is one of the mechanisms by which antimicrobial resistance may be promoted. Suboptimal antimicrobial stewardship in Asia has been linked to antimicrobial resistance. We aim to examine the relationship between oral antibiotic use and composition and antimicrobial resistance in the gut microbiome in 1093 Bangladeshi infants.

Pseudoprogression following neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for lung squamous cell carcinoma mimicking pulmonary metastatic disease on computed tomography: A case report and review of the literature.

Pseudoprogression of malignancy in patients treated with systemic immunotherapy is a well- recognised phenomenon and has also been seen in patients treated with combined chemoimmunotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy prior to surgery is a relatively new treatment strategy for the management of many malignancies. We report the case of a patient who was suspected to have primary lung squamous cell carcinoma progression following neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy.

Enhancing the Intrinsic Antiplasmodial Activity and Improving the Stability and Selectivity of a Tunable Peptide Scaffold Derived from Human Platelet Factor 4.

The control of malaria, a disease caused by parasites that kills over half a million people every year, is threatened by the continual emergence and spread of drug resistance. Therefore, new molecules with different mechanisms of action are needed in the antimalarial drug development pipeline. Peptides developed from host defense molecules are gaining traction as anti-infectives due to theood of inducing drug resistance.

SCANPatient: study protocol for a multi-centre, batched, stepped wedge, comparative effectiveness, randomised clinical trial of synoptic reporting of computerised tomography (CT) scans assessing cancers of the pancreas.

Background: Complete surgical removal of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is central to all curative treatment approaches for this aggressive disease, yet this is only possible in patients technically amenable to resection. Hence, an accurate assessment of whether patients are suitable for surgery is of paramount importance. The SCANPatient trial aims to test whether implementing a structured synoptic radiological report results in increased institutional accuracy in defining surgical resectability of non-metastatic PDAC.

Marginal zone lymphomas: a consensus practice statement from the Australasian Lymphoma Alliance.

Marginal zone lymphomas (MZLs) are a rare, indolent group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas with different diagnostic, genetic and clinical features and therapeutic implications. The most common is extranodal MZL of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, followed by splenic MZL and nodal MZL. Patients with MZL generally have good outcomes with long survival rates but frequently have a relapsing/remitting course requiring several lines of therapy.

Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of invasive melanoma: A systematic review with meta-analyses.

Background: The use of Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) in melanoma treatment has divided opinion and evidence-based guidelines are lacking.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to analyse clinical outcomes for patients with invasive melanomas treated with Mohs rather than wide local excision (WLE).

Methods: Embase, MEDLINE and Cochrane databases (to 30 August 2023) were searched for studies using Mohs to treat invasive melanoma.

Natural history of pelvic floor disorders before and after hysterectomy for gynaecological cancer.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and severity of pelvic floor disorders (PFD), and the associations between treatment type and PFD, and cancer stage and PFD in patients before and after hysterectomy for gynaecological cancer; and the changes in outcomes over time.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: Gynaecological oncology outpatient clinics.

Automated synthesis of [Zr]ZrCl, [Zr]ZrDFOSquaramide-bisPh(PSMA) and [Zr]ZrDFOSquaramide-TATE.

Background: Automated [Zr]Zr-radiolabeling processes have the potential to streamline the production of [Zr]Zr-labelled PET imaging agents. Most radiolabeling protocols use [Zr][Zr(ox)] as the starting material and oxalate is removed after radiolabeling. In some instances, radiolabeling with [Zr]ZrCl as starting material gives better radiochemical yields at lower reaction temperatures.

Exercise capacity prior to major cancer surgery: A cross-sectional observational study of the validity of the 6-minute walk and 30-second sit-to-stand tests.

Introduction: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the gold standard for measuring exercise capacity, however, it is resource intensive and has limited availability. This study aimed to determine: 1) the association between the 6-min walk test (6MWT) and the 30-s sit-to-stand test (30STS) with CPET peak oxygen uptake (VO) and anaerobic threshold (AT) and 2) 6MWT and 30STS cut points associated with a higher risk of postoperative complications.

Methods: A cross-sectional study, retrospectively analyzing data collected from a tertiary cancer center over a 23-month period.

Towards a common definition of surgical prehabilitation: a scoping review of randomised trials.

Background: There is no universally accepted definition for surgical prehabilitation. The objectives of this scoping review were to (1) identify how surgical prehabilitation is defined across randomised controlled trials and (2) propose a common definition.

Methods: The final search was conducted in February 2023 using MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Cochrane.

Evaluating a Remotely Delivered Cardio-Oncology Rehabilitation Intervention for Patients With Breast Cancer (REMOTE-COR-B): Protocol for a Single-Arm Feasibility Trial.

Background: Exercise rehabilitation is a promising strategy for reducing cardiovascular disease risk among patients with breast cancer. However, the evidence is primarily derived from programs based at exercise centers with in-person supervised delivery. Conversely, most patients report a preference for home-based rehabilitation.