Evaluating large language models as an educational tool for meningioma patients: patient and clinician perspectives.

Background: The study explores the potential of ChatGPT, an advanced large language model (LLM) by OpenAI, in educating patients about meningioma, a common type of brain tumor. While ChatGPT has generated significant debate regarding its utility and ethics, its growing popularity suggests that patients may increasingly use such tools for medical information. The study specifically examines how patients who have undergone radiation therapy for meningioma perceive the information generated by ChatGPT, integrating both patient feedback and clinical assessment.

Patient- and clinician-based evaluation of large language models for patient education in prostate cancer radiotherapy.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the capabilities and limitations of large language models (LLMs) for providing patient education for men undergoing radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer, incorporating assessments from both clinicians and patients.

Methods: Six questions about definitive radiotherapy for prostate cancer were designed based on common patient inquiries. These questions were presented to different LLMs [ChatGPT‑4, ChatGPT-4o (both OpenAI Inc.

Comprehensive elemental and physical characterization of vehicle brake wear emissions from two different brake pads following the Global Technical Regulation methodology.

Non-exhaust emissions have gained increasing attention during the last years, with the upcoming EURO 7 regulation defining maximum PM emission factors for tire and brake emissions for the first time. This study, therefore, focusses on broadening the knowledge on chemical composition and physical characteristics of brake dust to define emission factors for heavy metal and organic pollutants. Particles from two pads were analyzed utilizing the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) brake cycle.

PSMA-PET/CT response after metastasis-directed radiotherapy of bone oligometastases in prostate cancer.

Objective: Bone metastases are very common in advanced prostate cancer and can sensitively be detected utilizing PSMA-PET/CT. Therefore, our goal was to evaluate the suitability of PSMA-PET/CT-guided metastasis-directed external beam radiotherapy (MDT) as treatment option for patients with biochemical recurrence and oligometastatic bone lesions.

Materials & Methods: We retrospectively examined 32 prostate cancer patients with biochemical recurrence and PSMA-positive oligometastatic disease limited to the bone (n = 1-3).

Whole pelvis vs. hemi pelvis elective nodal radiotherapy in patients with PSMA-positive nodal recurrence after radical prostatectomy - a retrospective multi-institutional propensity score analysis.

Purpose: Despite growing evidence for bilateral pelvic radiotherapy (whole pelvis RT, WPRT) there is almost no data on unilateral RT (hemi pelvis RT, HPRT) in patients with nodal recurrent prostate cancer after prostatectomy. Nevertheless, in clinical practice HPRT is sometimes used with the intention to reduce side effects compared to WPRT. Prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography / computed tomography (PSMA-PET/CT) is currently the best imaging modality in this clinical situation.

European association of urology risk stratification predicts outcome in patients receiving PSMA-PET-planned salvage radiotherapy for biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy.

Purpose: The European Association of Urology (EAU) proposed a risk stratification (high vs. low risk) for patients with biochemical recurrence (BR) following radical prostatectomy (RP). Here we investigated whether this stratification accurately predicts outcome, particularly in patients staged with PSMA-PET.

Magnetic resonance guided SBRT reirradiation in locally recurrent prostate cancer: a multicentric retrospective analysis.

Aims: Reirradiation of prostate cancer (PC) local recurrences represents an emerging challenge for current radiotherapy. In this context, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) allows the delivery of high doses, with curative intent. Magnetic Resonance guided Radiation Therapy (MRgRT) has shown promising results in terms of safety, feasibility and efficacy of delivering SBRT thanks to the enhanced soft tissue contrast and the online adaptive workflow.

Salvage radiotherapy is effective in patients with PSMA-PET-negative biochemical recurrence- results of a retrospective study.

Background/purpose: The present study aimed to assess whether SRT to the prostatic fossa should be initiated in a timely manner after detecting biochemical recurrence (BR) in patients with prostate cancer, when no correlate was identified with prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography (PSMA-PET).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective, multicenter analysis included 1222 patients referred for PSMA-PET after a radical prostatectomy due to BR. Exclusion criteria were: pathological lymph node metastases, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) persistence, distant or lymph node metastases, nodal irradiation, and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

Development of PSMA-PET-guided CT-based radiomic signature to predict biochemical recurrence after salvage radiotherapy.

Purpose: To develop a CT-based radiomic signature to predict biochemical recurrence (BCR) in prostate cancer patients after sRT guided by positron-emission tomography targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA-PET).

Material And Methods: Consecutive patients, who underwent Ga-PSMA11-PET/CT-guided sRT from three high-volume centers in Germany, were included in this retrospective multicenter study. Patients had PET-positive local recurrences and were treated with intensity-modulated sRT.

Dipeptide-Derived Alkynes as Potent and Selective Irreversible Inhibitors of Cysteine Cathepsins.

The potential of designing irreversible alkyne-based inhibitors of cysteine cathepsins by isoelectronic replacement in reversibly acting potent peptide nitriles was explored. The synthesis of the dipeptide alkynes was developed with special emphasis on stereochemically homogeneous products obtained in the Gilbert-Seyferth homologation for C≡C bond formation. Twenty-three dipeptide alkynes and 12 analogous nitriles were synthesized and investigated for their inhibition of cathepsins B, L, S, and K.

Elective nodal radiotherapy with a gapless radiation field junction for oligorecurrent prostate cancer after previous radiotherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of subsequent elective nodal radiotherapy (ENRT) for nodal recurrences after previous radiotherapy with a defined planning approach for a gapless radiation field junction.

Methods: Patients with 1) previous radiotherapy of prostate or prostatic fossa and subsequent pelvic ENRT or 2) previous pelvic radiotherapy and subsequent ENRT to paraaortic lymph nodes (LN) and gapless junction of both radiation fields were analyzed. The cumulative maximum dose (D) and the maximum cumulative dose in 1 cc (D) were estimated.

The maximum standardized uptake value in patients with recurrent or persistent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy and PSMA-PET-guided salvage radiotherapy-a multicenter retrospective analysis.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the association of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in positron-emission tomography targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA-PET) prior to salvage radiotherapy (sRT) on biochemical recurrence free survival (BRFS) in a large multicenter cohort.

Methods: Patients who underwent  Ga-PSMA11-PET prior to sRT were enrolled in four high-volume centers in this retrospective multicenter study. Only patients with PET-positive local recurrence (LR) and/or nodal recurrence (NR) within the pelvis were included.

APOBEC-mediated mutagenesis is a favorable predictor of prognosis and immunotherapy for bladder cancer patients: evidence from pan-cancer analysis and multiple databases.

The APOBEC (apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like) family-mediated mutagenesis is widespread in human cancers. However, our knowledge of the biological feature and clinical relevance of APOBECs and APOBEC mutagenesis in cancers remains limited. In this study, with a series of bioinformatic and statistical approaches, we performed a comprehensive analysis of multiple levels of data, including whole-exome sequencing (WES) and targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS), transcriptome (bulk RNA-seq and single-cell RNA-seq), immune signatures and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) potential, patient survival and drug sensitivity, to reveal the distribution characteristics and clinical significance of APOBECs and APOBEC mutagenesis in pan-cancer especially bladder cancer (BLCA).

Metastasis-Free Survival and Patterns of Distant Metastatic Disease After Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography (PSMA-PET)-Guided Salvage Radiation Therapy in Recurrent or Persistent Prostate Cancer After Prostatectomy.

Purpose: Prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography (PSMA-PET) is increasingly used to guide salvage radiation therapy (sRT) in patients with prostate cancer and biochemical recurrence/persistence after prostatectomy. This work examined (1) metastasis-free survival (MFS) after PSMA-PET guided sRT and (2) the metastatic patterns on PSMA-PET images after sRT.

Methods And Materials: This retrospective, multicenter (9 centers, 5 countries) study included patients referred for PSMA-PET due to recurrent/persistent disease after prostatectomy.

Radiotherapy in oligometastatic prostate cancer-a pattern of care survey among members of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO).

Purpose: Due to improved imaging, oligometastatic prostate cancer (OMPC) is diagnosed more frequently. Growing evidence shows that patients with a limited number of metastases benefit from primary-directed radiotherapy (PDT) as well as from metastasis-directed radiotherapy (MDT). This survey investigates the current treatment practice for OMPC among German-speaking radiation oncologists.

Outcome after PSMA-PET/CT-based salvage radiotherapy for nodal recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

Purpose: Nodal recurrent prostate cancer (PCa) represents a common state of disease, amenable to local therapy. PSMA-PET/CT detects PCa recurrence at low PSA levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of PSMA-PET/CT-based salvage radiotherapy (sRT) for lymph node (LN) recurrence.

Patient-Reported and Oncological Outcomes of Salvage Therapies for PSMA-Positive Nodal Recurrent Prostate Cancer: Real-Life Experiences and Implications for Future Trial Design.

Introduction: The role of salvage lymph node dissection (SLND) and radiotherapy (SLNRT) in the management of nodal-only recurrent prostate cancer (PC) remains controversial. In addition, impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has not been adequately evaluated yet.

Materials And Methods: Analysis was limited to patients that were diagnosed with nodal-only recurrent PC PSMA-PET/CT.

Outcomes of metastasis-directed therapy of bone oligometastatic prostate cancer.

Background: The aim of this work was to investigate the outcome of metastasis-directed radiotherapy (MDT) in prostate cancer patients with bone metastases following current ESTRO/EORTC subclassifications for oligometastatic disease.

Methods: Clinical data of 80 consecutive oligometastatic patients with 115 bone lesions receiving MDT between 2011 and 2019 were retrospectively evaluated. Hormone-sensitive (77.

Radiotherapy of oligometastatic prostate cancer: a systematic review.

Background: Due to improved imaging sensitivity, the term "oligometastatic" prostate cancer disease is diagnosed more often, leading to an increasing interest in metastasis-directed therapy (MDT). There are two types of radiation based MDT applied when treating oligometastatic disease: (1) stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) generally used for bone metastases; or (2) SBRT for isolated nodal oligometastases combined with prophylactic elective nodal radiotherapy. This review aims to summarize current evidence data, which may shed light on the optimal management of this heterogeneous group of patients.

Retrograde Autologous Priming as a Safe and Easy Method to Reduce Hemodilution and Transfusion Requirements during Cardiac Surgery.

Background: During the last decades many efforts have been made to reduce transfusion requirements and adverse clinical effects during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The minimal extracorporeal circulation (MECC) system and the technique of retrograde autologous priming (RAP) of a conventional CPB circuit have been associated with decreased hemodilution. Our study aimed to compare conventional CPB (cCPB), RAP, and the ROCsafe MECC (Terumo Europe N.

Stability of double-stranded oligonucleotide DNA with a bulged loop: a microarray study.

Background: DNA is a carrier of biological information. The hybridization process, the formation of the DNA double-helix from single-strands with complementary sequences, is important for all living cells. DNA microarrays, among other biotechnologies such as PCR, rely on DNA hybridization.

The basal levels of 8-oxoG and other oxidative modifications in intact mitochondrial DNA are low even in repair-deficient (Ogg1(-/-)/Csb(-/-)) mice.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is assumed to be highly prone to damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS) because of its location in close proximity to the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Accordingly, mitochondrial oxidative DNA damage has been hypothesized to be responsible for various neurological diseases, ageing and cancer. Since 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), one of the most frequent oxidative base modifications, is removed from the mitochondrial genome by the glycosylase OGG1, the basal levels of this lesion are expected to be highly elevated in Ogg1(-/-) mice.