112 research outputs found
CARACTÉRISTIQUES DU "MEBIS" : MICROSCOPE À BALAYAGE FONCTIONNANT IN SITU
No full textLe "MEBIS" est un microscope à balayage transportable fonctionnant "in situ", posé sur l'objet à observer. Les caractéristiques et les premiers résultats de l'appareil sont décrits.MEBIS is a transportable scanning electron microscope which works "insitu". It can be placed on the objet to be studied. The charactéristics and the first results are described
213P Photobiomodulation therapy for the management of chemotherapy-induced alopecia: Preliminary results of a randomized, controlled trial
No full textBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more than 260 million infections and 55 million deaths as of early December 2021, worldwide. Vaccinating people against COVID-19 is considered as he best approach to overcome the pandemic since COVID 19-vaccines are effective and can reduce the risk of getting and spreading the virus. However, their efficacy and safety in patients with underlying disease such as cancers have not been approved yet. Here we report a cohort study on immunogenicity and safety of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (BBIBP-CorV) in patients with breast cancer, who were vaccinated as a part of a national plan for vaccination of patients with special diseases. Methods: In this multi-institutional cohort study, a total of 160 breast cancer patients (mean age of 50.01AE11.5 years old) were assessed for the SARS-CoV-2 Anti-Spike IgG and SARS-CoV2 Anti RBD IgG by ELISA after two doses of 0.5 mL inactivated, COVID-19 vaccine (BBIBP-CorV). All patients were followed-up for three months for clinical COVID-19 infection based on either PCR results or imaging findings. Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events were used to assess the side-effects. Results: In the patient group, 93.3% were seropositive for either of SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike or SARS-CoV2 anti RBD IgG after the second vaccine dose. The prevalence of COVID-19 infection after vaccination was 0.7%, 0% and 0% for the first, second and third month of the follow-up period. The most common local and systemic side-effects were injection site pain (22.3%) and fever (24.3%). The rate of either SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein or neutralizing antibody seropositivity was only 75.0% in patients treated with trastozumab, compared to 96.7% in patients of the follow-up group. Conclusions: Taken together, obtained results confirm that approved vaccines can help patients with cancer to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection. These findings highlighted the importance of early vaccination in disease with high risk including cancer, especially patients who are currently receiving treatment for cancer that may arise various complications contributing to COVID-19. Background: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is one of the most traumatizing experiences for oncological patients. Although CIA is reversible, it still requires several months for the hair to regrow, and cases of permanent CIA are reported. Photo-biomodulation (PBM) therapy is based on applying (near)-infrared light on target tissue to stimulate cell repair processes. Positive results were demonstrated in clinical trials applying PBM for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. The aim of this trial is to evaluate if PBM can accelerate hair regrowth after chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.This research is part of the Limburg Clinical Research Center (LCRC) UHasselt-ZOL-Jessa, supported by the Limburg Sterk Merk Foundation, province of Limburg, Flemish Government, Hasselt University, Jessa Hospital, and Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg. Additionally, this research is funded by Kom op tegen Kanker (Stand up to Cancer), the Flemish cancer society, the Limburgs Kankerfonds, Live a Life, and the Limburgse Kankersamenwerking
Photobiomodulation in the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a randomized, controlled trial
No full textBackground and aims: Cancer treatment is often accompanied by incapacitating side effects, such as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). CIPN limits the patients' quality of life and current therapeutic options lack effectiveness. Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy uses (near)-infrared light to activate cell repair mechanisms and reduce pain and inflammation. Research has shown the efficiency of PBM in preventing CIPN. This trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of PBM in treating CIPN while assessing the optimal PBM dosage. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Jessa Hospital (Hasselt, Belgium). Sixty cancer patients, diagnosed with CIPN, were randomly allocated to the PBM-1 group (6 J/cm², n=28) or PBM-2 group (8 J/cm², n=32) and received PBM twice a week for three weeks. The severity of CIPN and the patients' mobility were assessed using the modified Total Neuropathy Score (mTNS) and the six-minute walk test (6MWT), respectively. Outcome measures were collected at baseline, the end of PBM, and three weeks post-PBM. Results: The mTNS decreased significantly over time in both the PBM-1 and PBM-2 group (P=0.021 and P=0.007, respectively). Moreover, the mTNS remained constant between the end of PBM and the follow-up visit in both groups (Figure 1). Similarly, according to the 6MWT (Figure 2), the patients' mobility significantly improved over time in the PBM-1 and PBM-2 group (Ps≤0.001)
The Effect of Meditation-Based Interventions on Patients with Fatigue Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Get PDFPersistent fatigue constitutes a prevalent and debilitating symptom in several diseases. The symptom is not effectively alleviated by pharmaceutical treatments, and meditation has been proposed as a non-pharmacological intervention. Indeed, meditation has been shown to reduce inflammatory/immune problems, pain, stress, anxiety and depression which are associated with pathological fatigue. This review synthesizes data from randomized control trials (RCTs) that explored the effect of meditation-based interventions (MeBIs) on fatigue in pathological conditions. Eight databases were searched from inception to April 2020. Thirty-four RCTs met eligibility criteria and covered six conditions (68% cancer), 32 of which were included in the meta-analysis. The main analysis showed an effect in favor of MeBIs compared to control groups (g = 0.62). Separate moderator analyses assessing control group, pathological condition, and MeBI type, highlighted a significantly moderating role of the control group. Indeed, compared to actively controlled studies, studies using a passive control group were associated with a statistically significantly more beneficial impact of the MeBIs (g = 0.83). These results indicate that MeBIs alleviate pathological fatigue and it seems that the studies with a passive control group showed a greater effect of MeBI on the reduction of fatigue compared to studies using active control groups. However, the specific effect of meditation type and pathological condition should be analyzed with more studies, and there remains a need to assess meditation effects on different types of fatigue (i.e., physical and mental) and in additional conditions (e.g., post-COVID-19)
Afatinib for EGFR, HER2 or HER3 mutated solid tumors: A phase II Belgian precision study
No full textBackground: The Belgian Precision initiative aims to implement tumor-agnostic NGS in advanced cancer patients (pts) and enhance access to genotype-matching drugs. The current study aimed to investigate the efficacy of afatinib in advanced pre-treated solid cancers with an EGFR (excluding non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)), HER2 or HER3 mutation.Kom op tegen kanke
Etude et réalisation d'un détecteur d'électrons rétrodiffusés à faible bruit pour l'imagerie in situ
No full textA backscattered electron detector (BSE) with flexible light pipe utilizing optical fibres between the scintillator and the photomultiplier tube was constructed and set up in our transportable scanning microscope (MEBIS). It has a good detection quantum efficiency (DQE), a large bandwidth and is well adapted for chemical characterisation of bulk specimens.Un détecteur d'électrons rétrodiffusés (BSE) avec une liaison flexible par faisceau de fibres optiques entre le scintillateur et le photomultiplicateur a été élaboré et installé dans notre Microscope Electronique à Balayage In Situ (MEBIS). Il possède une bonne efficacité quantique de détection (DQE), une large bande passante et une résolution en numéro atomique bien adaptée à la caractériation chimique de la surface des échantillons massifs étudiés
Efficacy of olaparib in advanced cancers with germline or somatic tumor mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2 and ATM: A Belgian precision tumor-agnostic phase II study
No full textBackground: The Belgian Precision initiative aims to maximize the implementation of tumor-agnostic NGS in patients with advanced cancer and enhance access to molecularly-guided treatment options (MGTOs). Academic tumor-agnostic basket phase 2 studies are part of this initiative. The current investigator-driven trial aimed to investigate olaparib efficacy in advanced cancers with a pathogenic or likely pathogenic mutation (germline or somatic) in a gene that plays a role in homologous recombination (HR). Methods: Open-label multi-cohort phase 2 study that examines the efficacy of ola-parib in patients with an HR gene mutation in their tumor and failed SoC. Patients with a somatic or germline mutation in the same gene define a cohort. For each cohort, a Simon minimax two-stage design was used. If a response was observed in the first 13 patients, 14 additional patients were included (type I error rate of 5% and a power of 80% when the true response rate is 20%). Here, we report the results on four completed cohorts: patients with a BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2 or ATM mutation. Results: The overall objective response rate across different tumor types was 11% in the BRCA1 (N¼27) and 21% in the BRCA2 (N¼27) mutated cohorts. Partial responses were seen in pancreatic cancer, gallbladder cancer, endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas and parathyroid cancer. One patient with a BRCA2 germline mutated colon cancer has an ongoing CR with 19+ months on treatment. mPFS in responding patients is 14+ months (5-34+ months). The clinical benefit rate was 63% in the BRCA1 and 46% in the BRCA2 mutated cohorts. No clinical activity was observed in the ATM (N¼13) and CHEK2 (N¼14) cohorts. Safety data were consistent with the known profile of olaparib. Conclusions: Olaparib showed efficacy in different cancer types harboring somatic or germline mutations in the BRCA1/2 genes but not in ATM and CHEK2. Patients with any cancer type harboring BRCA1/2 mutations should have access to olaparib with real-world documentation of efficacy in a retrospective register. Background: Within BRCA carriers, there are data suggesting that not all alterations confer the same risk of breast or ovarian cancer. In addition, the localization of the mutation as a biomarker of response to targeted therapies such as iPARP is in the process of being validated. The distribution of mutations according to the functional domain in which they are located may be a good method for establish their role in cancer risk.Kom op tegen Kanker; Fondation contre le Cancer; AstraZeneca; MS
GeNeo : agnostic comprehensive genomic profiling versus limited panel organ-directed next-generation sequencing within the Belgian PRECISION initiative
No full textRoche; Fondation contre le Cancer; Kom op tegen Kanke
Prevention of acute radiodermatitis by photobiomodulation: preliminary results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in breast cancer patients
No full textBackground
The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) in the prevention
of acute radiodermatitis (RD) in breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT).
Study Design/Materials and Method
This randomized, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 66 breast cancer patients that underwent an
identical RT regime post-lumpectomy. Patients were randomly assigned to the laser (n=34) or
placebo group (n=32). There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect
to patient- and treatment-related characteristics. Laser or placebo was applied two days a week,
immediately after the RT session, starting at the first day of RT. PBMT was delivered using a class
IV MLS® M6 laser that combines two synchronized laser diodes in the infrared range (808-905 nm)
with a fixed energy density (4 J/cm2). Clinical scoring of RD (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
(RTOG) grading scale) and biophysical measurements (skin hydration, transepidermal water loss
(TEWL), and degree of erythema) were determined at the first day, at fraction 20 and at the end
of RT. In the results section, only preliminary results of the RTOG scores are shown.
Results
At fraction 20 of RT, there was no significant difference between the groups in the distribution of
RTOG grades (p= .524), with most of the patients presenting RTOG grade 1. Towards the end of
RT, the skin reactions worsened in the placebo group (p= 0.016), while they remained stable in
the laser group (p= .207). There was a significant difference in the severity of RD between the two
groups (p= .021) with a larger percentage of patients experiencing RTOG grade 2 or higher (e.g.
moist desquamation) in the placebo group (28.1% vs. 5.9%, for the placebo and laser group,
resp.) at the last day of RT.
Conclusion
The preliminary results of this first randomized, placebo-controlled trial show that PBMT can
prevent aggravation of acute RD in breast cancer patients.LCRP; Limburgs Kankerfonds; ASA sr
Replication Data for: Impact of withholding early parenteral nutrition on 2-year mortality and functional outcome in critically ill adults.
No full textThis dataset contains the results of the preplanned collection of self-reported functional outcome and the vital status of patients included in the EPaNIC RCT (Casaer MP ea. NEJM 2011).
Functional status is based on the answers provided in the SF-36 survey and in case of missing answers imputed according to the SF-36 guidelines. The total scores for “physical functioning” “Physical Component Score” and “Mental Component Score” are provided.
For “physical functioning” additionally a penalized variable, attributing the lowest score to non-survivors is included.
Vital status at two years is obtained from the Belgian National Registry and for non-Belgian residents via phonecall.
The purpose of the data set is to analyze the impact of early versus late parenteral nutrition on morbidity and mortality after two years in patients deemed at lower versus higher nutritional risk
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