Citations

Purpose: Planning for robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy requires surgeons to review two-dimensional CT or MRI scans to understand three-dimensional (3D) anatomy. We sought to determine the drivers of improvements in key surgical outcomes when using patient-specific 3D virtual reality (VR) models for operative planning. Materials and Methods: A multicenter, randomized, single-blind clinical trial was conducted from January 2019 to December 2020. Patients undergoing robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy were randomly assigned to a control group undergoing usual preoperative planning with CT and/or MRI only or to an intervention group where imaging was supplemented with a 3D VR model. A survey was administered to surgeons after review of the model and after the operation. The primary outcome measure was operative time, and secondary outcomes included clamp time, estimated blood loss, and hospital stay. Results: Qualitative data analysis of 44 cases in the treatment arm was performed. Surgeons reported seeing anatomic details much better in the 3D model 55% of the time and modified their preoperative plan based on anatomy shown in the 3D model 30% of the time. Cases in which the surgeon reported modifying their preoperative plan after viewing the model (30%) had significantly lower operative time, blood loss, and clamp time (P < .05). In addition, increased surgeon confidence after viewing the model significantly lowered operative time, estimated blood loss, and clamp time (P < .05). Conclusions: We demonstrate that surgeons who use 3D VR models for robotic kidney surgery are able to visualize anatomic structures and select the optimal approach, leading to better surgical outcomes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT0333434.

Abstract Recent advances in the field of immuno‐oncology have brought transformative changes in the management of cancer patients. The immune profile of tumours has been found to have key value in predicting disease prognosis and treatment response in various cancers. Multiplex immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence have emerged as potent tools for the simultaneous detection of multiple protein biomarkers in a single tissue section, thereby expanding opportunities for molecular and immune profiling while preserving tissue samples. By establishing the phenotype of individual tumour cells when distributed within a mixed cell population, the identification of clinically relevant biomarkers with high‐throughput multiplex immunophenotyping of tumour samples has great potential to guide appropriate treatment choices. Moreover, the emergence of novel multi‐marker imaging approaches can now provide unprecedented insights into the tumour microenvironment, including the potential interplay between various cell types. However, there are significant challenges to widespread integration of these technologies in daily research and clinical practice. This review addresses the challenges and potential solutions within a structured framework of action from a regulatory and clinical trial perspective. New developments within the field of immunophenotyping using multiplexed tissue imaging platforms and associated digital pathology are also described, with a specific focus on translational implications across different subtypes of cancer. © 2024 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

This article reports on a study to assess the feasibility of research procedures and acceptability of QBSAFE, a set of conversation cards focused on quality of life, treatment burden, safety, and avoidance of future events in people with type 2 diabetes. The study enrolled 84 patients and 7 clinicians. Of the 58 patients who completed questionnaires, 64% agreed that the QBSAFE agenda-setting kit (ASK) helped them discuss their situation, 78% agreed that others could benefit from it, and 38% said they would use it again. Most clinicians felt confident responding to issues (in 89% of encounters) and said they would use the kit again (78%) and recommend it to colleagues (82%). The QBSAFE ASK can be feasibly implemented and holds promise in facilitating discussion and collaborative problem-solving.

ObjectiveWhile thrombosis and pregnancy loss are the best‐known clinical features of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), many patients also exhibit “extra‐criteria” manifestations, such as thrombocytopenia. The mechanisms that drive APS thrombocytopenia are not completely understood, and no clinical biomarkers are available for predicting antiphospholipid antibody (aPL)–mediated thrombocytopenia. Calprotectin is a heterodimer of S100A8 and S100A9 that is abundant in the neutrophil cytoplasm and released upon proinflammatory neutrophil activation. Here, we sought to evaluate the presence, clinical associations, and potential mechanistic roles of circulating calprotectin in a cohort of primary APS and aPL‐positive patients.MethodsLevels of circulating calprotectin were determined in plasma by the QUANTA Flash chemiluminescent assay. A viability dye‐based platelet assay was used to assess the potential impact of calprotectin on aPL‐mediated thrombocytopenia.ResultsCirculating calprotectin was measured in 112 patients with primary APS and 30 aPL‐positive (without APS criteria manifestations or lupus) patients as compared to patients with lupus (without APS), patients with unprovoked venous thrombosis (without aPL), and healthy controls. Levels of calprotectin were higher in patients with primary APS and aPL‐positive patients compared to healthy controls. After adjustment for age and sex, calprotectin level correlated positively with absolute neutrophil count (r = 0.41, P < 0.001), positively with C‐reactive protein level (r = 0.34, P = 0.002), and negatively with platelet count (r = −0.24, P = 0.004). Mechanistically, we found that calprotectin provoked aPL‐mediated thrombocytopenia by engaging platelet surface toll‐like receptor 4 and activating the NLRP3‐inflammasome, thereby reducing platelet viability in a caspase‐1‐dependent manner.ConclusionThese data suggest that calprotectin has the potential to be a functional biomarker and a new therapeutic target for APS thrombocytopenia.image

AbstractTo address the current and long‐term unmet health needs of the growing population of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients, we established the Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes (LEO) cohort study (NCT02736357; https://leocohort.org/). A total of 7735 newly diagnosed patients aged 18 years and older with NHL were prospectively enrolled from 7/1/2015 to 5/31/2020 at 8 academic centers in the United States. The median age at diagnosis was 62 years (range, 18–99). Participants came from 49 US states and included 538 Black/African‐Americans (AA), 822 Hispanics (regardless of race), 3386 women, 716 age <40 years, and 1513 rural residents. At study baseline, we abstracted clinical, pathology, and treatment data; banked serum/plasma (N = 5883, 76.0%) and germline DNA (N = 5465, 70.7%); constructed tissue microarrays for four major NHL subtypes (N = 1189); and collected quality of life (N = 5281, 68.3%) and epidemiologic risk factor (N = 4489, 58.0%) data. Through August 2022, there were 1492 deaths. Compared to population‐based SEER data (2015–2019), LEO participants had a similar distribution of gender, AA race, Hispanic ethnicity, and NHL subtype, while LEO was underrepresented for patients who were Asian and aged 80 years and above. Observed overall survival rates for LEO at 1 and 2 years were similar to population‐based SEER rates for indolent B‐cell (follicular and marginal zone) and T‐cell lymphomas, but were 10%–15% higher than SEER rates for aggressive B‐cell subtypes (diffuse large B‐cell and mantle cell). The LEO cohort is a robust and comprehensive national resource to address the role of clinical, tumor, host genetic, epidemiologic, and other biologic factors in NHL prognosis and survivorship.