Quality of life measurement in skin cancer patients: literature review and position paper of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Task Forces on Quality of Life and Patient Oriented Outcomes,Melanoma and Non‐Melanoma Skin Cancer

The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Task Forces (TFs) on Quality of Life (QoL) and Patient Oriented Outcomes, Melanoma and Non‐Melanoma Skin Cancer (NMSC) present a review of the literature and position statement on health‐related (HR) QoL assessment in skin cancer patients. A literature search was carried out to identify publications since 1980 that included information about the impact of SC on QoL. Generic, dermatology‐specific, cancer‐specific, SC‐specific, facial SC‐specific, NMSC‐specific, basal cell carcinoma‐specific and melanoma‐specific QoL questionnaires have been used to assess HRQoL in SC patients. HRQoL was assessed in the context of creation and validation of the HRQoL instruments, clinical trials, comparison of QoL in SC and other cancers, other diseases or controls, HRQoL assessment after treatment, comorbidities, behaviour modification, predictors of QoL and survival, supportive care needs, coping strategies and fear of cancer recurrence. The most widely used instruments for HRQoL assessment in SC patients are the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐C30), the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Melanoma (FACT‐M), Skin Cancer Index (SCI), Short Form 36 Item Health Survey (SF‐36) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). The TFs recommend the use of the cancer‐specific EORTC QLQ‐C30, especially in late stages of disease, and the melanoma‐specific FACT‐M and SC‐specific SCI questionnaires. These instruments have been well validated and used in several studies. Other HRQoL instruments, also with good basic validation, are not currently recommended because the experience of their use is too limited. Dermatology‐specific HRQoL instruments can be used to assess the impact of skin‐related problems in SC. The TFs encourage further studies to validate HRQoL instruments for use in different stages of SC, in order to allow more detailed practical recommendations on HRQoL assessment in SC.     

Prospective Comparison of Toxicity and Cosmetic Outcome After Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation With Conformal External Beam Radiotherapy or Single-Entry Multilumen Intracavitary Brachytherapy

Purpose

This study aimed to prospectively characterize toxicity and cosmesis after accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (CRT) or single-entry, multilumen, intracavitary brachytherapy.

Overview on vitamin D and sunbed use

Vitamin D seems to be associated with a protective effect in a vast range of diseases, including cardiovascular, autoimmune and oncologic conditions. Since ultraviolet (UV) B light is the most important prerequisite for the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D, sunbeds are able to increase serum vitamin D levels, although only transiently in most cases. In this scenario, the artificial tanning industry relentlessly tries to promote the use of sunbeds as a ‘safe’ therapeutic measure to achieve an adequate serum vitamin D status. The World Health Organization classified UV‐emitting tanning devices, as well as the whole UV spectrum, as group‐1 carcinogens, as they significantly increase the risk of melanoma and non‐melanoma skin cancer. In case of vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, the current risk‐benefit ratio is therefore in favour of vitamin D supplementation instead of sunbed use. Artificial tanning devices should never be considered as an option to achieve an appropriate vitamin D status. Their supposedly beneficial effects, vastly publicised by the artificial tanning industry, are not worth the carcinogenic risk associated with sunbed use.     

How to master endoscopic submucosal dissection in the USA

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an established technique for the endoscopic therapy of dysplastic and early cancerous lesions throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The procedure requires both a sophisticated knowledge for lesion characterization and high‐level endoscopic skills. As a result, the learning curve is very steep and, in Japan, it takes years to gain proficiency under the traditional Master‐Apprentice teaching model. At present, as a result of multiple limitations, this training model is not applicable to the USA. Nevertheless, a unique, multipronged, stepwise approach has emerged as a viable pathway to train US endoscopists in ESD. Although this approach deserves refinement, it has already led to the expansion of ESD in the USA, has contributed to the widening of the indications for ESD, and has further developed ESD techniques. Multiple challenges remain, but they can be overcome by active collaboration between Japanese and US endoscopists and professional societies. The robust interest in ESD in the USA has drawn industry attention with a few innovations already coming to fruition and many more in development.     

Evaluating the Cost-Effectiveness of Hydrogel Rectal Spacer in Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy

Purpose

A hydrogel rectal spacer (HRS) is a medical device that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to increase the separation between the prostate and rectum. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of HRS use for reduction in radiation therapy (RT) toxicities in patients with prostate cancer (PC) undergoing external beam RT (EBRT).

TcVac1 vaccine delivery by intradermal electroporation enhances vaccine induced immune protection against Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice

The efforts for the development and testing of vaccines against Trypanosoma cruzi infection have increased during the past years. We have designed a TcVac series of vaccines composed of T. cruzi derived, GPI-anchored membrane antigens. The TcVac vaccines have been shown to elicit humoral and cellular mediated immune responses and provide significant (but not complete) control of experimental infection in mice and dogs. Herein, we aimed to test two immunization protocols for the delivery of DNA-prime/DNA-boost vaccine (TcVac1) composed of TcG2 and TcG4 antigens in a BALB/c mouse model. Mice were immunized with TcVac1 through intradermal/electroporation (IDE) or intramuscular (IM) routes, challenged with T. cruzi, and evaluated during acute phase of infection. The humoral immune response was evaluated through the assessment of anti-TcG2 and anti-TcG4 IgG subtypes by using an ELISA. Cellular immune response was assessed through a lymphocyte proliferation assay. Finally, clinical and morphopathological aspects were evaluated for all experimental animals. Our results demonstrated that when comparing TcVac1 IDE delivery vs IM delivery, the former induced significantly higher level of antigen-specific antibody response (IgG2a?+?IgG2b?>?IgG1) and lymphocyte proliferation, which expanded in response to challenge infection. Histological evaluation after challenge infection showed infiltration of inflammatory cells (macrophages and lymphocytes) in the heart and skeletal tissue of all infected mice. However, the largest increase in inflammatory infiltrate was observed in TcVac1_IDE/Tc mice when compared with TcVac1_IM/Tc or non-vaccinated/infected mice. The extent of tissue inflammatory infiltrate was directly associated with the control of tissue amastigote nests in vaccinated/infected (vs. non-vaccinated/infected) mice. Our results suggest that IDE delivery improves the protective efficacy of TcVac1 vaccine against T. cruzi infection in mice when compared with IM delivery of the vaccine.     

Neural plasticity and adult neurogenesis: the deep biology perspective

The recognition that neurogenesis does not stop with adolescence has spun off research towards the reduction of brain disorders by enhancing brain regeneration. Adult neurogenesis is one of the tougher problems of developmental biology as it requires the generation of complex intracellular and pericellular anatomies, amidst the danger of neuroinflammation. We here review how a multitude of regulatory pathways optimized for early neurogenesis has to be revamped into a new choreography of time dependencies. Distinct pathways need to be regulated, ranging from neural growth factor induced differentiation to mitochondrial bioenergetics, reactive oxygen metabolism, and apoptosis. Requiring much Gibbs energy consumption, brain depends on aerobic energy metabolism, hence on mitochondrial activity. Mitochondrial fission and fusion, movement and perhaps even mitoptosis, thereby come into play. All these network processes are interlinked and involve a plethora of molecules. We recommend a deep thinking approach to adult neurobiology.