@article{LichthardtKerscherDietzetal.2016,
  author    = {Lichthardt, Sven and Kerscher, Alexander and Dietz, Ulrich A. and Jurowich, Christian and Kunzmann, Volker and von Rahden, Burkhard H. A. and Germer, Christoph-Thomas and Wiegering, Armin},
  title     = {Original article: role of adjuvant chemotherapy in a perioperative chemotherapy regimen for gastric cancer},
  series = {BMC Cancer},
  volume    = {16},
  journal   = {BMC Cancer},
  number    = {650},
  doi       = {10.1186/s12885-016-2708-0},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-147743},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Background Multimodal treatment strategies - perioperative chemotherapy (CTx) and radical surgery - are currently accepted as treatment standard for locally advanced gastric cancer. However, the role of adjuvant postoperative CTx (postCTx) in addition to neoadjuvant preoperative CTx (preCTx) in this setting remains controversial. Methods Between 4/2006 and 12/2013, 116 patients with locally advanced gastric cancer were treated with preCTx. 72 patients (62 \%), in whom complete tumor resection (R0, subtotal/total gastrectomy with D2-lymphadenectomy) was achieved, were divided into two groups, one of which receiving adjuvant therapy (n = 52) and one without (n = 20). These groups were analyzed with regard to survival and exclusion criteria for adjuvant therapy. Results Postoperative complications, as well as their severity grade, did not correlate with fewer postCTx cycles administered (p = n.s.). Long-term survival was shorter in patients receiving postCTx in comparison to patients without postCTx, but did not show statistical significance. In per protocol analysis by excluding two patients with perioperative death, a shorter 3-year survival rate was observed in patients receiving postCTx compared to patients without postCTx (3-year survival: 71.2 \% postCTx group vs. 90.0 \% non-postCTx group; p = 0.038). Conclusion These results appear contradicting to the anticipated outcome. While speculative, they question the value of post-CTx. Prospectively randomized studies are needed to elucidate the role of postCTx.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PelzChuaEsquiveletal.2010,
  author    = {Pelz, Joerg O. W. and Chua, Terence C. and Esquivel, Jesus and Stojadinovic, Alexander and Doerfer, Joerg and Morris, David L. and Maeder, Uwe and Germer, Christoph-Thomas and Kerscher, Alexander G.},
  title     = {Evaluation of Best Supportive Care and Systemic Chemotherapy as Treatment Stratified according to the retrospective Peritoneal Surface Disease Severity Score (PSDSS) for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis of Colorectal Origin},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-67875},
  year      = {2010},
  abstract  = {Background: We evaluate the long-term survival of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) treated with systemic chemotherapy regimens, and the impact of the of the retrospective peritoneal disease severity score (PSDSS) on outcomes. Methods: One hundred sixty-seven consecutive patients treated with PC from colorectal cancer between years 1987-2006 were identified from a prospective institutional database. These patients either received no chemotherapy, 5-FU/Leucovorin or Oxaliplatin/Irinotecan-based chemotherapy. Stratification was made according to the retrospective PSDSS that classifies PC patients based on clinically relevant factors. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and comparison with the log-rank test. Results: Median survival was 5 months (95\% CI, 3-7 months) for patients who had no chemotherapy, 11 months (95\% CI, 6-9 months) for patients treated with 5 FU/LV, and 12 months (95\% CI, 4-20 months) for patients treated with Oxaliplatin/Irinotecan-based chemotherapy. Survival differed between patients treated with chemotherapy compared to those patients who did not receive chemotherapy (p = 0.026). PSDSS staging was identified as an independent predictor for survival on multivariate analysis [RR 2.8 (95\%CI 1.5-5.4); p < 0.001]. Conclusion: A trend towards improved outcomes is demonstrated from treatment of patients with PC from colorectal cancer using modern systemic chemotherapy. The PSDSS appears to be a useful tool in patient selection and prognostication in PC of colorectal origin.},
  subject      = {Krebs <Medizin>},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SeyfriedvonRahdenMirasetal.2015,
  author    = {Seyfried, Florian and von Rahden, Burkhard H. and Miras, Alexander D. and Gasser, Martin and Maeder, Uwe and Kunzmann, Volker and Germer, Christoph-Thomas and Pelz, J{\"o}rg O. W. and Kerscher, Alexander G.},
  title     = {Incidence, time course and independent risk factors for metachronous peritoneal carcinomatosis of gastric origin - a longitudinal experience from a prospectively collected database of 1108 patients},
  series = {BMC Cancer},
  volume    = {15},
  journal   = {BMC Cancer},
  number    = {73},
  doi       = {10.1186/s12885-015-1081-8},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125014},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Background Comprehensive evidence on the incidence, time course and independent risk factors of metachronous peritoneal carcinomatosis (metaPC) in gastric cancer patients treated with curative intent in the context of available systemic combination chemotherapies is lacking. Methods Data from a prospectively collected single-institutional Center Cancer Registry with 1108 consecutive patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (GC), clinical, histological and survival data were analyzed for independent risk factors and prognosis with focus on the development of metaPC. Findings were then stratified to the time periods of treatment with surgery alone, 5-Fluorouracil-only and contemporary combined systemic perioperative chemotherapy strategies, respectively. Results Despite R0 D2 gastrectomy (n = 560), 49.6\% (±5.4\%) of the patients were diagnosed with tumour recurrence and 15.5\% (±1.8\%) developed metaPC after a median time of 17.7 (15.1-20.3) months after surgery resulting in a tumour related mortality of 100\% with a median survival of 3.0 months (2.1 - 4.0). Independent risk factors for the development of metaPC were serosa positive T-category, nodal positive-status, signet cell and undifferentiated gradings (G3/G4). Contemporary systemic combination chemotherapy did not improve the incidence and prognosis of metaPC (p = 0.54). Conclusions Despite significant improvements in the overall survival for the complete cohort with gastric cancer over time, those patients with metaPC did not experience the same benefits. The lack of change in the incidence, and persistent poor prognosis of metaPC after curative surgery expose the need for further prevention and/or improved treatment options for this devastating condition.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{DuhrKennKickuthetal.2011,
  author    = {Duhr, Carolin D. and Kenn, Werner and Kickuth, Ralph and Kerscher, Alexander G. and Germer, Christoph-Thomas and Hahn, Dietbert and Pelz, Joerg O. W.},
  title     = {Optimizing of preoperative computed tomography for diagnosis in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis},
  series = {World Journal of Surgical Oncology},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {World Journal of Surgical Oncology},
  number    = {171},
  doi       = {10.1186/1477-7819-9-171},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-138024},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Background and Objective This study evaluates whether Computer Tomography is an effective procedure for preoperative staging of patients with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis. Method A sample of 37 patients was analyzed with contrast enhanced abdominal Computer Tomography, followed by surgical staging. All Computer Tomography scans were evaluated 3 times by 2 radiologists with one radiologist reviewing 2 times. The efficacy of Computer Tomography was evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Correlations were analyzed by abdominopelvic region to assess results of the Peritoneal Carcinomatosis Index (PCI) aggregating the 13 regions. Surgical findings were compared to radiological findings. Results Results indicate high correlations between the surgical and radiological Peritoneal Carcinomatosis Indices. Analyses of the intra-class correlation between the first and second reading of one radiologist suggest high intra-observer reliability. Correlations by abdominopelvic region show higher values in the upper and middle regions and relatively lower values in the lower regions and the small bowel (correlation coefficients range between 0.418 and 0.726, p < 0.010; sensitivities range between 50\% and 96\%; and specificities range between 62\% and 100\%). Conclusion Computer Tomography represents an effective procedure in the preoperative staging of patients with PC. However, results by abdominopelvic region show lower correlation, therefore suggest lower efficacy. These results are supported by analyses of sensitivity and accuracy by lesion size. This suggests that Computer Tomography is an effective procedure for pre-operative staging but less for determining a tumor's accurate extent.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kerscher2006,
  author    = {Kerscher, Alexander Georg},
  title     = {Entwicklung einer mikroskopierbaren Perfusions-Kulturkammer f{\"u}r die Kultivierung, die In-Vitro-Vitalit{\"a}ts- und die Funktionsdiagnostik von endokrinen Zellen},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-20282},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2006},
  abstract  = {Als Therapie des Diabetes mellitus Typ II stellt die Xenotransplantation von porzinen Langerhans-Inseln in mikroverkapselter Form eine attraktive Alternative zu den t{\"a}glichen Insulininjektionen dar. Kultivierung und Funktionsdiagnostik der isolierten porzinen Langerhans-Inseln sind technisch anspruchsvoll und bieten noch immer Potential f{\"u}r Verbesserungen. Werden die Zellen in Zellkulturflaschen {\"u}ber mehrere Tage kultiviert, sinkt die Vitalit{\"a}t unter ein akzeptables Niveau. Bei der Beurteilung der Vitalit{\"a}t und Funktion der Inseln gehen wertvolle Zellen f{\"u}r eine sp{\"a}tere Transplantation verloren. Dies schr{\"a}nkt eine ausgiebige Diagnostik vor der Transplantation ein. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, eine M{\"o}glichkeit zur Verbesserung der Kulturbedingungen zu finden und exakte Ergebnisse bei der Funktions- und Vitalit{\"a}tsdiagnostik ohne Verlust von Zellen zu erreichen. Vorversuche konnten beweisen, dass eine Verbesserung der Vitalit{\"a}t von Langerhans-Inseln in Kultur an der Methode der Kultivierung in Zellkulturflaschen scheitert. Stattdessen wurde das Prinzip der Perfusionskultur in spezialisierten Beh{\"a}ltnissen f{\"u}r die systematische Verbesserung der Kulturbedingungen und zur genaueren Diagnostik mittels Mikroskopie und Funktionsdiagnostik gew{\"a}hlt. Mit einem solchen System ist sowohl Kultivierung als auch Funktions- und Vitalit{\"a}tsdiagnostik in einem Beh{\"a}lter m{\"o}glich. Beim Prinzip der Perfusionskultur befindet sich das Medium stets in Bewegung um die Zellen und Gewebe und sorgt so f{\"u}r einen kontinuierlichen Zustrom exakt definierten Mediums und permanenten Abtransport der Stoffwechselprodukte. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde f{\"u}r die Anforderungen im eigenen Labor ein maßgeschneidertes System mit mehreren Versionen von Beh{\"a}ltnissen f{\"u}r Perfusionskulturen entwickelt, deren jeweils neuere Version auf den Erfahrungen mit den Vorversionen aufbaut. In die Entwicklung fließen ebenso umfangreiche theoretische {\"U}berlegungen ein, sowie systematische Tests zu den physikalischen Eigenschaften der Beh{\"a}ltnisse. Die zuletzt entwickelte ist die Version V6SMTE, die in der Arbeit „W{\"u}rzburger Kammer" genannt wird. Dieser Beh{\"a}lter ist aus Edelstahl, mit einem Deckglas zur makro- und mikroskopischen Begutachtung, Zu- und Abl{\"a}ufen und einem Anschluss zum Entfernen von Gasblasen. Im Inneren befindet sich ein Einsatz, der eine stufenlose Regulierung des Volumens um die Zellen erm{\"o}glicht, so dass f{\"u}r Kultur und Funktionspr{\"u}fung bzw. Mikroskopie jeweils optimale Bedingungen erreicht werden. Weiterhin kann {\"u}ber einen Temperatursensor die Temperatur im Inneren des Beh{\"a}lters gemessen und {\"u}ber Heizelemente an der Außenwand computergesteuert reguliert werden. Die Zellen und Gewebe k{\"o}nnen auf unterschiedlichen Tr{\"a}germaterialien eingesetzt werden. W{\"a}hrend der Kultur kann ein Deckel ge{\"o}ffnet und die Zellen manipuliert werden. Das System ist unabh{\"a}ngig vom Brutschrank, ist sterilisierbar und wieder verwendbar. Kultiviert wurde endokrines Gewebe (isolierte Langerhans-Inseln, humanes Nebenschilddr{\"u}sengewebe). Dieses wurde zur Funktionspr{\"u}fung mit verschiedenen Mediatoren stimuliert, das Medium fraktioniert aufgefangen und sein Hormongehalt mit ELISA oder RIA bestimmt. Die Zellen wurden nativ und mit Fluoreszenzfarbstoffen (FDA, PI) gef{\"a}rbt mit bis zu 400facher Vergr{\"o}ßerung unter dem Auflichtmikroskop beurteilt. Im Zuge der Auswertung der anfallenden Proben auf ihren Insulingehalt wurde f{\"u}r diese Arbeit ein Insulin-ELISA entwickelt, der bei vergleichbarer Genauigkeit deutlich g{\"u}nstiger ist, als der bisher verwendete kommerzielle ELISA. Mit der W{\"u}rzburger Kammer kultivierte Langerhans-Inseln zeigten eine vergleichbare Vitalit{\"a}t im Vergleich zur Zellkulturflasche, die mit der W{\"u}rzburger Kammer gewonnenen Perifusionskurven sind in hohem Maß reproduzierbar, Zusammenh{\"a}nge von H{\"o}he der Glukoseexposition und Kultivierungsdauer mit der Insulinaussch{\"u}ttungskurve konnten eindrucksvoll beschrieben werden. Erstmals wurde auch im eigenen Labor die aus der Literatur bekannte paradoxe Insulinaussch{\"u}ttung beschrieben. Beispielhaft f{\"u}r andere endokrine Gewebe wurde humanes Nebenschilddr{\"u}sengewebe erfolgreich in der W{\"u}rzburger Kammer kultiviert und Vitalit{\"a}ts- und Funktionsdiagnostik unterzogen. Das Kultursystem erm{\"o}glicht die Kultivierung und eine komplette Analyse von Funktion, Vitalit{\"a}t und Morphologie von endokrinen Zellen. Es kann somit in idealer Weise zur Verbesserung der Kulturbedingungen und zur Beurteilung von endokrinen Zellen vor der Transplantation herangezogen werden.},
  language  = {de}
}
@article{WiegeringIsbertDietzetal.2014,
  author    = {Wiegering, Armin and Isbert, Christoph and Dietz, Ulrich A. and Kunzmann, Volker and Ackermann, Sabine and Kerscher, Alexander and Maeder, Uwe and Flentje, Michael and Schlegel, Nicolas and Reibetanz, Joachim and Germer, Christoph-Thomas and Klein, Ingo},
  title     = {Multimodal therapy in treatment of rectal cancer is associated with improved survival and reduced local recurrence - a retrospective analysis over two decades},
  doi       = {10.1186/1471-2407-14-816},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-110606},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background The management of rectal cancer (RC) has substantially changed over the last decades with the implementation of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, adjuvant therapy and improved surgery such as total mesorectal excision (TME). It remains unclear in which way these approaches overall influenced the rate of local recurrence and overall survival. Methods Clinical, histological and survival data of 658 out of 662 consecutive patients with RC were analyzed for treatment and prognostic factors from a prospectively expanded single-institutional database. Findings were then stratified according to time of diagnosis in patient groups treated between 1993 and 2001 and 2002 and 2010. Results The study population included 658 consecutive patients with rectal cancer between 1993 and 2010. Follow up data was available for 99.6\% of all 662 treated patients. During the time period between 2002 and 2010 significantly more patients underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (17.6\% vs. 60\%) and adjuvant chemotherapy (37.9\% vs. 58.4\%). Also, the rate of reported TME during surgery increased. The rate of local or distant metastasis decreased over time, and tumor related 5-year survival increased significantly with from 60\% to 79\%. Conclusion In our study population, the implementation of treatment changes over the last decade improved the patient's outcome significantly. Improvements were most evident for UICC stage III rectal cancer.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{StanglHaasEichneretal.2020,
  author    = {Stangl, Stephanie and Haas, Kirsten and Eichner, Felizitas A. and Grau, Anna and Selig, Udo and Ludwig, Timo and Fehm, Tanja and St{\"u}bner, Tanja and Rashid, Asarnusch and Kerscher, Alexander and Bargou, Ralf and Hermann, Silke and Arndt, Volker and Meyer, Martin and Wildner, Manfred and Faller, Hermann and Schrauder, Michael G. and Weigel, Michael and Schlembach, Ulrich and Heuschmann, Peter U. and W{\"o}ckel, Achim},
  title     = {Development and proof-of-concept of a multicenter, patient-centered cancer registry for breast cancer patients with metastatic disease — the "Breast cancer care for patients with metastatic disease" (BRE-4-MED) registry},
  series = {Pilot and Feasibility Studies},
  volume    = {6},
  journal   = {Pilot and Feasibility Studies},
  doi       = {10.1186/s40814-019-0541-3},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229149},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Background: Patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are treated with a palliative approach with focus oncontrolling for disease symptoms and maintaining high quality of life. Information on individual needs of patients andtheir relatives as well as on treatment patterns in clinical routine care for this specific patient group are lacking or arenot routinely documented in established Cancer Registries. Thus, we developed a registry concept specifically adaptedfor these incurable patients comprising primary and secondary data as well as mobile-health (m-health) data. Methods: The concept for patient-centered "Breast cancer care for patients with metastatic disease"(BRE-4-MED)registry was developed and piloted exemplarily in the region of Main-Franconia, a mainly rural region in Germanycomprising about 1.3 M inhabitants. The registry concept includes data on diagnosis, therapy, progression, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and needs of family members from several sources of information includingroutine data from established Cancer Registries in different federal states, treating physicians in hospital as well as inoutpatient settings, patients with metastatic breast cancer and their family members. Linkage with routine cancerregistry data was performed to collect secondary data on diagnosis, therapy, and progression. Paper and online-basedquestionnaires were used to assess PROMs. A dedicated mobile application software (APP) was developed to monitorneeds, progression, and therapy change of individual patients. Patient's acceptance and feasibility of data collection inclinical routine was assessed within a proof-of-concept study. Results: The concept for the BRE-4-MED registry was developed and piloted between September 2017 and May 2018.In total n= 31 patients were included in the pilot study, n= 22 patients were followed up after 1 month. Recordlinkage with the Cancer Registries of Bavaria and Baden-W{\"u}rttemberg demonstrated to be feasible. The voluntary APP/online questionnaire was used by n= 7 participants. The feasibility of the registry concept in clinical routine waspositively evaluated by the participating hospitals. Conclusion: The concept of the BRE-4-MED registry provides evidence that combinatorial evaluation of PROMs, needsof family members, and raising clinical parameters from primary and secondary data sources as well as m-healthapplications are feasible and accepted in an incurable cancer collective.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LodaKrebsDanhofetal.2019,
  author    = {Loda, Sophia and Krebs, Jonathan and Danhof, Sophia and Schreder, Martin and Solimando, Antonio G. and Strifler, Susanne and Rasche, Leo and Kort{\"u}m, Martin and Kerscher, Alexander and Knop, Stefan and Puppe, Frank and Einsele, Hermann and Bittrich, Max},
  title     = {Exploration of artificial intelligence use with ARIES in multiple myeloma research},
  series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
  number    = {7},
  issn      = {2077-0383},
  doi       = {10.3390/jcm8070999},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-197231},
  pages     = {999},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Background: Natural language processing (NLP) is a powerful tool supporting the generation of Real-World Evidence (RWE). There is no NLP system that enables the extensive querying of parameters specific to multiple myeloma (MM) out of unstructured medical reports. We therefore created a MM-specific ontology to accelerate the information extraction (IE) out of unstructured text. Methods: Our MM ontology consists of extensive MM-specific and hierarchically structured attributes and values. We implemented "A Rule-based Information Extraction System" (ARIES) that uses this ontology. We evaluated ARIES on 200 randomly selected medical reports of patients diagnosed with MM. Results: Our system achieved a high F1-Score of 0.92 on the evaluation dataset with a precision of 0.87 and recall of 0.98. Conclusions: Our rule-based IE system enables the comprehensive querying of medical reports. The IE accelerates the extraction of data and enables clinicians to faster generate RWE on hematological issues. RWE helps clinicians to make decisions in an evidence-based manner. Our tool easily accelerates the integration of research evidence into everyday clinical practice.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MarquardtSolimandoKerscheretal.2021,
  author    = {Marquardt, Andr{\´e} and Solimando, Antonio Giovanni and Kerscher, Alexander and Bittrich, Max and Kalogirou, Charis and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Rosenwald, Andreas and Bargou, Ralf and Kollmannsberger, Philip and Schilling, Bastian and Meierjohann, Svenja and Krebs, Markus},
  title     = {Subgroup-Independent Mapping of Renal Cell Carcinoma — Machine Learning Reveals Prognostic Mitochondrial Gene Signature Beyond Histopathologic Boundaries},
  series = {Frontiers in Oncology},
  volume    = {11},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Oncology},
  issn      = {2234-943X},
  doi       = {10.3389/fonc.2021.621278},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-232107},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is divided into three major histopathologic groups—clear cell (ccRCC), papillary (pRCC) and chromophobe RCC (chRCC). We performed a comprehensive re-analysis of publicly available RCC datasets from the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database, thereby combining samples from all three subgroups, for an exploratory transcriptome profiling of RCC subgroups. Materials and Methods: We used FPKM (fragments per kilobase per million) files derived from the ccRCC, pRCC and chRCC cohorts of the TCGA database, representing transcriptomic data of 891 patients. Using principal component analysis, we visualized datasets as t-SNE plot for cluster detection. Clusters were characterized by machine learning, resulting gene signatures were validated by correlation analyses in the TCGA dataset and three external datasets (ICGC RECA-EU, CPTAC-3-Kidney, and GSE157256). Results: Many RCC samples co-clustered according to histopathology. However, a substantial number of samples clustered independently from histopathologic origin (mixed subgroup)—demonstrating divergence between histopathology and transcriptomic data. Further analyses of mixed subgroup via machine learning revealed a predominant mitochondrial gene signature—a trait previously known for chRCC—across all histopathologic subgroups. Additionally, ccRCC samples from mixed subgroup presented an inverse correlation of mitochondrial and angiogenesis-related genes in the TCGA and in three external validation cohorts. Moreover, mixed subgroup affiliation was associated with a highly significant shorter overall survival for patients with ccRCC—and a highly significant longer overall survival for chRCC patients. Conclusions: Pan-RCC clustering according to RNA-sequencing data revealed a distinct histology-independent subgroup characterized by strengthened mitochondrial and weakened angiogenesis-related gene signatures. Moreover, affiliation to mixed subgroup went along with a significantly shorter overall survival for ccRCC and a longer overall survival for chRCC patients. Further research could offer a therapy stratification by specifically addressing the mitochondrial metabolism of such tumors and its microenvironment.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MarquardtKollmannsbergerKrebsetal.2022,
  author    = {Marquardt, Andr{\´e} and Kollmannsberger, Philip and Krebs, Markus and Argentiero, Antonella and Knott, Markus and Solimando, Antonio Giovanni and Kerscher, Alexander Georg},
  title     = {Visual clustering of transcriptomic data from primary and metastatic tumors — dependencies and novel pitfalls},
  series = {Genes},
  volume    = {13},
  journal   = {Genes},
  number    = {8},
  issn      = {2073-4425},
  doi       = {10.3390/genes13081335},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-281872},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Personalized oncology is a rapidly evolving area and offers cancer patients therapy options that are more specific than ever. However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding transcriptomic similarities or differences of metastases and corresponding primary sites. Applying two unsupervised dimension reduction methods (t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) and Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP)) on three datasets of metastases (n = 682 samples) with three different data transformations (unprocessed, log10 as well as log10 + 1 transformed values), we visualized potential underlying clusters. Additionally, we analyzed two datasets (n = 616 samples) containing metastases and primary tumors of one entity, to point out potential familiarities. Using these methods, no tight link between the site of resection and cluster formation outcome could be demonstrated, or for datasets consisting of solely metastasis or mixed datasets. Instead, dimension reduction methods and data transformation significantly impacted visual clustering results. Our findings strongly suggest data transformation to be considered as another key element in the interpretation of visual clustering approaches along with initialization and different parameters. Furthermore, the results highlight the need for a more thorough examination of parameters used in the analysis of clusters.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LuekeHallerUtpateletal.2022,
  author    = {L{\"u}ke, Florian and Haller, Florian and Utpatel, Kirsten and Krebs, Markus and Meidenbauer, Norbert and Scheiter, Alexander and Spoerl, Silvia and Heudobler, Daniel and Sparrer, Daniela and Kaiser, Ulrich and Keil, Felix and Schubart, Christoph and T{\"o}gel, Lars and Einhell, Sabine and Dietmaier, Wolfgang and Huss, Ralf and Dintner, Sebastian and Sommer, Sebastian and Jordan, Frank and Goebeler, Maria-Elisabeth and Metz, Michaela and Haake, Diana and Scheytt, Mithun and Gerhard-Hartmann, Elena and Maurus, Katja and Br{\"a}ndlein, Stephanie and Rosenwald, Andreas and Hartmann, Arndt and M{\"a}rkl, Bruno and Einsele, Hermann and Mackensen, Andreas and Herr, Wolfgang and Kunzmann, Volker and Bargou, Ralf and Beckmann, Matthias W. and Pukrop, Tobias and Trepel, Martin and Evert, Matthias and Claus, Rainer and Kerscher, Alexander},
  title     = {Identification of disparities in personalized cancer care — a joint approach of the German WERA consortium},
  series = {Cancers},
  volume    = {14},
  journal   = {Cancers},
  number    = {20},
  issn      = {2072-6694},
  doi       = {10.3390/cancers14205040},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290311},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {(1) Background: molecular tumor boards (MTBs) are crucial instruments for discussing and allocating targeted therapies to suitable cancer patients based on genetic findings. Currently, limited evidence is available regarding the regional impact and the outreach component of MTBs; (2) Methods: we analyzed MTB patient data from four neighboring Bavarian tertiary care oncology centers in W{\"u}rzburg, Erlangen, Regensburg, and Augsburg, together constituting the WERA Alliance. Absolute patient numbers and regional distribution across the WERA-wide catchment area were weighted with local population densities; (3) Results: the highest MTB patient numbers were found close to the four cancer centers. However, peaks in absolute patient numbers were also detected in more distant and rural areas. Moreover, weighting absolute numbers with local population density allowed for identifying so-called white spots—regions within our catchment that were relatively underrepresented in WERA MTBs; (4) Conclusions: investigating patient data from four neighboring cancer centers, we comprehensively assessed the regional impact of our MTBs. The results confirmed the success of existing collaborative structures with our regional partners. Additionally, our results help identifying potential white spots in providing precision oncology and help establishing a joint WERA-wide outreach strategy.},
  language  = {en}
}