Bright Light Delights: Effects of Daily Light Exposure on Emotions, Restactivity Cycles, Sleep and Melatonin Secretion in Severely Demented Patients.

OBJECTIVE: We tested whether the effects of a dynamic lighting system are superior to conventional lighting on emotions, agitation behaviour, quality of life, melatonin secretion and circadian restactivity cycles in severely demented patients. As a comparison, an age matched control patient group was exposed to conventional lighting. For none of the output measures were significant differences between the two lighting conditions found during the 8 study weeks in fall/winter. METHODS: Thus, we divided the patient cohort (n = 89) into two groups, solely based on the median of their daily individual light exposure. Patients with higher average daily light exposure (>417 lx) showed significantly longer emotional expressions of pleasure and alertness per daily observations than patients with lower daily light exposure. Moreover, they had a higher quality of life, spent less time in bed, went to bed later and initiated their sleep episodes later, even though the two groups did not differ with respect to age, severity of cognitive impairment and mobility. In general, men were more agitated, had shorter sleep with more wake episodes, had a lower circadian amplitude of relative rest-wake activity and interdaily circadian stability than women. In particular, lower daily light exposures significantly predicted lower circadian amplitudes of rest-activity cycles in men but not in women. This may indicate sex specific susceptibility to daily light exposures for rest-activity regulation in older demented patients. RESULTS: Our results provide evidence that a higher daily light exposure has beneficial effects on emotions and thus improved quality of life in a severely demented patient group.

Comparison of Different Risk Classification Systems in 558 Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors after R0-Resection.

Background: Due to adjuvant treatment concepts for patients with R0-resected gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), a reproducible and reliable risk classification system proved of utmost importance for optimal treatment of patients and prediction of prognosis. The aim of this study was to reevaluate the impact of five widely-applied and well-established GIST risk classification systems (i.e., scores by Fletcher, Miettinen, Huang, Joensuu, and TNM classification) on a series of 558 GIST patients with long-term follow-up after R0 resection. Methods: Tumor size, mitotic count and site were used in variable combination to predict high- and low risk patients by the use of the five risk classification models. For survival analyses disease-specific survival, disease-free survival and overall-survival were investigated. Patients with initial metastatic disease or incompletely resectable tumors were excluded. Results: All GIST classification models distinguished well between patients with high-risk and low-risk tumors and none of the five risk systems was superior to predict patient outcome. The models showed significant heterogeneity. There was no significant difference between the different risk-groups regarding overall-survival. Subdivision of GIST patients with very low- and low-risk appeared to be negligible. Conclusions: Currently applied GIST risk classification systems are comparable to predict high- or low-risk patients with initial non-metastatic and completely resected GIST. However, the heterogeneity of the high-risk group and the absence of differences in overall survival indicate the need for more precise tumor- and patient-related criteria for better stratification of GIST and identification of patients who would benefit best from adjuvant tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.

Impact of age and gender on tumor related prognosis in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

BACKGROUND: Risk classification and prediction of prognosis in GIST is still a matter of debate. Data on the impact of age and gender as potential confounding factors are limited. Therefore we comprehensively investigated age and gender as independent risk factors for GIST. METHODS: Two independent patient cohorts (cohort I, n = 87 [<50 years]; cohort II, n = 125 [≥50 years]) were extracted from the multicentre Ulmer GIST registry including a total of 659 GIST patients retrospectively collected in 18 collaborative German oncological centers. Based on demographic and clinicopathological parameters and a median follow-up time of 4.3 years (range 0.56; 21.33) disease-specific-survival (DSS), disease-free-survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated. RESULTS: GIST patients older than fifty years showed significantly worse DSS compared to younger patients (p = 0.021; HR = 0.307, 95% CI [0.113; 0.834]). DSS was significantly more favorable in younger female GIST patients compared with elderly females (p = 0.008). Female gender resulted again in better prognosis in younger patients (p = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: Patient age (<50 years) and female gender were significantly associated with a more favourable prognosis in GIST. Extended studies are warranted to confirm our clinical results and to elucidate underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors of the esophagus: evaluation of a pooled case series regarding clinicopathological features and clinical outcome.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To elucidate diagnostic criteria, clinicopathological features and clinical outcome in patients with esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), representing an extremely rare subform of GIST with an estimated incidence of about 0.1 to 0.3 per million people. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Esophageal GIST cases from the Ulmer GIST registry consisting of 1077 cases were pooled with case reports and case series of esophageal GIST extracted from MEDLINE. Data were compared with those from 683 cases with gastric GIST from the Ulmer GIST registry. RESULTS: In comparison to gastric GIST, esophageal GIST (n = 55) occurred significantly more frequent in men (p = 0.035) as well as in patients younger than 60 at diagnosis (p < 0.001). Primary tumor sizes were significantly larger (p < 0.001), thereby resulting more frequently in a high-risk classification (OR = 4.53, CI 95% 2.41-8.52, p < 0.001). The 5-year rates of disease-specific survival (DSS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) were 50.9%, 65.3% and 48.3%, respectively. The prognosis of esophageal GIST was less favorable compared with gastric GIST (DSS: p < 0.001, HR = 0.158, 95% CI: 0.087-0.288; DFS: p = 0.023, HR 0.466, 95% CI: 0.241-0.901; OS p = 0.003, HR = 0.481, 95% CI: 0.294-0.785; univariate Cox model) after a median follow-up time of 28 months (range 1.9 to 202). Mutational analysis for KIT showed more frequently wild-type status in esophageal GIST (OR = 10.13, CI 95% 3.02-33.96, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal GIST differ significantly from gastric GIST in respect to clinicopathological features and clinical outcome. To optimize treatment options further prospective data on patients with esophageal GIST are urgently warranted.

Cyclin H expression is increased in GIST with very-high risk of malignancy.

BACKGROUND: Risk estimation of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) is based on tumour size and mitotic rate according to the National Institutes of Health consensus classification. The indication for adjuvant treatment of patients with high risk GIST after R0 resection with small molecule inhibitors is still a controversial issue, since these patients represent a highly heterogeneous population. Therefore, additional prognostic indicators are needed. Here, we evaluated the prognostic value of cyclin H expression in GIST. METHODS: In order to identify prognostic factors of GIST we evaluated a single centre cohort of ninety-five GIST patients. First, GISTs were classified with regard to tumour size, mitotic rate and localisation according to the NIH consensus and to three additional suggested risk classifications. Second, Cyclin H expression was analysed. RESULTS: Of ninety-five patients with GIST (53 female/42 male; median age: 66.78a; range 17-94a) risk classification revealed: 42% high risk, 20% intermediate risk, 23% low risk and 15% very low risk GIST. In patients with high risk GIST, the expression of cyclin H was highly predictive for reduced disease-specific survival (p = 0.038). A combination of cyclin H expression level and high risk classification yielded the strongest prognostic indicator for disease-specific and disease-free survival (p < or = 0.001). Moreover, in patients with tumour recurrence and/or metastases, cyclin H positivity was significantly associated with reduced disease-specific survival (p = 0.016) regardless of risk-classification. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that, in addition to high risk classification, cyclin H expression might be an indicator for "very-high risk" GIST.

p16 expression differentiates high-risk gastrointestinal stromal tumor and predicts poor outcome.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are characterized by alterations in genes involved in cell cycle regulation. Although p16 (INK4A) have been extensively investigated in GISTs, there are still discrepancies regarding its prognostic value. Therefore, we evaluated the clinical occurrence, diagnostic and prognostic value of p16 staining in GIST. One hundred one patients (54 women and 47 men) with a mean age of 64.1 years (range, 17-94 years) were surgically treated for a GIST within a 10-year period. Of these patients, 28 (28%) were affected by metastases (mean follow-up, 4.5 years). In 36 patients (36%), GIST occurred coincidentally with other malignancies. Expression of c-kit was confirmed in 97 GIST patients (96%). In patients with high-risk GIST, the expression of p16 expression was highly predictive for poor prognosis, i.e., the development of recurrence or metastases (P = .006) and poor survival (P = .004). In addition, the expression of p16 was highly predictive for reduction of the survival in patients who were affected by metastases or recurrence (P = .041). The disease-specific and disease-free 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rate was 96%, 90%, and 85% and 81%, 77%, and 72%, respectively. Primary tumor state, tumor size, and high-risk classification were confirmed as relevant predictors for unfavorable prognosis in GIST (P < .001). Our results indicate that in high-risk GIST and in patients with recurrence or metastases, the expression of p16 is highly predictive for poor outcome. Thus, in addition to high-risk classification, p16 expression might be an indicator for "very high risk GIST."