Incidence, mortality and survival of bladder neoplasms in the Czech Republic in the period 1977-2017: a time trend analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bladder neoplasms represent a significant disease burden in the Czech population. This study aimed to perform a complex time trend analysis of incidence, mortality, and survival of 76,505 patients with bladder neoplasms based on the Czech National Cancer Registry for 1977-2017. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The time trends of incidence and mortality were evaluated using the joinpoint regression. The relative survival and Cox proportional hazards model were used for survival analysis. RESULTS: After 2004, a significant annual decrease by 1.9% in the incidence of malignant tumors of the bladder (C67) was observed, accompanied by a sharp annual increase in the incidence of in situ bladder cancer (D090) by 16.9%. For mortality from malignant tumors of the bladder, a significant decrease by 1.4% annually was detected after 1998. The decline in both incidence and mortality was most pronounced in the below-65 years age group and in patients with a localized stage at dia-gnosis. While a significant decline in both incidence and mortality was observed for the first primary malignant tumors of the bladder, both these measures increased for malignant tumors of the bladder as subsequent primary neoplasms. The five-year relative survival of patients with malignant tumors of the bladder increased from 52.1% in 1990-1993 to 62.3% in 2013-2017. However, comparing the periods 2003-2007 and 2013-2017, a decrease has been observed. CONCLUSION: The decrease in the incidence and survival of malignant tumors of the bladder in the recent period is in particular caused by improved detection of in situ bladder cancer and classification changes. Other reasons for the decreasing survival include the increasing age at dia-gnosis, the growing number of subsequent primary neoplasms, and the increasing proportion of smokers among patients.

Cytoreduction and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the treatment of peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer in the Czech Republic in 2018.

BACKGROUND: For highly selected patients with peritoneal metastases (PM) from colorectal cancer (CRC), an aggressive surgical approach with intraperitoneal chemotherapy may be beneficial. This management may prolong overall survival, which is well documented by the results of a number of clinical trials. In the Czech Republic, five specialized centers of surgical oncology are able to perform cytoreductive surgery (CRS) in combination with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). All of these centers provided accurate information on the number of CRS procedures in 2018 in the PM CRC indication. The estimation of the prevalence of peritoneal metastases from CRC is based on data from the Czech National Cancer Registry. PURPOSE: To determine the number of cytoreductive procedures performed in patients with peritoneal metastases from CRC in the Czech Republic in 2018, and to compare it with the number of patients who could hypothetically benefit from this procedure according to statistical data. RESULTS: Twenty-five CRS/HIPEC procedures were performed on patients with peritoneal metastases from CRC in 2018 in the Czech Republic. However, based on the prevalence of peritoneal metastases from CRC in the Czech Republic, cytoreduction with intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) could probably bring benefit to a minimum of 150 patients a year in the Czech Republic. CONCLUSION: In the Czech Republic in 2018, the cytoreduction and HIPEC procedures for peritoneal metastases from CRC were performed in significantly fewer cases than would correspond to the estimated number of potentially curable patients.To increase the awareness of this issue and improve the number of potentially curative cytoreductive procedures, there will be necessary better awareness and closer cooperation among specialized centers, general surgeons, and clinical oncologists.

Faraday cup sizing for electric propulsion ion beam study: Case of a field-emission-electric propulsion thruster.

This article provides information about the sizing and standardization of a Faraday cup (FC) used as a plasma diagnostic. This instrument is used to accurately map the ion beam profile produced by an electric propulsion (EP) device. A FC is a cylindrical probe that uses an electrode, termed collector, to measure the current. Several studies have shown the relevance of adding an extra electrode, called collimator, to define the collection area and to minimize interactions with the ambient plasma. Both the electrodes are encapsulated into an isolated metallic housing that prevents ambient plasma from disturbing the measurements. In this case study, a field-emission-electric propulsion (FEEP) thruster is used. The FEEP technology uses electrostatic fields to extract liquid metal (indium) ions from a sharp surface and accelerates them to high velocities, providing thrust. The FEEP model used in this study is the ENPULSION NANO thruster from the Austrian company Enpulsion. We present results focusing on the sizing of a FC in terms of cup length, aperture diameter, and collection solid angle as well as on the material exposure to the ion beam. For a far-field ion beam study of a FEEP indium based electric thruster, our study outcomes show that a FC optimum sizing is a 50 mm long collector cup and a 7 mm wide inlet aperture. Moreover, shielding the repeller/collimator from direct exposure to the ion beam seems to greatly minimize perturbation during ion current acquisition. Finally, to only measure the ion current, a negative potential should be applied to the collector and repeller, where the latter is more negative. This study contributes to the effort on diagnostic standardization for EP device characterization. The goal is to enable repetitive and reliable determination of thruster parameters and performances.

New treatment modalities in the early stage and locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

The lung cancer dia-gnosis is still connected with high mortality. Even the new anticancer drugs are not able to preserve long survival in the advanced lung cancer patients. Only a minority of patients is diagnosed with early or locally advanced stages. In the following review, we present interesting data regarding the treatment updates in these potentially curable patients.

Epidemiological Trends for Childhood and Adolescent Cancers in the Period 1994-2016 in the Czech Republic.

BACKGROUND: Our study aimed to evaluate incidence and mortality trends for childhood and adolescent cancers in the period 1994-2016 in the Czech Republic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data on childhood cancers, which are recorded in the Czech National Cancer Registry, were validated using a clinical database of childhood cancer patients and combined with data from the National Register of Hospitalised Patients and with data from death certificates. These validated data were used to establish cancer incidence. Data from death certificates were used to evaluate long-term trends in mortality. Incidence and mortality trends were assessed by the average annual percentage change. RESULTS: The age-standardised incidence trend for childhood cancers (i.e. those diagnosed in patients aged 0-19 years) showed a statistically significant slight long-term increase in the number of new cases, +0.5% annually on average (p < 0.01), more specifically an increase of +0.6% in girls and a statistically insignificant decrease of 0.1% in boys. In children aged 0-14 years, other malignant epithelial neoplasms and malignant melanomas showed the largest statistically significant average annual increase in incidence (+4.9%; p < 0.01), followed by central nervous system neoplasms (+1.3%; p < 0.05). Lymphomas, by contrast, showed a statistically significant average annual decrease in incidence in children aged 0-14 years (2.1%; p < 0.01). In adolescents aged 15-19 years, other malignant epithelial neoplasms and malignant melanomas also showed a statistically significant average annual increase in incidence (+5.2%; p < 0.01), followed by central nervous system neoplasms (+1.5%; p < 0.05). Mortality trends showed a statistically significant long-term decrease: on average, 5.1% annually in children aged 0-14 years (p < 0.01), and 3.7% annually in adolescents aged 15-19 years (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Available data make it possible to analyse long-term trends in childhood cancer incidence and mortality.

Epidemiology of Plasma Cell Leukemia in the Czech Republic.

BACKGROUND: Plasma cell leukemia (PCL) is a rare but most aggressive form of monoclonal gammopathies. PCL is characterized by the presence of clonal plasma cells in peripheral blood. There are two forms of PCL - primary which presents de novo in patients with no evidence of previous multiple myeloma and secondary which is a leukemic transformation of relapsed or refractory dis-ease in patients with previously recognized multiple myeloma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is the first study to provide information on PCL epidemiology in the Czech population us-ing The Czech National Cancer Registry (CNCR) as the basic source of data for the population-based evaluation of PCL epidemiology. RESULTS: Accord-ing to CNCR data, there were on average six newly dia-gnosed cases of PCL and four deaths caused by PCL each year in the Czech Republic in the period 2000- 2015. PCL incidence in the Czech Republic was reported at 0.57 per million in 2000- 2015. We suppose that most reported cases of PCL are primary PCL because secondary PCL is a relapse of a previously reported myeloma and, in most cases, is not coded as an independent dia-gnosis in the CNCR. CONCLUSION: Data from registries such as the CNCR can provide useful information on epidemiology of various dis-eases. These data, however, have several limitations, such as dia-gnostic criteria and proper cod-ing of not only the dis-ease itself, but also its various forms. These limitations have to be taken into account dur-ing the process of results interpretation. Key words plasma cell leukemia -  epidemiology -  Czech National Cancer Registry (CNCR) -  Czech Republic.

Trends in incidence of childhood cancers in the Czech Republic: population- based analysis of national registries (1994-2014).

The purpose of this study is to summarize incidence and trends in the pediatric cancer burden in the Czech Republic over the period 1994-2014. The recently established Childhood Cancer Registry was combined with retrospective data from the Czech National Cancer Registry to analyze the annual patterns of incidence and long-term trends of pediatric cancer patients aged 0-14 years diagnosed between 1994 and 2014. Malignancies were classified according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer. The distribution of incidence was stratified according to gender, age at diagnosis, type of cancer and geographic area. Annual age-standardized rates were adjusted using the world standard population. Changes over time were quantified as the average annual percentage change. This analysis comprised records of 5,605 children diagnosed with cancer within the period 1994-2014, annually 267 records on average; the overall age-standardized average annual incidence rate was 169 cases per million. Boys were affected more frequently than girls: the M/F crude incidence ratio was 1.2:1. The highest incidence rates were observed for ICCC groups I (27.8%), III (21.8%), II (12.4%) and IV (7.8%); other groups formed 30.2%. There are significant differences in the geographic distribution of incidence between regions. A borderline statistically significant increase (0.6%) in the overall average annual percentage change was detected between 1994 and 2014 (95% CI: 0.01 to 1.12; p = 0.05). This study provides reliable recent information on trends in the incidence of childhood cancers in the Czech Republic.

Clinical evaluation of a new pressed glass ceramic inlay material over 1.5 years.

Ten IPS/Empress pressed glass ceramic inlays were cemented in box-shaped, non-beveled, Class II, posterior cavities. They were evaluated clinically according to modified US Public Health Service criteria after 1.5 years in vivo. In addition, quantitative marginal analysis was performed immediately after placement of the inlays and at the 1.5-year recall. Clinical evaluation revealed that the inlays performed well after 1.5 years; all inlays received scores of Alfa or Beta for all criteria evaluated. Scanning electron microscopic examination indicated that the excellent initial marginal adaptation decreased significantly over 1.5 years.

[P-30: in vivo study of a posterior composite during 2.5 years]. / P-30: In-vivo-Untersuchung eines Seitenzahnkomposits während 2, 5 Jahren.

P-30, a light-cured radioopaque hybrid composite was developed as a successor to the well known chemically cured P-10 for use as posterior composite. With the help of a computerized measuring method the occlusal wear of occlusally loaded conventional P-30 MOD restorations was analyzed after 6, 12, 18 and 30 months of clinical service. Simultaneously the wear patterns in occlusal contact areas and in contact-free areas were evaluated using the SEM. In addition, marginal adaptation immediately after the placement of the restorations and at all recall intervals was quantitated in the SEM. The long-term results indicated that P-30 was not suitable for use in unetched conventional posterior cavities.