A standardized set of patient-centered outcome measures to inform value-based health care in colorectal cancer was developed. Pilot efforts are under way to measure the standard set among members of the working group.

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HMGI-C belongs to the high-mobility-group-protein (HMG) family of architectural transcription factors and considerable interest has recently been shown in its expression in neoplastic tissues and apparent involvement in tumorigenesis. We could previously demonstrate an expression of HMGI-C mRNA in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients for the first time. In this prospective study, we evaluated the independent prognostic power of HMGI-C mRNA expression in the peripheral blood of an unselected cohort of 69 patients with metastatic breast cancer using a hemi-nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT -PCR) followed by sequence analysis of the resulting PCR products. Multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox regression model. HMGI-C mRNA was detected in peripheral blood from 21 out of 69 (30%) patients with metastatic breast cancer. Median survival was 15.9 months in patients expressing HMGI-C, while in the group of patients without HMGI-C expression the median survival had not been reached yet after a median follow-up of 24.7 months and 85.4% were still alive in this group. Disease-specific survival was significantly worse for patients positive for HMGI-C in comparison to those not expressing HMGI-C (P ¼ 0.0001). In a multivariate regression analysis, HMGI-C remained an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P ¼ 0.001) besides oestrogen receptor status (P ¼ 0.024) and presence of metastases in liver and lungs (P ¼ 0.029). HMGI-C expression in the peripheral blood of patients with metastatic breast cancer is a powerful independent indicator for poor overall survival and this is the first study to demonstrate its prognostic relevance in univariate and multivariate analysis.

Background: Surgical site infections (SSI) are among the most frequent healthcare-associated infections. They impose a substantial burden with increased morbidity and exceeding healthcare costs. Risk factors such as age, diabetes, and smoking status are commonly accounted for in the literature, but few studies address gender differences. Methods: Data from the German Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System (Krankenhaus-Infektions-Surveillance-System (KISS)) from 2005 to 2010 were analysed for cardiac, vascular, visceral, and orthopaedic surgery, with a total of 438,050 surgical procedures and 8,639 SSI. Rates of SSI and isolated pathogens were analysed for gender. Results: Women had a lower rate of SSI (SSI/100 procedures) in abdominal surgery than men (2.92 vs. 4.37; p < 0.001). No gender-specific differences were found in orthopaedic and vascular surgery, while women had a higher risk for SSI in cardiac surgery (5.50 vs. 3.02; p < 0.001). Isolated pathogens showed differences for sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which were more frequent in women (both p = 0.007), while coagulase-negative staphylococci occurred more often in men (18.8 vs. 14.0%; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Gender differences in SSI exist and are procedure-specific. The underlying mechanisms need to be further elucidated so that targeted measures for the prevention of SSI can be developed.