There is a growing body of evidence that HER2 status can change during disease recurrence or progression in breast cancer patients. In this context, re-evaluation of HER2 status by assessment of HER2 expression on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a strategy with potential clinical application. The aim of this trial was to determine the HER2 status of CTCs in metastatic breast cancer patients comparing two CTC assays. A total of 254 patients with metastatic breast cancer from nine German university breast cancer centers were enrolled in this prospective study. HER2 status of CTCs was assessed using both the FDA-approved CellSearch® assay and AdnaTest BreastCancer™. Using the CellSearch assay, 122 of 245 (50%) patients had ≥5 CTCs, and HER2-positive CTCs were observed in 50 (41%) of these patients. Ninety of 229 (39%) patients were CTC positive using AdnaTest BreastCancer, and HER2 positivity rate was 47% (42 of 90). The rate of breast cancer patients with HER2-negative primary tumors but HER2-positive CTCs was 32% (25 of 78) and 49% (28 of 57) using the CellSearch assay and AdnaTest BreastCancer, respectively. Considering only those patients who had CTCs on both tests (n = 62), concordant results regarding HER2 positivity were obtained in 50% of the patients (31/62) (P = 0.96, κ = -0.006). HER2-positive CTCs can be detected in a relevant number of patients with HER2 negative primary tumors. Therefore, it will be mandatory to correlate the assay-dependent HER2 status of CTCs to the clinical response on HER2-targeted therapies.

The German version of P-QOL is a valid, reliable, and easily comprehensible instrument to assess quality of life and symptoms in German-speaking patients with urogenital prolapse.

Introduction and hypothesis To demonstrate mesh magnetic resonance (MR) visibility in living women, the feasibility of reconstructing the full mesh course in 3D and document its spatial relationship to pelvic anatomical structures. Methods This is a proof of concept study of three patients from a prospective multi-center trial evaluating women with anterior vaginal mesh repair using a MR-visible Fe3O4-polypropylene implant for pelvic floor reconstruction. High resolution sagittal T2-weighted sequences, transverse T1-weighted (T1w) FLASH 2D and transverse T1w FLASH 3D sequences were performed to evaluate Fe3O4-polypropylene mesh MR-visibility and overall postsurgical pelvic anatomy three months after reconstructive surgery. Full mesh course as well as important pelvic structures were reconstructed using the 3D Slicer® software program based on T1 and T2 MR-images. Results Three women with POP-Q grade III cystoceles were successfully treated with a partially absorbable MR-visible anterior vaginal mesh with 6 fixation arms showing no recurrent cystocele in the 3 months follow-up examination. The course of mesh in the pelvis was visible on MR-images in all three women. The mesh body and arms could be reconstructed allowing visualization of the full course of the mesh in relationship to important pelvic structures such as the obturator or pudendal vessel-nerve bundles in 3D. Conclusions The use of MR-visible Fe3O4-polypropylene meshes in combination with post-surgical 3D reconstruction of the mesh and adjacent structures is feasible suggesting it might be a useful tool to more precisely evaluate mesh complications and might be a valuable interactive feedback tool for surgeons and mesh design engineers.

Dynamic MRI is useful in visualizing the maximum extent of pelvic organ prolapse, as the evaluation of pelvic organ mobility documents the intraindividual therapeutic outcome detached from a grading system based on maximal prolapse values.

2D-3 T-MRI combines high-resolution images with objective measurements of parameters regarding pelvic floor integrity, without resorting to exhaustive post-processing methods. Our results may provide a good foundation for further 2D-MR-studies.

Whereas ultrasound still remains the imaging modality of choice in clinical practice for the early diagnosis of female pelvic malignancies, MRI is more frequently recognized as a diagnostic tool for its accuracy in tumor identification. MRI also plays a crucial role in the 3D pretreatment planning for brachytherapy especially in cervical cancer. In the future, PET/CT might achieve an important role for staging lymph nodes or distant metastases as well as tumor recurrence.

The angle of the membranous urethra as a result of anchoring of the BN and EUS in the PF appears to be an important functional factor with an essential impact on continence after RP. Functional MRI seems to be a helpful imaging tool for morphologic and dynamic evaluation of the PF.

The 1-year follow-up after mesh repair showed statistical and clinical improvement for all tools employed. dMRI seems a reliable tool for simultaneous assessment of defects in all three compartments, but tends to overestimate POP compared to clinical examination.