In summary, we provide first evidence that serum miR-100-5p and -130b-3p hold potential as biomarker for WT irrespective of the subtype and that expression level of these miRNA in serum is unaffected by differences in serum collection.

The majority of cellular MNs harbor the ETV6-NTKR3 gene fusion, whereas all classic- and mixed-type MNs were translocation negative. Within the cellular subgroup, patients having translocation-positive tumors had a significantly superior RFS.

Background: Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney (MRTK) is the most aggressive childhood renal tumor with overall survival (OS) rates ranging from 22% to 42%. Whether high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation (HDSCT) in an intensive first-line treatment offers additional benefit is an ongoing discussion. Methods:A retrospective analysis of all 58 patients with MRTK from Austria, Switzerland, and Germany treated in the framework of consecutive, prospective renal/rhabdoid tumor studies SIOP9/GPO, SIOP93-01/GPOH (where SIOP is International Society of Pediatric Oncology and GPOH is German Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology), SIOP2001/GPOH, and European Rhabdoid Tumor Registry from 1991 to 2014.Results: Median age at diagnosis was 11 months. Fifty percent of patients had metastases or multifocal disease at diagnosis (Stage IV). Local stage distribution was as follows: not done/I/II/III-1/6/11/40. Fifteen (26%) patients underwent upfront surgery. Thirty-seven (64%) patients achieved a complete remission, 17 (29%) relapsed, 34 (59%) died of disease progression, and two (3%) died of treatment-related complication. Mean time to the first event was 3.5 months.Two-year EFS/OS (where EFS is event-free survival) for the whole group was 37 ± 6%/38 ± 6%. Metastases/multifocal disease, younger age, and local stage III were associated with significantly inferior survival. Eleven (19%) patients underwent HDSCT (carboplatin + thiotepa, n = 6; carboplatin + etoposide + melphalan, n = 4; others, n = 1); 2-year OS in this group was 60 ± 15% compared to 34 ± 8% in the non-HDSCT group (P = 0.064). However, the time needed from radiologic to histologic diagnosis, stem-cell harvest, and HDSCT must also be taken into account to avoid selection bias by excluding the highest risk group with early progression (<90 days). Thus, 2-year EFS only for patients without progression until day 90 was 60 ± 16% consolidated by HDSCT compared to 62 ± 11% without (P = 0.8). Conclusion:Our retrospective analysis suggests comparable outcomes for patients with and without HDSCT, if adjusted for early disease progression.

AimWe sought to improve retention of neonatal resuscitation skills by modifying step 3 through additional functional verbalisation in Peyton's four‐step approach (P4S).MethodsNewborn life support (NLS) training was performed in a simulation‐based setting. In contrast to the traditional approach, students taught with the modified approach were requested to explain every step of their performance in Peyton's step 3. A total of 123 students were allocated into both experimental groups. Students were then assessed by megacode on day four (initial assessment) and 6 months (follow‐up assessment).ResultsBoth groups showed similar scorings in the initial, follow‐up assessment and in mean change. On initial megacode, time to start with initial inflation and post‐resuscitation care was significantly faster in the control group. All showed a significant loss of performance irrespective of modification in step 3 in the follow‐up assessment. Only time until start with post‐resuscitation care shows a significant group difference in mean change between initial and follow‐up with increasing time in the control and decreasing time span in intervention group.ConclusionBoth methods showed equal levels of knowledge acquisition and long‐term decline in NLS performances. Verbalisation in step 3 influenced speed of applied NLS performance.

BackgroundBlood-born miRNA signatures have recently been reported for various tumor diseases. Here, we compared the miRNA signature in Wilms tumor patients prior and after preoperative chemotherapy according to SIOP protocol 2001.ResultsWe did not find a significant difference between miRNA signature of both groups. However both, Wilms tumor patients prior and after chemotherapy showed a miRNA signature different from healthy controls. The signature of Wilms tumor patients prior to chemotherapy showed an accuracy of 97.5% and of patients after chemotherapy an accuracy of 97.0%, each as compared to healthy controls.ConclusionOur results provide evidence for a blood-born Wilms tumor miRNA signature largely independent of four weeks preoperative chemotherapy treatment.

Background Diagnostic ultrasound has a crucial importance in clinical settings, especially in intensive care medicine where bedside ultrasound has become indispensable. Medical students as well as residents therefore have a strong interest in learning this useful skill. Since staff resources are limited, more and more universities are using student tutors in a peer-assisted learning concept (PAL) to teach medical students early in their training. To date, there is very sparse data about knowledge retention after peer-assisted teaching. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether PAL is a suitable method for teaching complex skills like abdominal ultrasound and to evaluate whether students do achieve adequate long-term knowledge retention after peer-assisted teaching. Method A total of 40 volunteer 3rd to 5th year students were randomly assigned to a basic abdominal ultrasound course in small training groups of 5 persons each. Participants were evaluated using a pre-post-test design by a validated objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) before and immediately after the course. To measure the retention of knowledge, 15 former participants were randomly selected to repeat the OSCE assessment after one year. Results All groups showed a significant improvement in practical skills and knowledge gain after the training with mean values of 13.1 for pre-test compared to 83.5 (maximum 100 points) for post-test (p < 0.001). The overall score achieved after one year was 78.7 and did not significantly differ from the post-test result. Conclusion PAL is effective for teaching abdominal ultrasound. Students were able to accomplish a satisfactory level of ultrasound skills. We further demonstrated that PAL can assure long-term knowledge retention.

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