The necrosis-fibrosis hypothesis describes a continuum between single attacks of acute pancreatitis (SAP), recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP) with endocrine and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. For prevention purposes we evaluated clinico-radiological parameters and pancreatic volumetry to compare SAP and RAP and provide prognostic relevance on short-term mortality, need for intervention and the hospitalization duration. We retrospectively investigated 225 consecutive patients (150 males, range 19-97years) with acute pancreatitis (74%SAP, 26%RAP) according to the revised Atlanta classification. All patients received an intravenous contrast-enhanced CT after a median time of 5 (IQR 5–7) days after onset of symptoms. Two experienced observers rated the severity of AP by 3 CT scores (CTSI, mCTSI, EPIC). Moreover, total pancreatic volumes and additional parenchymal necrosis volumes were assessed, when appropriate. Clinical parameters were etiology of AP, lipase on admission, CRP 48 hours after admission (CRP48), and the presence of organ dysfunction, assessed by the modified Marshall score. The modified Marshall score included systolic blood pressure, serum creatinine, and the ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen (PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio) and was assessed on admission and 48 hours after admission to find patients with persistent organ failure. Outcome parameters were total hospitalization duration, short-term mortality and need for intervention. Lipase, CRP48, etiology of AP, EPIC, PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio, and the presence of a pleural effusion differed significantly in both groups (p<0.05). In 109 patients with interstitial edematous AP, the total pancreatic volume was significantly smaller in patients with RAP compared to those with SAP (69±35cm³; (RAP) vs 106±45cm³; (SAP), p0.05). In the necrotizing RAP group, only the necrotic volume correlated significantly with total hospitalization time (r = 0.72, p<0.001), whereas the systolic blood pressure was the only, but weak predictor for short-term mortality (β-coefficient: -0.05, p = 0.03) and the need for intervention (β-coefficient: -0.02, p = 0.048) in the total RAP group. In patients with SAP, the modified Marshall score was the strongest predictor of short-term mortality, followed by the mCTSI on multivariate logistic regression (Marshall score: β-coefficient: 1.79, p<0.001; mCTSI: β-coefficient: 0.40, p<0.001). CTSI was the best predictor for required intervention in necrotizing SAP (β-coefficient: 0.46, p<0.001), followed by the volume of intrapancreatic necrosis (β-coefficient: 0.17, p = 0.03). Total pancreatic volume differed significantly between interstitial RAP and SAP and intrapancreatic necrosis volume revealed prognostic value for the total hospitalization duration in necrotizing RAP. Although all outcome parameters were comparable between SAP and RAP, only systolic blood pressure and pancreatic volumetry were prognostic in RAP. In SAP, only the modified Marshall score and mCTSI revealed prognostic value for short-term mortality, whereas CTSI was predictive for the need for intervention.

Objectives Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with lutetium-177 (¹⁷⁷Lu)-DOTATATE is regarded as a safe treatment option with promising results for patients with neuroendocrine neoplasia (NEN). We aimed to study the absorbed organ and tumor doses, the renal and hematological toxicity as well as their mutual interaction. Another aim was the identification of adverse effects as possible predictors which may affect survival. Methods A total of 30 (14 female and 16 male) patients with inoperable/metastatic NEN were treated with 7.4 GBq of ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE. Occurrence of renal and hematological toxicity wasretrospectively studied. Morever, we examined the effects of hematological toxicity on survival after ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE-PRRT. Results In 49 treatment cycles, the mean absorbed dose to the kidneys was 5.13±2.12, 4.49±2.49 Gy to the liver, and 14.44±8.97 Gy to the spleen, whereas tumor lesions absorbed a mean dose of 31.43±36.86 Gy. Comparing different localizations of metastases, no significant differences in absorbed dose were observed. Clinical response status revealed regressive disease in 47.6%, stable disease in 38.1%, and progressive disease in 14.3% of cases (n=21). Biochemically, 81.3% of patients showed reduced serotonin values (n=16; P<0.05) following ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE-PRRT. No severe subacute renal or hematological toxicity occurred (one Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events-grade 3 for thrombocytopenia and another one for leukocytopenia). No statistically significant relation between baseline kidney function and post-therapeutic hematological changes was identified. Conclusion The findings indicate that ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE-PRRT is a safe and effective treatment method for patients with NEN. Moreover, these data strongly suggest that hematological parameters may affect survival so a further re-evaluation in prospective studies is warranted.

Malnutrition negatively impacts quality of life (QoL) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). This is the first prospective study to assess the impact of malnutrition (defined by the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)-derived fat-free mass index) on QoL in patients with HNC undergoing (chemo)radiotherapy. Between October 2018 and October 2020, 58 HNC patients prospectively completed the QoL-questionnaires EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EORTC-QLQ-H&N35 at the beginning (t_b) and at the end of (chemo)radiotherapy (t_e) as well as during follow-up (t_f). At these time points, nutritional risk assessment (MUST, NRS-2002, Nutriscore), BIA measurement and laboratory testing was performed by a permanent study team. Differences between malnourished (n = 14) and well-nourished patients (n = 44) were observed in UICC classification (P < 0.001) and HPV status (P = 0.03). Well-nourished patients showed higher baseline hemoglobin (P = 0.025) and albumin (P = 0.005), but lower c-reactive protein levels (P < 0.001). At t_b, mostly malnourished patients presented with worse QoL. Multivariable analysis showed that MUST, NRS-2002, HPV status, and UICC classification were related to QoL. Nutritional status has a crucial impact on QoL. The nutritional screening protocols MUST and NRS-2002 are suitable for identifying patients at risk and predicting QoL in patients with HNC undergoing (chemo)radiotherapy.