University Hospital Frankfurt

Schizophrenia research in 2026: report from the annual meeting of the Schizophrenia International Research Society

Abstract SIRS 2026, held under the theme “Schizophrenia Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” brought together researchers, clinicians, and persons with lived experience to take stock of a field whose tools for measuring, predicting, and intervening in psychosis have e...

Decoupling T cell cytotoxicity: a CCL21+ICAM1-based synthetic immune niche enhances tumor elimination by accelerating lytic hit delivery

Preserving T cell cytotoxic function during ex vivo expansion remains a major challenge for adoptive cancer immunotherapy. A synthetic immune niche (SIN) composed of immobilized CCL21 and ICAM1 was shown to improve T cell expansion while preserving cytotoxicity; however, it remai...

Omega-3 supplementation during pregnancy in relation to reported information sources: an exploratory cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy is recommended in certain settings and may be relevant for maternal and fetal health, yet uptake varies widely. While educational attainment is commonly considered a determinant of health behavior, the relati...

Using multi-trait polygenic scores to predict lithium responsiveness in patients with bipolar disorder

Background The predictive power of polygenic scores (PGSs) for lithium treatment response in bipolar disorder remains limited. Aims To enhance the prediction of lithium responsiveness by developing a multi-trait PGS (mt-PGS) combining genetic information from multiple phenotypes...

Healthcare Utilization and Direct Medical Costs of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment — A German Claims Data Study of 2778 Patients

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a cancer with rising incidence and economic burden. However, evidence on healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and associated costs is scarce in Europe. This study aims to determine HCRU and costs of HCC from a German third-party payer's perspec...

Neuropsychobiological transdiagnostic risk mechanisms for aggression in mental disorders across the life span

Abstract Background Aggression in mental disorders (AMD) is a prevalent symptom, poses difficulties to the clinical setting and has far-reaching societal implications. The biological basis of different manifestations, developmental courses, and disease-specific mechanisms remains...

Long-Term Outcomes of Interventional Treatments for Lung Cancer Liver Metastases: Transarterial Chemoembolization and Microwave Ablation

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term results of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and microwave ablation (MWA) as locoregional interventional treatments for lung cancer liver metastases (LCLM) in different protocols and settings. Material and Methods:...

A Statistical Perspective on Transformers for Small Longitudinal Cohort Data

ABSTRACT Modeling of longitudinal cohort data typically involves complex temporal dependencies between multiple variables. There, the transformer architecture, which has been highly successful in language and vision applications, allows us to account for the fact that the most re...

The Use of a Human Acellular Dermal Matrix (hADM) Transplant in Stage 4 Osteochondrosis Dissecans: A Retrospective Proof of Concept

Background: Osteochondral lesions (OD) of the talus represent a significant clinical challenge, particularly in advanced-stage cases requiring osteotomy access and cancellous bone grafting. Human acellular dermal matrix (hADM) has demonstrated promising biological properties—incl...

Genome-wide analysis of social behaviour across social domains, reporters and developmental stages: a meta-regression approach

Abstract Social behaviour is a heritable trait linked to well-being and mental health, yet it varies across social context, including social domains, informants and development, which may shape its underlying genomic architecture. Here, we conducted a genome-wide meta-regression...

Long‐term stability and reproducibility of frozen plasma control samples for hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus by quantitative PCR : Implications for retrospective testing in hemovigilance

Abstract Objective Data on the long‐term stability and reproducibility of nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) results in frozen stored positive samples (≤−20°C) remain limited. This study evaluated the long‐term performance of frozen virus‐positive samples in quantitative PC...

Exploring spatial heterogeneity of PD-L1 and c-MET expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Background PD-L1 expression is an established predictive biomarker for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the spatial heterogeneity of PD-L1...

Annual Research Review: Sex differences in conduct disorder – revisiting existing evidence and exploring future directions

Conduct disorder (CD) is a common psychiatric disorder in youth, characterized by severe and recurrent aggressive and antisocial behaviors and associated with substantial healthcare and societal costs. Rates of CD increase during adolescence in both sexes, with the male‐to‐female...

Anatomy-based vs. logarithmic standard frequency allocation in cochlear implants: A comparative study on speech intelligibility and sound quality

The here presented prospective, randomized, single-blinded crossover study investigated the effects of anatomy-based versus standard logarithmic frequency allocation on speech intelligibility and sound quality in 77 adult first-time cochlear implant (CI) recipients. Cochlear impl...

Prognostic Role of Adverse Events in a Worldwide Population of Patients with Biliary Tract Cancer Treated with Chemo-Immunotherapy

Background: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are aggressive malignancies with limited treatment options. The addition of durvalumab or pembrolizumab to cisplatin–gemcitabine improves overall survival (OS), but validated biomarkers of benefit remain limited. Immune-mediated adverse ev...

Molecular epidemiology and management of non-tuberculous mycobacteria isolated from patients in Ukraine, 2022–2024

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are increasingly recognized worldwide as significant causes of chronic pulmonary disease, particularly among individuals with underlying structural lung disorders or immunosuppression. However, data on the epidemiology and clinical management of...

Results from the Pan-European CIEMAR study: Local Tumour Control After Microwave Ablation of Colorectal Liver Metastases and Exploratory Associations with Ablation Margins and Confirmation Software

Abstract Purpose The CIRSE Emprint Microwave Ablation (MWA) Registry (CIEMAR) was designed to evaluate real-world effectiveness of MWA for colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). This analysis reports on local tumour control and includes post-hoc analyses of ablation margin size and...

Functional characterization of snoRNA-derived RNA (sdRNA) expression in healthy hematopoiesis and acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract SnoRNAs are highly expressed in AML and have implications in leukemogenesis and leukemic maintenance. SnoRNAs can be further processed into snoRNA-derived RNAs (sdRNAs). The role of sdRNAs in AML and healthy hematopoiesis remains largely elusive. We characterized sdRNA a...

Clinical outcomes and toxicity of electron-based intraoperative radiotherapy for partial breast irradiation: a single-institution experience

Purpose: Partial breast irradiation (PBI) using intraoperative electron radiotherapy (IOeRT) represents an attractive alternative to whole-breast irradiation in carefully selected patients with early breast cancer. Materials and Methods: Eighty-nine patients treated with single-d...

Nationwide trends in incidence and in-hospital mortality of ARDS in Germany, 2008–2022

Abstract Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains a major contributor to morbidity and mortality among critically ill patients. Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and demographic changes have likely influenced its epidemiology. This study aimed to investigate n...