Publications by authors named "A Fontana"

This study aimed to identify the clinico-pathological variables predictive of radiologic complete response (rCR) to first-line anti-HER2 therapy in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Patients were selected from the database of the GIM14 study and classified according to the best radiologic response obtained to first-line anti-HER2 therapy and upon time-to-treatment-discontinuation (TTD). A total of 545 patients were included in the analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The emergency personnel who responded to the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks endured severe occupational exposures, yet the prevalence of cognitive impairment remains unknown among WTC-exposed-FDNY-responders. The present study screened for mild and severe cognitive impairment in WTC-exposed FDNY responders using objective tests, compared prevalence rates to a cohort of non-FDNY WTC-exposed responders, and descriptively to meta-analytic estimates of MCI from global, community, and clinical populations.

Methods: A sample of WTC-exposed-FDNY responders (n = 343) was recruited to complete an extensive battery of cognitive, psychological, and physical tests.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: To account for the limitations of categorical taxonomies, a general psychopathology factor (p-factor) has been proposed as a transdiagnostic dimension that captures the shared variance across various forms of psychopathology. However, further research is required to clarify the specific characteristics that define the p-factor, particularly in adolescence - a period marked by heightened vulnerability to psychological disorders and significant developmental changes.

Methods: This study utilized a sample of 1366 cisgender adolescents (56% assigned female at birth, Mage = 16.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The spatial organization of chromatin within the eukaryotic nucleus is critical in regulating key cellular functions, such as gene expression, and its disruption can lead to disease. Advances in experimental techniques, such as Hi-C and microscopy, have significantly enhanced our understanding of chromatin's intricate and dynamic architecture, revealing complex patterns of interaction at multiple scales. Along with experimental methods, physics-based computational models, including polymer phase separation and loop-extrusion mechanisms, have been developed to explain chromatin structure in a principled manner.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

MicroRNAs are well established as master regulators of carcinogenesis and potential biomarkers in breast cancer (BC). In a preliminary effort, we found miR-27a-5p to be significantly downregulated in experimentally derived mammospheres and BC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas Breast Invasive Carcinoma (TCGA-BRCA) dataset. Herein, we sought to investigate the putative involvement of miR-27a-5p in promoting a migratory phenotype of breast cancer cells, and establish whether miR-27a-5p is associated with patient clinicopathological characteristics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF