Publications by authors named "Alfredo Campenni"

Since the 1940s, 131-I radioiodine therapy (RIT) has been the primary treatment for metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Approximately half of these patients respond favorably to RIT, achieving partial or complete remission or maintaining long-term stable disease, while the other half develop radioiodine-refractory DTC (RAI-R DTC). The main genomic alteration involved in radioiodine resistance is the activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, which results in the loss of sodium iodide symporters (NIS).

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent advancements in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) emphasize the importance of careful postoperative disease assessment to determine if iodine-131 therapy is needed and to tailor treatment goals accordingly (ablative, adjuvant, or therapeutic).
  • A comprehensive review of the literature highlights that personalized risk-based approaches to iodine-131 therapy significantly enhance early disease staging and response assessment, particularly for metastatic DTC patients.
  • Diagnostic and theragnostic uses of iodine isotopes are crucial for improving postoperative risk stratification and enabling more effective evaluation of patient responses to initial treatments.
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  • The approval of radioligand therapy (RLT) by EMA in 2017 and FDA in 2018 has led to its broader use in treating neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs), particularly advanced well-differentiated gastro-entero-pancreatic types.
  • However, RLT applications are limited to specific tumor types, leaving some tumors, like those from the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) axis, as "RLT-orphans" that cannot currently benefit from this therapy.
  • The paper explores theragnostic options for treating pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas, discussing traditional methods with MIBG and potential future applications using radiolabeled somat
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Thyroid nodules in children are less common than in adults but they are approximately two- to three-fold more likely to be malignant in children. Among thyroid nodular diseases, Plummer's adenoma occurs very rarely in pediatrics, and currently, there is no literature providing evidence of this diagnosis in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). We report the case of a 9-year-old Caucasian boy affected by PWS presenting with a rapidly growing palpable mass in the thyroid lodge associated with subclinical hyperthyroidism.

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Purpose: In this in vitro study, we investigated the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on human thyrocytes, with a focus on the involvement of AhR, a key player in xenobiotic response, and the anti-oxidant Nrf-2/HO-1 pathway.

Methods: Primary cultured thyrocytes were exposed to the dioxin-like congeners PCB118 and PCB126 at 2.5 and 5 µM concentrations.

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Objectives: An accurate prognostic assessment is pivotal to adequately inform and individualize follow-up and management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). We aimed to develop a predictive model for recurrent disease in DTC patients treated by surgery and I by adopting a decision tree model.

Methods: Age, sex, histology, T stage, N stage, risk classes, remnant estimation, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroglobulin (Tg), administered I activities and post-therapy whole body scintigraphy (PT-WBS) were identified as potential predictors and put into regression algorithm (conditional inference tree, c-tree) to develop a risk stratification model for predicting persistent/recurrent disease over time.

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Molecular imaging is pivotal in evaluating and managing patients with different thyroid cancer histotypes. The existing, pathology-based, risk stratification systems can be usefully refined, by incorporating tumor-specific molecular and molecular imaging biomarkers with theranostic value, allowing patient-specific treatment decisions. Molecular imaging with different radioactive iodine isotopes (ie, I, I, I) is a central component of differentiated carcinoma (DTC)'s risk stratification while [F]F-fluorodeoxyglucose ([F]FDG) PET/CT is interrogated about disease aggressiveness and presence of distant metastases.

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  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors, used in cancer treatment like metastatic melanoma, are generally better tolerated than traditional chemotherapy but can cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs) affecting various organs, with endocrine disorders being especially common.
  • A 55-year-old woman with Hashimoto's thyroiditis developed severe endocrine issues, including both hyperthyroidism and adrenal insufficiency, after being treated with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab.
  • There is a risk of concurrent autoimmune diseases affecting multiple glands during ICI therapy, resembling autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2, which necessitates close monitoring of hormone levels to prevent serious complications.
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The term noninvasive tumor with a follicular growth pattern and nuclear features of papillary thyroid cancer (NIFTP) is used to describe a tumor currently considered as a pre-malignant lesion for which a conservative therapeutic approach (i.e., lobectomy without radioiodine therapy) is strongly suggested.

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Thyroid nodules are common findings, particularly in iodine-deficient regions. Our paper aims to revise different diagnostic tools available in clinical thyroidology and propose their rational integration. We will elaborate on the pros and cons of thyroid ultrasound (US) and its scoring systems, thyroid scintigraphy, fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), molecular imaging, and artificial intelligence (AI).

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Autoimmune thyroid diseases are on the rise worldwide, and such a rapid increase is mainly driven by environmental factors related to changed lifestyles in "modern" societies. In this context, diet seems to play a crucial role. An unhealthy high-energy diet, rich in animal fat and proteins, salt and refined sugars (the so-called "Western diet") negatively influences the risk of autoimmunity by altering the immune balance and the gut microbiota composition, enhancing oxidative stress and promoting inflammation.

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Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is the most common subtype of thyroid cancer and has an excellent overall prognosis. However, metastatic DTC in certain cases may have a poor prognosis as it becomes radioiodine-refractory. Molecular imaging is essential for disease evaluation and further management.

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(1) Background: This paper aims to assess the existence of significant differences between two dietary regimes (omnivorous vs. semi-vegetarian) with reference to some oxidative stress markers (SOD, GPx, TRxR, GR, AGEs, and AOPPs) using non-parametric combination methodology based on a permutation test. (2) Methods: At the endocrinology unit of Messina University Hospital, two hundred subjects were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their dietary habits.

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This document provides the new EANM guideline on radioiodine therapy of benign thyroid disease. Its aim is to guide nuclear medicine physicians, endocrinologists, and practitioners in the selection of patients for radioiodine therapy. Its recommendations on patients' preparation, empiric and dosimetric therapeutic approaches, applied radioiodine activity, radiation protection requirements, and patients follow-up after administration of radioiodine therapy are extensively discussed.

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The use of radioiodine therapy (RIT) is debated in intermediate-risk differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of DTC can be useful to refine patient selection for RIT. We analyzed the mutational status of BRAF, RAS, TERT, PIK3 and RET, and the expression of PD-L1 (as a CPS score), the NIS and AXL genes and the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL, as the CD4/CD8 ratio), in the tumor tissue in a cohort of forty-six ATA intermediate-risk patients, homogeneously treated with surgery and RIT.

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In differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients, the response to initial treatments is evaluated 6-12 months after radioiodine therapy (RIT) according to the 2015 American Thyroid Association (2015 ATA) criteria. In selected patients, diagnostic 131-radioiodine whole-body scintigraphy (Dx-WBS) is recommended. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of I-Dx-WBS-SPECT/CT imaging in detecting incomplete structural responses in the early follow-up of DTC patients and, additionally, derived optimized basal-Tg value as a yardstick for scintigraphic imaging.

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Background: Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is characterized by an excellent prognosis with a 10-year survival rate > 90%. However, when DTC develops in a metastatic form, it has been shown to significantly impact patient survival and quality of life. Although I-131 has been shown to be an effective therapy in patients with metastatic DTC, whether its efficacy after recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) is comparable to endogenous TSH stimulation by thyroid hormone deprivation (THW) is still debated.

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Objectives: To compare the efficacy of low and moderate I activities in low-risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients requiring postoperative thyroid remnant ablation in a real-world clinical setting.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 299 low-risk DTC patients (pT1-T2, Nx(0) Mx) who had undergone (near)-total thyroidectomy followed by I therapy, using either low (1.1 GBq) or moderate (2.

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Purpose: An accurate postoperative assessment is pivotal to inform postoperative I treatment in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). We developed a predictive model for post-treatment whole-body scintigraphy (PT-WBS) results (as a proxy for persistent disease) by adopting a decision tree model.

Methods: Age, sex, histology, T stage, N stage, risk classes, remnant estimation, TSH, and Tg were identified as potential predictors and were put into regression algorithm (conditional inference tree, ctree) to develop a risk stratification model for predicting the presence of metastases in PT-WBS.

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Background And Purpose: False-positive radioiodine uptake can sometimes be observed with post-radioiodine treatment (RIT) whole body scanning. Radioiodine pitfall has often been reported as being caused by benign or inflammatory disease, or, in some cases, by tumor lesions. This paper reviews the possible causes of such false-positive imaging, and suggests possible reasons for suspecting these pitfalls.

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