Radiological evaluation of response in patients with locally advanced/metastatic soft tissue sarcoma treated with trabectedin.

Trabectedin is an antineoplastic drug approved for patients (pts) with advanced soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Interestingly, the radiological evaluation of response during trabectedin therapy is peculiar. The aim of this single-center retrospective study is to analyze the concordance of response assessment according to RECIST compared with Choi criteria in patients with STS treated with trabectedin between 2009 and 2020 at Regina Elena National Cancer Institute in Rome.

Clinical recommendations for treatment of localized angiosarcoma: A consensus paper by the Italian Sarcoma Group.

Angiosarcoma (AS) represents a rare and aggressive vascular sarcoma, posing distinct challenges in clinical management compared to other sarcomas. While the current European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) clinical practice guidelines for sarcoma treatment are applicable to AS, its unique aggressiveness and diverse tumor presentations necessitate dedicated and detailed clinical recommendations, which are currently lacking. Notably, considerations regarding surgical extent, radiation therapy (RT), and neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy vary significantly in localized disease, depending on each different site of onset.

X-rays radiomics-based machine learning classification of atypical cartilaginous tumour and high-grade chondrosarcoma of long bones.

Background: Atypical cartilaginous tumour (ACT) and high-grade chondrosarcoma (CS) of long bones are respectively managed with active surveillance or curettage and wide resection. Our aim was to determine diagnostic performance of X-rays radiomics-based machine learning for classification of ACT and high-grade CS of long bones.

Methods: This retrospective, IRB-approved study included 150 patients with surgically treated and histology-proven lesions at two tertiary bone sarcoma centres.

Narrative Medicine: A Digital Diary in the Management of Patients with Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma-A Multidisciplinary Pilot Study.

Although patient narratives have been increasingly introduced in various fields of medicine, a standard method in clinical practice is still lacking. The objectives of this pilot study were to evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of a digital narrative diary integrated into the care pathway of patients with bone sarcoma and limb soft tissue sarcoma both from the patients' and the healthcare professionals' (HCPs) perspectives. A digital platform, DNMLAB, was designed to obtain guided narratives from patients during their pathway of care in compliance with confidentiality and data protection laws.

Long-term longitudinal study on swine VML model.

Background: Volumetric Muscle Loss (VML), resulting from severe trauma or surgical ablation, is a pathological condition preventing myofibers regeneration, since skeletal muscle owns the remarkable ability to restore tissue damage, but only when limited in size. The current surgical therapies employed in the treatment of this pathology, which particularly affects military personnel, do not yet provide satisfactory results. For this reason, more innovative approaches must be sought, specifically skeletal muscle tissue engineering seems to highlight promising results obtained from preclinical studies in VML mouse model.

MRI radiomics-based machine learning for classification of deep-seated lipoma and atypical lipomatous tumor of the extremities.

Purpose: To determine diagnostic performance of MRI radiomics-based machine learning for classification of deep-seated lipoma and atypical lipomatous tumor (ALT) of the extremities.

Material And Methods: This retrospective study was performed at three tertiary sarcoma centers and included 150 patients with surgically treated and histology-proven lesions. The training-validation cohort consisted of 114 patients from centers 1 and 2 (n = 64 lipoma, n = 50 ALT).

Pelvic ring reconstruction with tibial allograft, screws and rods following enneking type I and IV resection of primary bone tumors.

Introduction: Surgery of primary malignant tumors involving the sacroiliac joint requires wide resection, which often interrupts the pelvic ring. Nowadays, restoration of the pelvic ring to provide stability and which technique is most fitting remain subject to debate. The aim of this study is to evaluate the results of pelvic reconstruction with pedicle screw instrumentation and tibial allograft following Enneking Type I-IV resections.

A novel extrusion-based 3D bioprinting system for skeletal muscle tissue engineering.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is an emerging technology, which turned out to be an optimal tool for tissue engineering approaches. To date, different printing systems have been developed. Among them, the extrusion-based approach demonstrated to be the most suitable for skeletal muscle tissue engineering, due to its ability to produce and deposit printing fibers in a parallel pattern that well mimic the native skeletal muscle tissue architecture.

Prognostic Value of Pre-Treatment [18F]FDG PET/CT Texture Analysis in Undifferentiated Soft-Tissue Sarcoma.

Background: Undifferentiated soft-tissue sarcomas (USTS) are one of the most common sarcoma histotypes in adults. The standard of care is surgical excision plus adjuvant radiotherapy, while the use of perioperative chemotherapy is still controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of pre-treatment [18F]FDG PET/CT conventional metrics and textural features in predicting disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with USTS of the limbs and trunk.

3D vs. 2D MRI radiomics in skeletal Ewing sarcoma: Feature reproducibility and preliminary machine learning analysis on neoadjuvant chemotherapy response prediction.

Objective: The extent of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy predicts survival in Ewing sarcoma. This study focuses on MRI radiomics of skeletal Ewing sarcoma and aims to investigate feature reproducibility and machine learning prediction of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included thirty patients with biopsy-proven skeletal Ewing sarcoma, who were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery at two tertiary sarcoma centres.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diagnosis and treatment of patients with soft tissue and bone sarcomas or aggressive benign musculoskeletal diseases: A single-center retrospective study (SarCorD study).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid reorganization of healthcare activities, leading to reduced access to clinics, interruption of screenings, and treatment schedule modifications in several cancer types. Few data are available on sarcomas. We analyzed COVID-19-related diagnostic delay in a sarcoma referral center in Italy.

Cross-sectional evaluation of FGD-avid polyostotic fibrous dysplasia: MRI, CT and PET/MRI findings.

A 42-year-old male with left hip pain was diagnosed of several right femoral and tibial bone tumours. All lesions were osteolytic with sclerotic margins. The symptomatic lesion in the proximal femur also showed bone expansion and focal cortical thinning.

Malignant Transformation of Giant Cell Tumour of Bone: A Review of Literature and the Experience of a Referral Centre.

Giant cell tumour of bone (GCTB) is a benign, locally aggressive primary bone neoplasm that represents 5% of all bone tumours. The principal treatment approach is surgery. Although generally GCTB is considered only a locally aggressive disease, it can metastasise, and lung metastases occur in 1-9% of patients.

Custom Massive Allograft in a Case of Pelvic Bone Tumour: Simulation of Processing with Computerised Numerical Control vs. Robotic Machining.

The use of massive bone allografts after the resection of bone tumours is still a challenging process. However, to overcome some issues related to the processing procedures and guarantee the best three-dimensional matching between donor and recipient, some tissue banks have developed a virtual tissue database based on the scanning of the available allografts for using their 3D shape during virtual surgical planning (VSP) procedures. To promote the use of future VSP bone-shaping protocols useful for machining applications within a cleanroom environment, in our work, we simulate a massive bone allograft machining with two different machines: a four-axes (computer numerical control, CNC) vs.

Ultrasound localization of central vein catheter tip by contrast-enhanced transthoracic ultrasonography: a comparison study with trans-esophageal echocardiography.

Background: To assess the usefulness of pre-operative contrast-enhanced transthoracic echocardiography (CE-TTE) and post-operative chest-x-ray (CXR) for evaluating central venous catheter (CVC) tip placements, with trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) as gold standard.

Methods: A prospective single-center, observational study was performed in 111 patients requiring CVC positioning into the internal jugular vein for elective cardiac surgery. At the end of CVC insertion by landmark technique, a contrast-enhanced TTE was performed by both the apical four-chambers and epigastric bicaval acoustic view to assess catheter tip position; then, a TEE was performed and considered as a reference technique.

Narrative Medicine: A Digital Diary in the Management of Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma Patients. Preliminary Results of a Multidisciplinary Pilot Study.

Background: Guidelines for the implementation of narrative medicine in clinical practice exist; however, in Italy, no standard methodology is currently available for the management of oncological patients. Since 2017, at the "Regina Elena" National Cancer Institute, studies using "digital narrative diaries" (DNMLAB platform) have been carried out; this article focuses on a pilot, uncontrolled, real-life study aiming to evaluate the utility of DNM integrated with the care pathway of patients with bone and limb soft tissue sarcomas.

Methods: Adult patients completed the diary during treatment or follow-up by writing their narrative guided by a set of narrative prompts.

The role of minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) technique for treating 3- and 4-part proximal humerus fractures in the elderly - a case study.

Background and aim of the work Proximal humeral fractures incidence in the elderly population is increasing. Treatment management is complicated by fracture complexity and patients' comorbidities. The aim of our prospective study is the outcome evaluation of the role of minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) for elderly patients with a 3- or 4-parts proximal humeral fractures having an intact medial wall.

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, an ultra-rare cancer: a consensus paper from the community of experts.

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is an ultra-rare, translocated, vascular sarcoma. EHE clinical behavior is variable, ranging from that of a low-grade malignancy to that of a high-grade sarcoma and it is marked by a high propensity for systemic involvement. No active systemic agents are currently approved specifically for EHE, which is typically refractory to the antitumor drugs used in sarcomas.

CT radiomics-based machine learning classification of atypical cartilaginous tumours and appendicular chondrosarcomas.

Background: Clinical management ranges from surveillance or curettage to wide resection for atypical to higher-grade cartilaginous tumours, respectively. Our aim was to investigate the performance of computed tomography (CT) radiomics-based machine learning for classification of atypical cartilaginous tumours and higher-grade chondrosarcomas of long bones.

Methods: One-hundred-twenty patients with histology-proven lesions were retrospectively included.

Outcome in dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma for patients treated with multimodal therapy: Results from the EUROpean Bone Over 40 Sarcoma Study.

Introduction: The role of chemotherapy for patients with dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma (DDCS) is still under discussion. Here, we present the outcome in patients with DDCS treated with intensive chemotherapy from the EUROpean Bone Over 40 Sarcoma Study.

Materials And Methods: The chemotherapy regimen included doxorubicin, ifosfamide and cisplatin.

[F]FDG PET/CT quantitative parameters for the prediction of histological response to induction chemotherapy and clinical outcome in patients with localised bone and soft-tissue Ewing sarcoma.

Objective: The application of [F]FDG PET/CT in predicting histologic response to induction chemotherapy in patients with Ewing sarcoma (EWS) has been proposed using the values of pre-post treatment SUV as a referral parameter, although with heterogeneous results. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of [F]FDG PET/CT volumetric parameters (metabolic tumour volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG)) as compared to SUV to predict response to chemotherapy and clinical outcome in patients with localised EWS of bone and soft-tissue.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients with non-metastatic EWS of bone (n = 20) and soft tissues (n = 8) who underwent a [F]FDG PET/CT scan before (PET) and after induction chemotherapy (PET) were enclosed in the analysis.