Molecular profiling of pediatric and young adult colorectal cancer reveals a distinct genomic landscapes and potential therapeutic avenues.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global health concern, and the incidence of early onset (EO) CRC, has an upward trend. This study delves into the genomic landscape of EO-CRC, specifically focusing on pediatric (PED) and young adult (YA) patients, comparing them with adult (AD) CRC. In this retrospective monocentric investigation, we performed targeted next-generation sequencing to compare the mutational profile of 38 EO-CRCs patients (eight PED and 30 YA) to those of a 'control group' consisting of 56 AD-CRCs.

Histology profiling of lung tumors: tru-cut versus full-core system for CT-guided biopsies.

Purpose: We aimed to compare the diagnostic yield and procedure-related complications of two different types of systems for percutaneous CT-guided lung biopsy.

Material And Methods: All patients with a lung lesion who underwent a CT-guided lung biopsy at our institution, between January 2019 and 2021, were retrospectively analyzed. The inclusion criteria were: (a) Procedures performed using either a fully automated tru-cut or a semi-automated full-core biopsy needle, (b) CT images demonstrating the position of the needles within the lesion, (c) histopathological result of the biopsy and (d) clinical follow-up for at least 12 months and\or surgical histopathological results.

Alexithymia, Burnout, and Hopelessness in a Large Sample of Healthcare Workers during the Third Wave of COVID-19 in Italy.

In the present study, we aimed to assess the frequency of and the relationships between alexithymia, burnout, and hopelessness in a large sample of healthcare workers (HCWs) during the third wave of COVID-19 in Italy. Alexithymia was evaluated by the Italian version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and its subscales Difficulty in Identifying Feelings (DIF), Difficulty in Describing Feelings (DDF), and Externally Oriented Thinking (EOT), burnout was measured with the scales emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA) of the Maslach Burnout Test (MBI), hopelessness was measured using the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and irritability (IRR), depression (DEP), and anxiety (ANX) were evaluated with the Italian version of the Irritability' Depression' Anxiety Scale (IDA). This cross-sectional study recruited a sample of 1445 HCWs from a large urban healthcare facility in Italy from 1 May to 31 June 2021.

A single experience in the conduction of clinical trial during COronaVIrusDisease-2019 pandemic.

Aim: From the start of the pandemic, several aspects of healthcare policies changed, not least the clinical trials management from recruiting capabilities to the protocol compliance in terms of schedule of procedures, follow-up visits, staff constraints and monitoring. This study aims to assess the impact of the COronaVIrusDisease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the conduction of clinical trials at the site of clinical oncology, Ancona (Italy), to identify the strengths and weaknesses upfront the past emergency, and to select better strategies for future similar situations.

Methods: Data from February to July of the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 were collected and three practical parameters of the trial unit were investigated: milestones, performance, and impact.

Molecular Tumour Board (MTB): From Standard Therapy to Precision Medicine.

: In the metastatic setting, cancer patients may not benefit from standard care regimes and their diseases undergo drug resistance due to tumour cell heterogeneity and genomic landscape complexity. In recent years, there have been several attempts to personalise the diagnostic-therapeutic path and to propose novel strategies based on not only histological test results but also on each patient's clinical history and molecular biology. Profiling molecular tests allows physicians to investigate the single tumour genomic landscape and to promote targeted approaches.

Periprosthetic effusions surrounding breast expander: a flow cytometric, immunohistochemical and molecular characterization.

Introduction: The synthesis of the periprosthetic capsule during implant-based breast reconstruction is the result of a coordinate cascade of inflammatory events ending in a fibrous tissue deposition around the expander or implant. Although the development of small volumes of fluid is one of the complications of prosthetic-based breast reconstruction, the characterization of the periprosthetic effusions coupled with the micro-textured devices, that have been recently introduced after the recall of macro-textured ones, is still lacking. The investigation of these periprosthetic effusions and paired capsules in terms of immunological content were the primary and secondary aims of the present study, respectively.

Molecular Tumor Board as a Clinical Tool for Converting Molecular Data Into Real-World Patient Care.

Purpose: The investigation of multiple molecular targets with next-generation sequencing (NGS) has entered clinical practice in oncology, yielding to a paradigm shift from the histology-centric approach to the mutational model for personalized treatment. Accordingly, most of the drugs recently approved in oncology are coupled to specific biomarkers. One potential tool for implementing the mutational model of precision oncology in daily practice is represented by the Molecular Tumor Board (MTB), a multidisciplinary team whereby molecular pathologists, biologists, bioinformaticians, geneticists, medical oncologists, and pharmacists cooperate to generate, interpret, and match molecular data with personalized treatments.

Antithrombotic regimens for the prevention of major adverse cardiac events in chronic coronary syndrome: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Backgroud: Antithrombotic therapy is the cornerstone of chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) management. However, the best treatment option that optimally balances bleeding risk and efficacy remains undefined. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of antithrombotic options and identify the optimal treatment option for patients with CCS.

Breast implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma: Evidence for an efficient diagnostic workup.

Introduction: During the last few years it has been shown that an anaplastic T cell lymphoma can develop as a rare and late sequelae of implant-based breast reconstruction. This malignancy was recognized in the 2017 by WHO and named breast implant associated anaplastic large T cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL). BIA-ALCL usually presents as abundant effusion around the implant, thus, in addition to cytology smears, its diagnosis also requires immunohistochemistry, T cells clonality and cytometry.

Iterative Reconstruction: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives.

Image reconstruction processing in computed tomography (CT) has evolved tremendously since its creation, succeeding at optimizing radiation dose while maintaining adequate image quality. Computed tomography vendors have developed and implemented various technical advances, such as automatic noise reduction filters, automatic exposure control, and refined imaging reconstruction algorithms.Focusing on imaging reconstruction, filtered back-projection has represented the standard reconstruction algorithm for over 3 decades, obtaining adequate image quality at standard radiation dose exposures.

Vector Sensor Steering-Dependent Performance in an Underwater Acoustic Communication Field Experiment.

This paper shows the performance resulting from combining vector sensor directional components in an underwater acoustic communication experiment. The objective is to relate performance with transmission direction and range. Receiver structures based on beamforming and passive time-reversal are tested in order to quantify and compare the steerability impact of vector sensor directional components.

Targeted RNA-sequencing analysis for fusion transcripts detection in tumor diagnostics: assessment of bioinformatic tools reliability in FFPE samples.

Aim: Diagnostic laboratories are progressively introducing next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies in the routine workflow to meet the increasing clinical need for comprehensive molecular characterization in cancer patients for diagnosis and precision medicine, including fusion-transcripts detection. Nevertheless, the low quality of messenger RNA (mRNA) extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples may affect the transition from traditional single-gene testing approaches [like fluorescence hybridization (FISH), immunohistochemistry (IHC), or polymerase chain reaction (PCR)] to NGS. The present study is aimed at assessing the overall accuracy of RNA fusion transcripts detection by NGS analysis in FFPE samples in real-world diagnostics.

The Anterior Lateral Decubitus Intermuscolar and the Postero-Lateral approaches in total hip arthroplasty: a comparative study.

Background And Aim: Recently a modification of the DAA in lateral decubitus, called ALDI, has been proposed to obtain a better surgical exposure and to facilitate surgeons accustomed to the other hip approach. In this paper we report our early experience with the ALDI approach for total hip arthroplasty (THA) and to compare outcomes between ALDI and posterolateral approach (PLA) in a retrospective investigation.

Methods: We have identified THA performed from September 2017 to January 2020.

Suprascapular Neuropathy around the Shoulder: A Current Concept Review.

Suprascapular neuropathy is an uncommon but increasingly recognized cause of shoulder pain and dysfunction due to nerve entrapment. The aim of this review is to summarize some important aspects of this shoulder pathology. An extensive research was performed on PubMed and Clinical Key.

Arthroscopic arthrolysis leads to improved range of motion and health-related quality of life in post-traumatic elbow stiffness.

Background: Post-traumatic elbow stiffness is a frequent and disabling complication after elbow trauma. Surgical release is needed if conservative treatment fails. In contrast to open surgical release, arthroscopic arthrolysis is a good and least invasive option to restore joint mobility.

Molecular Signatures for Combined Targeted Treatments in Diffuse Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma.

Background-There are currently no effective therapies for diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM) patients with disease recurrence. In this study, we investigated the biology of DMPM by analyzing the EGFR family, Axl, and MET, in order to assess the presence of cross-talk between these receptors, suggesting the effectiveness of combined targeted treatments in DMPM. Method-We analyzed a series of 22 naïve epithelioid DMPM samples from a single institute, two of which showed higher-grade malignancy ("progressed").

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) provides estimates of minute and interstitial BAP1, CDKN2A, and NF2 gene deletions in peritoneal mesothelioma.

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in identifying the copy number profiles of the three key peritoneal mesothelioma tumor suppressor genes BAP1, CDKN2A, and NF2, with particular emphasis on minute homozygous deletions, a copy number abnormality recently unveiled at the 3p21 (BAP1) chromosomal region using high-throughput methods. FISH was performed on 75 formalin-fixed-paraffin-embedded peritoneal mesotheliomas and recognized two types of monoallelic loss (monosomy, and hemizygous deletion) and two types of biallelic loss (canonical homozygous deletion with a complete loss of FISH signal and homozygous deletion with diminished signal). Diminished FISH signals revealed deletions occurring within the genomic region covered by the gene-specific probe and affected all three tumor suppressors.

Age over 50 years is not a contraindication for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Purpose: To report clinical and functional results of ACL reconstruction in patients over 50 years old and investigate the influence of surgery on osteoarthritis progression in this cohort of patients.

Methods: A systematic review was performed on PubMed, Scopus, Google scholar, Cochrane library and EMBASE, using a strategy search design to collect clinical studies reporting outcomes of ACL reconstruction in patients aged 50 years or older. The primary outcome measure was clinical and functional results, including failure rate defined as reoperation for revision ACL surgery or conversion to total knee arthroplasty; secondary outcomes included radiological findings, expressed according to the validated grading score.

Complex Immune Contextures Characterise Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma: Loss of Adaptive Immunological Signature in the More Aggressive Histological Types.

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MpM), arising in the setting of local inflammation, is a rare aggressive tumour with a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. The three major MpM histological variants, epithelioid (E-MpMs), biphasic, and sarcomatoid MpMs (S-MpMs), are characterised by an increased aggressiveness and enhanced levels of EZH2 expression. To investigate the MpM immune contexture along the spectrum of MpM histotypes, an extended in situ analysis was performed on a series of 14 cases.

Afatinib Is a New Therapeutic Approach in Chordoma with a Unique Ability to Target EGFR and Brachyury.

Chordomas are rare bone tumors with no approved therapy. These tumors express several activated tyrosine kinase receptors, which prompted attempts to treat patients with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Although clinical benefit was observed in phase II clinical trials with imatinib and sorafenib, and sporadically also with EGFR inhibitors, therapies evaluated to date have shown modest activity.

Metformin transiently inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation as a result of either AMPK activation or increased ROS production.

Metformin is a widely used and well-tolerated anti-diabetic drug that can reduce cancer risk and improve the prognosis of certain malignancies. However, the mechanism underlying its anti-cancer effect is still unclear. We studied the anti-cancer activity of metformin on colorectal cancer (CRC) by using the drug to treat HT29, HCT116 and HCT116 p53-/- CRC cells.

Establishment and genomic characterization of the new chordoma cell line Chor-IN-1.

Chordomas are rare, slowly growing tumors with high medical need, arising in the axial skeleton from notochord remnants. The transcription factor "brachyury" represents a distinctive molecular marker and a key oncogenic driver of chordomas. Tyrosine kinase receptors are also expressed, but so far kinase inhibitors have not shown clear clinical efficacy in chordoma patients.

New transcriptional-based insights into the pathogenesis of desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCTs).

To gain new insights into desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCTs) by means of gene expression profiling (GEP). Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded surgical specimens obtained from seven pretreated DSRCT patients were interrogated using GEP complemented by immunohistochemistry, a cancer stem cell array, and miRNA in situ hybridisation, including the combined chimera modules miRNA-200/ZEB1 and miRNA-34/SLUG. The chimera modules divided the cases into three classes that respectively recapitulated the traits of mesenchymal epithelial reverse transition (MErT), epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), and hybrid/partial EMT.

Mechanism of action of trabectedin in desmoplastic small round cell tumor cells.

Background: Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a rare and highly aggressive disease, that can be described as a member of the family of small round blue cell tumors. The molecular diagnostic marker is the t(11;22)(p13;q12) translocation, which creates an aberrant transcription factor, EWS-WT1, that underlies the oncogenesis of DSRCT. Current treatments are not very effective so new active drugs are needed.