Survival Outcomes of Durvalumab in Combination with Cisplatin and Gemcitabine in Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer: Real-World Results from a Single Italian Institution.

Introduction: The TOPAZ-1 phase III trial showed a survival benefit with durvalumab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC). To understand this combination's real-world efficacy and tolerability, we conducted a retrospective analysis of its first-line treatment outcomes.

Methods: We included patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic BTC treated with cisplatin, gemcitabine, plus durvalumab.

Intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma: new horizons and prospects for our patients.

Introduction: In recent years, significant progress has been made in treatment strategies for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is a highly heterogeneous patient population requiring tailored therapies based on tumor characteristics.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review of treatment approaches for intermediate-stage HCC, highlighting the evolution of treatment options over time. While chemoembolization remains the standard therapy for many patients, it has advanced to include combinations with systemic therapies, known as combination therapy, which is becoming the new standard of care for this group.

Lenvatinib versus Sorafenib Second-Line Therapy in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progressed to Atezolizumab plus Bevacizumab: A Retrospective Real-World Study.

Introduction: The most frequently used first-line treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. Upon progression after this treatment, the standard of care in many countries is sorafenib, due to the lack of reimbursement for other drugs. Several randomized trials are currently underway to clarify the best second-line therapy in patients with HCC.

Developing targeted therapeutics for hepatocellular carcinoma: a critical assessment of promising phase II agents.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the first for primary liver tumors. In recent years greater therapeutic advancement was represented by employment of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) either in monotherapy or in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Areas Covered: Major attention was given to target therapies in the last couple of years, especially in those currently under phase II trials.

Treatment options for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: the potential of biologics.

Introduction: Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a significant global health burden, whose treatment has been recently revolutionized by the advent of biologic treatments. Despite that, innovative therapeutic regimens and approaches, especially immune-based, remain to be explored aiming at extending the therapeutic benefits to a wider population of patients.

Areas Covered: This review comprehensively discusses the evolving landscape of biological treatment modalities for advanced HCC, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, antiangiogenic monoclonal antibodies, tumor-targeting monoclonal antibodies either naked or drug-conjugated, therapeutic vaccines, oncolytic viruses, adoptive cell therapies, and cytokine-based therapies.

Raynaud's phenomenon of the nipple during breastfeeding: A case series.

Raynaud's phenomenon consists of excessive contraction of the blood vessels in response to various stimuli; although it usually affects the extremities, other locations are less frequently involved. This study focused on describing the characteristics of a series of women with Raynaud's phenomenon of the nipple. Through medical record review and direct communication with patients, data from 12 women diagnosed with Raynaud's phenomenon of the nipple between 2016 and 2023 were collected and analyzed.

Safety and Efficacy of Lenvatinib in Very Old Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Data concerning the use of lenvatinib in very old patients (≥ 80 years) are limited, although the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in this patient population is constantly increasing.

Objective: This analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib in a large cohort of very old patients (≥ 80 years) with unresectable HCC.

Patients And Methods: The study was conducted on a cohort of 1325 patients from 46 centers in four Western and Eastern countries (Italy, Germany, Japan, and the Republic of Korea) who were undergoing first-line treatment with lenvatinib between July 2010 and February 2022.

Fungal wood-degrading enzymes in esca-diseased grapevine and effects of carbohydrate environment on fungal development.

In esca disease affecting grapevines, Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and Phaeoacremonium minimum colonize the woody parts of the trunks and arms, where they obtain nutrition from xylem sap and, potentially, from residues resulting from the enzymatic breakdown of lignified cell walls, particularly osidic residues. We quantified the secretion of lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase and laccase by these fungi in woody tissues of selectively infected cuttings using immunolabeling and transmission electron microscopy. Our results indicated that the detection of these enzymes was generally higher in tissues infected with Phaeoacremonium minimum.

Does immunotherapy change the treatment paradigm in metastatic gastric cancer?

Gastric cancer represents one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Even if the last decade has witnessed an improvement in surgical and systemic treatments, with an increase of overall life expectancy, survival rates still remain unsatisfactory, especially for patients with metastatic disease. Systemic therapies represent the gold standard in the management of stage IV gastric cancer.

Synthesis, phloem mobility and induced plant resistance of synthetic salicylic acid amino acid or glucose conjugates.

Background: The growing demand for food, combined with a strong social expectation for a diet produced with fewer conventional agrochemical inputs, has led to the development of new alternatives in plant protection worldwide. Among different possibilities, the stimulation of the plant innate immune system by chemicals represents a novel and promising way. The vectorization strategy of an active ingredient that we previously developed with fungicides can potentially extend to salicylic acid (SA) or its halogenated analogues.

Efficacy of ustekinumab in the treatment of patients with Crohn's disease with failure to previous conventional or biologic therapy: a prospective observational real-life study.

Ustekinumab (UST), a human anti-IL12/23p40 monoclonal antibody, was approved by FDA and EMA for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD). Whether UST is effective in inducing deep remission, including mucosal healing and transmural healing, in patients with CD in a real life setting is not completely clear. This study was performed on 92 subjects with confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe Crohn's disease and no neoplasia.

Introducing immunotherapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients: Too early or too fast?

Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent liver cancer. Immunotherapy has been explored in this disease in order to improve survival outcomes. Nowadays, scientific research is focusing especially on immune checkpoint inhibitors, in particular anti-PD1, anti-PD-L1 and anti-CTLA4 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), as single-agent or in combination with other immunotherapy agents, target therapies, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and other agents targeting specific molecular pathways.

Prognostic Value of the Pace of Tumor Progression as Assessed by Serial F-FDG PET/CT Scan and Liquid Biopsy in Refractory Colorectal Cancer: The CORIOLAN Trial.

Introduction: Decision making in refractory colorectal cancer (rCRC) is challenging, with limited data available to predict patient outcome. We conducted a study to assess the pace of cancer progression as a potential prognostic and decision tool.

Methods: CORIOLAN was a prospective, single-center, single-arm trial recruiting refractory CRC patients with an ECOG performance status of ≤1 and an estimated life expectancy of ≥12 weeks.

Telemedicine in the COVID-19 era for Liver Transplant Recipients: an Italian lockdown area experience.

Background: Data on COVID-19 in Liver Transplant (LT) recipients are scanty, but one can hypothesize that they are more susceptible to infection due to chronic immunosuppression. Telemedicine could be an alternative to the routine clinical care in this difficult period. We aimed to investigate in a cohort of LT recipients the access to remote consultation and the attitude towards Telemedicine using an internet-based survey.

Feasibility and clinical impact of routine molecular testing of gastrointestinal cancers at a tertiary centre with a multi-gene, tumor-agnostic, next generation sequencing panel.

Background: High-throughput sequencing technologies are increasingly used in research but limited data are available on the feasibility and value of these when routinely adopted in clinical practice.

Material And Methods: We analyzed all consecutive cancer patients for whom genomic testing by a 48-gene next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel (Truseq Amplicon Cancer Panel, Illumina) was requested as part of standard care in one of the largest Belgian cancer networks between 2014 and 2019. Feasibility of NGS was assessed in all study patients, while the impact of NGS on the decision making was analyzed in the group of gastrointestinal cancer patients.

MOMENTUM: A Phase I Trial Investigating 2 Schedules of Capecitabine With Aflibercept in Patients With Gastrointestinal and Breast Cancer.

Background: Although data from preclinical and clinical studies provide a strong rationale for combining capecitabine with anti-angiogenic agents, clinical development of this fluoropyrimidine in combination with aflibercept has lagged behind other treatments. We conducted a nonrandomized, noncomparative, 2-arm, phase I trial to address this unmet need.

Patients And Methods: Patients with chemorefractory gastrointestinal and breast cancer were sequentially recruited into a continuous (Arm A, starting dose 1100 mg/m/day) or intermittent (Arm B, 2 weeks on/1 week off, starting dose 1700 mg/m/day) capecitabine dosing arm.

Detection of Cross-Correlation between Gravitational Lensing and γ Rays.

In recent years, many γ-ray sources have been identified, yet the unresolved component hosts valuable information on the faintest emission. In order to extract it, a cross-correlation with gravitational tracers of matter in the Universe has been shown to be a promising tool. We report here the first identification of a cross-correlation signal between γ rays and the distribution of mass in the Universe probed by weak gravitational lensing.