Self-Reported Real-World Safety and Reactogenicity of COVID-19 Vaccines: A Vaccine Recipient Survey.

An online survey was conducted to compare the safety, tolerability and reactogenicity of available COVID-19 vaccines in different recipient groups. This survey was launched in February 2021 and ran for 11 days. Recipients of a first COVID-19 vaccine dose ≥7 days prior to survey completion were eligible.

SARS-CoV-2 pathophysiology and its clinical implications: An integrative overview of the pharmacotherapeutic management of COVID-19.

Common manifestations of COVID-19 are respiratory and can extend from mild symptoms to severe acute respiratory distress. The severity of the illness can also extend from mild disease to life-threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). SARS-CoV-2 infection can also affect the gastrointestinal tract, liver and pancreatic functions, leading to gastrointestinal symptoms.

Comprehensive analysis of drugs to treat SARS‑CoV‑2 infection: Mechanistic insights into current COVID‑19 therapies (Review).

The major impact produced by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) focused many researchers attention to find treatments that can suppress transmission or ameliorate the disease. Despite the very fast and large flow of scientific data on possible treatment solutions, none have yet demonstrated unequivocal clinical utility against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19). This work represents an exhaustive and critical review of all available data on potential treatments for COVID‑19, highlighting their mechanistic characteristics and the strategy development rationale.

COVID‑19 in Northern Italy: An integrative overview of factors possibly influencing the sharp increase of the outbreak (Review).

Italy is currently one of the countries seriously affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic. As per 10 April 2020, 147,577 people were found positive in a total of 906,864 tests performed and 18,849 people lost their lives. Among all cases, 70.

Clinical feasibility of NGS liquid biopsy analysis in NSCLC patients.

Background: Analysis of circulating tumor nucleic acids in plasma of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients is the most widespread and documented form of "liquid biopsy" and provides real-time information on the molecular profile of the tumor without an invasive tissue biopsy.

Methods: Liquid biopsy analysis was requested by the referral physician in 121 NSCLC patients at diagnosis and was performed using a sensitive Next Generation Sequencing assay. Additionally, a comparative analysis of NSCLC patients at relapse following EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKIs) treatment was performed in 50 patients by both the cobas and NGS platforms.

Economic evaluation of trifluridine and tipiracil hydrochloride in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer in Greece.

Aim: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of trifluridine and tipiracil hydrochloride (FTD/TPI) compared with best supportive care (BSC) or regorafenib for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have been previously treated with or are not considered candidates for available therapies including fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapies, anti-VEGF agents and anti-EGFR agents in Greece.

Methods: A partitioned survival model was locally adapted from a third-party payer perspective over a 10 year time horizon. Efficacy data and utility values were extracted from published studies.

Comprehensive molecular screening by next generation sequencing reveals a distinctive mutational profile of / genes and novel genomic alterations: results from a 20-year cohort of patients with GIST from north-western Greece.

Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) are mesenchymal neoplasms that usually carry an activating mutation in or platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha () genes with predictive and prognostic significance. We investigated the extended mutational status of GIST in a patient population of north-western Greece in order to look at geopraphic/genotypic distinctive traits.

Patient And Methods: Clinicopathological and molecular data of 38 patients diagnosed from 1996 to 2016 with GIST in the region of Epirus in Greece were retrospectively assessed.

Nivolumab-induced hypothyroidism and selective pituitary insufficiency in a patient with lung adenocarcinoma: a case report and review of the literature.

Immune checkpoint blockade including programmed cell death 1 pathway inhibition with agents such as nivolumab is gaining ground in a wide array of malignancies, so far demonstrating significantly improved survival rates even in metastatic, often multiply pretreated settings. Although targeted in nature and generally well-tolerated compared with conventional anticancer treatments, these agents are often linked to a newly emerged group of adverse reactions, referred to as immune-related adverse events, which can also affect endocrine organs. This is a case report of a patient who received nivolumab for the treatment of recurrent metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and developed primary hypothyroidism and secondary adrenal insufficiency caused by selective pituitary dysfunction (with preservation of all other endocrine functions).

Iron-substituted cubic silsesquioxane pillared clays: Synthesis, characterization and acid catalytic activity.

Novel pillared structures were developed from the intercalation of iron-substituted cubic silsesquioxanes in a sodium and an acid-activated montmorillonite nanoclay and evaluated as acid catalysts. Octameric cubic oligosiloxanes were formed upon controlled hydrolytic polycondensation of the corresponding monomer (a diamino-alkoxysilane) and reacted with iron cations to form complexes that were intercalated within the layered nanoclay matrices. Upon calcination iron oxide nanoparticles are formed which are located on the silica cubes (pillars) and on the surfaces of the clay platelets.

CYP polymorphisms and pathological conditions related to chronic exposure to organochlorine pesticides.

The association between genetic variations in the cytochrome P450 (CYP) family genes and pathological conditions related to long-term exposure to organochlorine compounds (OCs) deserves further elucidation. OCs are persistent organic pollutants with bioaccumulative and lipophilic characteristics. They can act as endocrine disruptors and perturb cellular mechanisms.

Management of patients with recurrent/advanced cervical cancer beyond first line platinum regimens: Where do we stand? A literature review.

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer affecting women worldwide. Despite advances in screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, a significant number of women present with or develop advanced disease. Palliative platinum-based chemotherapy (CT) is the standard first-line treatment for metastatic/recurrent cervical cancer.

Bone and soft tissue sarcomas during pregnancy: A narrative review of the literature.

Bone or soft tissue sarcomas are rarely diagnosed during pregnancy. Until today 137 well documented cases have been reported in the English literature between 1963 and 2014. Thirty-eight pregnant mothers were diagnosed with osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma or chondrosarcoma, whereas 95 other cases of soft tissue sarcomas of various types have been documented.

Lung cancer during pregnancy: A narrative review.

Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in males for decades, has recently become one of commonest causes for women too. As women delay the start of their family, the co-existence of cancer and pregnancy is increasingly observed. Nevertheless, lung cancer during pregnancy remains a rather uncommon condition with less than 70 cases published in recent years.

A mini review on pregnant mothers with cancer: A paradoxical coexistence.

The diagnosis of cancer during pregnancy at least in the Western world is a rare phenomenon, but this might be raised into the future due to late pregnancies in the modern societies. The coexistence of pregnancy and cancer implicates numerous medical, ethical, psychological and sometimes religious issues between the mother, the family and the treating physician. Breast, cervical cancer, melanoma and lymphoma are the most common malignancies diagnosed during pregnancy.

An unusual presentation of a patient with advanced prostate cancer, massive ascites and peritoneal metastasis: Case report and literature review.

We describe the case of a patient with prostate cancer, ascites, omental and bone metastases, an extremely rare clinical variant that warrants further investigation, and review the relevant literature.

Severe resistant hypoglycemia in a patient with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor on sunitinib treatment.

Objective: Sunitinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor used in the therapy of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs), metastatic renal cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. We describe a patient with PNET who presented with severe hypoglycemia following sunitinib administration.

Case Report: A 64-year old man with known metastatic PNET presented with a history of recurring episodes of severe, life-threatening hypoglycemia 3 months after initiation of sunitinib treatment.

Prognostication in cancer of unknown primary (CUP): development of a prognostic algorithm in 311 cases and review of the literature.

Background: CUP represents a heterogeneous population of patients with systemic malignancy and variable outcomes. Identification of clinical, pathologic and laboratory parameters with prognostic utility could contribute to estimation of death hazard and tailoring of therapy.

Patients And Methods: Clinical, pathologic and laboratory data from 311 patients with CUP diagnosed in a single university centre from 1988 to 2011 were examined for prognostic significance in univariate, multivariate and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analyses.

Psychiatric manifestations, personality traits and health-related quality of life in cancer of unknown primary site.

Objective: Psychiatric manifestations and personality traits are known to influence cancer patients. We aimed to assess psychological distress symptoms, psychosocial factors and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in cancer of unknown primary site (CUP) and to test whether these parameters differ between CUP and Metastatic (MKPC) or Non-Metastatic Known Primary Cancers (N-MKPC) after controlling for demographics and clinical variables.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 50 CUP, 264 N-MKPC and 52 MKPC participants.

A layered magnetic iron/iron oxide nanoscavenger for the analytical enrichment of ng-L(-1) concentration levels of heavy metals from water.

Magnetically driven separation techniques have received considerable attention in recent decade because of their great potential application. In this study, we investigate the application of an unmodified layered magnetic Fe/Fe(2)O(3) nanoscavenger for the analytical enrichment and determination of sub-parts per billion concentrations of Cd(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), Cr(VI) and As(V) from water samples. The synthesized nanoscavenger was characterized by BET, TGA, XRD and IR and the parameters influencing the extraction and recovery of the preconcentration process were assessed by atomic absorption spectrometry.

Profiling immunohistochemical expression of NOTCH1-3, JAGGED1, cMET, and phospho-MAPK in 100 carcinomas of unknown primary.

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a heterogeneous entity, managed on the basis of "one size fits all" therapeutic concepts; insights into the molecular biology of CUP are urgently needed. We retrospectively examined the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of Notch1, 2, 3, Jagged1, cMET, and pMAPK biomolecules in 100 CUP tumors using tissue microarrays, aiming to study their correlation to clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic utility for patient outcome. Notch3 and pMAPK were most frequently expressed (97 and 91 %, respectively).

Long-term survivors among patients with cancer of unknown primary.

There is a general conception among oncologists that CUP patients behave poorly to treatment and carry a dismal survival. In this paper we are trying to elucidate the different groups of CUP patients and to describe in details the diagnostic and therapeutic management of the prognostically favorable patients. Clinicians should be aware that the favorable CUP cases must be treated according to recent guidelines with either specific locoregional and/or systemic therapy and that they commonly enjoy a long survival.

Diltiazem-induced eosinophilic pleural effusion.

A 68-year-old woman developed eosinophilic pleural effusion and systemic eosinophilia 2 months after starting antihypertensive therapy with diltiazem. Several drugs are known to cause this disorder; however, the only other drug the patient had been taking was clonidine, which she had taken for the past 3-4 years. She was evaluated for all other possible causes of eosinophilia and eosinophilic pleural effusion, including malignancy, infection, and autoimmune disorders.