Biobanks as an Indispensable Tool in the "Era" of Precision Medicine: Key Role in the Management of Complex Diseases, Such as Melanoma.

In recent years, medicine has undergone profound changes, strongly entering a new phase defined as the "era of precision medicine". In this context, patient clinical management involves various scientific approaches that allow for a comprehensive pathology evaluation: from preventive processes (where applicable) to genetic and diagnostic studies. In this scenario, biobanks play an important role and, over the years, have gained increasing prestige, moving from small deposits to large collections of samples of various natures.

Monitoring changing patterns in HER2 addiction by liquid biopsy in advanced breast cancer patients.

Background: During targeted treatment, HER2-positive breast cancers invariably lose HER2 DNA amplification. In contrast, and interestingly, HER2 proteins may be either lost or gained. To longitudinally and systematically appreciate complex/discordant changes in HER2 DNA/protein stoichiometry, HER2 DNA copy numbers and soluble blood proteins (aHER2/sHER2) were tested in parallel, non-invasively (by liquid biopsy), and in two-dimensions, hence HER2-2D.

Metastatic Melanoma: Liquid Biopsy as a New Precision Medicine Approach.

Precision medicine has driven a major change in the treatment of many forms of cancer. The discovery that each patient is different and each tumor mass has its own characteristics has shifted the focus of basic and clinical research to the singular individual. Liquid biopsy (LB), in this sense, presents new scenarios in personalized medicine through the study of molecules, factors, and tumor biomarkers in blood such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), exosomes and circulating tumor microRNAs (ct-miRNAs).

Functional Outcome After Lower Limb Amputation: Is Hyperhomocysteinemia a Predictive Factor?: An Observational Study.

Lower limb amputation (LLA) is the drastic stage of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) where the hyperhomocysteinemia (H-HCY) seems to be a risk factor. Surprisingly, in literature the levels and the role of homocysteinemia (HCY) in persons with LLA are understudied. This study aims to investigate the level of HCY and its correlation with the functional outcomes after LLA.

Antithrombotic drugs, patient characteristics, and gastrointestinal bleeding: Clinical translation and areas of research.

Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a potentially fatal and avoidable medical condition that poses a burden on global health care costs. Current understanding of the roles of platelet activation and thrombin generation/activity in vascular medicine has led to the development of effective antithrombotic treatments. However, in parallel with a sustained coronary and cerebral flow patency, the increasingly intensive treatment with warfarin; direct oral anticoagulant drugs [DOACs], and/or with aspirin ± clopidogrel (or ± prasugrel or ± ticagrelor), has increased the burden of GIBs related to the use of antithrombotic agents.