Beyond Abscopal Effect: A Meta-Analysis of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Radiotherapy in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) plus radiotherapy (RT) have been suggested as an emerging combination in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, little is known about the magnitude of its benefits and potential clinical predictors.

Objective: To assess the effects of this combination on the increase in overall and progression-free survival.

Psychological impact of Covid-19 pandemic on oncological patients: A survey in Northern Italy.

The psychological impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on cancer patients, a population at higher risk of fatal consequences if infected, has been only rarely evaluated. This study was conducted at the Departments of Oncology of four hospitals located in the Verona area in Italy to investigate the psychological consequences of the pandemic on cancer patients under active anticancer treatments. A 13-item ad hoc questionnaire to evaluate the psychological status of patients before and during the pandemic was administered to 474 consecutive subjects in the time frame between April 27th and June 7th 2020.

Inflammatory indexes as predictive factors for platinum sensitivity and as prognostic factors in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer patients: a MITO24 retrospective study.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and systemic inflammatory index (SII) are prognostic factors in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Their predictive value for platinum-sensitivity and their role in recurrent EOC are unknown. A total of 375 EOC patients were retrospectively analyzed.

Inflammatory Indexes as Prognostic and Predictive Factors in Ovarian Cancer Treated with Chemotherapy Alone or Together with Bevacizumab. A Multicenter, Retrospective Analysis by the MITO Group (MITO 24).

Background: The variability in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) makes it difficult to reliably predict outcomes. A predictive biomarker of bevacizumab efficacy as first-line therapy in EOC is still lacking.

Objective: The MITO group conducted a multicenter, retrospective study (MITO 24) to investigate the role of inflammatory indexes as prognostic factors and predictors of treatment efficacy in FIGO stage III-IV EOC patients treated with first-line chemotherapy alone or in combination with bevacizumab.

In the NadR regulon, adhesins and diverse meningococcal functions are regulated in response to signals in human saliva.

The Neisseria meningitidis regulator NadR was shown to repress expression of the NadA adhesin and play a major role in NadA phase-variable expression. In this study, we identified through microarray analysis over 30 genes coregulated with nadA in the NadR mutant and defined members of the NadR regulon through in vitro DNA-binding assays. Two distinct types of promoter architectures (I and II) were identified for NadR targets, differing in both the number and position of NadR-binding sites.

A novel epigenetic regulator associated with the hypervirulent Neisseria meningitidis clonal complex 41/44.

Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of septicemia and meningitis. The hypervirulent clonal complex 41/44 (cc41/44) has emerged as the predominant cause of serogroup B meningococcal disease, having been responsible for recent outbreaks and epidemics worldwide. However, the meningococcal factors that enable transition from asymptomatic carriage to rapidly progressing disease are poorly understood.

A novel phase variation mechanism in the meningococcus driven by a ligand-responsive repressor and differential spacing of distal promoter elements.

Phase variable expression, mediated by high frequency reversible changes in the length of simple sequence repeats, facilitates adaptation of bacterial populations to changing environments and is frequently important in bacterial virulence. Here we elucidate a novel phase variable mechanism for NadA, an adhesin and invasin of Neisseria meningitidis. The NadR repressor protein binds to operators flanking the phase variable tract and contributes to the differential expression levels of phase variant promoters with different numbers of repeats likely due to different spacing between operators.