The SINTART 1 study. A phase II non-randomised controlled trial of induction chemotherapy, surgery, photon-, proton- and carbon ion-based radiotherapy integration in patients with locally advanced resectable sinonasal tumours.

Purpose: Sinonasal tumours are rare diseases with poor prognosis. Multimodal approach including surgery is widely used, although no standard therapy has been established in prospective trials. This study assessed activity and safety of an innovative integration of multimodality treatment-induction chemotherapy (ICT), surgery and radiotherapy (RT)-modulated by histology and response to ICT.

The SINTART 2 Study. A phase II non-randomised controlled trial of induction chemotherapy, photon-, proton- and carbon-ion-based radiotherapy integration in patients with locally advanced unresectable sinonasal tumours.

Purpose: Unresectable, locally advanced sinonasal epithelial tumours are rare diseases with poor prognosis. Multimodal approach is widely used, although no standard therapy has been established in prospective trials. This study assessed activity and safety of an innovative integration of multimodality treatment-induction chemotherapy (ICT), surgery and radiotherapy (RT)-modulated by histology and response to ICT.

Quality of life changes over time and predictors in a large head and neck patients' cohort: secondary analysis from an Italian multi-center longitudinal, prospective, observational study-a study of the Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology (AIRO) head and neck working group.

Purpose: The present study examined the longitudinal trajectories, through hierarchical modeling, of quality of life among patients with head and neck cancer, specifically symptoms burden, during radiotherapy, and in the follow-up period (1, 3, 6, and 12 months after completion of radiotherapy), through the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory Head and Neck questionnaire, formed by three factors.

Exploring the role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and blood chemistry in head and neck adenoid cystic carcinomas treated with carbon ion radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: In recent years, there is an emerging interest in the prognostic role of chemistry blood biomarkers in oncological patients but their role in adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACCs) is still unknown. This study aims to assess the prognostic significance of baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and blood chemistry in a series of head and neck ACC patients treated with carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT).

Material And Methods: We retrospectively retrieved the data of 49 consecutive head and neck ACC patients treated with CIRT.

Modelling Radiation-Induced Salivary Dysfunction during IMRT and Chemotherapy for Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patients.

Background: Radiation-induced xerostomia is one of the most prevalent adverse effects of head and neck cancer treatment, and it could seriously affect patients' qualities of life. It results primarily from damage to the salivary glands, but its onset and severity may also be influenced by other patient-, tumour-, and treatment-related factors. We aimed to build and validate a predictive model for acute salivary dysfunction (aSD) for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients by combining clinical and dosimetric factors.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Aqualief Mucoadhesive Tablets in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Who Developed Radiation-Induced Xerostomia.

Xerostomia, the subjective complaint of dry mouth, is caused by therapeutic interventions or diseases. Nowadays, radiotherapy (RT) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) stands out as one of the most important causes of xerostomia. Currently available therapies for the treatment of xerostomia are still less than optimal and xerostomia still represents an unmet clinical need.

Baseline MRI-Radiomics Can Predict Overall Survival in Non-Endemic EBV-Related Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients.

Advanced stage nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) shows highly variable treatment outcomes, suggesting the need for independent prognostic factors. This study aims at developing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomic signature as a prognostic marker for different clinical endpoints in NPC patients from non-endemic areas. A total 136 patients with advanced NPC and available MRI imaging (T1-weighted and T2-weighted) were selected.

Methodology and technology for the development of a prognostic MRI-based radiomic model for the outcome of head and neck cancer patients.

The purpose of this study was to establish a methodology and technology for the development of an MRI-based radiomic signature for prognosis of overall survival (OS) in nasopharyngeal cancer from non-endemic areas. The signature was trained using 1072 features extracted from the main tumor in T1-weighted and T2-weighted images of 142 patients. A model with 2 radiomic features was obtained (RAD model).

A monocentric, open-label randomized standard-of-care controlled study of XONRID®, a medical device for the prevention and treatment of radiation-induced dermatitis in breast and head and neck cancer patients.

Background: This study was an open-label, 2-arms, monocentric, randomized clinical trial comparing Xonrid®, a topical medical device, versus standard of care (SOC) in preventing and treating acute radiation dermatitis (ARD) in Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) and Breast Cancer (BC) patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT).

Methods: Eligible HNC and BC patients were randomized 1:1 to receive Xonrid® + SOC or SOC during RT. Patients were instructed to apply Xonrid® on the irradiated area three times daily, starting on the first day of RT and until 2 weeks after RT completion or until the development of grade ≥ 3 skin toxicity.

Prevention and treatment of radiation-induced acute dermatitis in head and neck cancer patients: a systematic review.

Acute dermatitis is the most common radio-induced side effect during treatment for head and neck cancer. The use of a wide variety of agents is reported to handle skin toxicity. Our aim was to review the literature and synthesize current available evidence.

[Non-intestinal type sinonasal cancers and exposure to occupational carcinogens: a case-control study].

Background: Sinonasal cancers are rare, often fatal, tumors with a very high proportion of cases attributable to occupational exposures. The relevance of different carcinogens deeply varies among histological subtypes, with intestinal type adenocarcinomas (ITAC) characterized by a very large proportion of workers exposed to wood dust. The role of occupation in the etiology of other histotypes is less clear and more disputed, with authors questioning the possible occupational origin of non-ITAC cancers.

[Looking for "lost occupational cancers": a systematic evaluation of occupational exposure in a case series of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas in Italy].

Background: Cutaneous carcinomas are tumors with a potential occupational etiology due to exposure to established carcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), ionizing radiation, ultraviolet (UV) radiation and arsenic. The occupational origin of such neoplasms is hugely underestimated in Italy.

Objectives: To asses the proportion of Squamous Cell Carcinomas (SCC) cases with a previous occupational exposure to carcinogens.

Prevalence of occupational hazards in patients with different types of epithelial sinonasal cancers.

Background: Occupational exposure to carcinogens contributes greatly to the etiology of sinonasal cancer (SNC), but the role of different risk factors in determining different histological subtypes is disputed.

Methodology: All consecutive surgical epithelial SNC cases (case-series study) underwent a systematic occupational medicine examination to determine previous exposure to a wide range of work-related chemical hazards.

Results: We investigated 65 SNC cases including intestinal-type adenocarcinoma [ITAC] squamous-cell carcinoma [SCC], and others.

[Prospectic evaluation of the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority in a large case series of Occupational sino-nasal cancers].

Sino-nasal cancer (SNC) are rare tumours with an elevated occupational etiological fraction, due both to well-established risk factors (wood and leather) and to more rare carcinogens. We evaluated the assessment for workers' compensation performed by the Italian Authority (INAL) in a case-series of occupational SNC (N = 45). We observed an elevated proportion of cases that were recognised as occupational, overall (36 on 39) and for any histotype.

Evaluating dispensing error detection rates in a hospital pharmacy.

Objectives: The filling of unit dose orders and checking for filling errors are two essential distributive responsibilities of a hospital pharmacy. Previous studies have shown that nonpharmacists, usually technicians, are capable of assuming these distributive tasks traditionally performed by hospital pharmacists. The study tested whether nonpharmacists, in this case licensed practical nurses/medication nurses, were as competent as pharmacists in checking for errors in unit dose cassettes prepared for hospital patients.

Clinical clerkships in professional education: a study in pharmacy and other ancillary professions.

An empirical study of the dynamics of clinical clerkships in professional education is offered, with particular attention to ancillary professions. For students to eventually establish innovative practices within professional organizations, they need skills in the technical aspects of their fields, as well as in role-making and interprofessional negotiation. In examining a clinical clerkship in pharmacy, it was found that faculty overwhelmingly focus on technical matters, and assume that technical competence alone is enough to attain role expansion.

Observational study of job satisfaction in hospital pharmacy technicians.

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributing to job satisfaction of pharmacy technicians in two community hospitals were studied. A pharmacy student employed part-time as a pharmacy technician by one of the hospitals observed fellow technicians in a wide range of job activities for 22 months. In a second hospital, the same student conducted similar observations during one summer while posing as a social researcher.

Access to generic drugs in the 1950s: the politics of a social problem.

From the published literature of the 1950s, the social history of anti-substitution law is analyzed in terms of sociological theory on the construction of social problems. The analysis reveals how the substitution of generic drugs for prescribed brands came to be recognized as a social problem in need of remedial legislation. The most influential party in the process was the brand-drug industry which centered the debate on matters of public health and professionalism instead of industrial profitability.