Essential thrombocythemia is a rare hematological malignancy with good overall survival, but moderate to high risk of developing arterial or venous thrombosis lifelong. Different thrombotic risk scores for patients with essential thrombocythemia have been proposed, but only one of them (the IPSET-t scoring system) takes into account the classical cardiovascular risk factors as one of the scoring items. Currently, in clinical practice, the presence of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diagnosis of ET rarely determines the decision to initiate cytoreductive therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThromboembolic and bleeding events pose a severe risk for patients with Polycythemia Vera (PV) and Essential Thrombocythemia (ET). Many factors can contribute to promoting the thrombotic event due to the interaction between platelets, leukocytes, and endothelium alterations. Moreover, a significant role can be played by cardiovascular risk factors (CV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSplenomegaly is one of the major clinical manifestations of primary myelofibrosis and is common also in other chronic Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms, causing symptoms and signs and affecting quality of life of patients diagnosed with these diseases. We aimed to study the impact that such alteration has on thrombotic risk and on the survival of patients with essential thrombocythemia and patients with Polycythemia Vera (PV). We studied the relationship between splenomegaly (and its grade), thrombosis and survival in 238 patients with et and 165 patients with PV followed at our center between January 1997 and May 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiovascular (CV) adverse events are considered common complications of ponatinib treatment. Recently, it has been demonstrated that ponatinib dose reductions in definite settings can obtain optimal responses and lower ponatinib-related CV events. In this study, we describe the management of 5 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia treated with ponatinib, from second to fourth line of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, carrying high pre-ponatinib CV risk, who obtained optimal molecular response and developed no CV adverse event during follow-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast cancer is the most frequent carcinoma and second most common cause of cancer-related mortality in postmenopausal women. The acquisition of somatic mutations represents the main mechanism through which cancer cells overcome physiological cellular signaling pathways (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrotubules are dynamic and structural cellular components involved in several cell functions, including cell shape, motility, and intracellular trafficking. In proliferating cells, they are essential components in the division process through the formation of the mitotic spindle. As a result of these functions, tubulin and microtubules are targets for anticancer agents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a previous study we evaluated the microbiological quality of water of seven pools in the city of Palermo through evaluation of bacterial indicators of faecal contamination and of protozoa (Giardia and Cryptosporidium). In this study we also searched for the presence of fungi in two swimming pools of a public swimming facility in the same city. Samples were collected from both pools, their filtration systems and floor surfaces of the facility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn recent years there has been an increase in the consumption of bagged prepared salad vegetables. The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality of such vegetables in the city of Palermo (Italy). Forty samples of different salad vegetables were examined for the presence of mesophilic germs, E.
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