Publications by authors named "Francesca Bazzocchi"
A powerful machine learning approach to identify interactions of differentially abundant gut microbial subsets in patients with metastatic and non-metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Gut Microbes
July 2024
Article Synopsis
- Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late (stage IV) and is associated with aggressive metastasis; the study explores the role of gut microbiota in this process.
- Researchers utilized advanced methods like 16S metagenomic sequencing and machine learning to identify bacteria with differing levels in metastatic versus non-metastatic patients, finding an increase in Gram-negative bacteria among those with metastases.
- The findings suggest a link between gut microbiota and cancer spread, highlighting the potential of AI to analyze microbiome data for better cancer management strategies.
Background: Although minimally invasive distal pancreatectomy (MIDP) is considered a standard approach it still presents a non-negligible rate of conversion to open that is mainly related to some difficulty factors, as obesity. The aim of this study is to analyze the preoperative factors associated with conversion in obese patients with MIDP.
Methods: In this multicenter study, all obese patients who underwent MIDP at 18 international expert centers were included.
Article Synopsis
- Patients with autoimmune gastritis (AIG) face a significantly increased risk of developing type-1 neuroendocrine tumors, with a study analyzing 26 gastric carcinoma cases in this context highlighting distinct molecular and clinicopathologic features.
- The majority of tumors were early-stage (pT1), located primarily in the corpus/fundus of the stomach, and often accompanied by specific histological changes like complete intestinal metaplasia and absence of parietal cells.
- Molecular analysis found common genetic alterations, with key genes like TP53 and ERBB2 showing frequent mutations, and highlighted a subset of tumors exhibiting microsatellite instability and high tumor mutational burden.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are a powerful tool for detecting variants associated with complex traits and can help risk stratification and prevention strategies against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the strict significance threshold commonly used makes it likely that many true risk loci are missed. Functional annotation of GWAS polymorphisms is a proven strategy to identify additional risk loci.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To gain insight into the global practice of robot-assisted minimally invasive gastrectomy (RAMIG) and evaluate perioperative outcomes using an international registry.
Background: The techniques and perioperative outcomes of RAMIG for gastric cancer vary substantially in the literature.
Methods: Prospectively registered RAMIG cases for gastric cancer (≥10 per center) were extracted from 25 centers in Europe, Asia, and South-America.
Article Synopsis
- Robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP) shows better short-term outcomes than laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) in obese patients with a BMI of 30 or higher, including lower complication rates and less blood loss.
- The study included 446 obese patients over a 10-year span, focusing on surgery effectiveness and treatment comparisons at 18 expert centers.
- RDP was found to have a lower conversion rate to open surgery and achieved better spleen preservation compared to LDP, highlighting its advantages for surgical interventions in this patient group.
Article Synopsis
- Modern non-Africans have 1-3% Neandertal DNA due to interbreeding events that occurred 50,000-60,000 years ago, which may affect traits linked to diseases like pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
- In this study, researchers examined how specific Neandertal-related genetic variations (aSNPs) correlate with PDAC risk in European and East Asian populations, using data from over 200,000 individuals.
- While no significant link was found in Europeans, a specific allele in East Asians was associated with a 35% increased risk of developing PDAC, suggesting only a limited role of Neandertal genes in this cancer's risk.
Background: Comparative data on D2-robotic gastrectomy (RG) vs D2-open gastrectomy (OG) are lacking in the Literature. Aim of this paper is to compare RG to OG with a focus on D2-lymphadenectomy.
Study Design: Data of patients undergoing D2-OG or RG for gastric cancer were retrieved from the international IMIGASTRIC prospective database and compared.
Abdominal pain represents a frequent symptom for referral to emergency departments and/or internal medicine outpatient setting. Similarly, fever, fatigue and weight loss are non-specific manifestations of disease. The present case describes the diagnostic process in a patient with abdominal pain and a palpable abdominal mass.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study found that germline mutations related to cancer susceptibility are common in pancreatic cancer (PanC) patients, with over half of those tested showing variants in relevant genes.
- Specifically, 57.4% of the PanC patients had identified variants, including pathogenic mutations primarily in genes such as BRCA2 and CFTR, regardless of their family cancer history.
- The authors recommend routine germline testing for all PanC patients to better identify mutation carriers and enhance surveillance opportunities for their relatives.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the differences in short-term and long-term outcomes between laparoscopic and open gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer, utilizing data from the international IMIGASTRIC registry from 2000 to 2014.
- A total of 3033 patients were analyzed, with 1248 matched 1:1 between laparoscopic and open groups.
- Results show laparoscopic surgery had shorter operative times, shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and a higher number of harvested lymph nodes compared to open surgery, while survival outcomes weren't significantly detailed in the findings.
Genetic Polymorphisms Involved in Mitochondrial Metabolism and Pancreatic Cancer Risk.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
December 2021
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the relationship between mitochondrial metabolism and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) risk, highlighting a lack of previous systematic investigations into the genetic variability associated with this link.
- A two-phase analysis was conducted on a large group of almost 56,000 individuals, focusing on both mitochondrial and nuclear genetic variations related to mitochondrial function.
- The results showed no significant association between genetic variations (n-mtSNPs or mtSNPs) and PDAC risk, suggesting that mitochondrial metabolism may not play a significant role in PDAC etiology despite prior hypotheses.
Background And Aims: The WHO has solicited all countries to eliminate HCV by 2030. The Italian government started routine screening for HCV infection in January 2021, initially targeting subjects born between 1969 and 1989. With the aim of achieving micro-elimination, we designed a hospital-wide project focusing on inpatients born from 1935 to 1985 and conducted it in our institution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Colorectal cancer (CRC) harboring BRAF mutation exhibits low response to conventional therapy and poorest prognosis. Due to the emerging correlation between gut microbiota and CRC carcinogenesis, we investigated in serrated BRAF cases the existence of a peculiar fecal microbial fingerprint and specific bacterial markers, which might represent a tool for the development of more effective clinical strategies.
Methods: By injecting human CRC stem-like cells isolated from BRAF patients in immunocompromised mice, we described a new xenogeneic model of this subtype of CRC.
The burden of pancreatic cancer (PanC) requires innovation in the current diagnostic approach. This study aimed to uncover new circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) that would distinguish patients with PanC from healthy subjects (HS) compared with the cancer antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), and predict patients' clinical phenotypes and outcomes. MiRNA expression profiles in plasma were investigated by using a two-stage process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCord blood platelet gel is prepared by activation of coagulation in a platelet concentrate obtained from cord blood. During the process of clot formation, platelet alpha-granules release growth factors that promote tissue repair. However, in the form of gel, it is not possible to inject it into small, narrow and deep cavities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of this study was compare short- and long-term outcomes between robotic (RG) and standard open gastrectomy (OG).
Methods: This is a single-center propensity score-matched study including patients who underwent RG or OG for gastric cancer between 2008 and 2018.
Results: In total, 191 patients could be included for analysis.
Background: In literature, most of the comparative studies of robotic (RRC) versus laparoscopic (LRC) right colectomy are biased by the type of the anastomotic technique adopted. With this study, we aim to understand whether there is a role for robotics in performing right colectomies, comparing RRC versus LRC, both performed with intracorporeal anastomosis.
Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, all consecutive patients who underwent minimally invasive right colectomy (robotic or laparoscopic) with intracorporeal anastomosis in three Italian high-volume centers between February 1, 2007 and December 31, 2017 were included.
Background And Aim: Although the ideal management of cholecysto-choledocholitiasis is controversial, the two-stage approach, namely the common bile duct (CBD) clearance through endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy, remains the standard way of management. However, whenever feasible, the one-stage approach, using the so-called "laparoendoscopic rendezvous" (LERV) technique, offers some advantages, mainly reducing the hospital stay and the risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of the one-stage approach, and to compare our results with data from available large studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In the right colon surgery, there is a growing literature comparing the safety of robotic right colectomy (RRC) to that of laparoscopic right colectomy (LRC). With this paper we aim to systematically revise and meta-analyze the latest comparative studies on these two minimally invasive procedures.
Methods: A systematic review of studies published from 2000 to 2017 in the PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases was performed.
Aim: To investigate the role of minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer and determine surgical, clinical, and oncological outcomes.
Methods: This is a propensity score-matched case-control study, comparing three treatment arms: robotic gastrectomy (RG), laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG), open gastrectomy (OG). Data collection started after sharing a specific study protocol.
Introduction: Gastric cancer represents a great challenge for healthcare providers and requires a multidisciplinary treatment approach in which surgery plays a major role. Minimally invasive surgery has been progressively developed, first with the advent of laparoscopy and recently with the spread of robotic surgery, but a number of issues are currently being debated, including the limitations in performing an effective extended lymph node dissection, the real advantages of robotic systems, the role of laparoscopy for Advanced Gastric Cancer, the reproducibility of a total intracorporeal technique and the oncological results achievable during long-term follow-up.
Methods And Analysis: A multi-institutional international database will be established to evaluate the role of robotic, laparoscopic and open approaches in gastric cancer, comprising of information regarding surgical, clinical and oncological features.
While the presence of lymph node metastases in early gastric cancer (EGC) is the most significant prognostic factor, the relevance of lymph node micrometastases remains uncertain. The authors studied 5400 lymph nodes dissected from 300 patients treated surgically for EGC between 1976 and 1999, all of whom were histologically pN0. Micrometastases were defined as single or small clusters of neoplastic cells identifiable only by immunohistochemical methods.
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