Implementation of community health care services to counter the SARS-CoV2 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged many countries worldwide since December 2019. The high infection rates, and the need for health care assistance for individuals with comorbidities, strained the national health care systems around the world. Outbreak peaks increased the burden on hospitals that where perceived as high-risk places by people, who often decided to cancel or defer hospital visits.

Clinical pharmacology and drug-drug interactions of lenvatinib in thyroid cancer.

Lenvatinib is a non-selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with high in vitro potency against vascular endothelial growth factor receptors. Although this drug is used to treat several cancer types, it is the most effective TKI used in patients with thyroid cancer. Lenvatinib is well tolerated and the most common adverse drug reactions can be adequately managed by dose adjustment.

Clinical pharmacology of monoclonal antibodies targeting PD-1 axis in urothelial cancers.

Chemotherapy is the reference treatment for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma, both in the neo-adjuvant and adjuvant settings; however, the overall outcome remains poor in this patient population. In the last few years, the addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors into the therapeutic armamentarium has changed the therapeutic landscape of several tumor types, including urothelial carcinoma. Many different molecules have been introduced in the clinical use and several questions about immunotherapies are currently open and deserve a critical analysis.

Optimizing treatment of renal cell carcinoma with VEGFR-TKIs: a comparison of clinical pharmacology and drug-drug interactions of anti-angiogenic drugs.

Anti-angiogenic treatment is an important option that has changed the therapeutic landscape in various tumors, particularly in patients affected by renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Agents that block signaling pathways governing tumor angiogenesis have raised high expectations among clinicians. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (VEGFR-TKIs) comprise a heterogeneous class of drugs with distinct pharmacological profiles, including potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics and drug-drug interactions.

Incidence of T790M in Patients With NSCLC Progressed to Gefitinib, Erlotinib, and Afatinib: A Study on Circulating Cell-free DNA.

Background: Insights into the mechanism of resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) could provide important information for further patient management, including the choice of second-line treatment. The EGFR T790M mutation is the most common mechanism of resistance to first- and second-generation EGFR TKIs. Owing to its biologic relevance in the response of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to the selective pressure of treatment, the present study investigated whether the occurrence of T790M at progression differed among patients receiving gefitinib, erlotinib, or afatinib.

Clinical pharmacology of monoclonal antibodies targeting anti-PD-1 axis in urothelial cancers.

Chemotherapy is the reference treatment for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma, both in the neo-adjuvant and adjuvant settings; however, the overall outcome remains poor in this patient population. In the last few years, the addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors into the therapeutic armamentarium has changed the therapeutic landscape of several tumor types, including urothelial carcinoma. Many different molecules have been introduced on the market and several questions about immunotherapies are currently open and deserve a critical analysis.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase c.-813C>T predicts for proteinuria in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with bevacizumab-based chemotherapy.

Purpose: To investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) genes and risk of developing bevacizumab-related adverse events in metastatic breast cancer (mBC) patients.

Patients And Methods: mBC patients candidate to receive bevacizumab-based chemotherapy were enrolled in this pharmacogenetic study. eNOS c.

Understanding the Mechanisms of Resistance in -Positive NSCLC: From Tissue to Liquid Biopsy to Guide Treatment Strategy.

Liquid biopsy has emerged as an alternative source of nucleic acids for the management of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor ()-mutant non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). The use of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has been recently introduced in clinical practice, resulting in the improvement of the identification of druggable mutations for the diagnosis and monitoring of response to targeted therapy. -dependent (T790M and C797S mutations) and independent (Mesenchymal Epithelial Transition [] gene amplification, Kirsten Rat Sarcoma [], Phosphatidyl-Inositol 4,5-bisphosphate 3-Kinase Catalytic subunit Alpha isoform [], and RAF murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 [] gene mutations) mechanisms of resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been evaluated in plasma samples from NSCLC patients using highly sensitive methods (i.

Overexpression of TK1 and CDK9 in plasma-derived exosomes is associated with clinical resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors in metastatic breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) improve progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) advanced breast cancer. However, a better knowledge of predictive biomarkers of response and resistance to CDK4/6i is needed. Therefore, the present article addresses the role of the mRNA expression of thymidine kinase 1 (TK1), CDK4, 6 and 9 in plasma-derived exosomes and their relevance in the pharmacologic activity of CDK4/6i.

Androgen receptor (AR) splice variant 7 and full-length AR expression is associated with clinical outcome: a translational study in patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

Objectives: To investigate if full-length androgen receptor (AR-FL) is associated with resistance to androgen receptor (AR)-directed therapy independently and/or combined with AR splice variant 7 (AR-V7).

Patients And Methods: Plasma samples were prospectively collected from 73 patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer before first- or second-line AR-directed therapy. mRNA was isolated from exosomes and AR-FL and AR-V7 were analysed by droplet digital PCR.

Evaluation of C-reactive protein measurement for assessing the risk and prognosis in ischemic stroke: a statement for health care professionals from the CRP Pooling Project members.

Background And Purpose: Several studies have shown, in different populations, that modest elevation of plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) in the range seen in apparently healthy individuals is a strong predictor of future vascular events. Elevated plasma CRP concentrations are also associated with an increased risk of cerebrovascular events and an increased risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events in ischemic stroke patients. These epidemiological and clinical observations suggest that determination of plasma CRP concentrations could be used as an adjunct for risk assessment in primary and secondary prevention of cerebrovascular disease and be of prognostic value.

High stroke incidence in the prospective community-based L'Aquila registry (1994-1998). First year's results.

Background And Purpose: Changes in stroke incidence are likely to occur as a consequence of aging of the population, but evidence for this hypothesis is lacking.

Methods: A prospective community-based registry of first-ever strokes (1994 to 1998) classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) was established in the L'Aquila district, central Italy, with a total population of 297,838 (1991 census). Patients were identified by active monitoring of multiple sources, including general practitioners.