Real-World Impact of Olaparib Exposure in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Patients Harboring Germline BRCA1-2 Pathogenic Variants.

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer arising in the context of BRCA predisposition may benefit from poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors. We analyzed real-world data on the impact of olaparib on survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients harboring germline BRCA mutations in Italy, where olaparib is not reimbursed for this indication.

Methods: Clinico/pathological data of pancreatic cancer patients with documented BRCA1-2 germline pathogenic variants who had received first-line chemotherapy for metastatic disease were collected from 23 Italian oncology departments and the impact of olaparib exposure on overall survival (OS) was analyzed.

Targeting Perineural Invasion in Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive tumor with dismal prognosis. Neural invasion is one of the pathological hallmarks of pancreatic cancer. Peripheral nerves can modulate the phenotype and behavior of the malignant cells, as well as of different components of the tumor microenvironment, and thus affect tumor growth and metastasis.

NGF-mediated crosstalk: unraveling the influence of metabolic deregulation on the interplay between neural and pancreatic cancer cells and its impact on patient outcomes.

Neural invasion is one of the most common routes of invasion in pancreatic cancer and it is responsible for the high rate of tumor recurrence after surgery and the pain generation associated with pancreatic cancer. Several molecules implicated in neural invasion are also responsible for pain onset including NGF belonging to the family of neutrophins. NGF released by cancer cells can sensitize sensory nerves which in turn results in severe pain.

Spontaneous Regression of an Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature.

Introduction: Spontaneous tumor regression is the volumetric reduction or complete disappearance of a primary tumor or metastatic sites (single or multiple) without the administration of treatments. This rare phenomenon occurs most commonly in certain types of neoplasms.

Case Presentation: In this manuscript, we describe a spontaneous tumor regression in an adult patient followed at the Modena Cancer Center and affected by retroperitoneal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, an ultra-rare subtype of sarcoma.