Circulating Tumor Cell-Free DNA as Prognostic Biomarker in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Undergoing Immunotherapy: The CORELAB Experience.

The expression level of Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) determined by the immunohistochemical method is currently approved to test the potential efficacy of immune-checkpoint inhibitors and to candidate patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) for treatment with immunotherapeutic drugs. As part of the CORELAB (New prediCtivebiOmaRkers of activity and Efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced non-small cell Lung cArcinoma) project, aimed at identifying new predictive and prognostic biomarkers in NSCLC patients receiving immunotherapeutic drugs, we investigated the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) molecular characterization as an additional predictive biomarker. We analyzed plasma ctDNA by targeted Next Generation Sequencing in a subset of 50 patients at different time points.

Cell-Free Carbonic Anhydrase IX mRNA in Urine as Biomarker for Urogenital Cancers: The Relationship Between Urinary Extracellular RNA and Tumor-Cell-Associated RNA.

Circulating tumor cells and cell-free nucleic acids are novel diagnostic, prognostic and predictive tools for non-invasive and cost-effective cancer detection in liquid biopsy. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) has been proposed as a biomarker in urogenital tumors and urine sediment. Our aim was to evaluate CAIX full-length percentage (CAIX FL%) in urine-cell-free RNA (cfRNA) and its relationship with tumor-cell-associated RNA (TC-RNA).

Bortezomib for rituximab-refractory immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in the caplacizumab era: an Italian multicenter study.

Background: Immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) patients are not responsive to standard rituximab in approximately 10% to 15% of cases, and oral immunosuppressants showed controversial results with significant toxicity. Targeting plasma cells with bortezomib appears promising, but the available evidence is scarce and stems only from isolated reports in the precaplacizumab era.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of bortezomib in rituximab-refractory iTTP patients.

Main features of ischemic stroke in patients with acute immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Background: Immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) is a microangiopathy often characterized by acute neurological involvement including ischemic stroke (IS). The characteristics of IS in iTTP remain largely unknown.

Aims: To evaluate the epidemiology, neuroimaging patterns and risk factors of IS in iTTP patients.

Exploring the superior adsorption capacity of multi-layer graphene/alginate granules for the removal of methylene blue dye from water.

Graphene-based materials are gaining increasing attention towards their use in manufacturing and environmental applications. In this context, multi-layer graphene (MG) has been recently applied for the adsorption of contaminants from water resulting in promising results. However, the extreme lightness of this material often makes it difficult to handle due to its potential dispersion in the surrounding environment as well as to its transport and loss with the effluent.