Body mass index (BMI) influence on Cetuximab-induced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in advanced colon cancer.

To date, we do not know if the excess of the body mass index (BMI) improves or worsens the outcomes in colorectal cancer treatment, and the correlation between BMI and prognosis remains unclear. A recent study in vitro showed a significant negative correlation between BMI and Cetuximab-induced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. On these bases, we tried to analyze the potential correlation between BMI and survival in patients affected by metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and treated with Cetuximab.

Molecularly targeted therapy for advanced gastrointestinal noncolorectal cancer treatment: how to choose? Past, present, future.

Gastrointestinal cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy has been the backbone of advanced gastrointestinal cancer treatment for decades and still represents a key element of the therapeutic armamentarium. However, only small increments in survival outcomes have been reached.

Complete testicular remission after chemotherapy in a patient with advanced seminoma: is the testicle a real 'sanctuary'? A case report and review of the literature.

Testicular cancer is relatively uncommon, but at the same time, it is the most common solid tumor in men between the ages of 20 and 34 years. Seminoma represents the most frequently encountered germ cell tumors. Because orchiectomy is usually performed before chemotherapy, little is known about the effect of systemic chemotherapy on primary testicular tumors.

Preoperative or Perioperative Docetaxel, Oxaliplatin, and Capecitabine (GASTRODOC Regimen) in Patients with Locally-Advanced Resectable Gastric Cancer: A Randomized Phase-II Trial.

Docetaxel associated with oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil (FLOT) has been reported as the best perioperative treatment for gastric cancer. However, there is still some debate about the most appropriate number and timing of chemotherapy cycles. In this randomized multicenter phase II study, patients with resectable gastric cancer were staged through laparoscopy and peritoneal lavage cytology, and randomly assigned (1:1) to either four cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (arm A) or two preoperative + two postoperative cycles of docetaxel, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine (DOC) chemotherapy (arm B).

Early colorectal cancer: diagnosis, treatment and survivorship care.

CRC is the third most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. With advances in treatment, colorectal cancer is being transformed from a deadly disease to an illness that is increasingly curable. With this transformation has come increased interest in the unique problems, risks, needs, and concerns of survivors who have completed treatment and are cancer-free.

Discontinuation of first-line bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer: the BEAWARE Italian Observational Study.

Aims: BEAWARE investigated the pattern of first-line bevacizumab early interruption in the Italian real-world setting of metastatic colorectal cancer.

Methods: A total of 386 patients were followed for 15 months after first-line chemotherapy + bevacizumab start. The rate of bevacizumab interruption for progression or adverse drug reactions (ADRs) constituted the primary endpoint.

Baseline PET as prognostic index in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and grade IIIb follicular lymphoma: a retrospective study of a single-center experience.

Background: International guidelines support performing baseline positron emission tomography (PET) in lymphoma. Metabolic tumor volume (MTV) measurement has been proposed as a good measurement of disease burden. We investigated if MTV at baseline PET can be predictive of complete response (CR) to first line standard chemotherapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and in follicular lymphoma (FL) grade IIIb.

Primary extranodal diffuse large B-cell lymphomas: Many sites, many entities? Clinico-pathological, immunohistochemical and cytogenetic study of 106 cases.

We analyzed the clinicopathological, immunohistochemical and cytogenetic features of 106 extranodal (EN) diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) from stomach (34 cases), intestine (10), cervico-cephalic region (11), central nervous system (13), testes (21), skin (8), and miscellaneous sites (9). Hans' algorithm and the immunohistochemical double expressor score (DES) for MYC and BCL2 were applied to all cases. A subset of fifty-eight cases were analyzed with fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with specific break apart probes for BCL6, MYC, BCL2, CCND1, BCL10 and MALT1 genes.

Ramucirumab as Second-Line Therapy in Metastatic Gastric Cancer: Real-World Data from the RAMoss Study.

Background: Ramucirumab-alone or combined with paclitaxel-represents one of the main options for patients failing first-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer.

Objective: The RAMoss study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy profile of ramucirumab in the "real-life setting".

Patients And Methods: Patients from 25 Italian hospitals started therapy consisting of ramucirumab 8 mg/kg i.

The genetic and genomic background of multiple myeloma patients achieving complete response after induction therapy with bortezomib, thalidomide and dexamethasone (VTD).

The prime focus of the current therapeutic strategy for Multiple Myeloma (MM) is to obtain an early and deep tumour burden reduction, up to the level of complete response (CR). To date, no description of the characteristics of the plasma cells (PC) prone to achieve CR has been reported. This study aimed at the molecular characterization of PC obtained at baseline from MM patients in CR after bortezomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone (VTD) first line therapy.

[Therapeutic decisions and treatment with sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma: final analysis of GIDEON study in Italy].

Introduction: Sorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, is the only targeted agent approved for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after demonstration to increase overall survival compared to placebo in two randomized phase III study. GIDEON (Global Investigation of therapeutic DEcisions in HCC and Of its treatment with sorafeNib) is the largest, global, non-interventional, prospective study of patients with uHCC (n>3200) treated with sorafenib in real-life clinical practice conditions. Here we report the final analysis of safety and efficacy in the Italian cohort of patients.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced gastric cancer: what to avoid. Preliminary analysis of a consecutive series of patients.

Aims And Background: The role of neoadjuvant (NAD) chemotherapy (CHT) in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) is validated. However, some important limitations emerged from the literature, including patient selection, quality of surgery, and pathologic response evaluation. Neoadjuvant CHT for LAGC has been evaluated with a focus on safety and efficacy of the preoperative approach in terms of patient compliance, surgical outcomes, and pathologic response.

Multimodal treatment of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of death from malignant disease worldwide. Although complete surgical resection remains the only curative modality for early stage gastric cancer, surgery alone only provides long-term survival in 20% of patients with advanced-stage disease. To improve current results, it is necessary to consider multimodality treatment, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.

Lymph node staging in gastric cancer: new criteria, old problems.

Purpose: Our study aims to test the prognostic accuracy of the N parameter of the 7th TNM in a Western series of D1-gastrectomies for gastric cancer (GC).

Methods: Retrospectively considering a series of 224 non-metastatic GC patients who underwent surgery with curative intent and limited lymphadenectomy, we analyzed 5-year overall survival (OS) related to pN status according to both TNM editions (pN6 and pN7) and to lymph node ratio (LNR; LNR0, 0%, LNR1, 1-19%; LNR2, > 20%). We stratified pN6- and pN7-related OS by LNR.

Salvage chemoimmunotherapy with rituximab, ifosfamide and etoposide (R-IE regimen) in patients with primary CNS lymphoma relapsed or refractory to high-dose methotrexate-based chemotherapy.

Despite a high proportion of patients with primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) experiences failure after/during first-line treatment, a few studies focused on salvage therapy are available, often with disappointing results. Herein, we report feasibility and activity of a combination of rituximab, ifosfamide and etoposide (R-IE regimen) in a multicentre series of patients with PCNSL relapsed or refractory to high-dose methotrexate-based chemotherapy. We considered consecutive HIV-negative patients ≤75 years old with failed PCNSL treated with R-IE regimen (rituximab 375 mg/m(2) , day 0; ifosfamide 2 g/m(2) /day, days1-3; etoposide 250 mg/m(2) , day 1; four courses).

Partial trisomy of chromosome 13 as a single cytogenetic abnormality in an Italian case of nasal NK/T lymphoma.

Extranodal NK/T lymphoma, nasal type, is an uncommon neoplasm that occurs with a higher prevalence among Asian populations and Native American populations of Central and Southern America. In Western countries, this tumor is extremely rare, accounting for less than 1.5% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Cytomegalovirus infection of endocrine system in a patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Report of a case.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an opportunistic pathogen causing different diseases in immunocompromised patients and leading to death in a high percentage of cases. CMV infection is also relatively frequent among patients with hematological malignancies, especially when treated with immunosuppressive agents. We describe the clinical history of a patient with stage IV diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with eight courses of R-CHOP every two weeks, who presented clinical remission of the disease at the end of therapy.

Bcl-6 protein expression, and not the germinal centre immunophenotype, predicts favourable prognosis in a series of primary nodal diffuse large B-cell lymphomas: a single centre experience.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a heterogeneous disease. The immunohistochemistry-based algorithms for the determination of the cell of origin of DLBCL have been proposed as a practical method to validate and surrogate results obtained by gene expression profiling. We studied 71 patients with primary nodal DLBCL at diagnosis, who received anthracycline-based therapy with or without rituximab.