Adjuvant denosumab for early breast cancer-Evidence and controversy.

The efficacy of adjuvant denosumab in combination with hormonotherapy in breast cancer patients was investigated in two randomized trials, ABCSG-18 and D-Care, but the results were mixed with respect to the impact of this drug on disease-free survival. However, the ABCSG-18 study has achieved its primary goal: prevention of clinical fractures. Therefore, the protective role of Denosumab on bone fragility induced by estrogen deprivation, already demonstrated in post-menopausal women, has been validated in the breast cancer setting.

The Antidepressant Drug Amitriptyline Affects Human SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cell Proliferation and Modulates Autophagy.

Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant commonly used for depressive disorders and is prescribed off-label for several neurological conditions like neuropathic pain, migraines and anxiety. Besides their action on the reuptake of monoaminergic neurotransmitters, tricyclic antidepressants interact with several additional targets that may contribute to either therapeutic or adverse effects. Here, we investigated the effects of amitriptyline on proliferation and autophagy (i.

Body composition in early breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant aromatase inhibitors: Does dietary counseling matter?

Purpose: The impact of dietary counseling on body composition in early breast cancer patients (EBC) treated with aromatase inhibitors (AIs) is uncertain. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a diet counseling program on weight, BMI, total and regional body composition in patients treated with AIs.

Methods: This observational study involved 194 EBC patients, of which 97 attended a 6-month personalized counseling program, based on Mediterranean diet principles (cohort A) and 97 did not (cohort B).

Bone-active drugs in premenopausal women with breast cancer under hormone-deprivation therapies.

Background: Bone health management in premenopausal women with breast cancer (BC) under hormone-deprivation therapies (HDTs) is often challenging, and the effectiveness of bone-active drugs is still unknown.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included 306 premenopausal women with early BC undergoing HDTs. Bone mineral density (BMD) and morphometric vertebral fractures (VFs) were assessed 12 months after HDT initiation and then after at least 24 months.

Adverse skeletal related events in patients with bone-metastatic pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma.

Metastatic pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are frequently associated with skeletal complications. Primary objective: to describe the frequency of adverse skeletal related events (SREs) in PPGL patients with bone metastases (BMs). Secondary objectives: to 1) identify predictive and prognostic factors for SREs and 2) obtain information on the effectiveness of bone resorption inhibitors in reducing SRE risk and improving outcomes in term of survival and SREs time onset.

Changes in body composition in early breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the modification of total and regional body composition in early breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors (AIs).

Methods: This is a prospective, single-center, observational, longitudinal study. Four-hundred and twenty-eight patients treated with adjuvant aromatase inhibitors were enrolled at the Medical Oncology and Breast Unit of Spedali Civili Hospital in Brescia from September 2014 to June 2022.

Venous thromboembolism in adrenocortical carcinoma: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of death in patients with cancer. Limited data exist about VTE in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). The primary objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of VTE in a cohort of patients with ACC.

Germline NGS targeted analysis in adult patients with sporadic adrenocortical carcinoma.

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare cancer that arises sporadically or due to hereditary syndromes. Data on germline variants (GVs) in sporadic ACC are limited. Our aim was to characterize GVs of genes potentially related to adrenal diseases in 150 adult patients with sporadic ACC.

Relationship between circulating FSH levels and body composition and bone health in patients with prostate cancer who undergo androgen deprivation therapy: The BLADE study.

Background: Among its extragonadal effects, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) has an impact on body composition and bone metabolism. Since androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has a profound impact on circulating FSH concentrations, this hormone could potentially be implicated in the changes of fat body mass (FBM), lean body mass (LBM), and bone fragility induced by ADT. The objective of this study is to correlate FSH serum levels with body composition parameters, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone turnover markers at baseline conditions and after 12 months of ADT.

Oncological treatment administration at end of life: a retrospective study.

This work evaluated the proportion of patients who continue therapy until their last month of life or initiate a new therapy in the last 3 months of life (end of life [EOL]). Data for 486 patients were retrospectively collected. In EOL, 205 (42.

The Value of Local Therapies in Advanced Adrenocortical Carcinoma.

International guidelines recommend local therapies (LTs) such as local thermal ablation (LTA; radiofrequency, microwave, cryoablation), transarterial (chemo)embolisation (TA(C)E), and transarterial radioembolisation (TARE) as therapeutic options for advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). However, the evidence for these recommendations is scarce. We retrospectively analysed patients receiving LTs for advanced ACC.

Feasibility of high-frequency percussions in people with severe acquired brain injury and tracheostomy: an observational study.

People with severe acquired brain injury (pwSABI) frequently experience pulmonary complications. Among these, atelectasis can occur as a result of pneumonia, thus increasing the chance of developing acute respiratory failure. Respiratory physiotherapy contribution to the management of atelectasis in pwSABI is yet poorly understood.

Optimized protocol for 3D epithelial cultures supporting human papillomavirus replication.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are commensal viruses with pathogenic potential. Their life cycle requires the proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes (KCs) to form pluristratified epithelia. Based on the original organotypic epithelial raft cultures protocol, we provide an updated workflow to optimally generate pluristratified human epithelia supporting the complete HPV replicative life cycle, here called 3D full-thickness epithelial cultures (3Deps).

[The cutaneous virome: from virology to personalized medicine].

The virome of the skin, defined as all viruses detected in the skin, represents a significant part of the microbiota. A much more recent discovery than the bacterial flora, the existence of the cutaneous virome has been revealed by recent metagenomic studies. The normal human skin virome is dominated by bacteriophages, Papillomaviridae, whose genomic diversity has proved extraordinary, and Polyomaviridae.

Fat Body Mass and Vertebral Fracture Progression in Women With Breast Cancer.

Importance: Women with early breast cancer (EBC) exposed to aromatase inhibitors (AIs) may experience fragility fractures despite treatment with bone-active drugs. Risk factors for fractures in patients receiving AIs and denosumab have not been explored to date.

Objectives: To evaluate whether an association exists between dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-measured fat body mass (FBM) and vertebral fracture (VF) progression in postmenopausal women with EBC undergoing adjuvant therapy with AIs in combination with denosumab and to examine whether VF was associated with common risk factors for bone fracture and parameters of body composition other than FBM.

Prediction of fragility fractures in men with prostate cancer under androgen deprivation therapy: the importance of a multidisciplinary approach using a mini-invasive diagnostic tool.

Bone fragility in men who are treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has a complex pathophysiology that differs from that of primary and post-menopausal osteoporosis. Fracture risk assessment based on bone mineral density (BMD) and Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) score might not be effective in this patient setting, since high frequency of fragility fractures has been reported even in subjects with low FRAX risk and normal BMD. In this paper we want to emphasize the importance in the individual assessment of bone fragility and prediction of fractures by measuring parameters of bone quality, assessing morphometric vertebral fractures and evaluating body composition that in subjects under hormone-deprivation therapies can play a crucial role.

The Evolving Treatment Landscape of Medullary Thyroid Cancer.

Genetic assessment is crucial to address the correct treatment for advanced medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Multi tyrosine kinase inhibitors (mTKIs) cabozantinib and vandetanib are good first line options, even vandetanib prescription is currently limited to RET mutated patients. Selective RET inhibitors such as pralsetinib could be a preferred upfront treatment in case of RET mutated MTC presenting common or gatekeeper RET mutations (e.

Feasibility and Activity of Megestrol Acetate in Addition to Etoposide, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin, and Mitotane as First-Line Therapy in Patients with Metastatic/Unresectable Adrenocortical Carcinoma with Low Performance Status.

(1) Background: The standard first-line therapy for advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is represented by EDP-M (etoposide, doxorubicin, cisplatin + mitotane). Progestins have shown cytotoxic activity both in vitro and in vivo on ACC; better EDP-M tolerability and efficacy have been hypnotized due to the association with progestins. (2) Methods: The feasibility and tolerability of EDP-M combined with oral megestrol acetate (EDP-MM) were tested in 24 patients (pts) affected by metastatic ACC with a low performance status (PS); the case group was compared with a 48 pts control group according to the propensity score.

Cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities in patients with thyroid nodules: the impact of incidental diagnosis.

Purpose: The prevalence of thyroid nodules (TN) in the general population has increased as screening procedures are implemented and an association with metabolic and cardiovascular disorders has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the reason leading to the diagnosis of TN and to compare the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed incidentally with those of patients diagnosed for thyroid-related reasons.

Methods: We designed a retrospective cross-sectional study including consecutive patients with TN from two high-volume hospital-based centers for thyroid diseases (Pavia and Messina) in Italy.