Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in the Pre-Transplant Hepatocellular Carcinoma Setting: A Glimpse Beyond the Liver.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Liver transplantation (LT) is the best therapy for most patients with non-metastatic HCC. In recent years, the management of patients with HCC has considerably changed, thanks to the improvement of molecular biology knowledge and the introduction of immunotherapy.

Physical activity in liver transplant recipients: a large multicenter study.

Aim: Healthy lifestyle and appropriate diet are of critical importance after liver transplant (LT). We provided an analysis of the main patterns of physical activity and found factors associated with physical activity itself.

Methods: Clinically stable LT recipients were enrolled between June and September 2021.

Adherence to Mediterranean diet in liver transplant recipients: a cross-sectional multicenter study.

Background: Seeing the importance of healthy diet after liver transplant (LT), our study aimed to evaluate the adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) in a large population of LT recipients.

Methods: The present multicenter study was developed in clinically stable, liver transplanted patients, from June to September 2021. Patients completed a survey about adherence to MD, Quality of Life (QoL), sport, and employment.

Role of Etiology in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Treated with Lenvatinib: A Counterfactual Event-Based Mediation Analysis.

Background: Whether the etiology of underlying liver disease represents a prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with lenvatinib is still a matter of debate. This study investigates whether the viral etiology of HCC plays a prognostic role in overall survival (OS). Methods: Data derived from a multicenter series of 313 HCC patients treated with lenvatinib between 2019 and 2022 were analyzed.

Methodologies for the Design of University Teaching Spaces in Covid/19 Regime. A BIM Oriented Approach, Defined for the Case Study of the Buildings of the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence (DiDA).

The research, carried out at the University of Florence, investigated the tools and methodologies needed to manage the setting up of educational environments in a dynamic-emergency regime. It tested the interoperability of the digital tools deemed necessary for an integrated management of space management activities. And defining a methodology for setting up the spaces assisted by the use of digital systems capable of automating the design activities.

Quality of life in liver transplant recipients during the Corona virus disease 19 pandemic: A multicentre study.

Background: Liver transplant recipients require specific clinical and psychosocial attention given their frailty. Main aim of the study was to assess the quality of life after liver transplant during the current pandemic.

Methods: This multicentre study was conducted in clinically stable, liver transplanted patients.

Predictors of solid extra-hepatic non-skin cancer in liver transplant recipients and analysis of survival: A long-term follow-up study.

Introduction And Objectives: De novo malignancies represent an important cause of death for liver transplant recipients. Our aim was to analyze predictors of extra-hepatic non-skin cancer (ESNSC) and the impact of ESNSC on the long-term outcome.

Patients: We examined data from patients transplanted between 2000 and 2005 and followed-up in five Italian transplant clinics with a retrospective observational cohort study.

Food and Nutrition in the Pathogenesis of Liver Damage.

The liver is an important organ and plays a key role in the regulation of metabolism and in the secretion, storage, and detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances. The impact of food and nutrition on the pathophysiological mechanisms of liver injury represents a great controversy. Several environmental factors including food and micronutrients are involved in the pathogenesis of liver damage.

Pre-transplant diabetes predicts atherosclerotic vascular events and cardiovascular mortality in liver transplant recipients: a long-term follow-up study.

Background Early after surgery, liver transplant (LT) recipients often develop weight gain. Metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease represent main drivers of morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to identify predictors of atherosclerotic vascular events (AVE) and to assess the impact of AVE on the long-term outcome.

Undefined/non-malignant hepatic nodules are associated with early occurrence of HCC in DAA-treated patients with HCV-related cirrhosis.

Background & Aim: An unexpected early increase in incidence, recurrence and clinical aggressiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reported (and refuted) in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis following direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment. To address this controversy, we performed a prospective multicenter study on consecutively enrolled cirrhotic patients, with or without a history of HCC, undergoing DAA therapy.

Patients And Methods: A total of 1,161 HCC-free cirrhotics (group 1) and 124 cirrhotics who had received a curative treatment for an HCC (group 2) were enrolled.

Hepatitis C virus eradication with direct-acting antiviral improves insulin resistance.

Sustained virological response (SVR) after interferon-based therapy is associated with improvement of insulin resistance (IR) in HCV-infected patients. Few data are available in the direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) era, especially in cirrhotic patients. We prospectively evaluated the long-term effect of DAAs on IR.

Clinical outcomes with long-term sorafenib treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter real-life study.

Aim: This multicenter field-practice study evaluates outcomes of long-term sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

Methods: Consecutive HCC patients on sorafenib were enrolled. We evaluated those receiving sorafenib for ≥12 months.

Liver Angiopoietin-2 Is a Key Predictor of De Novo or Recurrent Hepatocellular Cancer After Hepatitis C Virus Direct-Acting Antivirals.

Unlabelled: Recent reports suggested that direct acting antivirals (DAAs) might favor hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In study 1, we studied the proangiogenic liver microenvironment in 242 DAA-treated chronic hepatitis C patients with advanced fibrosis. Angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2) expression was studied in tissue (cirrhotic and/or neoplastic) from recurrent, de novo, nonrecurrent HCC, or patients never developing HCC.

Microenvironment inflammatory infiltrate drives growth speed and outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective clinical study.

In HCC, tumor microenvironment, heavily influenced by the underlying chronic liver disease, etiology and stage of the tissue damage, affects tumor progression and determines the high heterogeneity of the tumor. Aim of this study was to identify the circulating and tissue components of the microenvironment immune-mediated response affecting the aggressiveness and the ensuing clinical outcome. We analyzed the baseline paired HCC and the surrounding tissue biopsies from a prospective cohort of 132 patients at the first diagnosis of HCC for immunolocalization of PD-1/PD-L1, FoxP3, E-cadherin, CLEC2 and for a panel of 82 microRNA associated with regulation of angiogenesis, cell proliferation, cell signaling, immune control and autophagy.

Complete resolution of non-necrotizing lung granuloma and pyoderma gangrenosum after restorative proctocolectomy in a woman with severe ulcerative colitis and cytomegalovirus infection.

Here, we report the unusual case of an ulcerative colitis female patient presenting together with cytomegalovirus infection, pyoderma gangrenosum and a noncaseating lung granuloma, both resistant to immunomodulatory drugs which dramatically obtained a clinical stable remission after restorative proctocolectomy.

The calm before the storm: a report from the International Liver Cancer Association Congress 2015 - part 2.

International Liver Cancer Association Congress 2015, Paris, France, 4-6 September 2015 Since its creation 9 years ago, in 2007, the International Liver Cancer Association has focused on the multidisciplinary approach to liver cancer due to advances in hepatology science and care worldwide. In its 2015 annual conference, held on 4-6 September in Paris, France, the most recent progresses in the basic biology, management and treatment of liver cancer have been presented. This report, divided into two parts, introduces and critically reviews some of the most intriguing topics discussed at the meeting.

The calm before the storm: a report from the International Liver Cancer Association Congress 2015--part 1.

International Liver Cancer Association Congress 2015, Paris, France, 4-6 September 2015 Since its creation 9 years ago, in 2007, the International Liver Cancer Association has focused on the multidisciplinary approach to liver cancer due to advances in hepatology science and care worldwide. In its 2015 annual conference, held on 4-6 September in Paris, France, the most recent progresses in the basic biology, management and treatment of liver cancer have been presented. This report, divided into two parts, introduces and critically reviews some of the most intriguing topics discussed at the meeting.

Measurement of spleen stiffness to evaluate portal hypertension and the presence of esophageal varices in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: The hepatic vein pressure gradient (HVPG) is the standard used to determine the degree of portal hypertension (PH) and an important prognostic factor for patients with cirrhosis; HVPG values correlate with the presence of esophageal varices (EV). However, HVPG can only be accurately determined at specialized centers; noninvasive methods are needed to predict HVPG values and the presence of EV. We compared the diagnostic performance of spleen stiffness (SS) measurement by transient elastography with that of liver stiffness (LS) and of other recently proposed noninvasive tests.

Gut microbiota and its pathophysiology in disease paradigms.

The gut flora carries out important functions for human health, although most of them are still unknown, and an alteration of any of them, due to a condition of dysbiosis, can lead to relevant pathological implications. Commensal bacteria in the gut are essential for the preservation of the integrity of the mucosal barrier function and an alteration in the anatomic functional integrity of this barrier has been implicated in the pathophysiologic process of different diseases. The gut microflora plays a role in modulating the intestinal immune system; in fact, it is essential for the maturation of gut-associated lymphatic tissue, the secretion of IgA and the production of antimicrobial peptides.