Immersion Ultrasound Therapy in Combination with Manual Therapy in the Treatment of Ischemic Digital Ulcers in Systemic Sclerosis.

: Digital ulcers (DUs) are the most common complication in patients with Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). They cause pain with hand dysfunction and negatively impact activities of daily and working life. Our study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a combined treatment of manual therapy and ultrasound therapy in SSc patients with ischemic DU (IDU) compared to manual therapy alone.

A new method for oral cancer biomarkers detection with a non-invasive cyto-salivary sampling and rapid-highly sensitive ELISA immunoassay: a pilot study in humans.

Introduction: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for approximately 90% of oral malignancies and has a 5-year mortality rate close to 50%. A consistent part (70%) of all oral cancers is diagnosed at an advanced stage since available screening techniques are ineffective. Therefore, it would be urgent to improve them.

Neoadjuvant Treatment for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A False Promise or an Opportunity to Improve Outcome?

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has an aggressive tumor biology and is associated with poor survival outcomes. Most patients present with metastatic or locally advanced disease. In the 10-20% of patients with upfront resectable disease, surgery offers the only chance of cure, with the addition of adjuvant chemotherapy representing an established standard of care for improving outcomes.

Telomerase-based GX301 cancer vaccine in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: a randomized phase II trial.

Debate is around the optimal immunization regimen for cancer vaccines since too intense vaccination schedules may exhaust reactive lymphocytes. GX301 is a telomerase-based cancer vaccine whose safety and immunological effects were tested in a phase I trial applying an eight administrations schedule. Main objective of this study was to comparatively analyse safety and immunological response to three GX301 regimens in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients with response/disease stability after docetaxel chemotherapy.

Artificial neural network model from a case series of COVID-19 patients: a prognostic analysis.

Background And Aim: There is a need to determine which clinical variables predict the severity of COVID-19. We analyzed a series of critically ill COVID-19 patients to see if any of our dataset's clinical variables were associated with patient outcomes.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU of the Hospital in Pordenone from March 11, 2020, to April 17, 2020.

Systemic doxycycline for pre-emptive treatment of anti-EGFR-related skin toxicity in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer receiving first-line panitumumab-based therapy: a post hoc analysis of the Valentino study.

Introduction: The combination of anti-EGFRs and doublet chemotherapy is considered the optimal upfront option for patients with RAS/BRAF wild-type left-sided metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The prophylactic or reactive treatment with tetracyclines for EGFR inhibitor-induced skin toxicity is currently clinical practice, though non-conclusive results are available.

Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis of the Valentino study that randomized RAS wild-type mCRC patients to two panitumumab-based maintenance regimens after the first-line induction, aimed at assessing the safety and efficacy of the administration of a pre-emptive doxycycline prophylaxis for anti-EGFR-related skin toxicity.

Impact of early tumor shrinkage and depth of response on the outcomes of panitumumab-based maintenance in patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: In patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) receiving highly active first-line combination treatments, early tumor shrinkage (ETS) and depth of response (DoR) are associated with survival, but their influence on outcomes during maintenance therapy is unknown. The Valentino study showed inferior PFS in 229 RAS wild-type mCRC patients randomized to panitumumab plus FOLFOX followed by maintenance with panitumumab vs. panitumumab + 5-FU/LV.

Data on compounding lopinavir and ritonavir suspension for non-cooperative COVID-19 patients.

The COVID-19 outbreak is now one of the most critical crises to manage for most of national healthcare systems in the world. The situation is complicated by the absence of vaccines and authorized pharmacological treatments, except for remdesivir. In this context, many medicaments, including different Ebola and HIV antivirals, are used off-label in the hospital wards as life-treating medicines for COVID-19 patients.

Health-related quality of life in patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer treated with panitumumab-based first-line treatment strategy: A pre-specified secondary analysis of the Valentino study.

Background: Quality of life (QoL) patient-reported outcomes (PROs) data from pivotal first-line trials in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) are poor. The Valentino study showed that de-escalation to single-agent panitumumab after 4-month induction with panitumumab-FOLFOX is inferior to panitumumab-5-FU/LV in patients with RAS wild-type mCRC, although slightly reducing toxicity. We report QoL, a secondary end-point.

The Pan-Immune-Inflammation Value is a new prognostic biomarker in metastatic colorectal cancer: results from a pooled-analysis of the Valentino and TRIBE first-line trials.

Background: Immune-inflammatory biomarkers (IIBs) showed a prognostic relevance in patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC). We aimed at evaluating the prognostic power of a new comprehensive biomarker, the Pan-Immune-Inflammation Value (PIV), in patients with mCRC receiving first-line therapy.

Methods: In the present pooled-analysis, we included patients enrolled in the Valentino and TRIBE trials.

Surgery or Locoregional Approaches for Hepatic Oligometastatic Pancreatic Cancer: Myth, Hope, or Reality?

Despite extensive research, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a difficult-to-treat cancer associated with poor survival. Due to the known aggressive disease biology, palliative chemotherapy is the only routinely recommended treatment in the metastatic setting in patients with adequate performance status. However, in a subset of patients with oligometastatic disease, multimodality treatment with surgery and/or locoregional approaches may provide long-term disease control and prolong survival.

Maintenance Therapy With Panitumumab Alone vs Panitumumab Plus Fluorouracil-Leucovorin in Patients With RAS Wild-Type Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Few studies are available on the role of maintenance strategies after induction treatment regimens based on anti-epidermal growth factor receptors, and the optimal regimen for an anti-epidermal growth factor receptors-based maintenance treatment in patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer is still to be defined.

Objective: To determine whether maintenance therapy with single-agent panitumumab was noninferior to panitumumab plus fluorouracil and leucovorin after a 4-month induction treatment regimen.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This open-label, randomized phase 2 noninferiority trial was conducted from July 7, 2015, through October 27, 2017, at multiple Italian centers.

Assessment of Ramucirumab plus paclitaxel as switch maintenance versus continuation of first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced HER-2 negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancers: the ARMANI phase III trial.

Background: Platinum/fluoropyrimidine regimens are the backbone of first-line chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer (AGC). However response rates to first line chemotherapy range from 30 to 50% and disease progression occurs after 4-6 cycles. The optimal duration of first-line therapy is still unknown and its continuation until disease progression represents the standard.

Estimating Survival Probabilities of Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients in the Second-Line Setting: The Gastric Life Nomogram.

Objective: We built and externally validated a nomogram for predicting the overall survival (OS) probability of advanced gastric cancer patients receiving second-line treatment.

Methods: The nomogram was developed on a set of 320 Italian patients and validated on two independent sets (295 Italian and 172 Korean patients). Putative prognostic variables were selected using a random forest model and included in the multivariable Cox model.

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.

Biomarkers of Primary Resistance to Trastuzumab in HER2-Positive Metastatic Gastric Cancer Patients: the AMNESIA Case-Control Study.

Refining the selection of HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer patient candidates for trastuzumab is a challenge of precision oncology. Preclinical studies have suggested several genomic mechanisms of primary resistance, leading to activation of tyrosine kinase receptors other than HER2 or downstream signaling pathways. We carried out this multicenter, prospective, case-control study to demonstrate the negative predictive impact of a panel of candidate genomic alterations (AMNESIA panel), including mutations and amplifications.

Cannabinoids concentration variability in cannabis olive oil galenic preparations.

Objectives: Knowledge of the exact concentration of active compounds in galenic preparations is crucial to be able to ensure their quality and to properly administer the prescribed dose. Currently, the need for titration of extracts is still debated. Considering this, together with the absence of a standard preparation method, the aim of this study was to evaluate cannabinoids concentrations variability in galenic olive oil extracts, to evaluate the interlot and interlaboratory variability in the extraction yield and in the preparation composition.

Clinical outcome and molecular characterization of brain metastases from esophageal and gastric cancer: a systematic review.

The aim of the study was to collect the available data on central nervous system (CNS) metastases from esophageal and gastric cancer. A PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, LILACS, Ovid and Cochrane Library search was performed. Thirty-seven studies including 779 patients were considered.

Copper(II) ions affect the gating dynamics of the 20S proteasome: a molecular and in cell study.

Due to their altered metabolism cancer cells are more sensitive to proteasome inhibition or changes of copper levels than normal cells. Thus, the development of copper complexes endowed with proteasome inhibition features has emerged as a promising anticancer strategy. However, limited information is available about the exact mechanism by which copper inhibits proteasome.