Viral Hepatitis in Western Patients with Advanced Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Retrospective Assessment of Prevalence, Prognostic and Predictive Significance.

Despite a biologically established causative role of viral hepatitis (VH), i.e. HBV and HCV infections, on intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), only few large Western cohorts exploring the association between VH and ICC development are available.

In pancreatic cancer patients, chemotherapy reshapes the gene expression profile and antigen receptor repertoire of T lymphocytes and enhances their effector response to tumor-associated antigens.

Introduction: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDA) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with a 5-year survival rate of 13%. Less than 20% of patients have a resectable tumor at diagnosis due to the lack of distinctive symptoms and reliable biomarkers. PDA is resistant to chemotherapy (CT) and understanding how to gain an anti-tumor effector response following stimulation is, therefore, critical for setting up an effective immunotherapy.

Durvalumab Plus Gemcitabine and Cisplatin Versus Gemcitabine and Cisplatin in Biliary Tract Cancer: a Real-World Retrospective, Multicenter Study.

Background: The TOPAZ-1 phase III trial reported a survival benefit with the anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti-PD-L1) durvalumab in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC).

Objective: The present study investigated for the first time the impact on survival of adding durvalumab to cisplatin/gemcitabine compared with cisplatin/gemcitabine in a real-world setting.

Patients And Methods: The analyzed population included patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic BTC treated with durvalumab in combination with cisplatin/gemcitabine or with cisplatin/gemcitabine alone.

Circulating autoantibodies to alpha-enolase (ENO1) and far upstream element-binding protein 1 (FUBP1) are negative prognostic factors for pancreatic cancer patient survival.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has a dismal prognosis due to a lack of early diagnostic markers and effective therapy. In PDA patients, the glycolytic enzyme and plasminogen receptor alpha-enolase (ENO1) and the transcription factor far upstream element-binding protein 1 (FUBP1) are upregulated and elicit the production of autoantibodies (aAb) that discriminate healthy subjects from PDA patients, with the latter mostly directed to post-translational phosphorylated isoforms. Here, the correlation of prognosis with circulating ENO1 and FUBP1aAb, and their protein tissue expression was analyzed in PDA patients.

The role of nanoliposomal irinotecan plus fluorouracil/leucovorin in the continuum of care of patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: The NAPOLI-I trial showed better outcome of nanoliposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) plus 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV) compared to 5-FU/LV in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cancer (advPDAC) progressed to gemcitabine-based therapy. This study aims to explore the real-world efficacy and safety of 5-FU/LV-nal-IRI.

Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter analysis including advPDAC patients receiving 5-FU/LV-nal-IRI after failure of gemcitabine-based therapy.

Survival trends over 20 years in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma: Results from a national retrospective analysis of 922 cases in Italy.

Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare group of tumors that involve the hepatic biliary tree. Prognosis for patients with cholangiocarcinoma remains dismal. Herein, we present survival trends over a long time period spanning almost 20 years in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma receiving systemic chemotherapy.

Primary versus secondary antiemetic prophylaxis with NK1 receptor antagonists in patients affected by gastrointestinal malignancies and treated with a doublet or triplet combination regimen including oxaliplatin and/or irinotecan plus fluoropyrimidines: A propensity score matched analysis.

Aim: The aim of the current study is to investigate the impact of primary compared to secondary chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) prophylaxis with NK1 receptor antagonists (NK1-RA) in patients affected by gastrointestinal malignancies and treated with oxaliplatin- and/or irinotecan-based doublet or triplet regimens.

Study Design And Methods: Clinical data of patients affected by gastrointestinal malignancies, treated with an oxaliplatin and/or irinotecan-based doublet or triplet regimen as neo/adjuvant or advanced-line treatment, and who received NK1-RA as primary (from the first cycle of treatment) or secondary (after the onset of CINV with a previous regimen with 5HT3-RA and dexamethasone) prophylaxis for CINV, were retrospectively collected in an observational study involving 16 Italian centers. A propensity score matching was performed by taking into account the following stratification factors: sex (male vs.

Risk-adjusted analysis of survival variability among hospitals treating biliary malignancy.

Biliary tract cancer's (BTC) treatment main stone for advanced stages is constituted by chemotherapy. Surgical centralization and physicians' confidence in the use of new technologies and molecular analysis turned out to be of interest and potentially influencing survival. After applying a random-effect model, the relationship between each clinical variable on the main outcome was investigated through multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression.

Clinical insights and prognostic factors from an advanced biliary tract cancer case series: a real-world analysis.

Advanced biliary tract cancer (aBTC) comprises a heterogeneous group of rare malignancies with dismal prognosis. Given the scarcity of prospective evidence, the aim of this study was to derive clinically useful insights and prognostic factors from a large, real-world series of aBTC. Clinicopathologic variables and treatment outcomes were retrospectively collected involving 940 patients diagnosed with aBTC between 2001 and 2017, and treated with first-line chemotherapy (CT1) at 14 Italian medical oncology institutions.

Evaluating larotrectinib for the treatment of advanced solid tumors harboring an NTRK gene fusion.

: Characteristic of some rare pediatric and adult malignancies, addiction to the oncogene family is also observed in a small fraction of common cancers. Inhibition of their protein products, the Trk kinases, proved a successful treatment strategy for these tumors.: The current paper reviews the clinical development of larotrectinib, a selective inhibitor of the Trk kinase family, for the treatment of fusion-positive cancers.

IL17A critically shapes the transcriptional program of fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer and switches on their protumorigenic functions.

A hallmark of cancer, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), is a massive stromal and inflammatory reaction. Many efforts have been made to identify the anti- or protumoral role of cytokines and immune subpopulations within the stroma. Here, we investigated the role of interleukin-17A (IL17A) and its effect on tumor fibroblasts and the tumor microenvironment.

In pancreatic cancer, chemotherapy increases antitumor responses to tumor-associated antigens and potentiates DNA vaccination.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is an almost incurable tumor that is mostly resistant to chemotherapy (CT). Adaptive immune responses to tumor-associated antigens (TAA) have been reported, but immunotherapy (IT) clinical trials have not yet achieved any significant increase in survival, confirming the suppressive environment of PDA. As CT has immune-modulating properties, we investigated the effect of gemcitabine (GEM) in antitumor effector responses to TAA in patients with PDA.

Immune-Complexome Analysis Identifies Immunoglobulin-Bound Biomarkers That Predict the Response to Chemotherapy of Pancreatic Cancer Patients.

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDA) is an aggressive malignancy with a very poor outcome. Although chemotherapy (CT) treatment has poor efficacy, it can enhance tumor immunogenicity. Tumor-Associated Antigens (TAA) are self-proteins that are overexpressed in tumors that may induce antibody production and can be PDA theranostic targets.

Validated Nomogram Predicting 6-Month Survival in Pancreatic Cancer Patients Receiving First-Line 5-Fluorouracil, Oxaliplatin, and Irinotecan.

Background: FOLFIRINOX (leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) is an option for fit patients with metastatic (MPC) and locally advanced unresectable (LAPC) pancreatic cancer. However, no criteria reliably identify patients with better outcomes.

Patients And Methods: We investigated putative prognostic factors among 137 MPC/LAPC patients treated with triplet chemotherapy.

Integrative Analysis of Novel Metabolic Subtypes in Pancreatic Cancer Fosters New Prognostic Biomarkers.

Most of the patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDA) are not eligible for a curative surgical resection. For this reason there is an urgent need for personalized therapies. PDA is the result of complex interactions between tumor molecular profile and metabolites produced by its microenvironment.

Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in the treatment of esophageal cancer patients.

The aim of the study is to evaluate feasibility, safety, toxicity profile, and dosimetric results of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to deliver definitive or pre-operative radiation in locally advanced esophageal cancer patients. A total of 68 patients were treated with VMAT between March 2014 and March 2018 (44% vs 56% for definitive and neoadjuvant settings, respectively). Dose prescription differed depending on the clinical scenario (54-60 Gy in 30 fractions for definitive treatments; 41.

Prognostic and predictive role of EGFR pathway alterations in biliary cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and anti-EGFR.

The association of anti-EGFR to gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GEMOX) chemotherapy did not improve survival in biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) patients. Multiple mechanisms might be involved in the resistance to anti-EGFR. Here, we explored the mutation profile of EGFR extracellular domain (ECD), of tyrosine kinase domain (TKD), and its amplification status.

Pre-operative treatments for adenocarcinoma of the lower oesophagus and gastro-oesophageal junction: a review of the current evidence from randomized trials.

Adenocarcinomas of the lower oesophagus and gastro-oesophageal junction are a complex clinico-pathological setting. Multimodality therapy is considered mandatory in most disease presentations. Nevertheless, the most appropriate treatment package has yet to be established.

Current therapeutic strategies for advanced pancreatic cancer: A review for clinicians.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) would become the second leading cause of cancer death in the near future, despite representing only 3% of new cancer diagnosis. Survival improvement will come from a better knowledge of risk factors, earlier diagnosis, better integration of locoregional and systemic therapies, as well as the development of more efficacious drugs rising from a deeper understanding of disease biology. For patients with unresectable, non-metastatic disease, combined strategies encompassing primary chemotherapy and radiation seems to be promising.

Natural History of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer with Bone Metastases.

We conducted a large, multicenter, retrospective survey aimed to explore the impact of tumor bone involvement in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.Data on clinical-pathology, skeletal outcomes and bone-directed therapies for 661 deceased patients with evidence of bone metastasis were collected and statistically analyzed. Bone metastases were evident at diagnosis in 57.

Gastric cancer: The times they are a-changin'.

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Even though during these last decades gastric cancer incidence decreased in Western countries, it remains endemic and with a high incidence in Eastern countries. The survival in advanced and metastatic stage of gastric cancer is still very poor.

Intra-tumoral IFN-γ-producing Th22 cells correlate with TNM staging and the worst outcomes in pancreatic cancer.

PDAC (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death. The causes of this cancer remain unknown, but increasing evidence indicates a key role of the host immune response and cytokines in human carcinogenesis. Intra-tumoral IL (interleukin)-22 levels have been shown to be elevated in PDAC patients.