Evolving approaches in advanced gallbladder cancer with complete pathological response using chemo‑immunotherapy: A case report.

The combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy for metastatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) offers promising improvements in survival and response rates beyond traditional treatments. TOPAZ-1 and KEYNOTE-966 have demonstrated the efficacy of combining immunotherapy (durvalumab and pembrolizumab) with chemotherapy, even in gallbladder cancer (GBC), with a complete response rate of 2.7% in the TOPAZ-1 trial.

Prognostic Impact of Ras Mutation on Surgical Strategy in Rectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant Treatment.

Background/aim: Complete clinical response in rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy is challenging. Indeed, indication to surgery vs. "watch and wait" is a debate due the poor predictive value of restaging exams in order to identify a pathological complete response (pCR).

Prevalence of COVID-19 Infection in Asymptomatic Cancer Patients in a District With High Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy.

Background Cancer patients are presumed a frail group at high risk to contract coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection in asymptomatic cancer patients attending the outpatient clinic of a general hospital in a region with a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection (North Italy, first wave). Methods We retrospectively analyzed data of consecutive cancer patients attending the outpatient clinic of the oncology unit, General Hospital of Piacenza.

Prognostic role of a new inflammatory index with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and lactate dehydrogenase (CII: Colon Inflammatory Index) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: results from the randomized Italian Trial in Advanced Colorectal Cancer (ITACa) study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of a new inflammatory index (Colon Inflammatory Index [CII]) as a predictor of prognosis and treatment efficacy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) enrolled in the prospective multicenter randomized ITACa (Italian Trial in Advanced Colorectal Cancer) trial to receive first-line chemotherapy (CT)+ bevacizumab or CT alone. Between November 14, 2007 and March 6, 2012, 276 patients diagnosed with CRC were available for baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). We divided the population into three groups on basis of the CII index.

Impact of second-line cetuximab-containing therapy in patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer: results from the ITACa randomized clinical trial.

The ITACa trial was designed to define the role of cetuximab (Cet) and bevacizumab (Bev) in combination with standard chemotherapy (CT, FOLFIRI or FOLFOX4) as first- and second-line treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer. All patients with WT KRAS tumors who had been enrolled in the first-line trial were randomized onto two independent second-line trials: CT or CT + Cet (study 2A) and CT + Bev or CT + Bev + Cet (study 2B). Patients with mutated KRAS were not eligible for randomization and were treated with CT alone (study 2A) or CT + Bev (study 2B).

Ultrasound guidance reduces pneumothorax rate and improves safety of thoracentesis in malignant pleural effusion: report on 445 consecutive patients with advanced cancer.

Background: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is an extremely common problem affecting cancer patients, and thoracentesis is an essential procedure in an attempt to delineate the etiology of the fluid collections and to relieve symptoms in affected patients. One of the most common complications of thoracentesis is pneumothorax, which has been reported to occur in 20% to 39% of thoracenteses, with 15% to 50% of patients with pneumothorax requiring tube thoracostomy.The present study was carried out to assess whether thoracenteses in cancer patients performed with ultrasound (US) guidance are associated with a lower rates of pneumothorax and tube thoracostomy than those performed without US guidance.

Ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization in cancer patients improves the success rate of cannulation and reduces mechanical complications: a prospective observational study of 1,978 consecutive catheterizations.

Background: A central venous catheter (CVC) currently represents the most frequently adopted intravenous line for patients undergoing infusional chemotherapy and/or high-dose chemotherapy with hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation and parenteral nutrition. CVC insertion represents a risk for pneumothorax, nerve or arterial punctures. The aim of this prospective observational study was to explore the safety and efficacy of CVC insertion under ultrasound (US) guidance and to confirm its utility in clinical practice in cancer patients.