Baseline Characteristics and Outcomes of Cancer Patients Infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the Lombardy Region, Italy (AIOM-L CORONA): A Multicenter, Observational, Ambispective, Cohort Study.

Cancer patients may be at high risk of infection and poor outcomes related to SARS-CoV-2. Analyzing their prognosis, examining the effects of baseline characteristics and systemic anti-cancer active therapy (SACT) are critical to their management through the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. The AIOM-L CORONA was a multicenter, observational, ambispective, cohort study, with the intended participation of 26 centers in the Lombardy region (Italy).

Flow cytometric analysis of circulating endothelial cells and endothelial progenitors for clinical purposes in oncology: A critical evaluation.

Malignant tumors are characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and metastatic spread, with a pivotal importance of the phenomenon of angiogenesis. For this reason, research has focused on the development of agents targeting the vascular component of the tumor microenvironment and regulating the angiogenic switch. As a result, the therapeutic inhibition of angiogenesis has become an important component of anticancer treatment, however, its utility is partly limited by the lack of an established methodology to assess its efficacy .

Circulating endothelial cells and their subpopulations: role as predictive biomarkers in antiangiogenic therapy for colorectal cancer.

Several anticancer therapies have been developed to block angiogenesis, a key mechanism in tumor growth and metastasis. The predominantly cytostatic action of these compounds makes an assessment of their clinical activities inadequate if based only on the reduction of the tumor dimensions, as this may not reflect their true biologic efficacy. Thus, it is crucial to identify biomarkers that permit the recognition of potentially responsive subjects and to spare toxicity in those who are unlikely to benefit from treatment.

Store-operated Ca2+ entry is remodelled and controls in vitro angiogenesis in endothelial progenitor cells isolated from tumoral patients.

Background: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may be recruited from bone marrow to sustain tumor vascularisation and promote the metastatic switch. Understanding the molecular mechanisms driving EPC proliferation and tubulogenesis could outline novel targets for alternative anti-angiogenic treatments. Store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE), which is activated by a depletion of the intracellular Ca(2+) pool, regulates the growth of human EPCs, where is mediated by the interaction between the endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-sensor, Stim1, and the plasmalemmal Ca(2+) channel, Orai1.

Circulating endothelial cells and their apoptotic fraction are mutually independent predictive biomarkers in Bevacizumab-based treatment for advanced colorectal cancer.

Background: Bevacizumab has shown consistent clinical efficacy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), but some patients respond better than others. Thus, it is crucial to identify biomarkers that permit the recognition of potentially responsive subjects and to spare toxicity in those who are unlikely benefit from treatment.

Methods: In 24 mCRC patients undergoing Bevacizumab-based first-line treatment, we assessed by multiparameter flow cytometry changes in circulating endothelial cell (CEC) number, their apoptotic fraction (APO-CEC) and their mutual relationship.

Tissue and soluble biomarkers in breast cancer and their applications: ready to use?

Breast cancer therapies are in continuous evolution: From surgery to hormonal therapy, from classical and new combined chemotherapies to emerging targeted agents of recent introduction to the clinic. The attempt to personalize the best treatment for each patient is driven by efficacy and safety parameters and tumor biology investigations of markers for aggressiveness and response to treatment. The plethora of targeted therapies has provided momentum for the quest to better understand not only target mechanisms of action, but also tumor behavior.

Retrospective exploratory analysis of VEGF polymorphisms in the prediction of benefit from first-line FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: Molecular predictors of bevacizumab efficacy in colorectal cancer have not been identified yet. Specific VEGF polymorphisms may affect gene transcription and therefore indirectly influence the efficacy of bevacizumab.

Methods: Genomic DNA of 111 consecutive metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with first-line FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab was obtained from blood samples.

Lymphocyte subpopulation and dendritic cell phenotyping during antineoplastic therapy in human solid tumors.

Patients with cancer show variable levels of immunosuppression at the time of the presentation, and cytotoxic antineoplastic therapy is the primary contributor to the clinical immunodeficiency often observed during the course of the disease. In both hematological and solid tumors, this phenomenon is primarily related to the T-cell depletion associated with inhibition of dendritic cell ability to induce both primary and secondary T- and B-cell responses. Complete restoration of immunocompetence following antineoplastic therapy implicates the progressive recovery of various cell subpopulations, and it is a complex process that also depends on the type, the dose, the scheduling, and the associations of the employed drugs.

Chemotherapy-induced anemia in breast cancer patients treated with pegfilgrastim-supported dose-dense regimens.

The primary use of recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factors has reduced the incidence of febrile neutropenia during dose-dense adjuvant/neoadjuvant chemotherapy programs for breast cancer. Otherwise, in this population, filgrastim seems to worse chemotherapy-induced anemia, especially when administered with prolonged schedules that induced leukocytosis. No exhaustive data are available about the effect of long-lasting formulation of filgrastim (pegfilgrastim) on hemoglobin levels.

Effect of peg-filgrastim-supported dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy on the peripheral blood leukocyte phenotype in breast cancer patients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy regimens with peg-filgrastim support on the phenotype of peripheral blood leukocytes in breast cancer patients. We evaluated the leukocyte phenotype of 14 patients aged 46-67 years undergoing 4 courses of chemotherapy with either epirubucin/cyclophosphamide (n=7) or 5-fluorouracil/epirubucin/cyclophosphamide (n=7) followed by 4 courses of taxol supported by peg-filgrastim (6 mg) administered 72 h after each chemotherapy course. The overall leukocyte number significantly increased from the first treatment course, while total lymphocytes tended to decrease with a negative peak following the 6th course (p=0.

Biological effects of pegfilgrastim on circulating neutrophils in breast cancer patients undergoing dose-dense chemotherapy.

Pegfilgrastim is a covalent conjugate of filgrastim and polyethylene glycol that has proved to be effective in supporting myelopoiesis during chemotherapy. Since very limited information is available on the biological effects of pegfilgrastim on neutrophils exposed to chemotherapy, we analyzed the following parameters in neutrophils of patients undergoing dose-dense chemotherapy for breast cancer: apoptosis, by a TUNEL technique; actin polymerization, using FITC-labeled phalloidin, and alkaline phosphatase activity by cytochemistry. Peripheral blood buffy coat smears were obtained before starting treatment and immediately before each chemotherapy course.

In vivo biological effects of pegfilgrastim after myelosuppressive chemotherapy in breast cancer.

Background: No exhaustive data are available on the in vivo biological effects of pegfilgrastim utilized in dose-dense chemotherapy (CT). The cytokinetic effects exerted in a multicyclic CT program by this cytokine on CD34+/38+ peripheral blood (PB) progenitor cells was the focus of this study.

Patients And Methods: PB samples from 19 breast cancer patients treated with 4 courses of docetaxel and epirubicin followed by pegfilgrastim were studied.

Sigmoid colon metastasis from sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma.

The sarcomatoid histological type of renal cell carcinoma is a clinically aggressive variant of parenchymal tumor, typically resistant to systemic treatment. We report the case of a 65-year-old female patient who had undergone a left radical nephrectomy for a sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma together with enucleation of a mass of the right kidney and a contralateral nodule diagnosed as clear cell carcinoma. One year later lung, adrenal and sigmoid colon metastases from sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma were detected and the patient was started on systemic immunotherapy with interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha.