EUS-guided tissue acquisition in chronic pancreatitis: Differential diagnosis between pancreatic cancer and pseudotumoral masses using EUS-FNA or core biopsy.

Background And Objective: EUS-FNA sensitivity for malignancy in parenchymal masses of patients with concurrent chronic pancreatitis (CP) has been reported to be unsatisfactory. The aim of the present study was to directly compare the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-FNA and EUS-fine-needle biopsy (FNB) in differentiating between inflammatory masses and malignancies in the setting of CP.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of prospective, multicentric databases of all patients with pancreatic masses and clinico-radiological-endosonographic features of CP who underwent EUS-FNA or FNB.

Creation of a rectal cancer registry in Italy by the Advanced International Mini-Invasive Surgery (AIMS) academy clinical research network.

The management of rectal cancer is multimodal and involves a multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists with expertise in medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology and radiology. It is crucial for highly specialized centers to collaborate via networks that aim to maintain uniformity in every aspect of treatment and rigorously gather patients' data, from the first clinical evaluation to the last follow-up visit. The Advanced International Mini-Invasive Surgery (AIMS) academy clinical research network aims to create a rectal cancer registry.

Compliance to Adjuvant Chemotherapy of Patients Who Underwent Surgery for Rectal Cancer: Report from a Multi-institutional Research Network.

Introduction: Adjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer is associated with improved overall survival. However, recent evidence from randomized trials showed a compliance rate of 43 to 73%, which may affect efficacy. The aim of this multicenter retrospective analysis was to investigate the compliance rate to adjuvant treatment for patients who underwent rectal surgery for cancer.

First-line dose-dense chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil (DCF) plus panitumumab in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction: final results and biomarker analysis from an Italian oncology group for clinical research (GOIRC) phase II study.

Background: Survival for patients with advanced gastroesophageal cancer (AGC) using standard treatment regimens is poor. EGFR overexpression is common in AGC and associated with poor prognosis. We hypothesized that increasing the dose intensity of chemotherapy and adding panitumumab could improve efficacy.

Reliability and validity assessment of administrative databases in measuring the quality of rectal cancer management.

Purpose: Measurement and monitoring of the quality of care using a core set of quality measures are increasing in health service research. Although administrative databases include limited clinical data, they offer an attractive source for quality measurement. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the completeness of different administrative data sources compared to a clinical survey in evaluating rectal cancer cases.

Microsatellite Instability in Medullary Carcinoma of the Colon.

Medullary carcinoma (MC) of the large intestine is a relatively new histological type of adenocarcinoma characterized by poor glandular differentiation and an intraepithelial lymphocytic infiltrate. MC can be associated to a defective mechanism for DNA mismatch repair, caused by the so-called microsatellite instability (MSI). We present the case of a 44 years old Caucasian woman, who referred to the Emergency Room with symptoms mimicking an acute appendicitis.

Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding: Rescue treatment with a modified cyanoacrylate.

Aim: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a modified cyanoacrylate [N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate associated with methacryloxysulfolane (NBCA + MS)] to treat non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NV-UGIB).

Methods: In our retrospective study we took into account 579 out of 1177 patients receiving endoscopic treatment for NV-UGIB admitted to our institution from 2008 to 2015; the remaining 598 patients were treated with other treatments. Initial hemostasis was not achieved in 45 of 579 patients; early rebleeding occurred in 12 of 579 patients.

Safety and efficacy of dose-dense chemotherapy with TCF regimen in elderly patients with locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of dose-dense TCF in elderly (≥65 years) compared to younger patients.

Methods: Safety and efficacy data relative to 119 consecutive patients with locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer treated at our institution and enrolled in different phase II trials were retrospectively collected. All patients were treatment-naive and received docetaxel 70 mg/m2 day 1, cisplatin 60 mg/m2 day 1, l-folinic acid 100 mg/m2 days 1-2, followed by 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m2 bolus days 1-2, and then 600 mg/m2 as a 22-hour continuous infusion days 1-2, every 14 days, plus pegfilgrastim 6 mg on day 3.

Neoadjuvant Treatment Approach: The Rosetta Stone for Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer represents a heterogeneous group of diseases with varied biological features, behavior, and response to therapy; thus, management of breast cancer relies on the availability of robust predictive and prognostic factors to support therapy decision-making. Traditionally, neoadjuvant treatment for breast cancer was preserved for locally advanced, converting an inoperable to a surgical resectable cancer. Neoadjuvant trials, additionally, offer: 1) the opportunity to evaluate new treatment options in a faster way and with fewer patients than large adjuvant trials; 2) to identify and validate the prognostic and predictive value of a marker with its association with clinical outcome in relation to the administered treatment.

Efficacy and tolerability of chemotherapy with modified dose-dense TCF regimen (TCF-dd) in locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer: final results of a phase II trial.

Background: We previously studied a dose-dense TCF (TCF-dd) regimen demonstrating its feasibility and an activity comparable to epirubicin-based chemotherapy and TCF q3w in terms of overall survival and time to progression (TTP). We report here the final results of a phase II study of chemotherapy with a modified TCF-dd regimen in locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer (MGC).

Methods And Study Design: Patients with histologically confirmed measurable MGC, not previously treated for advanced disease, received docetaxel 70 mg/m(2) day 1, cisplatin 60 mg/m(2) day 1, l-folinic acid 100 mg/m(2) days 1 and 2, followed by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 400 mg/m(2) bolus days 1 and 2, and then 600 mg/m(2) as a 22-h continuous infusion days 1 and 2, every 14 days, plus pegfilgrastim 6 mg on day 3.

[How to biopsy only men with high grade prostate cancer].

Introduction: Fuzzy logic and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are complementary technologies that together generate neuro-fuzzy system. The aim of our study is to compare 2 models for predicting the presence of high-grade prostate cancer (Gleason score 7 or more).

Methods: We evaluated data from 1000 men with PSA less than 50 ng/mL, who underwent prostate biopsy.

Early exploratory intervention in scrotal trauma.

Introduction: The aim of our study is to assess the incidence of the surgical approach in scrotal trauma.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively assessed both penetrating and blunt cases of scrotal trauma observed from 2002 to 2012. For each case we considered various parameters such as the age of the patient, whether the type of trauma was penetrating or blunt, whether or not a surgical approach was taken, whether or not there were polytrauma, whether or not an orchiectomy was performed, and how many days had elapsed since the first urological observation of the trauma.

Gene expression profiling in breast cancer: a clinical perspective.

Gene expression profiling tests are used in an attempt to determine the right treatment for the right person with early-stage breast cancer that may have spread to nearby lymph nodes but not to distant parts of the body. These new diagnostic approaches are designed to spare people who do not need additional treatment (adjuvant therapy) the side effects of unnecessary treatment, and allow people who may benefit from adjuvant therapy to receive it. In the present review we discuss in detail the major diagnostic tests available such as MammaPrint dx, Oncotype dx, PAM50, Mammostrat, IHC4, MapQuant DX, Theros-Breast Cancer Gene Expression Ratio Assay, and their potential clinical applications.

Merkel cell carcinoma: a retrospective study on 48 cases and review of literature.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of the skin. Fourty-eight patients with MCC were observed at the Rare Hormonal Tumors Group of Cremona Hospital, 15 of these with unknown primary site. Due to rarity of Merkel cell carcinoma, clinical experience is generally limited.

Dose-dense chemotherapy in metastatic gastric cancer with a modified docetaxel-cisplatin-5-fluorouracil regimen.

Aims And Background: Previous studies have reported that in early breast cancer, lymphomas and advanced bladder cancer, dose-dense chemotherapy may be more effective than conventional treatments. In metastatic gastric cancer, chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TCF) q3w is very active, and, even though there is no international consensus on the subject, it is the regimen of choice of many European centers as first-line chemotherapy in this subset of patients. Based on these studies, we tested for the first time the feasibility and activity of an intensified dose-dense TCF regimen (q2w) modifying the 5-fluorouracil infusion with 1-folinic acid/5-fluorouracil according to the "De Gramont regimen".

[Endometriosis of the caecum and ileo-caecal valve. A case report and review of the literature].

Endometriosis is a non-cancerous disorder characterised by development of endometrial epithelium outside the uterus, in which involvement of the gastrointestinal tract is most common. The most frequent site is the rectosigmoid colon (72%), whereas the caecum is involved in 4% of cases. Endometriosis may present with abdominal pain, constipation, and sometimes intestinal bleeding.