Publications by authors named "Massimo Martino"

Brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel) has revolutionized the treatment of patients affected by mantle cell lymphomas. In this prospective, observational multicentre study, we evaluated 106 patients, with longitudinal brexu-cel kinetics in peripheral blood monitored in 61 of them. Clinical outcomes and toxicities are consistent with previous real-world evidence studies.

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  • In Italy, the demand for stem cell transplants is higher than the number of available donors, prompting a study on the public's knowledge and attitudes towards stem cell donation.* -
  • An online survey was conducted with 1518 participants, revealing that non-donors had significantly less knowledge about donation (51.7% vs 24.4%) and expressed negative feelings like fear and confusion.* -
  • The study found that better knowledge correlates with increased willingness to donate, and suggests there is a need for improved awareness strategies around stem cell donation in Italy.*
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  • * Treatment focuses on reducing spleen size and alleviating symptoms, with patients evaluated as lower or higher risk for transplant eligibility; those not eligible usually receive long-term JAK inhibitor therapy.
  • * Newer JAK inhibitors and combination treatments are under investigation to address the limitations of current therapies, such as limited efficacy and adverse effects, highlighting the need for ongoing research in this area.
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  • Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) offers curative potential for multiple myeloma patients but is effective in only a minority, with some patients experiencing long-term survival after relapse thanks to a combination of antimyeloma drugs and donor T cells.
  • A study evaluating 242 multiple myeloma patients who underwent allo-SCT revealed a median overall survival of 39.4 months and highlighted factors like older age and previous therapies that predict shorter survival outcomes.
  • Among 118 relapsed patients, various treatments were employed, with a significant portion receiving multiple lines of salvage therapy, including chemotherapy and immunomodulating agents, demonstrating a diverse treatment approach post-relapse.
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The treatment landscape for relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (RR-FL) is marked by a pivotal debate between chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy and bispecific antibodies (BsAbs). While both CAR-T therapy and BsAbs target similar immunobiology and molecular markers, their efficacy comparisons are hindered by the lack of direct clinical trial comparisons. Key trials, such as the ZUMA-5 study, underscore axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel)'s efficacy in treating RR-FL, achieving a 79% complete response rate with a median duration of response exceeding 3 years.

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  • This study examined the effects of D-VTd induction therapy on recovery after autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM).
  • Sixty patients received D-VTd while 80 others received VTd as a control, with results showing that D-VTd led to a slightly longer time for neutrophil and platelet recovery.
  • Despite delayed engraftment in the D-VTd group and a higher incidence of febrile neutropenia, the study concluded that D-VTd does not negatively affect overall transplant safety outcomes.
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Background: Access to allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) remains challenging for older patients (aged >60 years) with acute myeloid leukaemia. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of venetoclax plus decitabine as first-line therapy and bridge to transplantation in this patient population.

Methods: This multicentre, single-arm, phase 2 trial was conducted in 20 Gruppo Italiano Trapianto Midollo Osseo (GITMO) centres in Italy.

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We compared transplantation (HSCT) outcomes in AML patients undergoing HSCT with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) in first complete remission from 1065 young (<35 years) haploidentical (Haplo) donors (yHaplo) vs. 147 old (≥35 years) mismatched unrelated donors (oMMUD) (first comparison) and from 271 young (<35 years) MMUD (yMMUD) vs. 1315 old (≥35 years) Haplo donors (oHaplo) (second comparison).

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  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment has improved, but many patients still experience relapse, highlighting the need for effective maintenance therapies post-chemotherapy or stem cell transplants.* -
  • This review examines the current debates and findings regarding these maintenance therapies for AML, including choice of drugs for optimal patient outcomes.* -
  • Experts recommend specific FLT3 inhibitors like midostaurin or quizartinib for FLT3-positive AML patients, while the duration of maintenance therapy remains unclear, needing further research.*
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Choice of calcineurin inhibitor may impact the outcome of patients undergoing T-cell replete hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We retrospectively analyzed 2427 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first remission transplanted from a haploidentical (n = 1844) or unrelated donor (UD, n = 583) using cyclosporine A (CSA, 63%) or tacrolimus (TAC, 37%) and PT-Cy/MMF. In univariate analysis, CSA and TAC groups did not differ in 2-year leukemia-free or overall survival, cumulative incidence (CI) of relapse or non-relapse mortality.

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This real-world prospective observational study across 21 Italian centers (CART-SIE) compares axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) outcomes in 485 patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma with baseline characteristics matched by stabilized inverse propensity score weighting. Axi-cel versus tisa-cel had higher all-grade cytokine release syndrome (78.6% vs.

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During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many countries established wastewater (WW) surveillance to objectively monitor the level of infection within the population. As new variants continue to emerge, it has become clear that WW surveillance is an essential tool for the early detection of variants. The EU Commission published a recommendation suggesting an approach to establish surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in WW, besides specifying the methodology for WW concentration and RNA extraction.

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  • Therapeutic strategies for multiple myeloma (MM) have significantly improved, especially with the introduction of new agents, leading to better treatment outcomes.
  • BCMA is a key target for MM treatment, and innovative immune therapies like CAR-engineered T-cells and bispecific antibodies are showing promising results in clinical studies.
  • While these new therapies are groundbreaking, there are concerns regarding their practical implementation due to limitations; therefore, focusing on personalized treatment plans and optimizing therapy combinations is crucial for maximizing benefits and reducing risks for patients.
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Axicabtagene ciloleucel showed efficacy for relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphomas (LBCL), including primary mediastinal B-cell lymphomas (PMBCL); however, only few PMBCLs were reported. Aim was to evaluate efficacy and safety of axicabtagene ciloleucel in patients with PMBCL compared to those with other LBCL, enrolled in the Italian prospective observational CART-SIE study. PMBCLs (n = 70) were younger, with higher percentage of bulky and refractory disease, compared to other LBCLs (n = 190).

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We retrospectively compared outcomes of 404 MDS patients undergoing 1st matched sibling donor allo-HCT receiving either PTCy-based (n = 66) or other "conventional prophylaxis" (n = 338; mostly calcineurin inhibitor + methotrexate or MMF). Baseline characteristics were balanced, except for higher use of myeloablative regimens in the PTCy group (52.3% vs.

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Introduction: Chimeric Antigen Receptor ;(CAR) T cells therapies have become part of the standard of care for patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The weakness of CAR-T therapies is that there are no comparative clinical trials, although many publications based on real-life data have confirmed the results obtained in pivotal studies. After several years of the commercialization of CAR-T, some points still need to be fully clarified.

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Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a clinically challenging modality for the treatment of many hematologic diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a common complication after allo-HSCT and remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, limiting the success of a potentially curative transplant. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been shown to impact the biology of GVHD.

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Relapsed or refractory (r/r) Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) still represent an unmet clinical need despite the new immune therapies available for these patients. We report the case of a Ph + ALL relapsed one year after allogeneic stem cell transplant. After one DLI was started CAR-T program with brexucabtageneautoleucel, using as bridging treatment ponatinib, vincristine and prednisone.

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Purpose: CAR-T programs will burden increasingly on healthcare systems, since the implementation of these therapies involves: multidisciplinary team collaboration, post-infusion hospitalization with risk of life-threatening toxicities, frequent in hospital visits and prolonged follow-up which heavily influence patients' quality of life. In this review we propose an innovative, telehealth-based, model for monitoring CAR-T patients: this method was used for managing a case of COVID-19 infection occurred two weeks after CAR-T cell infusion.

Methods: Several benefits for management of all these aspects of CAR-T programs could be made using telemedicine: for example, telemedicine real-time clinical monitoring could reduce the COVID-19 contagion risks for CAR-T patients.

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  • Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) can improve survival rates in multiple myeloma (MM), but some patients struggle to collect enough HSPCs using standard methods like G-CSF.
  • The GENESIS trial tested a new drug, motixafortide, combined with G-CSF, against a placebo and G-CSF to see if it could help mobilize more HSPCs for ASCT.
  • Results showed that motixafortide significantly increased the number of patients who collected sufficient HSPCs, outperforming the placebo group, and its side effects were generally mild and manageable.
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Unlabelled: The conditioning regimens with different alkylators at different doses can influence the outcome of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT), but conclusive data are missing.

Methods: With the aim to analyze real-life allogeneic SCTs performed in Italy between 2006 and 2017 in elderly patients (aged >60 y) with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome, we collected 780 first transplants data. For analysis purposes, patients were grouped according to the type of alkylator included in the conditioning (busulfan [BU]-based; n = 618; 79%; treosulfan [TREO]-based; n=162; 21%).

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