Surgery Plays a Leading Role in Breast Cancer Treatment for Patients Aged ≥90 Years: A Large Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: The population aged ≥90 years is increasing worldwide, yet nearly 50% of elderly breast cancer (BC) patients receive suboptimal treatments, resulting in high rates of BC-related mortality. We analyzed clinical and survival outcomes of nonagenarian BC patients to identify effective treatment strategies.

Methods: This single-institution retrospective cohort study analyzed patients aged ≥90 years diagnosed with stage I-III BC between 2007 and 2018.

Intraoperative Ultrasound-Guided Conserving Surgery for Breast Cancer: No More Time for Blind Surgery.

Background: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) still remains a blind surgery despite all available tumor localization methods. Intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) allows real-time visualization during all resection phases.

Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study conducted at the Veneto Institute of Oncology between January 2021 and June 2022.

Tumor immune microenvironment in therapy-naive esophageal adenocarcinoma could predict the nodal status.

Background: Currently, preoperative staging of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has modest reliability and accuracy for pT and pN stages prediction, which heavily affects overall survival. The interplay among immune checkpoints, oncogenes, and intratumoral and peritumoral immune infiltrating cells could be used to predict loco-regional metastatic disease in early EAC.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated immune markers expression and oncogenes status as well as intratumoral and peritumoral immune infiltrating cells populations in esophageal mucosa samples obtained from neoadjuvant therapy-naïve patients who had esophagectomy for EAC.

Totally Implantable Venous Access Devices: A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effect of Psychological Support on Quality of Life and Body Image (BI-PORT).

The presence of totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs), as any permanent or semipermanent medical devices, has an impact on the quality of life (QoL) of patients. Therefore, the purpose of this trial was to evaluate the efficacy of psychological support for patients undergoing this procedure. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to compare the efficacy of a psychological intervention vs.

Postsurgical Pyoderma Gangrenosum in a Breast Cancer Patient: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare skin necrotizing disease that can arise on a site of surgical trauma. Its pathogenesis has recently been related to dysregulation of the immune system, with inflammatory bowel disease representing the most commonly underlying systemic conditions. Several authors have also reported an association with solid malignancies (especially gastrointestinal and breast cancer).

Immune surveillance activation after neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal adenocarcinoma and complete response.

After neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for esophageal adenocarcinoma, up to 29% of patients have a pathological complete response (pCR). What to do afterward is still under debate. The aim of this prospective study was to define which local markers of immune response might act as predictors of pCR and of recurrence after pCR.

QOLEC2: a randomized controlled trial on nutritional and respiratory counseling after esophagectomy for cancer.

Background: Esophagectomy for cancer strongly impairs quality of life. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effect of the nutritional and respiratory counseling on postoperative quality of life.

Methods: At hospital discharge, patients were randomized into four groups receiving respectively: nutritional and respiratory counseling, nutritional counseling alone, respiratory counseling alone, or standard care.

CD80 expression promotes immune surveillance in Barrett's metaplasia.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is the final step of a pathway starting with esophageal reflux disease, Barrett's metaplasia and Barrett's dysplasia. Positive costimulatory ligands such as CD80 have been suggested to contribute to anti-tumor T-cell efficacy. Here we report for the first time the role of CD80 in the inflammatory esophageal carcinogenesis and characterize the immune environment of EAC.

PD-L1 expression, CD8+ and CD4+ lymphocyte rate are predictive of pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for squamous cell cancer of the thoracic esophagus.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CTRT) can effectively downstage esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patients with locally advanced disease and prolonged survival have been observed in patients with a pathological complete response (ypCR).

Aims And Methods: This exploratory study aimed to identify immunological predictors of pCR after neoadjuvant CTRT within SCC microenvironment. The tumor regression after neoadjuvant therapy was measured according to the Mandard score system.

Cholecystectomy during esophagectomy is safe but unnecessary.

Prophylactic cholecystectomy has been proposed as a concomitant procedure during upper gastrointestinal surgery. This study evaluates the safety and the need of concurrent cholecystectomy during esophagectomy for cancer. All consecutive esophagectomies for esophageal cancer at the Center for Esophageal Diseases in Padova (Italy) between 1992 and 2011 were included.

Time to diagnosis in esophageal cancer: a cohort study.

Background: The association between shorter time to diagnosis and favorable outcome is still unproven in esophageal cancer. This study aims to evaluate the effect of time to diagnosis on patient prognosis.

Material And Methods: Retrospective cohort study of all 3613 symptomatic patients referred for esophageal cancer to our center from 1980 to 2011.

Long-term quality of life after esophagectomy with gastric pull-up.

Background And Objectives: Data on long-term health-related quality of life (HRQL) after esophagectomy for cancer show contradictory results. The aim was to analyze long-term HRQL at 3 or more years after esophagectomy.

Methods: Survivors were identified among patients who had undergone esophagectomy during 2007-2013 using the local clinic database.

Potential curability and perception of received information in esophageal cancer patients.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate patients' perceived receipt of information according to the possibility of cure in esophageal cancer.

Methods: One hundred and twelve consecutive patients presenting at the multidisciplinary visit at the Veneto Institute of Oncology for esophageal cancer between 2014 and 2016 were included in the study. The Italian version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life questionnaires C30 (core questionnaire), OG25 (esophago-gastric cancer module), and INFO25 (information module) were used.

Immunonutrition before esophagectomy: Impact on immune surveillance mechanisms.

Preoperative oral immunonutrition was demonstrated to improve immune response and to decrease the infection rate in patients with cancer. This study aimed to assess how immunonutrition could influence the immune cell response in the mucosal microenvironment of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Therefore, A prospective cohort of consecutive patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal adenocarcinoma was enrolled.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma microenvironment: Peritumoral adipose tissue effects associated with chemoresistance.

Peritumoral microenvironment affects cancer development and chemoresistance, and visceral adipose tissue may play a critical role. We aimed to identify depot-specific adipose characteristics associated with carcinogenesis and resistance to neoadjuvant therapy in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). We analyzed: (i) the peritumoral adipose tissue of rats following the induction of esophageal carcinogenesis; (ii) the peritumoral and distal (omental) adipose tissue of patients affected by EAC; (iii) adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC) isolated from healthy patients and treated with conditioned medium (CM), collected from tumoral and adipose tissue of patients with EAC.

Nodal skip metastasis in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a cohort study.

Background: Nodal skip metastasis is a prognostic factor in some sites of malignancies, but its role in esophageal cancer is still unclear. The present study aimed to investigate occurrence and effect of nodal skip metastases in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: All 578 patients undergoing esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma at the Center for Esophageal Diseases located in Padova between January 1992 and December 2010 were retrospectively evaluated.

Esophageal Cancer Clinical Presentation: Trends in the Last 3 Decades in a Large Italian Series.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate trends in patients' characteristics and comorbidities in esophageal cancer (EC) patients.

Background: Identifying changing pattern is essential to understand and predict further changes and to plan surgical procedures and resource allocation.

Methods: Trends in patients' characteristics and comorbidities were evaluated in 4440 EC patients at the Center for Esophageal Diseases in Padova, Italy, during 1980 to 2011.

A germline predictive signature of response to platinum chemotherapy in esophageal cancer.

Platinum-based neoadjuvant therapy is the standard treatment for esophageal cancer (EC). At present, no reliable response markers exist, and patient therapeutic outcome is variable and very often unpredictable. The aim of this study was to understand the contribution of host constitutive DNA polymorphisms in discriminating between responder and nonresponder patients.

Health related quality of life after oesophagectomy: elderly patients refer similar eating and swallowing difficulties than younger patients.

Background: Oesophagectomy for cancer could be safe and worthwhile in selected older patients, but less is known about the effect of oesophagectomy on perceived quality of life of such delicate class of cancer patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of oesophagectomy for cancer in elderly patients in term of health-related quality of life.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated all consecutive patients who underwent oesophagectomy for cancer at the Surgical Oncology Unit of the Veneto Institute of Oncology between November 2009 and March 2014.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma and obesity: peritumoral adipose tissue plays a role in lymph node invasion.

Obesity is associated with cancer risk in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Adipose tissue directly stimulates tumor progression independently from body mass index (BMI), but the mechanisms are not fully understood. We studied the morphological, histological and molecular characteristics of peritumoral and distal adipose tissue of 60 patients with EAC, to investigate whether depot-specific differences affect tumor behavior.

Genetic features of metachronous esophageal cancer developed in Hodgkin's lymphoma or breast cancer long-term survivors: an exploratory study.

Background: Development of novel therapeutic drugs and regimens for cancer treatment has led to improvements in patient long-term survival. This success has, however, been accompanied by the increased occurrence of second primary cancers. Indeed, patients who received regional radiotherapy for Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) or breast cancer may develop, many years later, a solid metachronous tumor in the irradiated field.

Impact of jejunostomy during esophagectomy for cancer on health related quality of life.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of jejunostomy during esophagectomy for cancer on postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQL).

Methods: We evaluate all consecutive patients who underwent esophagectomy for cancer at the surgical oncology unit of the Veneto Institute of Oncology (IOV-IRCCS) between January 2008 and March 2014. The primary outcome was HRQL, which was assessed using nine scales of EORTC C30 and OES18 questionnaires.

Esophageal carcinosarcoma: management and prognosis at a single Italian series.

Background: Esophageal carcinosarcoma (ESC) is a rare malignant lesion of the esophagus with controversial characteristics and prognostic factors.

Patients And Methods: Seventeen consecutive patients with esophageal carcinosarcoma were referred to the Center for Esophageal Diseases located in Padua from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2011. Clinical characteristics, pathological features, treatment and outcome were retrospectively analyzed in a prospectively collected database.

Role of proton pump inhibitor on esophageal carcinogenesis and pancreatic acinar cell metaplasia development: an experimental in vivo study.

Chronic gastro-duodenal reflux in the esophagus is a major risk for intestinal metaplasia and Barrett's adenocarcinoma. A role for chronic use of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in the increased incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma in Western countries has been previously suggested. The aim of this work was to study the effect of chronic administration of omeprazole (a proton pump inhibitor) per os in a model of reflux induced esophageal carcinogenesis.