Prospective Validation of CAR-HEMATOTOX and a simplified version predict Survival in Patients with Large B-Cell Lymphoma treated with anti-CD19 CAR T-cells: data from CART-SIE study.

Background: Anti-CD19 CAR T-cells have revolutionized outcomes in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphomas. Long-term follow-up underscored the role of hematological toxicity in non-relapse mortality, largely driven by infections, leading to the development of the CAR-HEMATOTOX (HT) score for predicting neutropenia. The European scientific community (EHA/EBMT) later reached a consensus, defining a new entity: immune effector cell-associated hematotoxicity (ICAHT).

Patient Voices: Multimethod Study on the Feasibility of Implementing Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Background: "Patient Voices" is a software developed to promote the systematic collection of electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMs) in routine oncology clinical practice.

Objective: This study aimed to assess compliance with and feasibility of the Patient Voices ePROM system and analyze patient-related barriers in an Italian comprehensive cancer center.

Methods: Consecutive patients with cancer attending 3 outpatient clinics and 3 inpatient wards were screened for eligibility (adults, native speakers, and being able to fill in the ePROMs) and enrolled in a quantitative and qualitative multimethod study.

Interim-PET predicts progression-free survival in stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma treated with upfront brentuximab vedotin-AVD.

Brentuximab vedotin (BV) plus doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD) demonstrated to improve survival compared to ABVD as frontline treatment of advanced stage Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL). We retrospectively collected data of 99 stage IV HL patients treated off-protocol with BV-AVD to evaluate the predictive role of interim-PET. Median age was 36 years (range: 18-82); 83.

Validation of the European Oncology toolkit for the self-assessment of Quality of Life (EUonQoL-Kit) in cancer patients and survivors: study protocol of a pan European survey.

Background: European cancer programmes and policies lack a unified health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessment tool. The European oncology quality of life toolkit (EUonQoL-Kit) is a novel set of HRQoL questionnaires, co-designed with cancer patients and survivors, translated and culturally adapted into 31 European languages, and with both static and dynamic electronic administration modes. The main aim of this study is the psychometric assessment of the static version.

Extracellular vesicles, RNA sequencing, and bioinformatic analyses: Challenges, solutions, and recommendations.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogeneous entities secreted by cells into their microenvironment and systemic circulation. Circulating EVs carry functional small RNAs and other molecular footprints from their cell of origin, and thus have evident applications in liquid biopsy, therapeutics, and intercellular communication. Yet, the complete transcriptomic landscape of EVs is poorly characterized due to critical limitations including variable protocols used for EV-RNA extraction, quality control, cDNA library preparation, sequencing technologies, and bioinformatic analyses.

Comparing epidemiological and clinical data from RPS patients documented in a German cancer registry to a cohort from TARPSWG reference centres.

Purpose: Retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) are rare, heterogeneous tumours. Treatment recommendations are mainly derived from cohorts treated at reference centres. The applicability of data from cancer registries (CR) is controversial.

Radiomic features of primary retroperitoneal sarcomas: a prognostic study.

Background: Risk-stratification of patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) relies on validated nomograms, such as Sarculator. This retrospective study investigated whether radiomic features extracted from computed tomography (CT) imaging could i) enhance the performance of Sarculator and ii) identify G3 dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) or leiomyosarcoma (LMS), which are currently consider in a randomized clinical trial testing neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: Patients with primary localized RPS treated with curative-intent surgery (2011-2015) and available pre-operative CT imaging were included.

Local Recurrence and Survival in Patients With Melanoma >2 mm in Thickness at Difficult Sites Treated With 1-cm Versus 2-cm Margins.

Background: Melanoma guidelines recommend surgical excision with 2-cm margins for melanomas >2 mm in thickness. However, this procedure may be problematic at critical anatomic sites. We aimed to compare the outcomes of wide (2 cm) versus narrow (1 cm) excision margins in patients with melanoma >2 mm in thickness near critical structures.

International Multicenter Retrospective Study From the Ultra-rare Sarcoma Working Group on Low-grade Fibromyxoid Sarcoma, Sclerosing Epithelioid Fibrosarcoma, and Hybrid Forms: Outcome of Primary Localized Disease.

The aim of the study was to report the outcome of primary localized low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (LGFMS), sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma (SEF), and hybrid LGFMS/SEF (H-LGFMS/SEF). Patients with primary localized LGFMS, SEF, or H-LGFMS/SEF, surgically treated with curative intent from January 2000 to September 2022, were enrolled from 14 countries and 27 institutions. Pathologic inclusion criteria were predefined by expert pathologists.

The Development of Ambiguity Processing Is Explained by an Inverted U-Shaped Curve.

Understanding the developmental trajectories for recognizing facial expressions is important for a better understanding of development of psychiatric disorders. In this study, we examined the recognition of emotional and neutral facial expressions in 93 typically developing adolescents and adults. The Emotion Intensity Rating task required participants to rate the intensity of emotional expression in happy, neutral, and sad faces on a scale from 1 to 9.

Preoperative nutritional support to tackle morbidity in multivisceral resection for retroperitoneal sarcoma. Early outcomes from a novel nutritional prehabilitation program in a prospective cohort.

Objective: Evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of the implementation of a routinely prehabilitation nutritional program (PNP) in retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS) patients.

Summary Background Data: Rate of preoperative malnutrition is scarcely evaluated in RPS patients and the efficacy of a PNP in detecting and reverting malnutrition has not been studied.

Methods: Prospective study in a high-volume reference center for RPS; adult patients with primary or persistent RPS deemed surgically resectable were enrolled in a PNP.

Serum Biomarkers to Dynamically Predict the Risk of Cardiovascular Events in Patients under Oncologic Therapy. A Multicenter Observational Study.

Background: Serum biomarkers have been investigated as predictive risk factors for cancer-related cardiovascular (CV) risk, but their analysis is limited to their baseline level rather than their overtime change. Besides historically validated causal factors, inflammatory and oxidative stress (OS) related markers seem to be correlated to CV events but this association needs to be further explored. We conducted an observational study to determine the predictive role of the longitudinal changes of commonly used and OS-related biomarkers during the cancer treatment period.

Synergistic Treatment of Breast Cancer by Combining the Antimicrobial Peptide Piscidin with a Modified Glycolipid.

Piscidin 3 (P3), a peptide produced by fish, and a hexyl ester-modified sophorolipid (SL-HE), have individually shown promise as antimicrobial and anticancer drugs. A recent report by our team revealed that combining P3 with SL-HE in a 1:8 molar ratio resulted in an 8-fold enhancement in peptide activity, while SL-HE improved by 25-fold its antimicrobial activity against the Gram-positive microorganism . Extending these findings, the same P3/SL-HE combination was assessed on two breast cancer cell lines: BT-474, a hormonally positive cell line, and MDA-MB-231, an aggressive triple-negative cell line.

Proteomic profiling improves prognostic risk stratification of the Sarculator nomogram in soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities and trunk wall.

Background: High-risk soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities and trunk wall (eSTS), as defined by the Sarculator nomogram, are more likely to benefit from (neo)adjuvant anthracycline-based therapy compared to low/intermediate-risk patients. The biology underpinning these differential treatment outcomes remain unknown.

Methods: We analysed proteomic profiles and clinical outcomes of 123 eSTS patients.

A Multicenter Real-life Prospective Study of Axicabtagene Ciloleucel versus Tisagenlecleucel Toxicity and Outcomes in Large B-cell Lymphomas.

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.

Survival after resection of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors: Introducing and validating a novel type-specific prognostic model.

Background: This study aimed to assess the performance of currently available risk calculators in a cohort of patients with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) and to create an MPNST-specific prognostic model including type-specific predictors for overall survival (OS).

Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter cohort study of patients with MPNST from 11 secondary or tertiary centers in The Netherlands, Italy and the United States of America. All patients diagnosed with primary MPNST who underwent macroscopically complete surgical resection from 2000 to 2019 were included in this study.

Cancer Core Europe: Leveraging Institutional Synergies to Advance Oncology Research and Care Globally.

Cancer Core Europe brings together the expertise, resources, and interests of seven leading cancer institutes committed to leveraging collective innovation and collaboration in precision oncology. Through targeted efforts addressing key medical challenges in cancer and partnerships with multiple stakeholders, the consortium seeks to advance cancer research and enhance equitable patient care.

The relationship between the size and asymmetry of the lateral ventricles and cortical myelin content in individuals with mood disorders.

Background: Although enlargement of the lateral ventricles was previously observed in individuals with mood disorders, the link between ventricular size and asymmetry with other indices of brain structure remains underexplored. In this study, we examined the association of lateral ventricular size and asymmetry with cortical myelin content in individuals with bipolar (BD) and depressive (DD) disorders compared to healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to obtain T1w and T2w images from 149 individuals (age=27.

Gender Difference in sidE eFfects of ImmuNotherapy: a possible clue to optimize cancEr tReatment (G-DEFINER): study protocol of an observational prospective multicenter study.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have significantly improved outcomes in various cancers. ICI treatment is associated with the incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) which can affect any organ. Data on irAEs occurrence in relation to sex- differentiation and their association with gender-specific factors are limited.

A phase II/III randomized clinical trial of CisPlatin plUs Gemcitabine and Nabpaclitaxel (GAP) as pReoperative chemotherapy versus immediate resection in patIents with resecTable BiliarY Tract Cancers (BTC) at high risk for recurrence: PURITY study.

Background: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are rare and lethal cancers, with a 5-year survival inferior to 20%(1-3). The only potential curative treatment is surgical resection. However, despite complex surgical procedures that have a remarkable risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality, the 5-year survival rate after radical surgery (R0) is 20-40% and recurrence rates are up to ~ 75%(4-6).

Axicabtagene ciloleucel treatment is more effective in primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphomas than in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas: the Italian CART-SIE study.

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).