Impact of Vitamin D Levels on Progression-Free Survival and Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women despite advances in early detection. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is now standard for early-stage BC, with vitamin D (VD) emerging as a potential prognostic biomarker considering its positive pleiotropic effects. This review and meta-analysis assess the impact of baseline VD levels on outcomes in BC patients undergoing NACT.

Case report: An ultrasound-based approach as an easy tool to evaluate hormone receptor-positive HER-2-negative breast cancer in advanced/metastatic settings: preliminary data of the Plus-ENDO study.

Background: Hormone receptor-positive tumors are unlikely to exhibit a complete pathological tumor response. The association of CDK 4/6 inhibitor plus hormone therapy has changed this perspective.

Case Presentation: In this study, we retrospectively reviewed the charts of patients with a diagnosis of luminal A/B advanced/metastatic tumors treated with a CDK 4/6 inhibitor-based therapy.

Circulating Vitamin D Level and Its Impact on Mortality and Recurrence in Stage III Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Vitamin D (VD) has been implicated in several diseases, including colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to determine whether there is an association between VD levels and time-to-outcome in stage III CRC patients through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: The study adhered to the PRISMA 2020 statement.

Targeting HDAC2-Mediated Immune Regulation to Overcome Therapeutic Resistance in Mutant Colorectal Cancer.

A large body of clinical and experimental evidence indicates that colorectal cancer is one of the most common multifactorial diseases. Although some useful prognostic biomarkers for clinical therapy have already been identified, it is still difficult to characterize a therapeutic signature that is able to define the most appropriate treatment. Gene expression levels of the epigenetic regulator histone deacetylase 2 () are deregulated in colorectal cancer, and this deregulation is tightly associated with immune dysfunction.

A Rare Adult Primary Intracranial Sarcoma, -Mutant Identified by Epigenomic Profiling: A Case Report.

Diagnoses of primary malignant mesenchymal brain tumors are a challenge for pathologists. Here, we report the case of a 52-year-old man with a primary brain tumor, histologically diagnosed as a high-grade glioma, not otherwise specified (NOS). The patient underwent two neurosurgeries in several months, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Epigenetic alterations in glioblastomas: Diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic relevance.

Glioblastoma, the most common and heterogeneous tumor affecting brain parenchyma, is dismally characterized by a very poor prognosis. Thus, the search of new, more effective treatments is a vital need. Here, we will review the druggable epigenetic features of glioblastomas that are, indeed, currently explored in preclinical studies and in clinical trials for the development of more effective, personalized treatments.

Evaluation of Concomitant Use of Anticancer Drugs and Herbal Products: From Interactions to Synergic Activity.

CAM is used by about 40% of cancer patients in Western Countries, with peaks of 80% for breast cancer patients. Cancer patients use CAM to boost immune function, to control cancer symptoms and treatment-related side effects, and to improve health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) and survival. Unfortunately, self-prescription of natural remedies in cancer patients can lead to unexpected toxicities and can reduce the effectiveness of cancer therapy.

The unusual first sign of presentation of renal cell carcinoma: a rare case report.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) usually is characterized by a slow pattern of growth, although with an unpredictable evolution and metastatic potential, favored by its extensive vascularity and related high angioinvasive profile. The most common sites of metastases from kidney cancer are lung, lymph nodes, bone and liver; whereas orbital metastases are very uncommon. In more than 25% of cases, orbital metastases are the first manifestation of a primary tumor of unknown origin.

Immunological signature of patients with thymic epithelial tumors and Good syndrome.

Background: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are frequently accompanied by Good Syndrome (GS), a rare immunodeficiency, characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and peripheral B cell lymphopenia. TETs can be also associated to other immunological disorders, both immunodeficiency and autoimmunity.

Methods: In this study, we enrolled TET patients with GS to address differences between patients with or without associated autoimmune diseases (AD).

COVID-19 as Another Trigger for HBV Reactivation: Clinical Case and Review of Literature.

Universal hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination has been applied for years in most countries, but HBV infection remains an unresolved public health problem worldwide, with over one-third of the world's population infected during their lifetime and approximately 248 million hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) chronic carriers. HBV infection may reactivate with symptomatic and sometimes life-threatening clinical manifestations due to a reduction in the immune response of various origins, due to chemotherapy or immunosuppressive therapy, treatments increasingly practiced worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 and its COVID-19 associated disease have introduced new chances for HBV reactivation due to the use of dexamethasone and tocilizumab to counteract the cytokine storm.

Looking Beyond the Glioblastoma Mask: Is Genomics the Right Path?

Glioblastomas are the most frequent and malignant brain tumor hallmarked by an invariably poor prognosis. They have been classically differentiated into primary isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 or 2 () wild-type (wt) glioblastoma (GBM) and secondary IDH mutant GBM, with wt GBMs being commonly associated with older age and poor prognosis. Recently, genetic analyses have been integrated with epigenetic investigations, strongly implementing typing and subtyping of brain tumors, including GBMs, and leading to the new WHO 2021 classification.

Improved Survival and Quality of Life Through an Integrative, Multidisciplinary Oncological Approach: Pathophysiological Analysis of Four Clinical Cancer Cases and Review of the Literature.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the integrative medicine (IM) approach to medical care combines standard medicine with complementary and alternative medicine practices that have proved safe and effective. We describe the clinical cases of four patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and breast cancer (BC) who received supportive treatment (ST) according to an IM approach after the failure of standard cancer treatments or the appearance of serious adverse events caused by antiblastic chemotherapy. The critical role of complementary drugs in reducing the side effects of cancer treatments and normalizing the white cell count is especially apparent in the case of the patient with metastatic BC, who experienced prolonged neutropenia.

The Never-Ending History of Octreotide in Thymic Tumors: A Vintage or A Contemporary Drug?

Thymic epithelial tumors are rare tumors usually presenting as a mass located in the anterior mediastinum and/or with symptoms deriving from associated paraneoplastic syndromes. Unresectable platinum-refractory tumors are often treated with alternative regimens, including chemotherapeutic agents as well as chemo-free regimens. The most popular unconventional therapy is represented by the somatostatin analog octreotide, which can be used alone or with prednisone.

Anorectal and Genital Mucosal Melanoma: Diagnostic Challenges, Current Knowledge and Therapeutic Opportunities of Rare Melanomas.

Mucosal melanomas (MM) are rare tumors, being less than 2% of all diagnosed melanomas, comprising a variegated group of malignancies arising from melanocytes in virtually all mucosal epithelia, even if more frequently found in oral and sino-nasal cavities, ano-rectum and female genitalia (vulva and vagina). To date, there is no consensus about the optimal management strategy of MM. Furthermore, the clinical rationale of molecular tumor characterization regarding BRAF, KIT or NRAS, as well as the therapeutic value of immunotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy, has not yet been deeply explored and clearly established in MM.

The Role of Immunotherapy in a Tolerogenic Environment: Current and Future Perspectives for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

In contrast to several tumors whose prognoses are radically affected by novel immunotherapeutic approaches and/or targeted therapies, the outcomes of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain poor. The underlying cirrhosis that is frequently associated with it complicates medical treatment and often determines survival. The landscape of HCC treatment had included sorafenib as the only drug available for ten years, until 2018, when lenvatinib was approved for treatment.

A Root in Synapsis and the Other One in the Gut Microbiome-Brain Axis: Are the Two Poles of Ketogenic Diet Enough to Challenge Glioblastoma?

Glioblastoma is the most frequent and aggressive brain cancer in adults. While precision medicine in oncology has produced remarkable progress in several malignancies, treatment of glioblastoma has still limited available options and a dismal prognosis. After first-line treatment with surgery followed by radiochemotherapy based on the 2005 STUPP trial, no significant therapeutic advancements have been registered.

Toward a Personalized Therapy in Soft-Tissue Sarcomas: State of the Art and Future Directions.

Soft-tissue sarcomas are rare tumors characterized by pathogenetic, morphological, and clinical intrinsic variability. Median survival of patients with advanced tumors are usually chemo- and radio-resistant, and standard treatments yield low response rates and poor survival results. The identification of defined genomic alterations in sarcoma could represent the premise for targeted treatments.

Enhanced Antitumor Effect of Trastuzumab and Duligotuzumab or Ipatasertib Combination in HER-2 Positive Gastric Cancer Cells.

The anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab is a key drug for the treatment of HER2-positive gastric cancer (GC); however, its activity is often limited by the onset of resistance and mechanisms of resistance are still poorly understood. Several targeted agents showed synergistic activity by concomitant use with trastuzumab in vitro and are under clinical investigation. The aim of this study was to assess the antitumor activity of duligotuzumab, an anti HER3/EGFR antibody or ipatasertib, an AKT inhibitor, combined with trastuzumab in a panel of HER2-positive human gastric cancer cells (GCC), and the efficacy of such combinations in HER2-resistant cells.