Cell-Free Carbonic Anhydrase IX mRNA in Urine as Biomarker for Urogenital Cancers: The Relationship Between Urinary Extracellular RNA and Tumor-Cell-Associated RNA.

Circulating tumor cells and cell-free nucleic acids are novel diagnostic, prognostic and predictive tools for non-invasive and cost-effective cancer detection in liquid biopsy. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) has been proposed as a biomarker in urogenital tumors and urine sediment. Our aim was to evaluate CAIX full-length percentage (CAIX FL%) in urine-cell-free RNA (cfRNA) and its relationship with tumor-cell-associated RNA (TC-RNA).

Medullary carcinomas of the nonampullary small intestine: association with coeliac disease, mismatch repair deficiency, PD-L1 expression, and favourable prognosis.

Aim: Gastrointestinal medullary carcinoma is a rare histologic subtype of adenocarcinoma. As nonampullary small bowel medullary carcinomas (SB-MCs) are poorly characterized, we aimed to analyse their clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical features and to compare them with nonmedullary small bowel adenocarcinomas (NM-SBAs).

Methods And Results: Surgically resected SBAs collected through the Small Bowel Cancer Italian Consortium were classified as SB-MCs (carcinomas with ≥50% of tumour fulfilling the typical histologic criteria of MC) or NM-SBAs.

Targeted Next Generation Sequencing molecular profiling and its clinical application in adrenocortical cancer.

Objective: Adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with a generally poor but heterogeneous prognosis, especially depending on the tumour stage at diagnosis. Identification of somatic gene alterations combined with clinical/histopathological evaluation of the tumour can help improve prognostication. We applied a simplified targeted-Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) panel to characterise the mutational profiles of ACCs, providing potentially relevant information for better patient management.

High Filamin a Expression in Adrenocortical Carcinomas Is Associated with a Favourable Tumour Behaviour: A European Multicentric Study.

The insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) promotes cell growth by overactivating the IGF system in an autocrine loop in adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs). The cytoskeleton protein filamin A (FLNA) acts as a repressor of IGF2 mitogenic signalling in ACC cells. The aims of this study were to test FLNA expression by immunohistochemistry in 119 ACCs and 26 adrenocortical adenomas (ACAs) and to evaluate its relationship with clinicopathological features and outcome in ACCs.

Platinum-based chemotherapy in metastatic prostate cancer: what possibilities?

Metastatic prostate cancer is a major health burden worldwide, necessitating the continuous development of effective treatment strategies. Androgen deprivation therapy remains the cornerstone of prostate cancer treatment, but novel approaches are needed for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Recent studies have highlighted the prevalence of mutations in DNA repair genes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2, in mCRPC patients, rendering them more susceptible to platinum-based chemotherapy and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors.

Immunotherapy-related biomarkers: Confirmations and uncertainties.

Immunotherapy profoundly changed oncology treatment, becoming one of the main therapeutical strategies. Remarkable improvement has been achieved in survival outcomes, but the percentage of patients who benefit from immunotherapy is still limited. Only one-third of patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) achieve long-term response.

Intratumour microbiota modulates adrenocortical cancer responsiveness to mitotane.

The infiltrating microbiota represents a novel cellular component of the solid tumour microenvironment that can influence tumour progression and response to therapy. Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and aggressive endocrine malignancy for which mitotane (MTT) treatment represents the first-line therapy, though its efficacy is limited to a therapeutic window level (14-20 mg/L). Novel markers able to predict those patients who would benefit from MTT therapy are urgently needed to improve patient's management.

Gender and cystectomy for bladder cancer: A high-volume tertiary urologic care center experience.

Background: Differences have often been reported in the outcomes of bladder cancer (BC) patients according to gender.

Objective: This study aims to provide data on patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) in a high-volume tertiary urologic center and to assess whether gender discrepancies do exist in terms of surgical options and clinical outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive BC patients treated between 2016 and 2020 at a single center (Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy) were included in the study.

Tyrosine kinase and immune checkpoints inhibitors in favorable risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma: Trick or treat?

Over the past decade, the management of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has undergone rapid evolution, culminating in a significant improvement in prognosis with frontline immunotherapy. RCC is a highly immunogenic and pro-angiogenic cancer, and mounting evidence has established the immunosuppressive effects of pro-angiogenic factors on the host's immune system. Anti-angiogenic agents such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and bevacizumab, which obstruct the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway, have demonstrated the potential to enhance antitumor activity and improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Tumor microenvironment in renal cell carcinoma: what is the current impact?

Tweetable abstract Tumor microenvironment plays a critical role in tumor progression and response to therapy. Recent studies show the potential of gene expression signatures and T cells to predict response to immunotherapy in renal cell carcinoma.

Human papillomavirus infection in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization: effects on embryo development kinetics and live birth rate.

Backgroud: Several studies showed that human papillomavirus (HPV) affects male fertility, but its impact on female fertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome is not yet clear.

Methods: Objective of this observational, prospective, cohort study was to evaluate the prevalence of HPV infection in women candidate to IVF, and the effects of HPV infection on the kinetic of embryonic development and on IVF outcome. A total number of 457 women candidate to IVF were submitted to HR-HPV test; among them, 326 underwent their first IVF cycle and were included in the analysis on IVF results.

Adjuvant Therapy for Renal Cell Carcinoma: Hype or Hope?

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the third most common genitourinary cancer accounting for approximately 180,000 deaths worldwide in 2020. Although over two-thirds of patients initially present localized disease, up to 50% of them may progress to metastatic disease. Adjuvant therapy aims to reduce the recurrence risk and improve outcomes in several types of cancers but is currently an unmet need in RCC.

DNA repair deficiency as circulating biomarker in prostate cancer.

Deleterious aberrations in DNA repair genes are actionable in approximately 25% of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers (mCRPC) patients. Homology recombination repair (HRR) is the DNA damage repair (DDR) mechanism most frequently altered in prostate cancer; of note is the most frequently altered DDR gene in this tumor. Poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors showed antitumor activity with a improvement in overall survival in mCRPC carrying somatic and/or germline alterations of HHR.

Carbonic anhydrases III and IX are new players in the crosstalk between adrenocortical carcinoma and its altered adipose microenvironment.

Purpose: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare malignancy of the adrenocortex, is characterized by a crosstalk between the adipose microenvironment and tumor. Here, we assessed the involvement of carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzymes III and IX (CAIII and CAIX), in the metabolic alterations of the adipose tissue characterizing obesity and in the local crosstalk between the tumor adipose microenvironment and ACC.

Results/methods: CAIII and CAIX expression is altered in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in obesity and in ACC.

Inflammation in Urological Malignancies: The Silent Killer.

Several studies have investigated the role of inflammation in promoting tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Neoplastic as well as surrounding stromal and inflammatory cells engage in well-orchestrated reciprocal interactions to establish an inflammatory tumor microenvironment. The tumor-associated inflammatory tissue is highly plastic, capable of continuously modifying its phenotypic and functional characteristics.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor induced nephrotoxicity: An ongoing challenge.

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have dramatically revolutionized the field of oncology over the last decade, severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are potentially life-threatening. In comparison with toxicities involving the skin, gastrointestinal tract and endocrine system, nephrotoxicity is less common but often underestimated due to difficult diagnosis. Management usually consists of treatment discontinuation and/or corticosteroid use.

Genetic characterization of juvenile sudden cardiac arrest and death in Tuscany: The ToRSADE registry.

Background: Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in young people represents a dramatic event, often leading to severe neurologic outcomes or sudden cardiac death (SCD), and is frequently caused by genetic heart diseases. In this study, we report the results of the Tuscany registry of sudden cardiac death (ToRSADE) registry, aimed at monitoring the incidence and investigating the genetic basis of SCA and SCD occurring in subjects < 50 years of age in Tuscany, Italy.

Methods And Results: Creation of the ToRSADE registry allowed implementation of a repository for clinical, molecular and genetic data.

Differential HLA class I subunit (A, B, C heavy chain and β-microglobulin) expression levels in normal tissues.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I subunit expression level in primary and metastatic lesions has been characterized in many cancer types utilizing formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections as substrates in immunohistochemical reactions. The evaluation of the results of these studies has been hampered by the scant information about HLA class I subunit expression level in normal tissues. To address this unmet need, we have analyzed the HLA class I subunit expression level in FFPE sections of normal tissues.

Investigating the Role of Circulating miRNAs as Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer: An Epidemiological Systematic Review.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Primary and secondary preventions are key to reducing the global burden. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small non-coding RNA molecules, which seem to have a role either as tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes and to be related to cancer risk factors, such as obesity and inflammation.