Molecular Dynamics Characterization of the Free and Encapsidated RNA2 of CCMV with the oxRNA Model.

The cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) has emerged as a model system to assess the balance between electrostatic and topological features of single-stranded RNA viruses, specifically in the context of the viral self-assembly. Yet, despite its biophysical significance, little structural data on the RNA content of the CCMV virion is available. Here, the conformational dynamics of the RNA2 fragment of CCMV was assessed via coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, employing the oxRNA2 force field.

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.

Proximal and Classic Epithelioid Sarcomas are Distinct Molecular Entities Defined by MYC/GATA3 and SOX17/Endothelial Markers, Respectively.

Epithelioid sarcoma (ES) is a rare tumor hallmarked by the loss of INI1/SMARCB1 expression. Apart from this alteration, little is known about the biology of ES. Despite recent advances in treatment, the prognosis of ES remains unsatisfactory.

Rationale and design of the randomized COmparison of Methods for Pulmonary blood flow Augmentation: Shunt versus Stent (COMPASS) trial: A Pediatric Heart Network study.

Neonates with congenital heart disease (CHD) and ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow (DD-PBF) require early intervention. Historically, this intervention was most often a surgical systemic-to-pulmonary shunt (SPS; e.g.

Rationale and Design of the Randomized COmparison of Methods for Pulmonary Blood Flow Augmentation: Shunt Versus Stent (COMPASS) Trial: A Pediatric Heart Network Study.

Neonates with congenital heart disease and ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow (DD-PBF) require early intervention. Historically, this intervention was most often a surgical systemic-to-pulmonary shunt (SPS; eg, Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt). However, over the past two decades, an alternative to SPS has emerged in the form of transcatheter ductal artery stenting (DAS).

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.

Opportunities and Challenges in Soft Tissue Sarcoma Risk Stratification in the Era of Personalised Medicine.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are a rare and heterogeneous group of cancers. Treatment options have changed little in the past thirty years, and the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is controversial. Accurate risk stratification is crucial in STS in order to facilitate clinical discussions around peri-operative treatment.

Surgical Outcome in Retroperitoneal Sarcoma Surgery: Accuracy of P-POSSUM, ACS-NSQIP, and Inflammatory Biomarkers Prognostic Index (IBPI) Risk-Calculators for Prediction of Severe and Overall Morbidity.

Introduction: Retroperitoneal sarcoma often requires comprehensive resection, leading to severe postoperative morbidity. The lack of disease-procedure specific tools for morbidity risk and the questionable accuracy of existing tools (ACS-NSQIP and P-POSSUM) in RPS surgery drove this study to assess these calculators' accuracy.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of primary RPS cases undergoing surgery at two sarcoma-referral centers was conducted.

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.

New targeted therapies in liposarcoma: state of art and future perspectives.

Purpose Of Review: Liposarcomas (LPSs) represent the most common soft tissue sarcoma (STS) subtype, and exhibit distinct clinical molecular features according to histological subgroup. Chemotherapy (ChT), and in particular anthracycline-based schedules, still remains the standard of treatment for all LPS forms. However, given the increasing knowledge gained throughout last years about LPS molecular biology and their genomic profiling, new therapeutic alternatives with targeted drugs are now to be considered.

Treatment at relapse for synovial sarcoma of children and adolescents: A multi-institutional European retrospective analysis.

Purpose: Though the prognosis for pediatric patients with localised synovial sarcoma (SS) is generally good, the chances of being cured after relapse are limited. This study describes a retrospective multi-institutional series of relapsing SS patients treated at six selected European referral centers for pediatric sarcoma.

Patients And Methods: The study included 41 patients <21 years with relapsing SS, treated between 2002 and 2022.

Developing the WE BEAT Well-Being Education Programme to foster resilience and build connection in paediatric heart disease.

Background: The study of psychological well-being and related resilient outcomes is of increasing focus in cardiovascular research. Despite the critical importance of psychological well-being and related resilient outcomes in promoting optimal cardiac health, there have been very few psychological interventions directed towards children with heart disease. This paper describes the development and theoretical framework of the WE BEAT Wellbeing Education Program, a group-based psychoeducation and coping skills training intervention designed to improve psychological well-being and resilience in adolescents with paediatric heart disease.

Initial local resection versus early referral for spermatic cord sarcoma: Any impact on treatment timelines and oncological outcomes?

Objectives: Spermatic cord sarcomas are exceedingly rare, often misdiagnosed and subsequently improperly treated at local hospitals. This retrospective study looked at the oncological outcomes of spermatic cord sarcoma cases managed with curative intent resection at a tertiary referral sarcoma centre. We specifically studied how initial inadequate resections impact the oncologic outcomes compared to primary tumour resections at the reference centre.

Immediate prepectoral breast reconstruction in nipple-sparing mastectomy with Wise-pattern incision in large and ptotic breasts: Our experience and short-term results.

Introduction: Current breast cancer treatment trends advocate nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) as the preferred technique for selected patients. A considerable and ptotic breast is often considered a relative contraindication for NSM due to the increased risk of skin and nipple necrosis.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed for patients who underwent immediate prepectoral breast reconstruction (PPBR) after NSM with Wise-pattern incision between February 2020 and February 2023 at our institution.

Association Between Past and Present Operative Mortality in Congenital Heart Surgery: An Analysis of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database.

Background: Mortality after congenital heart surgery is an important metric across benchmarking, quality, and reporting initiatives. All rely on estimates from prior years, and how well these reflect current outcomes is unclear.

Methods: Index operations from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Database (2014-2019) were included.

Long-term disease stability with bicalutamide in a man with aggressive angiomyxoma: case report and state of art.

Aggressive angiomyxoma (AA) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm, which is commonly diagnosed in females and located in the perineal and pelvic region. Tissue specimens of AA patients often show positivity for estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR), while some cases of androgen receptor (AR) positivity have been reported in males. When feasible, surgical excision represent the most effective treatment of AA; however, when experiencing advanced or recurrent disease, local disease control could be achieved with systemic hormonal treatment.

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in High-Grade Myxoid Liposarcoma: Results of the Expanded Cohort of a Randomized Trial From Italian (ISG), Spanish (GEIS), French (FSG), and Polish Sarcoma Groups (PSG).

Purpose: A randomized trial was conducted to compare neoadjuvant standard (S) anthracycline + ifosfamide (AI) regimen with histology-tailored (HT) regimen in selected localized high-risk soft tissue sarcoma (STS). The results of the trial demonstrated the superiority of S in all STS histologies except for high-grade myxoid liposarcoma (HG-MLPS) where S and HT appeared to be equivalent. To further evaluate the noninferiority of HT compared with S, the HG-MLPS cohort was expanded.