Clinical and genetic drivers of oligo-metastatic disease in colon cancer.

Background: Oligo-metastatic disease (OMD) in colon cancer patients exhibits distinct clinical behavior compared to poly-metastatic disease (PMD), with a more responsive and indolent course. This study aims to identify clinical and biological factors uniquely associated with oligo-metastatic behavior.

Methods: Metastatic colon cancer patients from an academic center underwent genetic characterization.

Checkpoint based immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: a real-world retrospective study.

Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based immunotherapy targeting programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or its ligand 1 (PD-L1) has radically changed the management of many types of solid tumors including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many clinical trials have demonstrated that ICIs improve the survival and the quality of life of patients with advanced non oncogene NSCLC as compared to standard therapies. However, not all patients achieve a clinical benefit from this immunotherapeutic approach.

Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Cancers: A Paradigm Shift in Treatment Approach.

Checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have demonstrated substantial efficacy in the treatment of numerous solid tumors, including head and neck cancer. Their inclusion in the therapeutic paradigm in metastatic lines of treatment has certainly improved the outcomes of these patients. Starting from this assumption, numerous studies have been conducted on ICIs in other earlier disease settings, including studies conducted in patients in neoadjuvant settings.

Predictive value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, and systemic inflammatory index for detection of recurrence of pleomorphic adenoma of the major salivary glands: a multicenter study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation among inflammatory biomarkers, such as the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and the recurrence of pleomorphic adenomas (PAs).

Study Design: This was a retrospective multicenter study. Six hundred eight patients diagnosed with PA and treated by tumor enucleation were included in the analyses.

Social Media Advice for Dermatologists.

This study focuses on how skincare professionals, such as dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and dermal clinicians, can apply strategies in publishing credible social media content related to the skin. The study interviewed 10 participants and asked questions about the skincare advice they seek from social media. Analysis of the results revealed the prominent themes of education, delivery of information, credibility, trustworthiness, and relatability; however, visual characteristics of how the information was presented, formed the most significant theme.

Artificial intelligence: A new tool in the pathologist's armamentarium for the diagnosis of IBD.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are classified into two entities, namely Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), which differ in disease trajectories, genetics, epidemiological, clinical, endoscopic, and histopathological aspects. As no single golden standard modality for diagnosing IBD exists, the differential diagnosis among UC, CD, and non-IBD involves a multidisciplinary approach, considering professional groups that include gastroenterologists, endoscopists, radiologists, and pathologists. In this context, histological examination of endoscopic or surgical specimens plays a fundamental role.

Focus on Achalasia in the Omics Era.

Achalasia is a rare and complex esophageal disease of unknown etiology characterized by difficulty in swallowing due to the lack of opening of the lower esophageal sphincter and the absence of esophageal peristalsis. Recent advancements in technology for analyzing DNA, RNA and biomolecules in high-throughput techniques are offering new opportunities to better understand the etiology and the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying achalasia. Through this narrative review of the scientific literature, we aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of the state-of-the-art knowledge on omics of achalasia, with particular attention to those considered relevant to the pathogenesis of the disease.

Polymorphisms within autophagy-related genes as susceptibility biomarkers for pancreatic cancer: A meta-analysis of three large European cohorts and functional characterization.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers with patients having unresectable or metastatic disease at diagnosis, with poor prognosis and very short survival. Given that genetic variation within autophagy-related genes influences autophagic flux and susceptibility to solid cancers, we decided to investigate whether 55,583 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within 234 autophagy-related genes could influence the risk of developing PDAC in three large independent cohorts of European ancestry including 12,754 PDAC cases and 324,926 controls. The meta-analysis of these populations identified, for the first time, the association of the BID variant with an increased risk of developing the disease (OR = 1.

Inflammatory bowel disease genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metagenomics meet artificial intelligence.

Various extrinsic and intrinsic factors such as drug exposures, antibiotic treatments, smoking, lifestyle, genetics, immune responses, and the gut microbiome characterize ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, collectively called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). All these factors contribute to the complexity and heterogeneity of the disease etiology and pathogenesis leading to major challenges for the scientific community in improving management, medical treatments, genetic risk, and exposome impact. Understanding the interaction(s) among these factors and their effects on the immune system in IBD patients has prompted advances in multi-omics research, the development of new tools as part of system biology, and more recently, artificial intelligence (AI) approaches.

The return of tall forests: Reconstructing the canopy resilience of an extensively harvested primary forest in Mediterranean mountains.

Understanding recovery times and mechanisms of ecosystem dynamics towards the old-growth stage is crucial for forest restoration, but still poorly delineated in Mediterranean. Through tree-ring methods, we reconstructed the return of a tall canopy after severe human disturbance in a mixed beech (Fagus sylvatica) and silver fir (Abies alba) forest, located at a mountain site in the southern edge of both species' range (Gariglione, south Italy). The primary forest was extensively harvested between 1930 and 1950, removing up to 91 % of the biomass.

Duodenal Fluid Analysis as a Rewarding Approach to Detect Low-Abundance Mutations in Biliopancreatic Cancers.

Diagnosis of biliopancreatic cancers by the available serum tumor markers, imaging, and histopathological tissue specimen examination remains a challenge. Circulating cell-free DNA derived from matched pairs of secretin-stimulated duodenal fluid (DF) and plasma from 10 patients with biliopancreatic diseases and 8 control subjects was analyzed using AmpliSeq™ HD technology for Ion Torrent Next-Generation Sequencing to evaluate the potential of liquid biopsy with DF in biliopancreatic cancers. The median cfDNA concentration was greater in DF-derived than in plasma-derived samples.

Advancing the integration of biosignal-based automated pain assessment methods into a comprehensive model for addressing cancer pain.

Background: Tailoring effective strategies for cancer pain management requires a careful analysis of multiple factors that influence pain phenomena and, ultimately, guide the therapy. While there is a wealth of research on automatic pain assessment (APA), its integration with clinical data remains inadequately explored. This study aimed to address the potential correlations between subjective and APA-derived objectives variables in a cohort of cancer patients.

Efficacy of a Multistrain Synbiotic Treatment in Acute and Post-Acute COVID-19 Patients: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial.

Background And Aims: Several studies reported the effect of COVID-19 on inducing gut dysbiosis, which is also correlated with disease severity. This study aims to investigate the effect of a nutraceutical formula on the shift of microbiota profiles and, secondly, on the clinical-pathological parameters of acute and post-acute COVID-19 patients.

Methods: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at National Institute for Infectious diseases (INMI) Lazzaro Spallanzani (Italy), 52 patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive a multistrain synbiotic formula (Kebirah) or placebo orally for 35 days at COVID-19 diagnosis.

Deciphering Microbial Composition in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Implications for Therapeutic Response to Biologic Agents.

Growing evidence suggests that alterations in the gut microbiome impact the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Although IBD often requires the use of immunosuppressant drugs and biologic therapies to facilitate clinical remission and mucosal healing, some patients do not benefit from these drugs, and the reasons for this remain poorly understood. Despite advancements, there is still a need to develop biomarkers to help predict prognosis and guide treatment decisions.

Potent, Selective Agonists for the Cannabinoid-like Orphan G Protein-Coupled Receptor GPR18: A Promising Drug Target for Cancer and Immunity.

The human orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR18, activated by Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), constitutes a promising drug target in immunology and cancer. However, studies on GPR18 are hampered by the lack of suitable tool compounds. In the present study, potent and selective GPR18 agonists were developed showing low nanomolar potency at human and mouse GPR18, determined in β-arrestin recruitment assays.

Predictive significance of FGFR4 p.G388R polymorphism in metastatic colorectal cancer patients receiving trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) treatment.

Background: TAS-102 (Lonsurf) is an oral fluoropyrimidine consisting of a combination of trifluridine (a thymidine analog) and tipiracil (a thymidine phosphorylation inhibitor). The drug is effective in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients refractory to fluorouracil, irinotecan and oxaliplatin. This study is a real-world analysis, investigating the interplay of genotype/phenotype in relation to TAS-102 sensitivity.

A pleiotropy scan to discover new susceptibility loci for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Pleiotropic variants (i.e., genetic polymorphisms influencing more than one phenotype) are often associated with cancer risk.

Two-year Opioid Prescription Trends in Local Sanitary Agency Naples 3 South, Campania Region, Italy. Descriptive Analyses and AI-based Translational Perspectives.

Aims: This study delves into the two-year opioid prescription trends in the Local Sanitary Agency Naples 3 South, Campania Region, Italy. The research aims to elucidate prescribing patterns, demographics, and dosage categories within a population representing 1.7% of the national total.