Suboptimal outcomes of sorafenib as a second-line treatment after atezolizumab-bevacizumab for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Most patients receiving atezolizumab-bevacizumab (AB) for hepatocellular carcinoma will eventually experience disease progression. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are undergoing to identify second-line treatments. Where RCTs are unavailable or patients are non-eligible, sorafenib is often prescribed based on approval and reimbursement policies.

Treatments, prognostic factors, and genetic heterogeneity in advanced cholangiocarcinoma: A multicenter real-world study.

Background And Aims: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), a rare and aggressive hepatobiliary malignancy, presents significant clinical management challenges. Despite rising incidence and evolving treatment options, prognosis remains poor, motivating the exploration of real-world data for enhanced understanding and patient care.

Methods: This multicenter study analyzed data from 120 metastatic CCA patients at three institutions from 2016 to 2023.

Transversal Perspectives of Integrative Oncology Care in Gastric and Lobular Breast Cancer.

The occurrence of gastric cancer has been associated with an increased risk of lobular breast tumors in a subset of patients harboring selected germline mutations. Among all, the germline alteration of the gene coding for E-Cadherin (CDH1) was associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer diffuse-histotype and lobular breast cancer. However, the risk assessment of breast neoplasms and the role of multiple prophylactic procedures in these patients has never been systematically addressed.

Role of Etiology in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Treated with Lenvatinib: A Counterfactual Event-Based Mediation Analysis.

Background: Whether the etiology of underlying liver disease represents a prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with lenvatinib is still a matter of debate. This study investigates whether the viral etiology of HCC plays a prognostic role in overall survival (OS). Methods: Data derived from a multicenter series of 313 HCC patients treated with lenvatinib between 2019 and 2022 were analyzed.

Resistance to Antiangiogenic Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Impact.

Antiangiogenic drugs were the only mainstay of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment from 2007 to 2017. However, primary or secondary resistance hampered their efficacy. Primary resistance could be due to different molecular and/or genetic characteristics of HCC and their knowledge would clarify the optimal treatment approach in each patient.

Pattern of progression of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: Implications for second-line clinical trials.

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is the second most frequent liver cancer. The overall survival of iCCA and other biliary tract cancers (BTC) remains poor. Recently, the ABC-06 trial reported the superiority of FOLFOX vs clinical observation as a second-line treatment.

Adjuvant Treatment in Pancreatic Cancer: Shaping the Future of the Curative Setting.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal disease even in the early stages, despite progresses in surgical and pharmacological treatment in recent years. High potential for metastases is the main cause of therapeutic failure in localized disease, highlighting the current limited knowledge of underlying pathological processes. However, nowadays research is focusing on the search for personalized approaches also in the adjuvant setting for PDAC, by implementing the use of biomarkers and investigating new therapeutic targets.

Real-Life Clinical Data of Cabozantinib for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Introduction: Cabozantinib has been approved by the European Medicine Agency (EMA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) previously treated with sorafenib. Cabozantinib is also being tested in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors in the frontline setting. Real-life clinical data of cabozantinib for HCC are still lacking.

Bone Metastases from Gastric Cancer: What We Know and How to Deal with Them.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the third cause of cancer-related death worldwide; the prognosis is poor especially in the case of metastatic disease. Liver, lymph nodes, peritoneum, and lung are the most frequent sites of metastases from GC; however, bone metastases from GC have been reported in the literature. Nevertheless, it is unclear how the metastatic sites may affect the prognosis.

Efficacy of Surgery for the Treatment of Gastric Cancer Liver Metastases: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Meta-Analysis of Prognostic Factors.

Background: In the last 10 years, the management of patients with gastric cancer liver metastases (GCLM) has changed from chemotherapy alone, towards a multidisciplinary treatment with liver surgery playing a leading role. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the efficacy of hepatectomy for GCLM and to analyze the impact of related prognostic factors on long-term outcomes.

Methods: The databases PubMed (Medline), EMBASE, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles from January 2010 to September 2020.

How to Treat Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Elderly Patients.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the primary tumour of the liver with the greatest incidence, particularly in the elderly. Additionally, improvements in the treatments for chronic liver diseases have increased the number of elderly patients who might be affected by HCC. Little evidence exists regarding HCC in old patients, and the elderly are still underrepresented and undertreated in clinical trials.

Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on cancer immunotherapy in Italy: a survey of young oncologists.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has overwhelmed the health systems worldwide. Data regarding the impact of COVID-19 on cancer patients (CPs) undergoing or candidate for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are lacking. We depicted the practice and adaptations in the management of patients with solid tumors eligible or receiving ICIs during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a special focus on Campania region.

Long-term survival in a patient with metastatic squamous cell lung carcinoma: A case report.

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common malignancy in industrialized countries, with a 5-year survival rate of only ~15%, as the majority of the patients have advanced-stage disease at diagnosis and the treatment options are limited. Squamous cell carcinoma the second most frequent type of NSCLC and is closely associated with cigarette smoking. We herein present the case of a 72-year-old male smoker, diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell lung carcinoma, with a solitary brain metastasis.

Statin Use and Survival in Patients with Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Treated with Abiraterone Acetate.

Background: Although statin use has been associated with favorable effects in various solid malignancies, no conclusive evidence is available at present. Statins are safe and inexpensive, and may synergize with novel antiandrogen agents abiraterone via pharmacokinetic interactions and decrease substrate availability for de novo androgen biosynthesis.

Objective: To determine whether statin use affects survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with abiraterone.

Increased risk of bladder cancer in critical areas at high pressure of pollution of the Campania region in Italy: A systematic review.

During the past three decades, large areas of the Naples and the Caserta provinces of the Campania region in Italy have been extensively contaminated by the widespread burial and open-air dumping and incineration of industrial toxic waste. On the basis of the finding that the incidence of bladder cancer appears remarkably high in the Naples province with respect to the rest of Europe and of a potential causative role of environmental contaminants, we sought associations between exposure to toxic agents and increased mortality/incidence of bladder cancer by performing a systematic search of epidemiology and human biomonitoring studies conducted in the provinces of Naples and Caserta. The data show that the incidence of bladder cancer is higher than expected on the basis of regional data in the province of Naples and in certain areas of the province of Caserta, even after accounting for social deprivation, with two clusters of increased mortality rate located in the north-western part of Naples province and in the south-eastern part of the Caserta province.

Clinical outcomes in a contemporary series of "young" patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer who were 60 years and younger.

Background: The prognosis of younger patients with prostate cancer is unclear, and the very few studies assessing those with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) have mainly involved patients treated with older therapies. The aim of this observational study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of a contemporary series of docetaxel-treated patients with mCRPC who were 60 years and younger.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively identified 134 patients who were 60 years and younger who were treated with docetaxel in 25 Italian hospitals and recorded their predocetaxel history of prostate cancer, their characteristics at the start of chemotherapy, and their postdocetaxel treatment history and outcomes.

The epidermal growth factor receptors as biological targets in penile cancer.

Penile cancer is a rare disease, with an incidence that is higher in less developed countries and is in the range of 1 - 10 per 100000 men worldwide. Early diagnosis is essential for cure, as 5 year cancer-specific survival is 90 - 100 % in patients with intraepithelial neoplasms and in those with low-grade superficial tumors without lymphovascular invasion, but it drops to 30% in men with multiple mobile or bilateral inguinal lymph nodes. The EGFR family plays a major role in penile cancer biology, with distinct receptors being involved in HPV-positive and -negative tumors.

Incomplete Cross-Resistance Between Taxanes for Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma: Implications for Clinical Practice and Trial Design.

Background: Taxanes such as paclitaxel and docetaxel are commonly used for second- or third-line salvage systemic therapy for metastatic UC. Although trials have generally excluded previous exposure to taxanes when using a taxane in a salvage therapy trial, taxanes might not be completely cross-resistant. Hence, we aimed to study outcomes with docetaxel after previous paclitaxel and the reverse sequence, to identify the level of cross-resistance between these taxanes.

Capecitabine plus gemcitabine in thymic epithelial tumors: final analysis of a Phase II trial.

Background: A multi-institutional Phase II trial was initiated in 2005 to test the combination gemcitabine and capecitabine in patients with thymic epithelial malignancies (TETs).

Patients & Methods: Patients with histologic confirmation of TET diagnosis by central review who had received >1 systemic chemotherapy treatment were included. Patients received oral capecitabine (650 mg/mq twice daily on days 1-14) and intravenous gemcitabine (1000 mg/mq on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks).