Results from the phase III clinical trial established pembrolizumab monotherapy as the first-line standard of care for patients with metastatic NSCLC who have PD-L1 expression ≥ 50%, , and wild-type tumors. However, given the differences between patients treated in routine clinical practice and those treated in a clinical trial, real-world data are needed to confirm the treatment benefit in standard practice. Given the lack of data on large cohorts of patients with long follow-ups, we designed an observational retrospective study of patients with metastatic NSCLC who were treated with pembrolizumab, starting from its reimbursement eligibility until December 2020.
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November 2021
Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is the second most common skin cancer whose incidence is growing parallel to the lengthening of the average lifespan. Cemiplimab, an antiPD-1 monoclonal antibody, is the first approved immunotherapy for patients with locally advanced CSCC (laCSCC) or metastatic CSCC (mCSCC) thanks to phase I and II studies showing high antitumor activity and good tolerability. Nevertheless, at present, very few data are available regarding cemiplimab in real-life experience and in frail, elderly, and immunosuppressed patients as well as regarding biomarkers able to predict response so as to guide therapeutic choices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeripheral neurologic complications are frequent adverse events during oncologic treatments and often lead to dose reduction, administration delays with time elongation of the therapeutic plan and, not least, worsening of patients' quality of life. Experience skills are required to recognize symptoms and clinical evidences and the collaboration between different health professionals, in particular oncologists and hospital pharmacists, grants a correct management of this undesirable occurrence. Some classes of drugs (platinates, vinca alkaloids, taxanes) typically develop this kind of side effect, but the genesis of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is not linked to a single mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent advances in tumor immunotherapy have made it possible to efficiently unleash immune effectors, reacting against neoplastic cells. Although these approaches primarily aim to eradicate malignancy, immune-related adverse events (irAEs) often influence patients' prognosis, constituting a new spectrum of side effects. Taking into account the typical microenvironment and the intricate equilibrium between the anti-tumor response and the immune cells, the thymoma constitutes a unicum in the immune-oncology field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Microbiol Biotechnol
August 2019
Heparin and chondroitin sulfate are used as anti-thrombic and anti-osteoarthritis drugs, respectively, but their pharmacological actions depend on their structural characteristics such as their sulfation grade and their molecular weight. In the last years, new fermentation-based biotechnological approaches have tried to obtain heparin and chondroitin sulfate starting from the heparosan and chondroitin-like capsular polysaccharides produced by Escherichia coli K5 and K4. The study of the microbial capsular polysaccharide molecular weight is critical to obtain nature-like or structural tailor cut glycosaminoglycan homologues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiver metastases (LM) are often consequences of colo-rectal cancer (CRC)and the majority of patients have unresectable LM. Oxaliplatin-based intravenous chemotherapy represents the gold standard treatment for CRC. Intravenous oxaliplatin has several side effects i.
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