Tolerability and Preliminary Outcomes of Adjuvant T-DM1 in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer After Neoadjuvant Therapy: The ATD Study.

Background/objectives: HER2-positive breast cancer (HER2BC) is an aggressive subtype, with neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) aiming to achieve a pathological complete response (pCR) to improve long-term outcomes. Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) has been established as the standard of care in the adjuvant setting for HER2BC patients who do not obtain pCR. The ATD study aimed to evaluate the real-world tolerability of T-DM1 in this setting.

Predictive and prognostic factors in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearranged early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the predictive and prognostic factors in clinical stage I, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-rearranged lung adenocarcinoma following radical surgery. Additionally, it sought to compare these factors with an external cohort of ALK wild-type patients.

Methods: A multicentric, retrospective, case-control analysis was conducted on patients with clinical T1-2 N0 ALK-rearranged lung adenocarcinoma who underwent anatomical resection and radical lymphadenectomy.

The role of surgery in recurrent local cerebral metastases: a multi-institutional retrospective analysis.

Background: Local recurrent brain metastases are defined as lesions that recur in the brain at the same site after a previous local therapy. In patients already submitted to surgery, a second operation may be potentially challenging due to scar formation, infiltration of cerebral vessels or eloquent brain areas and local effect of previous radiotherapy. The aim of this study is to retrospectively review the results and complications of a second surgical treatment in a series of local recurrent lesions and to review the literature on this topic.

Body composition derangements in lung cancer patients treated with first-line pembrolizumab: A multicentre observational study.

Background: While immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly reshaping the therapeutic landscape of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), only a limited proportion of patients achieve a relevant and long-lasting benefit with these treatments, calling for the identification of clinical and, ideally modifiable, predictors of efficacy. Body composition phenotypes may reflect aspects of patients' immunology and thereby their ability to respond to ICIs. This study aims to explore the possible association between pre-treatment body composition phenotypes, tumour response, and clinical outcomes in patients receiving first-line pembrolizumab monotherapy for advanced NSCLC.

Proficiency score as a predictor of early trifecta achievement during the learning curve of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for high-risk prostate cancer: Results of a multicentric series.

Background: Recently, an innovative tool called "proficiency score" was introduced to assess the learning curve for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). However, the initial study only focused on patients with low-risk prostate cancer for whom pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) was not required. To address this issue, we aimed to validate proficiency scores of a contemporary multicenter cohort of patients with high-risk prostate cancer treated with RARP plus extended PLND by trainee surgeons.

Prognostic analysis and outcomes of metastatic pancreatic cancer patients receiving nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine as second or later-line treatment.

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) first-line therapy often consists of polychemotherapy regimens, but choosing a second-line therapy after disease progression, especially following first-line FOLFIRINOX, remains a clinical challenge. This study presents results from a large, multicenter, retrospective analysis of Italian patients with metastatic PC (mPC) treated with Nab-paclitaxel/Gemcitabine (AG) as second or later line of treatment. Main objective of the study is to identify prognostic factors that could inform treatment decisions.

ADA/CD26 axis increases intra-tumor PD-1CD28CD8 T-cell fitness and affects NSCLC prognosis and response to ICB.

Improving cancer immunotherapy efficacy hinges on identifying key T-cell populations critical for tumor control and response to Immune Checkpoint Blockade (ICB). We have recently reported that while the co-expression of PD-1 and CD28 is associated with impaired functionality in peripheral blood, it significantly enhances T-cell fitness in the tumor site of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. To uncover the underlying mechanisms, we explored the role of CD26, a key player in T-cell activation through its interaction with adenosine deaminase (ADA), a crucial intra/extracellular enzyme able to neutralize local adenosine (ADO).

Prognostic factors in uterine adenosarcoma: subanalysis of the SARCUT study.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to analyse the role of prognostic factors on the risk of recurrence and overall survival of patients with uterine adenosarcoma.

Methods: A retrospective international multicentre study involving 46 centres collected 32 cases of uterine adenosarcoma, and these cases were included in the present subanalysis. Clinical and demographic features and tumour characteristics were gathered, as well as information on treatment and relapse.

En-bloc spondylectomy in the lumbar spine: indications, results and complications in a series of 47 patients affected by primary malignant bone tumors.

Introduction: Wide Surgery is the reference treatment for malignant and aggressive benign primary bone tumors in the spine. When located in the lumbar spine, En-Bloc Spondylectomy (EBS) remains a complex challenge. Moreover, surgery is complicated by the presence of the diaphragm in the thoracolumbar junction and the hinderance of the iliac wings at the lumbosacral levels.

A real-world multicentre evaluation of atezolizumab plus platinum-etoposide chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer in Italy.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyze real-life data from a cohort of adult patients receiving atezolizumab in combination with carboplatin and etoposide for first-line treatment of ES-SCLC, in order to assess relative dose intensity (RDI), time-to-treatment discontinuation (TTD), time-to-treatment failure (TTF), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) of treatments as well as the correlation between these outcomes.

Methods: An observational retrospective study was conducted. All patients treated with atezolizumab combined with carboplatin and etoposide for first-line treatment of ES-SCLC were included.

Surgeon experience influence lymphadenectomy during VATS lobectomy: National VATS database results.

Objectives: Aim of this study is to identify the factors that may influence the lymphadenectomy during VATS anatomical lung resection with particular interest on operator experience.

Materials And Methods: Clinical and pathological data from the prospective VATS Italian nationwide registry were reviewed and analysed. Patients with incomplete data regarding tumor and surgical characteristics, GGO, or with distant metastases were excluded.

En Bloc Surgery in the Thoracic Spine: Indications, Results, and Complications in a Series of Eighty-Five Patients Affected by Primary and Secondary Malignant Bone Tumors.

Background: En bloc resection remains the cornerstone treatment for malignant bone tumors affecting the spine. The thoracic spine poses unique challenges because of the proximity of crucial structures. This study assesses outcomes of patients who underwent en bloc spondylectomy for malignant bone tumors at the thoracic level.

Tumoral and stromal hMENA isoforms impact tertiary lymphoid structure localization in lung cancer and predict immune checkpoint blockade response in patients with cancer.

Background: Tertiary Lymphoid Structures (TLS) correlate with positive outcomes in patients with NSCLC and the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in cancer. The actin regulatory protein hMENA undergoes tissue-specific splicing, producing the epithelial hMENA linked to favorable prognosis in early NSCLC, and the mesenchymal hMENAΔv6 found in invasive cancer cells and pro-tumoral cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). This study investigates how hMENA isoforms in tumor cells and CAFs relate to TLS presence, localization and impact on patient outcomes and ICB response.

Surgeon experience does not influence nodal upstaging during vats lobectomy: Results from a large prospective national database.

Background: Despite recent improvement in preoperative staging, nodal and mediastinal upstaging occur in about 5% to 15% of cN0 patients. Different clinical and tumor characteristics are associated with upstaging, whereas the role of the surgeon's experience is not well evaluated. This study aimed to investigate if operator experience might influence nodal upstaging during video-assisted thoracic surgery anatomical lung resection.

Analysis of predictive factors of unforeseen nodal metastases in resected clinical stage I NSCLC.

Background: Despite notable advances made in preoperative staging, unexpected nodal metastases after surgery are still significantly detected. In this study we aim to analyze the upstaging rate in patients with clinical stage I NSCLC without evidence of nodal disease in the preoperative staging who underwent lobectomy and radical lymphadenectomy.

Methods: Patients who underwent lobectomy and systematic lymphadenectomy for clinical stage I NSCLC were evaluated.

Care call requests and inpatient beds modernization: Is there any link? A prospective observational study in the oncological setting.

Aim: The study aims to analyse the principal causes of patients' care calls and compare differences before and after inpatient beds' technological modernization in a surgical breast oncological ward.

Design: A prospective observational study was conducted under the STROBE guidelines. Data were collected from June to September 2022.

CD28/PD1 co-expression: dual impact on CD8 T cells in peripheral blood and tumor tissue, and its significance in NSCLC patients' survival and ICB response.

Background: Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has significantly prolonged survival of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, although most patients develop mechanisms of resistance. Recently single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-Seq) revealed a huge T-cell phenotypic and (dys)functional state variability. Accordingly, T-cell exhaustion is recognized as a functional adaptation, with a dynamic progression from a long-lived "pre-exhausted stem-like progenitor" to a "terminally exhausted" state.

Prognostic scoring system for surgical treatment of intramedullary spinal cord metastases.

Although rare, intramedullary spinal cord metastases (ISCMs) are on the rise, most likely due to prolonged survival and improved outcomes as a result of the advances in cancer treatment for cancer patients. While the management of these lesions remains controversial, surgery for ISCM has recently been advocated for selected patients. We performed a retrospective analysis on 30 patients who were surgically treated for intramedullary spinal cord metastases in order to determine a preoperative prognostic scoring system to guide patient selection for surgical interventions.

Patterns of recurrence in FIGO stage IB1-IB2 cervical cancer: Comparison between minimally invasive and abdominal radical hysterectomy.

Objective: Aim of our study was to evaluate whether the different laparotomic (ARH) or minimally invasive (laparoscopic and robotic) approaches (MIS) in FIGO stage IB1-IB2 cervical cancer, present different patterns of recurrence of the disease. The secondary endpoint of the study was the evaluation of the variables most involved with the risk of relapse and therefore lower DFS and OS.

Material And Methods: The study enrolled patients with definitive histological diagnosis of squamous or adenocarcinoma stage IB1-IB2 cervical cancer who underwent minimally invasive or abdominal radical hysterectomy from 2001 to 2018.