Publications by authors named "Starza R"

Malignant transformation of T-cell progenitors causes T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), an aggressive childhood lymphoproliferative disorder. Activating mutations of Notch, Notch1 and Notch3, have been detected in T-ALL patients. In this study, we aimed to deeply characterize hyperactive Notch3-related pathways involved in T-cell dynamics within the thymus and bone marrow to propose these processes as an important step in facilitating the progression of T-ALL.

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  • The EVI1 gene is linked to a particularly aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) characterized by abnormalities on chromosome 3q26.
  • Selective and pan-histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) have been identified as effective treatments for this type of leukemia by repressing EVI1 expression.
  • The study suggests that the PA2G4 protein plays a key role in EVI1-related leukemia, and targeting PA2G4 could enhance the effects of HDACis, highlighting the potential for combination therapies in patients with 3q26 AML.
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  • T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a serious cancer primarily found in children and teens, with various genetic mutations leading to at least six recognized subgroups, including the dominant TAL/LMO subgroup found in 30-45% of pediatric cases.
  • The study performed lipid and metabolic analysis on four T-ALL cell lines from the TAL/LMO subgroup (Jurkat, Molt-4, Molt-16, and CCRF-CEM), identifying 343 metabolites and revealing notable differences in their metabolic profiles, especially distinguishing Molt-4 as the most distinct line.
  • This research not only aids in subclassifying T-ALL cell lines but also uses bioinformatics to examine specific metabolic pathways, potentially paving
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  • T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a serious type of cancer that affects a significant percentage of children and adults, with poor outcomes for those who relapse or resist treatment.
  • Understanding the role of the proto-oncogene MYB is crucial as it is linked to increased T-ALL aggression and worse patient survival, particularly in pediatric cases.
  • This study reveals that high MYB levels drive T-ALL development and that targeting MYB's function could offer a promising new treatment approach.
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Our work reports implementation of a useful genetic diagnosis for the clinical managment of patients with astrocytic tumors. We investigated 313 prospectively recruited diffuse astrocytic tumours by applying the cIMPACT-NOW Update 3 signature. The cIMPACT-NOW Update 3 (cIMPACT-NOW 3) markers, i.

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Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common severe monogenic disorders in the world caused by a mutation on gene and characterized by hemoglobin polymerization, erythrocyte rigidity, vaso-occlusion, chronic anemia, hemolysis, and vasculopathy. Recently, the scientific community has focused on the multiple genetic and clinical profiles of SCD. However, the lipid composition of sickle cells has received little attention in the literature.

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Philadelphia (Ph)-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) constitutes a heterogeneous subset of ALL with a uniformly unfavorable prognosis. The identification of mutations amenable to treatment with tyrosine kinase-inhibitors (TKIs) represents a promising field of investigation. We report the case of a young patient affected by relapsed/refractory Ph-like ALL treated with chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells after successful bridging with compassionate-use ponatinib and low-dose prednisone.

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Within the Campus ALL network we analyzed the incidence, characteristics, treatment and outcome of a central nervous system (CNS) relapse in 1035 consecutive adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients treated frontline with pediatric-inspired protocols between 2009 and 2020. Seventy-one patients (6.8%) experienced a CNS recurrence, more frequently in T- (28/278; 10%) than in B-ALL (43/757; 5.

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent advancements in managing adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) focus on molecular diagnostics, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and drug sensitivity profiling.
  • Current treatment methods, including chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, have resulted in a remission rate of up to 95%, with over 50% of patients being cured, especially among adolescents and young adults.
  • The main challenge now is to effectively incorporate new research findings into treatment plans for newly diagnosed patients, particularly those with high-risk characteristics, to improve outcomes and increase cure rates.
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Chromothripsis is a mitotic catastrophe that arises from multiple double strand breaks and incorrect re-joining of one or a few chromosomes. We report on incidence, distribution, and features of chromothriptic events in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALL). SNP array was performed in 103 T-ALL (39 ETP/near ETP, 59 non-ETP, and 5 with unknown stage of differentiation), including 38 children and 65 adults.

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  • - Genomic studies on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have uncovered recurring genetic changes related to DNA methylation and histone modifications, pointing to potential new treatment options.
  • - The study identified G9a/EHMT2 as a promising target for T-ALL therapy by combining epigenetic screens with chemical analysis and confirmed its role through various targeted experiments.
  • - Findings suggest that inhibiting G9a leads to increased lysosomal activity and autophagy, affecting key metabolic pathways in T-ALL cells, thereby proposing G9a as a viable strategy to disrupt the metabolism of these cancer cells.
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A wide range of immature acute leukemias (AL), ranging from acute myeloid leukemias with minimal differentiation to acute leukemias with an ambiguous lineage, i.e., acute undifferentiated leukemias and mixed phenotype acute leukemia with T- or B-plus myeloid markers, cannot be definitely assigned to a single cell lineage.

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High-grade B-cell lymphoma with and and/or rearrangements (DH/TH-HGBL) still miss an in-depth genomic characterization. To identify accompanying genetic events, we performed a pilot study on 7 cases by applying DNA microarray and targeted NGS sequencing. Interestingly, the genetic background of DH/TH-HGBL is largely overlapping with that of other high-grade/poor prognosis lymphomas.

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Platelet-derived growth factor receptor B (PDGFRB) gene rearrangements define a unique subgroup of myeloid and lymphoid neoplasms frequently associated with eosinophilia and characterized by high sensitivity to tyrosine kinase inhibition. To date, various PDGFRB/5q32 rearrangements, involving at least 40 fusion partners, have been reported. However, information on genomic and clinical features accompanying rearrangements of PDGFRB is still scarce.

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T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALL) are immature lymphoid tumors localizing in the bone marrow, mediastinum, central nervous system, and lymphoid organs. They account for 10-15% of pediatric and about 25% of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases. It is a widely heterogeneous disease that is caused by the co-occurrence of multiple genetic abnormalities, which are acquired over time, and once accumulated, lead to full-blown leukemia.

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Acute leukemias (ALs) of ambiguous lineage are a heterogeneous group of high-risk leukemias characterized by coexpression of myeloid and lymphoid markers. In this study, we identified a distinct subgroup of immature acute leukemias characterized by a broadly variable phenotype, covering acute myeloid leukemia (AML, M0 or M1), T/myeloid mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (T/M MPAL), and early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ETP-ALL). Rearrangements at 14q32/BCL11B are the cytogenetic hallmark of this entity.

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We investigated MYB rearrangements (MYB-R) and the levels of MYB expression, in 331 pediatric and adult patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). MYB-R were detected in 17 cases and consisted of MYB tandem duplication (tdup) (= 14) or T cell receptor beta locus (TRB)-MYB (= 3). As previously reported, TRB-MYB was found only in children (1.

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The hemoglobin disorders are the most common single gene disorders in the world. Previous studies have suggested that they are deeply geographically structured and a variety of genetic determinants influences different clinical phenotypes between patients inheriting identical β-globin gene mutations. In order to get new insights into the heterogeneity of hemoglobin disorders, we investigated the molecular variations on nuclear genes (i.

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The catalytic activity of human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) compensates for the loss of telomere length, eroded during each cell cycle, to ensure a correct division of stem and germinal cells. In human tumors, ectopic TERT reactivation, most frequently due to hotspot mutations in the promoter region (TERTp), i.e.

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Early recognition of Ph-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases could impact on the management and outcome of this subset of B-lineage ALL. To assess the prognostic value of the Ph-like status in a pediatric-inspired, minimal residual disease (MRD)-driven trial, we screened 88 B-lineage ALL cases negative for the major fusion genes (BCR-ABL1, ETV6-RUNX1, TCF3-PBX1 and KTM2Ar) enrolled in the GIMEMA LAL1913 front-line protocol for adult BCR/ABL1-negative ALL. The screening - performed using the BCR/ABL1-like predictor - identified 28 Ph-like cases (31.

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