Publications by authors named "Stefano Luzzago"

Introduction: The nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer treated with BCG instillations in patients who smoke could potentially lead to poorer oncological results in the light of the new EAU risk groups classification for NMIBC that did not include BCG treated patients or smoking status.

Patient And Methods: Outcomes from 1313 patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer treated with TURBT, re-TURBT and BCG instillations at 13 academic hospital centers, since 2002, has been included in this retrospective study. The study variables, including cumulative smoking exposure have been analyzed.

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Article Synopsis
  • About 70% of bladder cancer cases are non-muscle invasive (NMIBC) and inflammation, influenced by factors like smoking, affects treatment outcomes with BCG therapy.
  • A study analyzed data from 1,313 NMIBC patients to examine how smoking and systemic inflammation impact the effectiveness of BCG using a machine-learning algorithm.
  • The results indicated that both smoking status and specific inflammatory markers can significantly predict the risk of disease progression, highlighting the need for tailored treatment strategies and further research to confirm the findings.
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Background/objectives: Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) represent a rare mesenchymal malignancy that can occur anywhere in the body. Due to the low prevalence of the disease, there is a lack of contemporary data regarding patient demographics and cancer-control outcomes.

Methods: Within the SEER database (2000-2019), we identified 1134 patients diagnosed with malignant SFTs.

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  • - The study investigates the relationship between surgical resection and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in patients with soft tissue pelvic sarcomas, focusing on different histologic subtypes such as liposarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, and sarcoma NOS, using data from the SEER database.
  • - Analysis of 2,491 patients reveals that liposarcoma is the most prevalent subtype, with high surgical resection rates in non-metastatic cases (92% for liposarcoma), and those who had surgery showed lower CSM rates compared to those who did not.
  • - The findings indicate that surgical resection generally offers a protective benefit against CSM in non-metastatic patients across histologic sub
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Background: The use of inpatient palliative care (IPC) in advanced cancer patients represents a well-established guideline recommendation. This study examines the utilization rates and patterns of IPC among patients with metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (mACC).

Methods: Relying on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database (2007-2019), we tabulated IPC rates in mACC patients.

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Objective: To conduct a comprehensive comparison of microwave ablation (MWA) vs radiofrequency ablation (RFA) outcomes in the treatment of small renal masses (SRMs), specifically: TRIFECTA ([i] complete ablation, [ii] absence of Clavien-Dindo Grade ≥III complications, and [iii] absence of ≥30% decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate) achievement, operative time (OT), and local recurrence rate (LRR).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analysed 531 patients with SRMs (clinical T1a-b) treated with MWA or RFA at a single centre (2008-2022). First, multivariable logistic regression models were used for testing TRIFECTA achievement.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to compare 10-year overall survival rates of patients with intermediate/high-risk non-metastatic clear cell renal carcinoma, who underwent radical nephrectomy, to matched controls based on age and sex, while also examining differences by race/ethnicity.
  • Using data from the SEER database, researchers identified nearly 7,000 patients and found that overall survival rates after 10 years were notably lower for African American patients compared to controls (51% vs. 81%), with similar patterns observed for other racial/ethnic groups.
  • The findings suggest that radical nephrectomy patients have poorer survival compared to the general population, with African Americans showing a significantly higher risk of mortality from
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Purpose: To quantify to what extent the 5-year overall survival (OS) of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) patients differs from age- and sex-matched population-based controls, especially when stage is considered.

Methods: We relied on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2004-2020) to identify newly diagnosed (2004-2014) ACC patients. Subsequently, we compared OS between ACC patients relative to simulated age- and sex-matched controls (Monte Carlo simulation), according to Social Security Administration Life Tables (2004-2020).

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Unlabelled: Purpose or Objective-The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SBRT on detectable prostate bed recurrence in RT-naïve prostate cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: Eighty-six patients who underwent SBRT for macroscopic bed recurrence after prostatectomy were retrospectively included. Patients were treated based on mpMRI or choline/PSMA PET.

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Purpose: To assess the ability of tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values obtained from multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) to predict the risk of 5-year biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective analysis included 1207 peripheral and 232 non-peripheral zone prostate cancer (PCa) patients who underwent mpMRI before RP (2012-2015), with the outcome of interest being 5-year BCR. ADC was evaluated as a continuous variable and as categories: low (< 850 µm/s), intermediate (850-1100 µm/s), and high (> 1100 µm/s).

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Background: Radiotherapy (RT) represents an alternative treatment option for patients with T1 squamous cell carcinoma of the penis (SCCP), with proven feasibility and tolerability. However, it has never been directly compared with partial penectomy (PP) using cancer-specific mortality (CSM) as an end point.

Methods: In the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2000-2020), T1N0M0 SCCP patients treated with RT or PP were identified.

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Objectives: To test the performance of ex vivo fluorescence confocal microscopy (FCM; Vivascope 2500M-G4), as compared to intra-operative frozen section (IFS) analysis, to evaluate surgical margins during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), with final pathology as the reference standard.

Methods: Overall, 54 margins in 45 patients treated with RARP were analysed with: (1) ex vivo FCM; (2) IFS analysis; and (3) final pathology. FCM margins were evaluated by two different pathologists (experienced [M.

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Objectives: To test for specific anthropometric parameters to predict perioperative outcomes after thermal ablation (TA) for renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Materials And Methods: Retrospective single center (2008-2022) analysis of 538 T1a-b RCC patients treated with TA. We tested for specific anthropometric parameters, namely skin to tumor distance (STTD), perirenal fat thickness (PFT), median psoas muscle axial area (PMAA) and median paravertebral muscle axial area (PVMAA), to predict TRIFECTA achievement: (1) absence of CLAVIEN-DINDO≥ 3 complications; (2) complete ablation; (3) absence of ≥ 30% decrease in eGFR.

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Objective: To evaluate the telemedicine information published on the most popular social media platforms, during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We queried the BuzzSumo tool to identify related telemedicine article links that were shared most on social media, from February 2021 to February 2022. The PEMAT-P was used for the quality assessment of the most shared links.

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Objective: To test the ability of high-performance machine learning (ML) models employing clinical, radiological, and radiomic variables to improve non-invasive prediction of the pathological status of prostate cancer (PCa) in a large, single-institution cohort.

Methods: Patients who underwent multiparametric MRI and prostatectomy in our institution in 2015-2018 were considered; a total of 949 patients were included. Gradient-boosted decision tree models were separately trained using clinical features alone and in combination with radiological reporting and/or prostate radiomic features to predict pathological T, pathological N, ISUP score, and their change from preclinical assessment.

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Aim: The present work reports updated oncological results and patients-reported outcomes at 5 years of phase II trial "Short-term high precision RT for early prostate cancer with SIB to the dominant intraprostatic lesion (DIL) for patients with early-stage PCa".

Methods: Data from patients enrolled within AIRC IG-13218 (NCT01913717) trial were analyzed. Clinical and GU/GI toxicity assessment and PSA measurements were performed every 3 months for at least 2 years after RT end.

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Purpose: In radioguided surgery (RGS), radiopharmaceuticals are used to generate preoperative roadmaps (e.g., PET/CT) and to facilitate intraoperative tracing of tracer avid lesions.

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We developed a novel contemporary population-based model for predicting cancer-specific survival (CSS) in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) patients and compared it with the established 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system (AJCC). Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2004-2020), we identified 1056 ACC patients. Univariable Cox regression model addressed CSS.

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We designed a phase 3, prospective, randomized trial to evaluate the impact of augmented reality and augmented reality frozen section analysis in reducing the rates of positive surgical margins after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

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Article Synopsis
  • High-risk nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer patients who progress to muscle-invasive bladder cancer indicate treatment failure, and this study explores how progression impacts overall survival (OS).
  • The study analyzed data from 1,510 patients across multiple institutions, using random survival forest and Cox regression models to assess factors influencing OS.
  • Results show that the time to progression is the most significant predictor of OS, suggesting it could be used as a primary endpoint in clinical trials and for patient stratification in treatment planning.
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Objective: To test the ability of the 2015 modified version of the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors staging system (mENSAT) in predicting cancer-specific mortality (CSM), as well as overall mortality (OM) in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) patients of all stages, in a large-scale, and contemporary United States cohort.

Methods: We relied on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (2004-2020) to test the accuracy and calibration of the mENSAT and subsequently compared it to the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system (AJCC).

Results: In 858 ACC patients, mENSAT accuracy was 74.

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  • This study examined oncological outcomes for 71 patients with early-stage penile cancer treated with thulium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Tm:YAG) laser ablation from 2013 to 2022.
  • Results showed that 50.5% of patients experienced local tumor recurrence, with higher recurrence rates associated with more aggressive tumor grades.
  • The study concluded that Tm:YAG laser ablation offers results comparable to other penile-sparing surgical methods and should be considered a viable treatment option for certain patients.
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Background Current predictive tools to estimate the risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) after treatment of prostate cancer do not consider multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) information. Purpose To develop a risk prediction tool that considers mpMRI findings to assess the risk of 5-year BCR after radical prostatectomy. Materials and Methods In this retrospective single-center analysis in 1459 patients with prostate cancer who underwent mpMRI before radical prostatectomy (in 2012-2015), the outcome of interest was 5-year BCR (two consecutive prostate-specific antigen [PSA] levels > 0.

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