IMMUNOREACT 9 metachronous rectal cancers have high HLA-ABC expression on healthy epithelium but a lower infiltration of CD3+ T cells than primary lesions.

Lynch syndrome is rarely associated with rectal cancer (RC) and thus, metachronous RC has been scarcely investigated. This study aimed to analyze the mucosal immune microenvironment in sporadic and metachronous RC. We analyzed the mucosal immune microenvironment in the 25 metachronous RCs present in the IMMUNOREACT 1 and 2 multicentre observational studies (624 patients).

Clinical benefits of symptom resolution after palliative surgery in advanced cancer: A single-center experience.

Background: Palliative surgery (PS) is defined as any surgical procedure aimed at improving quality of life or relieving symptoms caused by an advanced or metastatic cancer. The involvement of patients, caregivers, and other professional figures is crucial for obtaining optimal symptom relief and avoiding complications. This study aims to evaluate the short-term outcome and related factors in patients undergoing PS.

IMMUNOREACT 7: Regular aspirin use is associated with immune surveillance activation in colorectal cancer.

Background: Long-term daily use of aspirin reduces incidence and mortality due to colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to analyze the effect of aspirin on the tumor microenvironment, systemic immunity, and on the healthy mucosa surrounding cancer.

Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of CRC operated on from 2015 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed (METACCRE cohort).

A multicentre survey on the perception of palliative care among health professionals working in haematology.

Purpose: Patients with haematologic malignancies have less access to palliative care and are referred later than patients with solid tumours. We developed a survey to investigate this phenomenon, with the intention of analysing palliative care perceptions among health professionals who treat haematology patients and identifying barriers and facilitators to referrals to palliative care services.

Methods: This was a multicentre exploratory descriptive web-based survey.

REGOMA-OSS: a large, Italian, multicenter, prospective, observational study evaluating the efficacy and safety of regorafenib in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Background: In the randomized phase II REGOMA trial, regorafenib showed promising activity in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. We conducted a large, multicenter, prospective, observational study to confirm the REGOMA data in a real-world setting.

Patients And Methods: The major inclusion criteria were histologically confirmed diagnosis of glioblastoma according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 classification and relapse after radiotherapy with concurrent/adjuvant temozolomide treatment, good performance status [Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS 0-1)] and good liver function.

What do cancer patients experience of the simultaneous care clinic? Results of a cross-sectional study on patient care satisfaction.

Background: Veneto Institute of Oncology has activated a simultaneous care outpatient clinic (SCOC) in which cancer patients with advanced-stage cancer are evaluated by oncologist and palliative care specialists. This cross-sectional study investigated patients' perceptions of the quality of this service.

Materials And Methods: An ad-hoc self-administered questionnaire, developed by SCOC team, was used to assess the satisfaction of patients admitted at SCOC consultation.

Primary vascular tumors of bone: A comprehensive literature review on classification, diagnosis and treatment.

Primary vascular tumors of bone are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms, ranging from benign hemangiomas to frankly malignant epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas and angiosarcomas. Over the years, their classification has been a matter of discussion, due to morphologic similarities and uncertainty regarding biologic behavior. Over the past decade, with the development of next-generation sequencing, there has been a significant improvement in the molecular characterization of these lesions.

Confirmatory validation analysis of the PROFFIT questionnaire to assess financial toxicity in cancer patients.

Background: The Patient Reported Outcome for Fighting FInancial Toxicity (PROFFIT) questionnaire was developed to measure financial toxicity (FT) and identify its determinants. The aim of the present study was to confirm its validity in a prospective cohort of patients receiving anticancer treatment.

Patients And Methods: From March 2021 to July 2022, 221 patients were enrolled at 10 Italian centres.

White Matter Tract Density Index Prediction Model of Overall Survival in Glioblastoma.

Importance: The prognosis of overall survival (OS) in patients with glioblastoma (GBM) may depend on the underlying structural connectivity of the brain.

Objective: To examine the association between white matter tracts affected by GBM and patients' OS by means of a new tract density index (TDI).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prognostic study in patients with a histopathologic diagnosis of GBM examined a discovery cohort of 112 patients who underwent surgery between February 1, 2015, and November 30, 2020 (follow-up to May 31, 2023), in Italy and 70 patients in a replicative cohort (n = 70) who underwent surgery between September 1, 2012, and November 30, 2015 (follow-up to May 31, 2023), in Germany.

Initial Panitumumab Plus Fluorouracil, Leucovorin, and Oxaliplatin or Plus Fluorouracil and Leucovorin in Elderly Patients With RAS and BRAF Wild-Type Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: The PANDA Trial by the GONO Foundation.

Purpose: To verify whether both doublet chemotherapy with a modified schedule of fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX) and monochemotherapy with fluorouracil plus leucovorin (5-FU + LV) achieve satisfactory efficacy when both regimens are combined with panitumumab (PAN) as initial treatment of elderly patients with / wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Patients And Methods: PANDA (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02904031) was an open-label, randomized phase II noncomparative trial in previously untreated patients age 70 years and older with unresectable / wild-type mCRC.

Role of enhancement modifications in evaluating tumor response to immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Evaluation of tumor response according only to dimensional criteria may underestimate treatment benefit in patients treated for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this study we evaluated the role of lesion enhancement modifications and Choi criteria in patients affected by renal cell carcinoma treated with immunotherapy.

Methods: We collected data of 60 consecutive patients (with a total of 154 measurable lesions) treated with immunotherapy (nivolumab or ipilimumab plus nivolumab) at a single Institution.

Actionable molecular alterations in newly diagnosed and recurrent IDH1/2 wild-type glioblastoma patients and therapeutic implications: a large mono-institutional experience using extensive next-generation sequencing analysis.

Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) panels enable the identification of alterations in cancer-related genes. This may guide a molecularly targeted strategy for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM).

Material And Methods: We retrospectively analysed data obtained using FoundationOne®CDx in a large cohort of IDH1/2 wild-type GBM.

IMMUNOREACT 6: weak immune surveillance characterizes early-onset rectal cancer.

Background: Colon cancer in young patients is often associated with hereditary syndromes; however, in early-onset rectal cancer, mutations of these genes are rarely observed. The aim of this study was to analyse the features of the local immune microenvironment and the mutational pattern in early-onset rectal cancer.

Methods: Commonly mutated genes were analysed within a rectal cancer series from the University Hospital of Padova.

Patterns of gray and white matter functional networks involvement in glioblastoma patients: indirect mapping from clinical MRI scans.

Background: Resting-state functional-MRI studies identified several cortical gray matter functional networks (GMNs) and white matter functional networks (WMNs) with precise anatomical localization. Here, we aimed at describing the relationships between brain's functional topological organization and glioblastoma (GBM) location. Furthermore, we assessed whether GBM distribution across these networks was associated with overall survival (OS).

The role of radiation therapy and systemic treatments in meningioma: The present and the future.

Meningiomas are the most prevalent tumors of the central nervous system. Their standard treatment is surgery, which can be curative. Adjuvant radiotherapy treatment is reserved for newly diagnosed cases of grade II and grade III meningiomas in cases of recurrent disease or when surgery is not radical or feasible.

Prognostic role and interaction of TERT promoter status, telomere length and MGMT promoter methylation in newly diagnosed IDH wild-type glioblastoma patients.

Background: The clinical relevance of promoter mutations and single nucleotide polymorphism rs2853669 of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and telomere length in patients with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild-type glioblastoma (GBM) patients remains unclear. Moreover, some studies speculated that TERT promoter status might influence the prognostic role of O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation in newly diagnosed GBM. We carried out a large study to investigate their clinical impact and their interaction in newly diagnosed GBM patients.

The prognostic Value of Thyroid Hormone Levels in Immunotherapy-Treated Patients With Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma.

Introduction: A low fT3/fT4 ratio has been associated with a poorer prognosis in patients treated for different solid malignancies. However, the prognostic role of baseline thyroid function in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) has not yet been established.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed 72 consecutive immunotherapy-treated patients with mUC from a single institution.

Estimated Direct Costs of Renal Cancer by Stage of Disease at Diagnosis and Phase of Its Management: A Whole-Disease Model.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the seventh most common neoplasm in high-income countries. New clinical pathways have been developed to deal with this tumor, which includes costly drugs that pose an economic threat to the sustainability of healthcare services. This study provides an estimate of the direct costs of care for patients with RCC by stage of disease (early vs.

Metronomic Temozolomide in Heavily Pretreated Patients With Recurrent Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Wild-type Glioblastoma: A Large Real-Life Mono-Institutional Study.

Aims: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumour in adults and frequently relapses. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of metronomic temozolomide (TMZ) in the recurrent GBM population.

Materials And Methods: All patients treated at our centre between September 2013 and March 2021 were retrospectively reviewed.

Management and Outcomes of Older Patients (Age ≥ 70 Years) with Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma and Role of Geriatric Assessment and Oncological Multidimensional Prognostic Index (Onco-MPI) in a Real-World Setting.

Incidences of soft tissue sarcomas (STS) steadily increase with age. Yet, despite the high prevalence in advanced age, older patients (pts) are underrepresented in sarcoma clinical trials and evidence-based guidelines for chemotherapy are lacking. International oncological societies suggest using geriatric tools to evaluate older patients with cancer to optimise treatment indication.

Pattern of recurrence and overall survival in esophagogastric cancer after perioperative FLOT and clinical outcomes in MSI-H population: the PROSECCO Study.

Background: FLOT regimen is the standard perioperative treatment in Western countries for patients with locally advanced gastric (GC) or gastroesophageal junction cancer (GEJC). High microsatellite instability (MSI-H) and Mismatch Repair deficient (dMMR) demonstrated a favorable prognostic role and a concomitant negative predictive impact on the benefit of perioperative 5-fluorouracil-based doublets; however, its role in pts receiving FLOT chemotherapy is still unclear.

Methods: This is a retrospective, multicenter observational study of 265 pts with GC/GEJC treated with perioperative FLOT regimen in 11 Italian oncology centers between January 2017 to December 2021 and analyzed for microsatellite status.

Antigen rapid diagnostic test monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic and fully vaccinated cancer patients: Is it cost-effective?

Background: Routine testing for cancer patients not presenting COVID-19-related symptoms and fully vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 prior to cancer treatment is controversial.

Methods: In this retrospective study we evaluated whether antigen-rapid-diagnostic-test (Ag-RDT) monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 in a large cohort of consecutive asymptomatic (absence of SARS-CoV-2-related symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat or nasal congestion) and fully vaccinated cancer patients enrolled in a short period during cancer treatment has an impact on the therapeutic path of cancer patients.

Results: From December 27, 2021, to February 11, 2022, 2439 cancer patients were screened through Ag-RDT for SARS-CoV-2 before entering the hospital for systemic treatment.