High Symptom Burden in Patients With Advanced Chronic or Prolonged Infectious Diseases: Not Only Pain.

Introduction: The growing evidence of increased life expectancy in the future reveals the high relevance of frailty in patients with chronic-degenerative diseases; identification and management of symptoms may improve significantly their quality of life. The objective of our study was to assess the symptom burden in patients with advanced chronic or prolonged infectious diseases.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed enrolling 88 patients, referred to palliative care consultation for chronic pain, and evaluated using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System to define Total Symptom Distress Score (TSDS) and high symptom burden (HSB) when more than six symptoms along with Numerical Rating Scale ≥4 were present.

Digital innovations in breast cancer care: exploring the potential and challenges of digital therapeutics and clinical decision support systems.

Modern healthcare is experiencing a significant transformation, utilizing technology to improve patient outcomes and make processes more efficient. Breast cancer, being the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women globally, requires innovative approaches for effective management. Digital Therapeutics (DTx) and Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs) have emerged as pivotal technologies, offering personalized, patient-centered care and optimizing clinical decision-making.

The Predictive Role of Radiomics in Breast Cancer Patients Imaged by [F]FDG PET: Preliminary Results from a Prospective Cohort.

Background: Recently, radiomics has emerged as a possible image-derived biomarker, predominantly stemming from retrospective analyses. We aimed to prospectively assess the predictive role of [F]FDG-PET radiomics in breast cancer (BC).

Methods: Patients affected by stage I-III BC eligible for neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) staged with [F]FDG-PET/CT were prospectively enrolled.

Follow-up of early breast cancer in a public health system: A 2024 AIGOM consensus project.

Breast cancer stands as the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the primary cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide, including Italy. With the increasing number of survivors, many are enrolled in regular follow-up programs. However, adherence to recommendations from scientific societies (such as ASCO, ESMO, AIOM) for breast cancer follow-up management varies in daily clinical practice across different cancer centers, potentially resulting in unequal management and escalating costs.

Parp-inhibitors in the therapeutic landscape of breast cancer patients with BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic germline variants: An Italian consensus paper and critical review.

The introduction of PARP inhibitors has revolutionized the management and treatment of patients with pathogenic germline variants of BRCA1/2 who have developed breast cancer. The implementation of PARP inhibitors in clinical settings can be challenging due to their overlapping indications with other drugs, including both recently approved medications and those with proven efficacy. This study utilized the Delphi method to present the first Italian consensus regarding genetic testing, the use of PARP inhibitors in both early and metastatic settings, and strategies for managing the potential toxicity of these novel drugs.

Empowering beyond Pain: Pain Neuroscience Education Interventions in Breast Cancer Survivorship Care.

Chronic pain is a common consequence of breast cancer (BC) and its treatments. Pain neuroscience education (PNE) is a non-pharmacological intervention that adopts a biopsychosocial approach and has already been proven to be effective for different chronic pain syndromes. The present review aims to critically assess clinical trials comparing the efficacy of PNE to traditional biomedical education (BME) in reducing BC-related pain and improving quality of life.

Unravelling the Epigenetic Code: DNA Methylation in Plants and Its Role in Stress Response.

Environmental stress significantly affects plant growth, development, and survival. Plants respond to stressors such as temperature fluctuations, water scarcity, nutrient deficiencies, and pathogen attacks through intricate molecular and physiological adaptations. Epigenetic mechanisms are crucial in regulating gene expression in response to environmental stress.

Empowerment, Pain Control, and Quality of Life Improvement in Early Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patients through Pain Neuroscience Education: A Prospective Cohort Pilot Study Protocol (EMPOWER Trial).

The treatment of early triple-negative breast cancer (eTNBC) has improved patients' prognosis but often leads to adverse events and sequelae affecting quality of life (QoL). Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) is a promising non-pharmacological intervention in this field. Preliminary data have shown the beneficial effect of PNE in BC survivors.

BRCA Testing for Patients Treated in Italy: A National Survey of Breast Centers Associated with Senonetwork.

Background: Breast units (BUs) provide breast cancer (BC) care, including prevention, treatment, and genetic assessment. Genetic research has highlighted BRCA1/2 mutations as key hereditary BC risk factors. BRCA testing is crucial for personalized treatment and prevention strategies.

Bone-active drugs in premenopausal women with breast cancer under hormone-deprivation therapies.

Background: Bone health management in premenopausal women with breast cancer (BC) under hormone-deprivation therapies (HDTs) is often challenging, and the effectiveness of bone-active drugs is still unknown.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included 306 premenopausal women with early BC undergoing HDTs. Bone mineral density (BMD) and morphometric vertebral fractures (VFs) were assessed 12 months after HDT initiation and then after at least 24 months.

Monitoring changing patterns in HER2 addiction by liquid biopsy in advanced breast cancer patients.

Background: During targeted treatment, HER2-positive breast cancers invariably lose HER2 DNA amplification. In contrast, and interestingly, HER2 proteins may be either lost or gained. To longitudinally and systematically appreciate complex/discordant changes in HER2 DNA/protein stoichiometry, HER2 DNA copy numbers and soluble blood proteins (aHER2/sHER2) were tested in parallel, non-invasively (by liquid biopsy), and in two-dimensions, hence HER2-2D.

Optimizing abemaciclib-induced diarrhea management in patients with breast cancer: a pragmatic 2-group study using a postbiotic microbiota stabilizer.

Background: Abemaciclib-induced diarrhea is a relevant concern in clinical practice. Postbiotics have emerged as a promising option for managing it.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective-prospective, 2-group, observational study to assess the impact of the postbiotic PostbiotiX-Restore, derived by Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-5220, on abemaciclib-induced diarrhea in patients with hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative breast cancer.

Charting the Course in Sequencing Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Breast Cancer.

Based on the unprecedented results observed in recent clinical trials, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have revolutionized the treatment algorithm of metastatic breast cancer (mBC). The strategy of sequencing different ADCs in other lines of therapy is highly attractive, but the proportion of patients who have undergone such a strategy in the context of published clinical trials is still limited, especially for modern ADCs. HER2-positive disease is primarily managed with a sequence of different ADCs.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) inhibitors and others novel CDK inhibitors (CDKi) in breast cancer: clinical trials, current impact, and future directions.

Aberrant cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) activation has been identified as a main resistance mechanism to CDK4/6 inhibition in hormone-receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer. Additionally, consistent preclinical evidence states its crucial role in MYC and CCNE1 overexpressed cancer survival, such as triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC), thus representing an appealing and relatively unexplored target treatment opportunity. Despite emerging initial results of novel CDK2 inhibitors (CDK2i) activity, a comprehensive outcomes collection is currently absent from the scientific literature.

Real-world use of multigene signatures in early breast cancer: differences to clinical trials.

Purpose: In Italy, Lombardy was the first region to reimburse multigene assays (MGAs) for patients otherwise candidates for chemotherapy. This is a real-world experience of MGAs usage in six referral cancer centers in Lombardy.

Methods: Among MGAs, Oncotype DX (RS) was used in 97% of cases.

The Impact of Different Patterns of Residual Disease on Long-Term Oncological Outcomes in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Backgrounds: The majority of breast cancer (BC) patients treated with neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) achieves a pathologic partial response with different patterns of residual disease. No clear correlation between these patterns and oncological results was described. Our aims were to define the predictive factors for different patterns of residual disease and compare the outcomes between the scattered versus the circumscribed pattern.

Clinical Outcomes of HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients in Italy in the Last Decade: Results of the GIM 13-AMBRA Study.

GIM 13-AMBRA is a longitudinal cohort study aimed at describing therapeutic strategies and the relative outcome parameters in 939 HER2-ve MBC patients. Taxanes-based regimens, or taxanes + targeted agents, mainly Bevacizumab, were the preferred first choice in both Luminal (30.2%) and TNBC (33.