A short history of mediastinal tumours.

The mediastinum constitutes an area of special surgical interest due to important anatomical relationships and histopathologic variability of mediastinal primary and metastatic tumours. Mediastinum was considered inaccessible until the end of the 19 century. For many decades the diagnosis of mediastinal disease relied solely upon clinical presentation, and the mainstay of treatment was medical therapy.

Contribution of MEK Inhibition to BRAF/MEK Inhibitor Combination Treatment of -Mutant Melanoma: Part 2 of the Randomized, Open-Label, Phase III COLUMBUS Trial.

Purpose: In COLUMBUS part 1, patients with advanced -mutant melanoma were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to encorafenib 450 mg once daily plus binimetinib 45 mg twice a day (COMBO450), vemurafenib 960 mg twice a day, or encorafenib 300 mg once daily (ENCO300). As previously reported, COMBO450 improved progression-free survival (PFS) versus vemurafenib (part 1 primary end point) and ENCO300 (part 1 key secondary end point; not statistically significant). Part 2, requested by the US Food and Drug Administration, evaluated the contribution of binimetinib by maintaining the same encorafenib dosage in the combination (encorafenib 300 mg once daily plus binimetinib 45 mg twice daily [COMBO300]) and ENCO300 arms.

coMpliAnce with evideNce-based cliniCal guidelines in the managemenT of acute biliaRy pancreAtitis): The MANCTRA-1 international audit.

Background/objectives: Reports about the implementation of recommendations from acute pancreatitis guidelines are scant. This study aimed to evaluate, on a patient-data basis, the contemporary practice patterns of management of biliary acute pancreatitis and to compare these practices with the recommendations by the most updated guidelines.

Methods: All consecutive patients admitted to any of the 150 participating general surgery (GS), hepatopancreatobiliary surgery (HPB), internal medicine (IM) and gastroenterology (GA) departments with a diagnosis of biliary acute pancreatitis between 01/01/2019 and 31/12/2020 were included in the study.

Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation with a Novel Reduced Intensity Conditioning Regimen for the Treatment of Patients with Primary Cutaneous T-cell Lymphomas.

The prognosis of patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary Syndrome (SS) varies greatly, from near normal life expectancy in patients with early stage, to a median survival of less than 2 years for those diagnosed with advanced stage disease. Initial response to treatment is almost always followed by relapse and, finally, most of patients enter a phase of advanced multi-drug resistant disease with a short life expectancy after multiple lines of treatment. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is usually limited to patients with advanced disease resistant to multiple treatments.

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor With Chondrosarcomatous Dedifferentiation Following Imatinib Therapy.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the digestive tract, followed by schwannomas, lipomas, leiomyomas, and vascular tumors. They arise more often in the stomach, followed by the small bowel, esophagus, and rectum. Imatinib mesylate, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with activity against ABL, BCR-ABL, platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFRA), and c-KIT (CD117), constitutes the cornerstone of treatment for inoperable or metastatic GIST.

Serum ferritin and ECOG performance status predict the response and improve the prognostic value of IPSS or IPSS-R in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes and oligoblastic acute myeloid leukemia treated with 5-azacytidine: a retrospective analysis of the Hellenic national registry of myelodysplastic and hypoplastic syndromes.

Background: 5-azacytidine (5-AZA) improves survival of patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) and oligoblastic acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, predictive factors for response and outcome have not been consistently studied.

Methods: This study of the Hellenic MDS Study Group included 687 consecutive patients with higher-risk MDS and oligoblastic AML treated with 5-AZA.

Results: The International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) revised version (IPSS-R), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) (0 or 1 ⩾2) and baseline serum ferritin (SF) levels > 520 ng/ml were shown to independently predict response to 5-AZA.

Management of lupus nephritis: a systematic literature review informing the 2019 update of the joint EULAR and European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (EULAR/ERA-EDTA) recommendations.

Objectives: To analyse the current evidence for the management of lupus nephritis (LN) informing the 2019 update of the EULAR/European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association recommendations.

Methods: According to the EULAR standardised operating procedures, a PubMed systematic literature review was performed, from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2018. Since this was an update of the 2012 recommendations, the final level of evidence (LoE) and grading of recommendations considered the total body of evidence, including literature prior to 2012.

2019 Update of the Joint European League Against Rheumatism and European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (EULAR/ERA-EDTA) recommendations for the management of lupus nephritis.

Objective: To update the 2012 EULAR/ERA-EDTA recommendations for the management of lupus nephritis (LN).

Methods: Following the EULAR standardised operating procedures, a systematic literature review was performed. Members of a multidisciplinary Task Force voted independently on their level of agreeement with the formed statements.

Natural killer cell cytotoxicity is a predictor of outcome for patients with high risk myelodysplastic syndrome and oligoblastic acute myeloid leukemia treated with azacytidine.

The aim of the present study was to identify biomarkers predictive of the outcome of patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and oligoblastic acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with 5-azacytidine (AZA). We prospectively examined the association between NK-cytotoxic activity, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and T-regulatory cells (Tregs) on the overall survival (OS) of patients. Patients with NK-cytotoxicity above a critical threshold had a longer duration of response and survived longer than patients with severe impairment of NK-cytotoxicity.

2019 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Our objective was to update the EULAR recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), based on emerging new evidence. We performed a systematic literature review (01/2007-12/2017), followed by modified Delphi method, to form questions, elicit expert opinions and reach consensus. Treatment in SLE aims at remission or low disease activity and prevention of flares.

The outcome of patients with high-risk MDS achieving stable disease after treatment with 5-azacytidine: A retrospective analysis of the Hellenic (Greek) MDS Study Group.

The demethylating factor 5-azacytidine (5-AZA) improves survival in intermediate-2 and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients [according to the International Prognostic Score System (IPSS)] responding to treatment. However, the outcome of patients achieving stable disease (SD) is unclear. This retrospective study of the Hellenic MDS Study Group included 353 intermediate-2 or high IPSS risk patients treated with 5-AZA.

Polycystin-1 downregulation induces ERK-dependent mTOR pathway activation in a cellular model of psoriasis.

Psoriatic plaques tend to localize to the knees and elbows, areas that are particularly subject to mechanical stress resulting from bending and friction. Moreover, plaques often develop at sites of mechanical trauma or injury (Koebner phenomenon). Nevertheless, mechanotransduction has never been linked to psoriasis.

Positive impact of brentuximab vedotin on overall survival of patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma who relapse or progress after autologous stem cell transplantation: A nationwide analysis.

The outcome of patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R cHL) after autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) is poor. Recently, the anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody-drug conjugate, brentuximab vedotin (BV), has shown remarkable activity in the setting of R/R cHL. In the pivotal phase II study, BV produced an overall response rate of 75% and a median progression-free survival of 6.

The prognostic value of monosomal karyotype (MK) in higher-risk patients with myelodysplastic syndromes treated with 5-Azacitidine: A retrospective analysis of the Hellenic (Greek) Myelodysplastic syndromes Study Group.

In this study, we investigated the incidence and prognostic impact of monosomal karyotype (MK) in 405 higher-risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) patients treated with 5-AZA. The MK was present in 66 out of 405 (16.3%) patients, most of whom had complex karyotype (CK).

Antibiotic treatment of infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli: an international ESCMID cross-sectional survey among infectious diseases specialists practicing in large hospitals.

Objectives: To explore contemporary antibiotic management of infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in hospitals.

Methods: Cross-sectional, internet-based questionnaire survey. We contacted representatives of all hospitals with more than 800 acute-care hospital beds in France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Slovenia, Spain and selected hospitals in the USA.

Brentuximab vedotin in relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. The Hellenic experience.

This retrospective study aimed to describe the Hellenic experience on the use of brentuximab vedotin (BV) in relapsed/refractory (R/R) Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) given within its indication. From June 2011 to April 2015, ninety-five patients with R/R HL, who received BV in 20 centers from Greece, were analyzed. Their median age was 33 years, and 62% were males.

An unusual case of diffuse Merkel cell carcinoma successfully treated with low dose radiotherapy.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and highly aggressive neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. MCC should be included in the diagnosis of a rapidly growing infiltrating mass and histology as well as laboratory investigations such as Merkel cell polyoma virus (MCPyV) detection are valuable in its diagnosis. We present an unusual case of giant MCC-positive MCPyV in a Greek woman located on the lower leg.

Amyand's hernia: a case series with critics of role of appendectomy.

Amyand's hernia is an inguinal hernia that contains vermiform appendix in its sac. It consists 1% of all inguinal hernias while appendicitis in an Amyand's hernia accounts for 0.1% of all appendicitis cases.

Amyand's hernia: a review.

Background: The presence of a vermiform appendix in an inguinal hernia sac is known as Amyand's hernia. The aim of this systematic review was to gather information concerning its prevalence, clinical image, diagnosis, and treatment.

Data Sources: The MEDLINE database was thoroughly searched using the keyword "Amyand's hernia.