One-Handed Rotational Phacoemulsification Technique.

Introduction: We described a one-handed rotational phacoemulsification technique to decrease phaco time and power, and surgical stress on the cornea in eyes with different types of cataract.

Methods: In this technique a single sutureless corneal incision was made without any side-port incision. After hydrodissection and hydrodelamination were performed, a phaco tip was positioned in contact with the nucleus beside the capsulorhexis edge.

A multicenter total therapy strategy for adult Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients: final results of the GIMEMA LAL1509 protocol.

The GIMEMA LAL1509 protocol, designed for adult (≥18-60 years) de novo Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients, was based on a dasatinib plus steroids induction - with central nervous system prophylaxis - followed by dasatinib alone in patients in complete molecular response or chemotherapy and/or allogeneic transplantation in patients not reaching a complete molecular response. Sixty patients (median age 41.9 years) were enrolled: 33 were p190+, 18 p210+ and 9 p190/p210+.

De Novo Partial 13q22-q34 Trisomy with Typical Neurological and Immunological Findings: A Case Report with New Genetic Insights.

The partial trisomy 13q encompasses an extensive variability of phenotypic and radiological findings including leukoencephalopathy and brain malformations such as holoprosencephaly, callosal dysgenesis, hippocampal hypoplasia, olfactory hypoplasia, and vermian hypoplasia. We report for the first time a case of a 23-year-old patient affected by de novo partial 13q22.1q34 trisomy (41.

The role of nivolumab combined to immunotherapy and/or chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer.

: One of the latest breakthroughs in the treatment of advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is represented by PD-1/PD-L1-targeting Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs). However, only a limited subset of advanced NSCLC patients can receive first-line ICI monotherapy (advanced NSCLC patients without driver mutations and with a PD-L1 expression ≥50% or ≥1%) and naïve ICI-respondent patients represent an even more limited subgroup of patients, which eventually experience progression of disease after approximately 7-11 months. Therefore, different strategies are being evaluated to obtain a higher response rate and a more durable clinical response in this setting.

The "reverse air leak test": a new technique for the assessment of low colorectal anastomosis.

Purpose: Anastomotic leakage is a fearsome complication in rectal surgery. Surgeons perform the classic air leak test, although its real effectiveness is still debated. The aim of this study was to describe a personal technique of reverse air leak test in which low colorectal anastomosis was assessed transanally through the intrarectal irrigation of a few mL of saline solution.

Somatic Deletion in Exon 10 of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Gene in Human GH-Secreting Pituitary Tumors.

Objective/purpose: The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) pathway plays a critical role in the biology of Growth Hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumor (somatotropinoma). Germline rs2066853 variant was found to be more frequent among acromegaly patients and associated with a more severe disease with larger invasive somatropinoma, and with resistance to somatostatin analogs treatment in patients living in polluted areas. However, no somatic changes in gene have been reported so far in acromegaly patients.

Efficacy of Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant in Different Patterns of Diabetic Macular Edema.

Purpose: Different patterns of diabetic macular edema (DME) suggest different pathogenesis and drug response. We evaluated the outcomes after intravitreal dexamethasone (DEX) implant for DME with or without serous retinal detachment (SRD).

Methods: In this retrospective study, 22 naïve patients (23 eyes) with DME who underwent a single DEX implant were evaluated.

Nanoparticle Albumin-bound Paclitaxel Plus Carboplatin Induction Followed by Nanoparticle Albumin-bound Paclitaxel Maintenance in Squamous Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer (ABOUND.sqm): A Phase III Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: We evaluated maintenance nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab) paclitaxel in the treatment of advanced squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients with treatment-naive squamous non-small-cell lung cancer received four 21-day cycles of nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m on days 1, 8, 15 plus carboplatin area under the curve 6 on day 1 as induction therapy. Patients without disease progression after induction were randomized 2:1 to maintenance nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m (days 1 and 8 every 21 days) plus best supportive care (BSC) or BSC alone.

Dietary Habits and Risk of Esophagitis and Barrett's Esophagus: A Multicenter Italian Case-Control Study.

Background: Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophagitis share potentially modifiable risk factors such as obesity, smoking, and alcohol. The role of diet on BE and esophagitis is still debated.

Aims: The objective of this study was to examine the association between some dietary habits and the risk of BE and esophagitis in Italy.

Retinal Vascular Density on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography and Age-Related Central and Peripheral Hearing Loss in a Southern Italian Older Population.

Background: Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and retinal vessel changes have both been associated to neurodegeneration/dementia, suggesting a possible link between these 2 conditions in older age. We aimed to determine whether superficial and deep vascular density (SVD and DVD) of the capillary plexi of macular vasculature can be associated with peripheral ARHL and age-related central auditory central processing (CAPD).

Method: We analyzed data on 886 older participants (65 years+, age range: 65-92 years) in the cross-sectional population-based Salus in Apulia Study.

Atypical Presentation of a Rare Parasitic Infection with Fasciola hepatica: A Multidisciplinary Case Report.

BACKGROUND Fascioliasis is a zoonotic disease caused by Fasciola hepatica (F. hepatica). This infection is associated with a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms such as fever, eosinophilia, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Targeting Immunometabolism Mediated by CD73 Pathway in -Mutated Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A New Hope for Overcoming Immune Resistance.

Despite the relevant antitumor efficacy of immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the results in patients whose cancer harbors activating epidermal growth factor receptor () mutations are disappointing. The biological mechanisms underlying immune escape and both unresponsiveness and resistance to immunotherapy in -mutant NSCLC patients have been partially investigated. To this regard, lung cancer immune escape largely involves high amounts of adenosine within the tumor milieu with broad immunosuppressive effects.

New immunotherapeutic drugs in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): from preclinical to phase I clinical trials.

Introduction: The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) has represented a revolution in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and has established a new standard of care for different settings. However, through adaptive changes, cancer cells can develop resistance mechanisms to these drugs, hence the necessity for novel immunotherapeutic agents.

Areas Covered: This paper explores the immunotherapeutics currently under investigation in phase I clinical trials for the treatment of NSCLC as monotherapies and combination therapies.

Molecular and Genomic Profiling of Lung Cancer in the Era of Precision Medicine: A Position Paper from the Italian Association of Thoracic Oncology (AIOT).

The identification of the optimal cancer treatment has become progressively more intricate for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients due to the multitude of options available. The testing of biomarkers to predict clinical responses to therapies is pivotal to stratify the patients based on the molecular features of their tumors. The number of actionable genetic alterations to be tested is increasing together with the comprehension of the molecular mechanisms underlying tumor growth and development.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection and High-Risk Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Are There Any Common Features?

Background: The new severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak is a huge health, social and economic issue and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Bladder cancer, on the contrary, is a well-known disease burdened by a high rate of affected patients and risk of recurrence, progression and death.

Summary: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19 or 2019-nCoV) often involves mild clinical symptoms but in some cases, it can lead to pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiorgan dysfunction.

Perfluorocarbon liquid-assisted inverted inner limiting membrane-flap for large macular hole after recurrent rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

A 45-year-old Caucasian myopic woman with a severe vision impairment (20/320) in the left eye due to a macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) underwent vitrectomy with silicone oil tamponade followed by an inferior relaxing retinectomy with heavy silicone oil tamponade during the second procedure for recurrence of RRD due to proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Four weeks after the second surgery, visual acuity was 20/200 and the patient complained metamorphopsia in the same eye due to a large full-thickness macular hole. A perfluorocarbon liquid-assisted inverted inner limiting membrane-flap technique was performed.

ABVD vs BEACOPP escalated in advanced-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma: Results from a multicenter European study.

The optimal first-line treatment for advanced-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is still a matter of debate. While ABVD is less toxic and as effective as other, more intensive chemotherapy regimens, escalated BEACOPP (BEACOPPesc) is superior to ABVD for initial disease control and prolonged time-to-relapse. However, this advantage is associated with higher rate of early and late toxicities.

Clinical activity of a htert (vx-001) cancer vaccine as post-chemotherapy maintenance immunotherapy in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer: final results of a randomised phase 2 clinical trial.

Background: The cancer vaccine Vx-001, which targets the universal tumour antigen TElomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT), can mount specific Vx-001/TERT CD8 + cytotoxic T cells; this immune response is associated with improved overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: A randomised, double blind, phase 2b trial, in HLA-A*201-positive patients with metastatic, TERT-expressing NSCLC, who did not progress after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy were randomised to receive either Vx-001 or placebo. The primary endpoint of the trial was OS.

Effects of gender on cognitive and behavioral manifestations in multiple system atrophy.

Gender differences have been described in several neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The effects of gender on cognitive and behavioral manifestations in multiple system atrophy and the changes of cognitive functions over time according to gender have not been investigated so far. Fifty-five patients with a diagnosis of multiple system atrophy underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric battery at baseline and 26 of them could be re-evaluated at 1-year follow-up.