Rectal/urinary toxicity after hypofractionated vs conventional radiotherapy in low/intermediate risk localized prostate cancer: systematic review and meta analysis.

Purpose: The aim of this review was to compare radiation toxicity in Localized Prostate Cancer (LPC) patients who underwent conventional fractionation (CV), hypofractionated (HYPO) or extreme hypofractionated (eHYPO) radiotherapy. We analyzed the impact of technological innovation on the management of prostate cancer, attempting to make a meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Methods: PubMed database has been explored for studies concerning acute and late urinary/gastrointestinal toxicity in low/intermediate risk LPC patients after receiving radiotherapy.

Serum and tissue markers in hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma: clinical and prognostic implications.

HCC represents the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer-related death. Despite the high incidence, treatment options for advanced HCC remain limited and unsuccessful, resulting in a poor prognosis. Despite the major advances achieved in the diagnostic management of HCC, only one third of the newly diagnosed patients are presently eligible for curative treatments.

Developments in pharmacotherapy for treating metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Most patients with non-small cell lung (NSCLC), including squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma, have advanced disease at diagnosis and systemic therapy is the standard-of-care. About 20% of Caucasian patients are affected by an oncogene-addicted advanced NSCLC for which correspondent inhibitors are available. Areas covered: The main state-of-the-art synthetic anticancer drugs in the groups of chemotherapeutics, epidermal growth factor receptor and anaplastic lymphoma kinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors for NSCLC treatment, are reviewed and discussed from phase III randomized practice-changing trials onwards.

Clinical and radiological features driving patient selection for antiangiogenic therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Background: The use of antiangiogenic therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) requires thorough evaluation of patient characteristics in order to avoid potential safety issues, particularly pulmonary haemorrhage (PH). The aim of this consensus by a panel of experts was to identify important criteria for the selection of patients with NSCLC who would benefit from antiangiogenic therapy.

Methods: Radiologists and oncologists were selected for the expert panel.

Patients' Attitudes and Physicians' Perceptions Toward Maintenance Therapy for Advanced Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer: A Multicenter Italian Survey.

Introduction: Pemetrexed maintenance therapy (MT) after induction with platinum-based chemotherapy has recently become a common treatment strategy for advanced nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the benefits of MT should be weighed with consideration of the patients' perceptions and preferences. The aim of the present study was to evaluate patients' attitudes toward MT and to describe physicians' awareness of their patients' inclinations.

Corrigendum: Pazopanib in Metastatic Renal Cancer: A "Real-World" Experience at National Cancer Institute "Fondazione G. Pascale".

[This corrects the article on p. 287 in vol. 7, PMID: 27630568.

Second-line Erlotinib or Intermittent Erlotinib plus Docetaxel in Male Ex-smokers with Squamous NSCLC: The TALISMAN Randomized Trial.

Background/aim: The TArceva and docetaxeL In former-Smokers MAle patients with recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (TALISMAN) phase II, open-label randomized trial evaluates the combination of erlotinib with docetaxel in the second-line therapy of ex-smoker males with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Patients received erlotinib 150 mg/day (arm A; n=36) or docetaxel 75 mg/m on day 1 of each 3-week cycle and erlotinib 150 mg/day on days 2-16 of each cycle (arm B; n=38). The primary end-point was progression-free rate (PFR) at 6 months.

The Combination of New Immunotherapy and Radiotherapy: A N ew Potential Treatment for Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Lung cancer is the main reason of cancer death worldwide. About 30% of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases are diagnosed with locally advanced disease (stage III). This is a mixed population including patients who have far more extensive and bulky disease than others.

Intercalated Chemotherapy and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors for Patients With Advanced Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of concurrent epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) plus chemotherapy for unselected patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) produced negative results. Intercalated administration could avoid the reduction of chemotherapy activity due to G cell-cycle arrest from EGFR-TKIs. A PubMed search was performed in December 2015 and updated in February 2016.

The Role of the Antiangiogenetic Ramucirumab in the Treatment of Advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Angiogenesis is one of the most important phenomena sustaining tumor development and metastatization, including for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A dominant role in angiogenesis is played by the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its signaling pathway. Ramucirumab, is a fully human immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody that binds to the extracellular domain of the VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) with high specificity and affinity blocking the interaction of VEGFR-2 and VEGF ligands, thus inhibiting their signaling pathways and the consequential endothelial proliferation and migration.

Role of DNA repair machinery and p53 in the testicular germ cell cancer: a review.

Notwithstanding the peculiar sensitivity to cisplatin-based treatment, resulting in a very high percentage of cures even in advanced stages of the disease, still we do not know the biological mechanisms that make Testicular Germ Cell Tumor (TGCT) "unique" in the oncology scene. p53 and MDM2 seem to play a pivotal role, according to several in vitro observations, but no correlation has been found between their mutational or expression status in tissue samples and patients clinical outcome. Furthermore, other players seem to be on stage: DNA Damage Repair Machinery (DDR) , especially Homologous Recombination (HR) proteins, above all Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM), cooperates with p53 in response to DNA damage, activating apoptotic cascade and contributing to cell "fate".

Isoflavone Extracts Enhance the Effect of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors in NSCLC Cell Lines.

Aim: We investigated the effects of the pharmacological inhibition in vitro of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in combination with isoflavones.

Materials And Methods: Four anticancer drugs (erlotinib, gefitinib, afatinib and AZD9291) were combined with soy and red clover isoflavone extracts and used in cellular proliferation assays. The antitumor activity of inhibitors alone and in combination with isoflavone extracts was compared on three non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines with affiant EGFR genotype: A549 (EGFR wt); H1795 (EGFR T790M); HCC827 (EGFR del E746-A750).

The association of financial difficulties with clinical outcomes in cancer patients: secondary analysis of 16 academic prospective clinical trials conducted in Italy.

Background: Cancer may cause financial difficulties, but its impact in countries with public health systems is unknown. We evaluated the association of financial difficulties with clinical outcomes of cancer patients enrolled in academic clinical trials performed within the Italian public health system.

Patients And Methods: Data were pooled from 16 prospective multicentre trials in lung, breast or ovarian cancer, using the EORTC quality of life (QOL) C30 questionnaire.

Fractional Flow Reserve Evaluation and Chronic Kidney Disease: Analysis From a Multicenter Italian Registry (the FREAK Study).

Objectives: To establish if the presence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) influences fractional flow reserve (FFR) value in patients with intermediate coronary stenosis.

Background: FFR-guided coronary revascularization reduces cardiac adverse events in patients with coronary artery disease. CKD impairs microcirculation and increases cardiovascular risk.

Crizotinib Response in a Late Relapse of ALK-positive Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement is a therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer. To date, few reports have been provided related to ALK-rearranged late recurrence and sensitivity to the treatment with specific ALK inhibitors. We report a case of a 35-year-old man who underwent a right lower lobe lobectomy for lung adenocarcinoma, and treated with the platinum-based chemotherapy regimen.

Immunotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer: report from an international experts panel meeting of the Italian association of thoracic oncology.

The potential long term survival gain, related to immune adaptability and memory, the potential activity across multiple tumour types through targeting the immune system, and the opportunity for combinations offered by the unique mechanism of actions and safety profile of these new agents, all support the role of immunotherapy in the cancer treatment pathway or paradigm. Areas covered: The authors discuss the recent advances in the understanding of immunology and antitumor immune responses that have led to the development of new immunotherapies, including monoclonal antibodies that inhibit immune checkpoint pathways, such as Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Associated Antigen 4 (CTLA-4). Currently, two PD-1 inhibitors are available in clinical practice for treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): nivolumab and pembrolizumab.

Pazopanib in Metastatic Renal Cancer: A "Real-World" Experience at National Cancer Institute "Fondazione G. Pascale".

Pazopanib is an oral angiogenesis inhibitor, currently approved for treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and soft tissue sarcoma. The present study analyzed the outcomes of pazopanib in first-line treatment of mRCC, in a single Italian cancer center. In the light of the retrospective, observational nature and the unselected population, our experience can be defined a "real-world" study.