Inflammatory Indexes as Prognostic and Predictive Factors in Ovarian Cancer Treated with Chemotherapy Alone or Together with Bevacizumab. A Multicenter, Retrospective Analysis by the MITO Group (MITO 24).

Background: The variability in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) makes it difficult to reliably predict outcomes. A predictive biomarker of bevacizumab efficacy as first-line therapy in EOC is still lacking.

Objective: The MITO group conducted a multicenter, retrospective study (MITO 24) to investigate the role of inflammatory indexes as prognostic factors and predictors of treatment efficacy in FIGO stage III-IV EOC patients treated with first-line chemotherapy alone or in combination with bevacizumab.

Italian Nivolumab Expanded Access Program in Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: Results in Never-Smokers and EGFR-Mutant Patients.

Introduction: Nivolumab is the first checkpoint inhibitor approved for the treatment of nonsquamous NSCLC. We report results from the nivolumab Italian expanded access program focusing on never-smokers and patients with EGFR-mutant nonsqamous NSCLC.

Methods: Nivolumab (3 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks) was administered upon physicians' request to patients who had relapsed after one or more prior systemic treatments for stage IIIB/IV nonsquamous NSCLC.

Phase II Study of Preoperative Treatment with External Radiotherapy Plus Panitumumab in Low-Risk, Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer (RaP Study/STAR-03).

Background: Treatment with fluoropyrimidines and concomitant long-course external radiotherapy (RTE) is the standard of care in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) preoperative chemoradiation. A randomized phase II study (RaP/STAR-03) was conducted that aimed to evaluate the activity and safety of the monoclonal antibody anti-epidermal growth factor receptor panitumumab as a single agent in combination with radiotherapy in low-risk LARC preoperative treatment.

Materials And Methods: Patients had adenocarcinoma of the mid-low rectum, cT3N- or cT2-T3N+, wild-type status, and negative circumferential radial margin.

CDK9 inhibitors in acute myeloid leukemia.

Current treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is less than optimal, but increased understanding of disease pathobiology and genomics has led to clinical investigation of novel targeted therapies and rational combinations. Targeting the cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) pathway, which is dysregulated in AML, is an attractive approach. Inhibition of CDK9 leads to downregulation of cell survival genes regulated by super enhancers such as MCL-1, MYC, and cyclin D1.

Correction to: Magnetic resonance imaging for clinical management of rectal cancer: Updated recommendations from the 2016 European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) consensus meeting.

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Comparison of Tissue Stiffness Using Shear Wave Elastography in Men with Normal Testicular Tissue, Testicular Microlithiasis and Testicular Cancer.

Objectives: To compare elastography measurements in men with normal testicular tissue, testicular microlithiasis and testicular cancer.

Methods: A total of 248 consecutive patients were included. All men provided written informed consent.

Prevalence of malnutrition in patients at first medical oncology visit: the PreMiO study.

Background: In cancer patients, malnutrition is associated with treatment toxicity, complications, reduced physical functioning, and decreased survival. The Prevalence of Malnutrition in Oncology (PreMiO) study identified malnutrition or its risk among cancer patients making their first medical oncology visit. Innovatively, oncologists, not nutritionists, evaluated the nutritional status of the patients in this study.

Magnetic resonance imaging for clinical management of rectal cancer: Updated recommendations from the 2016 European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) consensus meeting.

Objectives: To update the 2012 ESGAR consensus guidelines on the acquisition, interpretation and reporting of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for clinical staging and restaging of rectal cancer.

Methods: Fourteen abdominal imaging experts from the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) participated in a consensus meeting, organised according to an adaptation of the RAND-UCLA Appropriateness Method. Two independent (non-voting) Chairs facilitated the meeting.

Molecular profiling in Italian patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: An observational prospective study.

Objectives: Molecular profiling of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is recommended according to European and Italian guidelines. However, molecular routine assessment remains still heterogeneous. This observational study aimed to take a picture of the real clinical practice in molecular testing and therapeutic choices in advanced Italian NSCLCs.

Testicular microlithiasis is associated with ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Background: There are limited studies about testicular microlithiasis (TML) and background information such as health, lifestyle, and socioeconomic status.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of TML in relation to socioeconomic status and ethnicity.

Material And Methods: From a database of scrotal ultrasound examinations in a single institution, all men who underwent routine ultrasound examinations for a variety of symptoms from 1998 to 2015 were included.

Heterogeneity in the colorectal primary tumor and the synchronous resected liver metastases prior to and after treatment with an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody.

Molecular heterogeneity between primary tumors (PTs) and synchronous resected liver metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC) has potential relevance in treatment strategies. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) may be able to increase the chances of identifying multiple molecular driver alterations, calling for therapy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate mutations in PT and synchronous resected liver metastases for patients with Kirsten rat sarcoma 2 viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) exon 2 wild-type metastatic (m)CRC who underwent chemotherapy (CT) featuring an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody.

Severe Rhabdomyolysis during Treatment with Trabectedin in Combination with a Herbal Drug in a Patient with Metastatic Synovial Sarcoma: A Case Report.

Rhabdomyolysis is defined as dissolution of striped muscle characterized by leakage of intracellular muscle components into the circulation, which can ultimately lead to renal failure with a possible fatal outcome. This is an uncommon side effect of trabectedin which is used in second-line therapy of metastatic sarcoma after anthracycline and ifosfamide failure. Here, we describe a case of reversible rhabdomyolysis in a male patient with recurrent metastatic synovial sarcoma of the hand, with marked F-FDG uptake into his skeletal muscles, after 4 cycles of trabectedin, and who at the same time was taking an alternative medicine (bioflavonoids) suspected of triggering this adverse event.

Management and follow-up of gallbladder polyps : Joint guidelines between the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR), European Association for Endoscopic Surgery and other Interventional Techniques (EAES), International Society of Digestive Surgery - European Federation (EFISDS) and European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE).

Objectives: The management of incidentally detected gallbladder polyps on radiological examinations is contentious. The incidental radiological finding of a gallbladder polyp can therefore be problematic for the radiologist and the clinician who referred the patient for the radiological examination. To address this a joint guideline was created by the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR), European Association for Endoscopic Surgery and other Interventional Techniques (EAES), International Society of Digestive Surgery - European Federation (EFISDS) and European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE).

Management of Skin Reactions During Cetuximab Treatment in Association With Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy: Update of the Italian Expert Recommendations.

Objectives: Cetuximab was shown in phase III clinical trials to improve chemotherapy efficacy in patients with advanced colorectal and head-neck cancer. Appropriate management of skin reactions associated with epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor therapy is necessary to allow adequate drug compliance and to improve patient quality of life and outcomes.

Methods: The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method was used by a group of experts to produce new Italian recommendations on the management of skin reactions in this setting.

[A pilot study of weekly versus 3-week docetaxel in combination with capecitabine in patients with anthracycline-pretreated metastatic breast cancer].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of weekly or 3-week docetaxel in combination with capecitabine.

Methods: 83 Patients with at least one measurable lesion were randomized to receive the treatment arms: docetaxel 37.5 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8, oral capecitabine 950 mg/m(2) twice daily on days 1-14 (Group A); docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) on days 1, oral capecitabine 950 mg/m(2) twice daily on days 1-14 (Group B).

Investigating macrophage and malignant cell interactions in vitro.

Within most human and murine cancers there is an abundant macrophage population, attracted to the tumor microenvironment by cytokines and chemokines such as CSF-1 (M-CSF) and CCL2 (MCP-1) (Cell 124:263-266, 2006). Despite their intrinsic antitumor activity there is usually, but not always, a positive association between the extent of the macrophage infiltrate in tumors and a bad prognosis (Cell 124:263-266, 2006; Nat Rev Cancer 4:71-78, 2004). According to Condeelis and Pollard (Nat Rev Cancer 4:71-78, 2004), tumor-associated macrophages are obligate partners for malignant cell migration, invasion, and metastasis.

[hTERT promoter regulated replication-selective adenovirus CNHK300 in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma].

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic efficiency of replicative adenovirus CNHK300 targeted at telomerase-positive hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: Human liver cancer cell line HepGII and Hep3B, human embryonic kidney cell line 293, and normal human fibroblasts of the line BJ were cultured and added with adenoviruses CNHK300, ONYX-015 (55 000 protein deleted adenovirus), or wtAd5 (wild type 5) with different multiplicity of infection (MOI) for 7 days. 293 cells were used to measure the titer of the filial generation virus from different cells.

Cytogenetic alterations in ovarian clear cell carcinoma detected by comparative genomic hybridisation.

Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) accounts for a small but significant proportion of all ovarian cancers and is a distinct clinical and pathological entity. It tends to be associated with poorer response rates to chemotherapy and with a worse prognosis. Little is known about possible underlying genetic changes.

Use of a sensitive EnVision +-based detection system for Western blotting: avoidance of streptavidin binding to endogenous biotin and biotin-containing proteins in kidney and other tissues.

Western blotting remains a central technique in confirming identities of proteins, their quantitation and analysis of various isoforms. The biotin-avidin/streptavidin system is often used as an amplification step to increase sensitivity but in some tissues such as kidney, "nonspecific" interactions may be a problem due to high levels of endogenous biotin-containing proteins. The EnVision system, developed for immunohistochemical applications, relies on binding of a polymeric conjugate consisting of up to 100 peroxidase molecules and 20 secondary antibody molecules linked directly to an activated dextran backbone, to the primary antibody.

Serological and proteomic evaluation of antibody responses in the identification of tumor antigens in renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is relatively resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, reports of spontaneous regression along with promising results in clinical trials suggest that immunotherapuetic strategies may be of clinical benefit. Few RCC related antigens have been identified to date, and the technical difficulty and time constraints of current antigen identification techniques preclude the screening of large numbers of patients.