Splenocolic fistula in a patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: A case report and review of literature.

A fistula that connects the bowel to other organs, such as the urinary bladder or small intestine, is a relatively frequent complication, often associated with inflammatory diseases such as diverticulitis, Crohn's disease, colorectal cancer, or lymphoma. Splenocolic fistula is an extremely rare condition described in the literature. It can occur in cases of splenic tumors, including splenic diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

Third- and Late Line Treatments of Metastatic Gastric Cancer: Still More to Be Done.

In recent years, advances of anticancer and supportive therapies have determined a gradual improvement in survival rates and patients' general conditions in metastatic gastric cancer (mGC), allowing them to receive further treatments. The choice of treatment is driven by performance status, age, stage of disease, number of metastatic sites and time from the first to third line of treatment. Targets such as microsatellite instability, PD-L1 expression, and HER2 overexpression or amplification may be addressed to personalise treatment and prolong survival.

Genomic Landscape Alterations in Primary Tumor and Matched Lymph Node Metastasis in Hormone-Naïve Prostate Cancer Patients.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a disease with a wide range of clinical manifestations. Up to the present date, the genetic understanding of patients with favorable or unfavorable prognosis is gaining interest for giving the appropriate tailored treatment. We aimed to investigate genetic changes associated with lymph node metastasis in a cohort of hormone-naïve Pca patients.

Previous therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor as a cause of hypothyroidism, myositis, and renal insufficiency in a candidate for allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation.

Treatment of neoplastic diseases resistant to conventional chemotherapies is still an open challenge. The increasing development of chemical molecules or monoclonal antibodies able to recognize precise molecular targets of cancer disease has played an increasingly important role in treating patients suffering from solid or hematological tumors, and constitutes the basis of so-called 'targeted therapy'. Immunotherapy has become a cornerstone for treating refractory or relapsed cancer disease patients after standard chemotherapies.

PD-1, PD-L1 and cAMP immunohistochemical expressions are associated with worse oncological outcome in patients with bladder cancer.

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to identify prognostic factors of cancer mortality in patients who received radical cystectomy and to identify genomic alterations in a sub-cohort of patients with locally advanced (pT3-4) and/or positive lymph nodes bladder cancer (BC).

Methods: We collected 101 BC samples from 2010 to 2018 who previously received radical cystectomy. Immunohistochemical slides were evaluated for PPAR, cAMP, IMP3, Ki67, CDK4, POU5F1, Cyclin E and MDM2, p65, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD68, CD163, FOXP3, PD-1 and PD-L1 expression.

The Long and Winding Road: An Overview of the Immunological Landscape of Intracranial Meningiomas.

The role of immunotherapy is gaining ever-increasing interest in the neuro-oncological field, and this is also expanding to the management of intracranial meningioma. Meningiomas are still the most common primary adult tumor of the CNS, and even though surgery and/or radiotherapy still represent cornerstones of their treatment, recent findings strongly support the potential role of specific immune infiltrate cells, their features and genomics, for the application of personalized treatments and prognostic implications. According to the PRISMA guidelines, systematic research in the most updated platform was performed in order to provide a descriptive and complete overview about the characteristics, role and potential implications of immunology in meningioma tumors.

Molecular Analysis of Luminal Androgen Receptor Reveals Activated Pathways and Potential Therapeutic Targets in Breast Cancer.

Background/aim: Triple-negative breast cancers represent 15% of all mammary malignancies and encompass several entities with different genomic characteristics. Among these, luminal androgen receptor (LAR) tumors express the androgen receptor (AR) and are characterized by a genomic profile which resembles luminal breast cancers. Moreover, LAR malignancies are usually enriched in PIK3CA, KMTC, CDH, NF1, and AKT1 alterations.

Case Report: Splenic Ischemia Induced by Volvulus of Ileum.

A 31-year-old female patient was admitted to the emergency department with signs and symptoms of acute abdomen. Urgent CT scan was performed and small bowel volvulus, with whirlpool sign, was noted and torsion of the spleen was also involved too.

Irradiation of Lung Cancer Stem Cells Identifies the Lowest Therapeutic Dose Needed for Tumor Growth Arrest and Mass Reduction .

Radiotherapy represents a first-line treatment for many inoperable lung tumors. New technologies offer novel opportunities for the treatment of lung cancer with the administration of higher doses of radiation in smaller volumes. Because both therapeutic and toxic treatment effects are dose-dependent, it is important to identify a minimal dose protocol for each individual patient that maintains efficacy while decreasing toxicity.

Splenic rupture following lenograstim in post-autologous stem cell transplantation treated with emergency open splenectomy: a case report and literature review.

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (G-CSFs) are the cornerstone of peripheral blood stem cell mobilization and apheresis. However, splenic rupture following G-CSF treatment represents a serious and potentially fatal adverse event. Here, we report the case of a patient in their late 50s with severe pancytopenia post-autologous stem cell transplantation reinfusion suffering from splenic rupture after treatment with lenograstim.

New dosimetric parameters to predict ano-rectal toxicity during radiotherapy treatment.

Purpose: Radiotherapy is essential in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer. Side effects of radiotherapy in the treatment of rectal cancer have a great effect on quality of life. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the correlation between dosimetric parameters and acute toxicity in rectal cancer patients.

Mechanistic Translation of Melanoma Genetic Landscape in Enriched Pathways and Oncogenic Protein-Protein Interactions.

Background/aim: Malignant melanoma is a skin cancer originating from the oncogenic transformation of melanocytes located in the epidermal layers. Usually, the patient's prognosis depends on timing of disease detection and molecular and genetic profiling, which may all significantly influence mortality rates. Genetic analyses often detect somatic BRAF, NRAS and cKIT mutations, germline substitutions in CDKN2A, and alterations of the PI3K-AKT-PTEN pathway.

A Case of Non-Irradiated Balloon Cell Melanoma of the Choroid: Expanding the Morphological Spectrum of Primary Uveal Melanomas.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults and usually has a very poor prognosis. Histologically, UMs have been classified in epithelioid cell type, spindle cell type, and mixed cell type. Balloon cells are large pale cells that contain small, hyperchromatic, central nuclei with vesiculated, clear, and lipid-rich cytoplasm.

Efficacy of High-Ozonide Oil in Prevention of Cancer Relapses Mechanisms and Clinical Evidence.

Background: Cancer tissue is characterized by low oxygen availability triggering neo angiogenesis and metastatisation. Accordingly, oxidation is a possible strategy for counteracting cancer progression and relapses. Previous studies used ozone gas, administered by invasive methods, both in experimental animals and clinical studies, transiently decreasing cancer growth.

Reduced Absolute Count of Monocytes in Patients Carrying Hematological Neoplasms and SARS-CoV2 Infection.

Background: Clinical course of COVID-19 depends on several patient-specific risk factors, including immune function, that is largely compromised in cancer patients.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated 120 adult consecutive patients (including 34 cases of COVID-19 breakthrough after two full doses of BNT162b2 vaccine) with underlying hematological malignancies and a SARS-CoV-2 infection, in terms of patient's clinical outcome.

Results: Among fully vaccinated patients the achievement of viral clearance by day 14 was more frequent than in unvaccinated patients.

Glioblastoma, -Wild Type With Fusion: When Morphology May Reliably Predict the Molecular Profile of a Tumor. A Case Report and Literature Review.

It has been reported that in-frame fusions confer to glioblastomas, -wild type (GBMs, wt) some unusual morphologic features, including monomorphous rounded cells with ovoid nuclei, nuclear palisading, endocrinoid network of "chicken-wire" vessels, microcalcifications and desmoplastic stroma, whose observation may predict the molecular profile of the tumor. We herein present a case of recurrent GBMs, wt, exhibiting some of the above-mentioned morphological features and a molecularly-proven fusion. A 56-year-old man presented to our hospital for a recurrent GBM, wt, surgically treated at another center.

C-Reactive Protein Monitoring and Clinical Presentation of Fever as Predictive Factors of Prolonged Febrile Neutropenia and Blood Culture Positivity after Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation-Single-Center Real-Life Experience.

Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a medical emergency that requires urgent evaluation, timely administration of empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics and careful monitoring in order to optimize the patient's outcome, especially in the setting of both allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (ASCT).

Methods: In this real-life retrospective study, a total of 49 consecutive episodes of FN were evaluated in 40 adult patients affected by either multiple myeloma (thirty-eight) or lymphoma (eleven), following ASCT, with nine patients having fever in both of the tandem transplantations.

Results: Febrile neutropenia occurred a median of 7 days from ASCT.

Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Capabilities for Treating Lower-Extremity Skin Affected by Several Merkel Cell Carcinoma Nodules: When Technological Advances Effectively Achieve the Palliative Therapeutic Goal while Minimising the Risk of Potential Toxicities.

The peculiar and rare clinical condition below clearly requires a customized care approach in the context of personalized medicine. An 80-year-old female patient who was subjected in 2018 to surgical removal of a cutaneous Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) nodule located on the posterior surface of the left thigh and to three subsequent palliative radiotherapy treatments developed a fourth relapse in October 2020, with fifteen nodular metastases located in the left thigh and leg. Since the overall macroscopic disease was still exclusively regionally located and microscopic spread was likely extended also to clinically negative skin of the thigh and leg, we performed an irradiation of the whole left lower extremity.

IGFBP-6/sonic hedgehog/TLR4 signalling axis drives bone marrow fibrotic transformation in primary myelofibrosis.

Primary myelofibrosis is a Ph-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by bone marrow fibrosis and associated with the involvement of several pathways, in addition to bone marrow microenvironment alterations, mostly driven by the activation of the cytokine receptor/JAK2 pathway. Identification of driver mutations has led to the development of targeted therapy for myelofibrosis, contributing to reducing inflammation, although this currently does not translate into bone marrow fibrosis remission. Therefore, understanding the clear molecular cut underlying this pathology is now necessary to improve the clinical outcome of patients.

Role of Serum Free Light Chain Assay in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma. A Real-Life Unicentric Retrospective Study.

Background: In the era of novel drugs a growing number of multiple myeloma (MM) patients are treated until disease progression. Serum free light chain (sFLC) assay is recommended for disease monitoring in oligo-secretory and micromolecular MM.

Methods: In this real-life survey, a total of 130 relapsed/refractory MM patients treated at our center with at least three lines were investigated as a retrospective cohort.

Cancer Stem Cell Biomarkers Predictive of Radiotherapy Response in Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Background: Rectal cancer (RC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed and particularly challenging tumours to treat due to its location in the pelvis and close proximity to critical genitourinary organs. Radiotherapy (RT) is recognised as a key component of therapeutic strategy to treat RC, promoting the downsizing and downstaging of large RCs in neoadjuvant settings, although its therapeutic effect is limited due to radioresistance. Evidence from experimental and clinical studies indicates that the likelihood of achieving local tumour control by RT depends on the complete eradication of cancer stem cells (CSC), a minority subset of tumour cells with stemness properties.

Medullary Carcinoma of the Gastrointestinal Tract: Report on Two Cases with Immunohistochemical and Molecular Features.

Medullary carcinoma of the colon is a rare histological variant characterized by a poorly differentiated morphology, an aberrant immunophenotype, and microsatellite instability. Despite the lack of glandular differentiation, medullary carcinoma is reported to have a good prognosis. It is typically located in the right colon and frequently affects older women.