The prognostic impact of the extent of ulceration in patients with clinical stage I-II melanoma: a multicentre study of the Italian Melanoma Intergroup (IMI).

Background: The presence of ulceration has been recognized as an adverse prognostic factor in primary cutaneous melanoma (PCM).

Objectives: To investigate whether the extent of ulceration (EoU) predicts relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in PCM.

Materials And Methods: We retrieved data for 477 patients with ulcerated PCM from databases of the Italian Melanoma Intergroup.

Predictive Impact of Mucinous Tumors on the Clinical Outcome in Patients with Poorly Differentiated, Stage II Colon Cancer: A TOSCA Subgroup Analysis.

Background: Although American Society of Clinical Oncology and European Society for Medical Oncology guidelines have identified the negative prognostic factors that clinicians have to consider when treating their patients with stage II colon cancer (CC), the role of histological subtype is controversial.

Subjects, Materials, And Methods: The randomized, multicenter, phase III TOSCA trial compared 3 versus 6 months of fluoropyrimidine-oxaliplatin adjuvant chemotherapy in 3,759 patients with high-risk stage II or stage III CC. The objective of this substudy was to evaluate the influence of histological subtypes on the impact of the treatment duration of adjuvant chemotherapy in terms of relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in 85 mucinous adenocarcinoma (MUC) and 389 nonmucinous adenocarcinoma (NMUC) patients with high-risk stage II, grade 3 CC.

Oral prolonged-release Oxycodone-Naloxone: analgesic response, safety profile, and factors influencing the response in advanced cancer patients.

Background: Oxycodone-Naloxone (OXN) aims to reduce opioid-related constipation while being successfully analgesic.

Methods: We evaluated the analgesic response, prevalence, and severity of side effects in 176 cancer patients with moderate to severe pain and treated with OXN. Patients were followed for 28 days and evaluated every seven.

Prognostic impact of regression in patients with primary cutaneous melanoma >1 mm in thickness.

Background: The impact of histologic regression on sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) status and on clinical outcome is uncertain.

Objective: To investigate whether and to what extent regression <75% is able to predict SLNB status and clinical outcome of patients with melanoma >1-mm thick.

Methods: The study included patients with diagnoses given at 4 centers of the Italian Melanoma Intergroup.

Opioid switching and variability in response in pain cancer patients.

Introduction: Opioid switching is a possible strategy for inadequate analgesia or unmanageable side effects. Its effectiveness ranges from 50 to 90% and is still debated.

Purpose: We analyzed the impact of opioid switching in a cancer pain population treated with strong opioids for pain.

Extracellular nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (eNAMPT) is a novel marker for patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma.

Metastatic melanoma carrying BRAF mutations represent a still unmet medical need as success of BRAF inhibitors is limited by development of resistance. Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is a key enzyme in NAD biosynthesis. An extracellular form (eNAMPT) possesses cytokine-like functions and is up-regulated in inflammatory disorders, including cancer.

Brain Gliomas: Multicenter Standardized Assessment of Dynamic Contrast-enhanced and Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast MR Images.

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of a standardized protocol for acquisition and analysis of dynamic contrast material-enhanced (DCE) and dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in a multicenter clinical setting and to verify its accuracy in predicting glioma grade according to the new World Health Organization 2016 classification. Materials and Methods The local research ethics committees of all centers approved the study, and informed consent was obtained from patients. One hundred patients with glioma were prospectively examined at 3.

Metronomic Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer: The Future Is Now?

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) shows a very bad prognosis, even in early stages of disease. Metronomic chemotherapy refers to the minimum biologically effective dose of a chemotherapy agent given as a continuous dosing regimen with no prolonged drug-free breaks that leads to antitumor activity. In the present article, we review preclinical and clinical data of metronomic administration of chemotherapy agents with or without biological agents in TNBC cell lines and patients, contextually reporting data from the VICTOR-2 study in the subgroup of patients with TNBC, in order to stimulate new ideas for the design of clinical trials in this subset of patients.

Nonresponsiveness and Susceptibility of Opioid Side Effects Related to Cancer Patients' Clinical Characteristics: A Post-Hoc Analysis.

Background: The response to opioids is not always positive in cancer patients. A considerable proportion of patients do not respond (nonresponders [NRs]) or experience severe toxicity. The aim of this analysis was to assess the role of demographic characteristics, pain features, comorbidities, and ongoing therapy on the lack of efficacy and on the occurrence of severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs).

A comparison between the administration of oral prolonged-release oxycodone-naloxone and transdermal fentanyl in patients with moderate-to-severe cancer pain: a propensity score analysis.

Background: Opioids are the most important pharmacological treatment for moderate-to-severe cancer pain, but side effects limit their use. Transdermal fentanyl (TDF) and oral prolonged-release oxycodone-naloxone (OXN-PR) are effective in controlling chronic pain, with less constipation compared to other opioids. However, TDF and OXN-PR have never been directly compared.

PD-L1 up-regulation in melanoma increases disease aggressiveness and is mediated through miR-17-5p.

PD-L1 is expressed by a subset of patients with metastatic melanoma (MM) with an unfavorable outcome. Its expression is increased in cells resistant to BRAF or MEK inhibitors (BRAFi or MEKi). However, the function and regulation of expression of PD-L1 remain incompletely understood.

Mitotic rate correlates with sentinel lymph node status and outcome in cutaneous melanoma greater than 1 millimeter in thickness: A multi-institutional study of 1524 cases.

Background: The 7th edition of the TNM American Joint Committee on Cancer classification incorporates mitotic rate (MR) only for primary cutaneous melanoma (PCM) with Breslow thickness (BT) ≤1 mm.

Objective: To investigate whether and to what extent MR is able to predict sentinel lymph node (SLN) status and clinical outcome of PCM patients with BT >1 mm.

Methods: The study included consecutive patients with PCM.

Metronomic chemotherapy with oral vinorelbine (mVNR) and capecitabine (mCAPE) in advanced HER2-negative breast cancer patients: is it a way to optimize disease control? Final results of the VICTOR-2 study.

Purpose: The VICTOR-1 study demonstrated that the all-oral metronomic combination of vinorelbine and capecitabine is highly active and well tolerated in hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative patients. The VICTOR-2 study was designed to confirm these results.

Methods: Patients received mVNR 40 mg three times a week and mCAPE 500 mg three times a day, continuously.