Cross-cultural validation of health literacy measurement tools in Italian oncology patients.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric characteristics of four Health Literacy (HL) measurement tools, viz. Newest Vital Sign (NVS), Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (STOFHLA), Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS) and Single question on Self-rated Reading Ability (SrRA) among Italian oncology patients.

Methods: The original version of the tools were translated from the English language into Italian using a standard forward-backward procedure and according to internationally recognized good practices.

Variability in axillary lymph node delineation for breast cancer radiotherapy in presence of guidelines on a multi-institutional platform.

Aim: To quantify the variability between radiation oncologists (ROs) when outlining axillary nodes in breast cancer.

Material And Methods: For each participating center, three ROs with different levels of expertise, i.e.

Efficacy and Safety of Onartuzumab in Combination With First-Line Bevacizumab- or Pemetrexed-Based Chemotherapy Regimens in Advanced Non-Squamous Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: Onartuzumab is a monovalent monoclonal antibody that binds with the extracellular domain of the MET receptor. Given the role of MET in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we investigated whether onartuzumab added to first-line chemotherapy efficacy in non-squamous NSCLC.

Methods: Patients with untreated stage IIIB/IV non-squamous NSCLC, stratified by MET diagnostic status, were randomized to receive onartuzumab (15 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks) or placebo in combination with either paclitaxel/platinum/bevacizumab (bevacizumab cohort), or in combination with platinum/pemetrexed (pemetrexed cohort) with maintenance bevacizumab or pemetrexed and onartuzumab/placebo as appropriate.

A phase I pharmacokinetic and safety study of cabazitaxel in adult cancer patients with normal and impaired renal function.

Purpose: Limited data are available on cabazitaxel pharmacokinetics in patients with renal impairment. This open-label, multicenter study assessed cabazitaxel in patients with advanced solid tumors and normal or impaired renal function.

Methods: Cohorts A (normal renal function: creatinine clearance [CrCL] >80 mL/min/1.

The American Society of Peritoneal Surface Malignancies Multi-Institution evaluation of 1,051 advanced ovarian cancer patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC: An introduction of the peritoneal surface disease severity score.

Background: Standard treatment for ovarian epithelial cancer (OEC) consists of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and a platinum-taxane chemotherapy combination. There is increasing interest in evaluating hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in patients with stage IIIC/IV disease. The peritoneal surface disease severity score (PSDSS) was introduced as a basis to improve patient selection for this therapy in OEC.

Trabectedin as a chemotherapy option for patients with BRCA deficiency.

Trabectedin is a marine-derived product that was originally isolated from the Caribbean sea squirt Ecteinascidia turbinata and the first anticancer marine drug to be approved by the European Union. It is currently used as a single agent for the treatment of patients with soft tissue sarcoma after failure of anthracyclines and ifosfamide, or for those patients who are unsuited to receive these agents, and in patients with relapsed, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin. Trabectedin has a unique multi-faceted mechanism of action that involves transcription regulation and DNA repair systems, including transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair and homologous recombination repair (HRR) as the main hallmarks of its antiproliferative activity.

Trans-arterial radioembolization in intermediate-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: systematic review and meta-analyses.

Trans-arterial radioembolization (TARE) is a recognized, although not explicitly recommended, experimental therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).A systematic literature review was performed to identify published studies on the use of TARE in intermediate and advanced stages HCC exploring the efficacy and safety of this innovative treatment.Twenty-one studies reporting data on overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP), were included in a meta-analysis.

A comprehensive treatment for peritoneal metastases from gastric cancer with curative intent.

Recently, Peritoneal Surface Oncology Group International (PSOGI) developed a novel comprehensive treatment consisting of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and perioperative chemotherapy (POC) for the treatment of peritoneal metastases (PM) from gastric cancer with curative intent. This article reviews the results of this treatment and verifies its indication. In this strategy, peritoneal cancer index (PCI) is determined by laparoscopy, and a peritoneal port is placed.

Axillary coverage by whole breast irradiation in 1 to 2 positive sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the dosimetric coverage of axillary levels I, II, and III obtained with standard whole breast irradiation in 1 to 2 positive sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) patients not submitted to axillary lymph nodes dissection (ALND), and to compare the lymph nodes areas coverage obtained with 3D conformal radiation therapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT).

Methods: Patients with 1 to 2 positive SLNs undergoing breast-conserving therapy, without ALND, were included in the analysis. For each patient, 3 treatment plans were performed: a 3D conventional tangential plan, a static IMRT plan, and a volumetric IMRT, designed to encompass the entire breast parenchyma.

Comparative study between circumferential method and laser scanner 3D method for the evaluation of arm volume in healthy subjects.

Objective: Accurate and convenient measurement of upper limb volume is an important clinical tool to measure incidence of lymphedema and response to treatments. There are several methods used to evaluate arm volumes. The most commonly used methods include water displacement and circumferential method (CM), but these techniques have some limitation in use and accuracy that needs the use of a new technique for volume and swelling detection: laser scanner 3D method (LS3D).

Hope in cancer patients: the relational domain as a crucial factor.

Aims And Background: Hope is crucial for patients with cancer. We explored the determinants of hope in patients with cancer using a questionnaire administered over the course of 1 day to an unselected sample of patients at an Italian cancer center.

Methods: A team of oncologists, statisticians, and chaplains developed a questionnaire with medical, psychological, spiritual, and religious content.

Health-related quality-of-life results from PALETTE: A randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trial of pazopanib versus placebo in patients with soft tissue sarcoma whose disease has progressed during or after prior chemotherapy-a European Organization for research and treatment of cancer soft tissue and bone sarcoma group global network study (EORTC 62072).

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was an exploratory endpoint in the PALETTE trial, a global, double-blind, randomized, phase 3 trial of pazopanib 800 mg versus placebo as second-line or later treatment for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma (N = 369). In that trial, progression-free survival was significantly improved in the pazopanib arm (median, 4.6 vs 1.

Second-line dovitinib (TKI258) in patients with FGFR2-mutated or FGFR2-non-mutated advanced or metastatic endometrial cancer: a non-randomised, open-label, two-group, two-stage, phase 2 study.

Background: Activating FGFR2 mutations are found in 10-16% of primary endometrial cancers and provide an opportunity for targeted therapy. We assessed the safety and activity of dovitinib, a potent tyrosine-kinase inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptors, VEGF receptors, PDGFR-β, and c-KIT, as second-line therapy both in patients with FGFR2-mutated (FGFR2(mut)) endometrial cancer and in those with FGFR2-non-mutated (FGFR2(non-mut)) endometrial cancer.

Methods: In this phase 2, non-randomised, two-group, two-stage study, we enrolled adult women who had progressive disease after first-line chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic endometrial cancer from 46 clinical sites in seven countries.

Is the Combination of Distal Pancreatectomy and Cytoreductive Surgery With HIPEC Reasonable?: Results of an International Multicenter Study.

Objective: To report the morbidity and risk factors for overall complications and for pancreatic fistula (PF) after distal pancreatic resection (DP) during cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC).

Summary Background Data: The safety of DP in patients with peritoneal surface malignancies treated by CRS and HIPEC has been debated. The risk of PF and its impact on surgical outcomes are not well defined.

Italian Oncological Pain Survey (IOPS): a multicentre Italian study of breakthrough pain performed in different settings.

Objective: A survey of breakthrough pain (BTP) was performed in five palliative care units (PCU), seven oncology departments (ONC), and nine pain clinics (OPC).

Methods: A standard algorithm was used to confirm the diagnosis of BTP of patients refereed to different settings.

Results: 1,412 evaluable cancer patients were enrolled.

Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) consensus review for clear cell carcinoma of the uterine corpus and cervix.

Clear cell carcinomas of the uterine corpus and cervix are rare gynecological cancers with limited information regarding the pathogenesis and biology. At present, the approach to management is the same as for patients with the more common histological subtypes of endometrioid endometrial cancer and adenocarcinoma of the cervix. Surgical resection is the standard treatment for patients with early-stage disease, but there is no evidence-based approach to direct the management of patients with more advanced-stage disease at presentation or with recurrent disease.

Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup (GCIG) consensus review for ovarian germ cell tumors.

Most women diagnosed with malignant ovarian germ cell tumors have curable disease and experience excellent survival with manageable treatment-associated morbidity, related both to tumor biology and improvements in treatment over the last 4 decades. Malignant ovarian germ cell tumors occur predominantly in girls, adolescents, and young women and are often unilateral tumors of early stage, although advanced-stage disease occurs in approximately 30% of patients. Tumors are usually chemosensitive, thereby allowing fertility-sparing surgery in most women with high chance of cure.

Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) consensus review for carcinoid tumors of the ovary.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms most commonly occurring in the gastrointestinal tract or the lungs. More frequent are gastrointestinal tumors, but over the past 30 years, there have been a number of small series or anecdotal case reports on ovarian NETs. Neuroendocrine tumors in the gynecologic tract are uncommon and account for about 2% of all gynecologic malignancies but may also be metastatic from other sites.

Management of endometrial cancer in Italy: a national survey endorsed by the Italian Society of Gynecologic Oncology.

Introduction: Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is a frequent cancer in developed countries, but with evidence for discrepant clinical management. Under the auspices of the Italian Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SIOG), we conducted a survey among Italian centers with ≥20 surgeries for gynecological cancer per year, trying to depict a reliable picture of EC management in our country.

Methods: The questionnaire focused on preoperative/surgical staging and adjuvant treatment.

Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) consensus review for squamous cell carcinoma of the ovary.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the ovary is a rare complication of mature cystic teratoma. The epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis, and management of this rare tumor are reviewed. Clinical characteristics, preoperative imaging, and tumor markers may help to predict malignancy preoperatively.

Axillary dissection versus no axillary dissection in older T1N0 breast cancer patients: 15-year results of trial and out-trial patients.

Background: Our randomized trial found no survival advantage for axillary dissection (AD) compared observation only (no AD) in older patients with early breast cancer and a clinically negative axilla, indicating that AD is unnecessary. We compared characteristics and outcomes in out-trial patients with those in trial patients to provide indications as to whether AD can be safely omitted outside the trial setting.

Methods: The trial started in 1996, recruiting 238 patients age 65-80 years with cT1cN0 breast cancer, randomized to conservative surgery with or without AD.

Secondary cytoreductive surgery for isolated lymph node recurrence of epithelial ovarian cancer: a multicenter study.

Introduction: Chemotherapy is the standard treatment of recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), but its use in nodal relapses is still debated. On the other hand, the role of secondary cytoreductive surgery (SCS) remains controversial. Aim of this study is to evaluate feasibility and outcomes of SCS for the specific setting of recurrent ovarian cancer, exclusively relapsing in lymph nodes.

Annual or biennial CT screening versus observation in heavy smokers: 5-year results of the MILD trial.

The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of low-dose spiral computed tomography (LDCT) screening in heavy smokers is currently under evaluation worldwide. Our screening program started with a pilot study on 1035 volunteers in Milan in 2000 and was followed up in 2005 by a randomized trial comparing annual or biennial LDCT with observation, named Multicentric Italian Lung Detection. This included 4099 participants, 1723 randomized to the control group, 1186 to biennial LDCT screening, and 1190 to annual LDCT screening.