An Italian multicenter retrospective real-life analysis of patients with brain metastases from renal cell carcinoma: the BMRCC study.

Background: The treatment of patients with brain-spread renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an unmet clinical need, although more recent therapeutic strategies have significantly improved RCC patients' life expectancy. Our multicenter, retrospective, observational study investigated a real-world cohort of patients with brain metastases (BM) from RCC (BMRCC).

Patients And Methods: A total of 226 patients with histological diagnosis of RCC and radiological evidence of BM from 22 Italian institutions were enrolled.

Practical implications of tumor proximity to landmark vessels in minimally invasive radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy.

Careful preoperative planning is key in minimally invasive radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy (MI-RAMPS). This retrospective study aims to show the practical implications of computed tomography distance between the right margin of the tumor and either the left margin of the spleno-mesenteric confluence (d-SMC) or the gastroduodenal artery (d-GDA). Between January 2011 and June 2022, 48 minimally invasive RAMPS were performed for either pancreatic cancer or malignant intraductal mucinous papillary neoplasms.

Fungal mycobiome-mediated immune response: a non-negligible promoter in pancreatic oncogenesis and chemoresistance.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers in humans due to late diagnosis and poor response to treatments. The tumor microenvironment (TME) of PDAC is characterized by a distinctive, suppressive immune profile, which inhibits the protective functions of anti-tumor immunity and thereby contributes to PDAC progression. Recently, the study of Alam discovered for the first time that the intratumoral fungal mycobiome could contribute to the recruitment and activation of type 2 immune cells in the TME of PDAC via enhancing the secretion of a chemoattractant, interleukin (IL-) 33.

Renovation and creation of a Biocontainment Unit: the experience of Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana (Pisa, Italy).

Infectious diseases are a major public health concern. In recent decades, there has been a succession of bacterial and viral diseases, which when added to the endemic diseases found in certain areas of the world, can become a global health problem. In emergency medicine we talk a lot about Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) preparedness, but the main focus today is bio-preparedness.

Aggressive Angiomyxoma of the Lower Female Genital Tract in Pregnancy: A Review of the MITO Rare Tumors Group.

Deep (aggressive) angiomyxoma of the lower genital tract is a rare malignancy affecting women of reproductive age. Being a hormone-sensitive tumor, its growth is particularly benefitted during pregnancy. Surgical excision with complete resection is indicated, even if a wait-and-see approach can be considered until delivery, to avoid destructive surgeries.

Transcriptomic Signatures of MSI-High Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Predict Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Purpose: Microsatellite instability (MSI) is currently the only predictive biomarker of efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in metastatic colorectal cancers (mCRC). However, 10% to 40% of patients with MSI mCRC will experience a primary resistance to ICI.

Experimental Design: In two cohorts of patients with MSI mCRC treated with ICI (exploratory, N = 103; validation, N = 35), 3' RNA sequencing was performed from primary tumors.

Pattern and clinical correlates of renal iron deposition in adult beta-thalassemia major patients.

We evaluated pattern and clinical correlates of renal T2* measurements in adult β-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients. Ninety β-TM patients (48 females, 38.15 ± 7.

ShorTrip Trial: A Prospective, Multicentric Phase II Single-Arm Trial of Short-Course Radiotherapy Followed by Intensified Consolidation Chemotherapy With the Triplet FOLFOXIRI as Total Neoadjuvant Therapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer.

Background: In patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) treated with preoperative (chemo) radiotherapy and surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy is poorly feasible and its benefit is questionable. In the last years, several total neoadjuvant treatment (TNT) strategies, moving the adjuvant chemotherapy to the neoadjuvant setting, have been investigated with the aim of improving compliance to systemic chemotherapy, treating micrometastases earlier and then reducing distant recurrence.

Patients And Methods: ShorTrip (NTC05253846) is a prospective, multicentre, single-arm phase II trial where 63 patients with LARC will be treated with short-course radiotherapy followed by intensified consolidation chemotherapy with FOLFOXIRI regimen and surgery.

Outcomes in patients with -mutated melanoma and brain metastases at baseline treated with dabrafenib plus trametinib.

Background: Brain metastases (BM) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels above the upper limit of normal (ULN) are associated with poor prognosis in patients with melanoma. Although treatment with the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib and the MEK inhibitor trametinib have demonstrated long-term clinical benefit in patients with melanoma, data on their efficacy in patients with BM are limited.

Methods: DESCRIBE Italy is an observational, retrospective, real-world study evaluating dabrafenib plus trametinib in 499 patients with -mutant stage III unresectable or stage IV melanoma from various sites across Italy.

NEO-SAFE: a clinical model for patients and healthcare personnel safety in primary level hospitals.

Patient safety is a major concern in medicine. Approximately, 4 million infants die each year worldwide and 23% of these deaths are caused by perinatal asphyxia. To prevent the long-term damage of asphyxia, the resuscitation flowchart must be perfectly and promptly performed.

Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: From the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) to the Italian Neurosurgical Society (SINch) Recommendations.

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a progressively growing pathology to afford by a spinal surgeon due to the aging of the population, associated with better treatment management and the best diagnosis and treatment solutions are greatly discussed. Nowadays that scientific literature is progressively increasing to identify the gold standard in diagnosis and treatment can be very challenging. This is particularly evident in spinal surgery with many different indications not only in different countries but also in the same local reality.

An empirical approach to the definition of the target margins in eye radiosurgery.

Introduction: A system for stabilizing and monitoring eye movements during LINAC-based photon beam one single fraction stereotactic radiotherapy was developed at our Institution. This study aimed to describe the feasibility and the efficacy of our noninvasive optical localization system that was developed, tested, and applied in 20 patients treated for uveal melanoma.

Methods: Our system consisted of a customized thermoplastic mask to immobilize the head, a gaze fixation LED, and a digital micro-camera.

The landscape of cancer rewired GPCR signaling axes.

We explored the dysregulation of GPCR ligand signaling systems in cancer transcriptomics datasets to uncover new therapeutics opportunities in oncology. We derived an interaction network of receptors with ligands and their biosynthetic enzymes, which revealed that multiple GPCRs are differentially regulated together with their upstream partners across cancer subtypes. We showed that biosynthetic pathway enrichment from enzyme expression recapitulated pathway activity signatures from metabolomics datasets, providing valuable surrogate information for GPCRs responding to organic ligands.

Multimodality imaging in cardiogenic shock: state-of-the art.

Purpose Of Review: There is emerging evidence on the role of the multimodality imaging in the setting of cardiogenic shock. The utility of different imaging modalities, along with their pitfalls and limitations, and their integration in a multiparametric approach are discussed in the current review.

Recent Findings: The evaluation of congestion and perfusion in patients with shock has allowed a better understanding of the underlying physiopathological mechanisms.

Difficult defecation in constipated patients: Diagnosis by minimally invasive diagnostic tests.

Background And Aims: Defecation Disorders (DD) are a frequent cause of refractory chronic constipation. DD diagnosis requires anorectal physiology testing. Our aim was to evaluate the accuracy and Odds Ratio (OR) of a straining question (SQ) and a digital rectal examination (DRE) augmented by abdomen palpation on predicting a DD diagnosis in refractory CC patients.

The impact of survivorship bias in glioblastoma research.

Despite advances in the therapy of Central Nervous System (CNS) malignancies, treatment of glioblastoma (GB) poses significant challenges due to GB resistance and high recurrence rates following post-operative radio-chemotherapy. The majority of prognostic and predictive GB biomarkers are currently developed using tumour samples obtained through surgical interventions. However, the selection criteria adopted by different neurosurgeons to determine which cases are suitable for surgery make operated patients not representative of all GB cases.

Rationale and clinical application of antimicrobial stewardship principles in the intensive care unit: a multidisciplinary statement.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance represents a major critical issue for the management of the critically ill patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU), since infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria are characterized by high morbidity and mortality, high rates of treatment failure, and increased healthcare costs worldwide. It is also well known that antimicrobial resistance can emerge as a result of inadequate antimicrobial therapy, in terms of drug selection and/or treatment duration. The application of antimicrobial stewardship principles in ICUs improves the quality of antimicrobial therapy management.

Concordance of microsatellite instability and mismatch repair status in paired biopsies and surgical specimens of resectable gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma: time for a call to action.

Background: Reliability of mismatch repair proteins and microsatellite instability assessment is essential in order to define treatment strategy and identify candidates to immune checkpoint inhibitors in locally advanced gastroesophageal carcinoma. We evaluated the concordance of deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) and microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) status between endoscopic biopsies and surgical specimens.

Methods: Consecutive patients with resectable gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma classified as MSI-H/dMMR by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or immunohistochemistry (IHC) and operated at three referral Institutions were included.

Retrospective observational study on the use of acetyl-L-carnitine in ALS.

ALCAR (Acetyl-L-carnitine) is a donor of acetyl groups and increases the intracellular levels of carnitine, the primary transporter of fatty acids across the mitochondrial membranes. In vivo studies showed that ALCAR decrease oxidative stress markers and pro-inflammatory cytokines. In a previous double-blind placebo-controlled phase II trial showed positive effects on self-sufficiency (defined as a score of 3+ on the ALSFRS-R items for swallowing, cutting food and handling utensils, and walking) ALSFRS-R total score and FVC.

Efficacy of Convalescent Plasma to Treat Long-Standing COVID-19 in Patients with B-Cell Depletion.

The use of antivirals, corticosteroids, and IL-6 inhibitors has been recommended by the WHO to treat COVID-19. CP has also been considered for severe and critical cases. Clinical trials on CP have shown contradictory results, but an increasing number of patients, including immunocompromised ones, have shown benefits from this treatment.

Innovative Approach to Isolate and Characterize Glioblastoma Circulating Tumor Cells and Correlation with Tumor Mutational Status.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are one of the most important causes of tumor recurrence and distant metastases. Glioblastoma (GBM) has been considered restricted to the brain for many years. Nevertheless, in the past years, several pieces of evidence indicate that hematogenous dissemination is a reality, and this is also in the caseof GBM.

Identification of New Potential Prognostic and Predictive Markers in High-Grade Osteosarcoma Using Whole Exome Sequencing.

Conventional high-grade osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary cancer of bone and it typically affects the extremities of adolescents. OS has a complex karyotype, and molecular mechanisms related to carcinogenesis, progression and resistance to therapy are still largely unknown. For this reason, the current standard of care is associated with considerable adverse effects.