Publications by authors named "Chiara Astrua"

Background: Risankizumab has been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of psoriasis in numerous randomized clinical trials and real-life studies. Real-life data on treatment for up to 4 years are lacking.

Objectives: The present study aims to estimate the drug survival (DS), effectiveness, and safety of risankizumab over a period of 208 weeks (W).

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Background: Guselkumab has been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of psoriasis in numerous randomized clinical trials and real-life studies. Real-life data on treatment up to 4 years are lacking.

Objectives: The present study aims to estimate the drug survival, effectiveness and safety of guselkumab over a period of 208 weeks.

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Patients with treated solid tumors (TST) are a highly heterogeneous and difficult-to-treat population due to the risk of disease progression/recurrence or infection. We conducted an observational, retrospective, single-center study at the Dermatology Clinic of Turin with a focus on the special population of cancer patients with psoriasis treated with biologics. As of July 2023, 52 psoriatic patients with a prior/concomitant history of malignancy had taken biologic drugs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent advancements in stage III melanoma treatment focus on adjuvant therapies, leading to a decrease in completion lymph node dissection (CLND) procedures after positive sentinel node biopsy (SLNB).
  • A study from the University of Turin compared relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in 157 melanoma patients, finding no significant difference between those who underwent CLND and those who did not.
  • The findings suggest that while CLND has minimal impact on RFS or OS, adjuvant therapies significantly lower the risk of relapse, highlighting their importance in treating melanoma patients.
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This study was carried out at the Dermatologic Clinic of the University of Turin, Italy, to assess the effectiveness and safety of adjuvant therapy in patients who received either targeted therapy (TT: dabrafenib + trametinib) or immunotherapy (IT: nivolumab or pembrolizumab) for up to 12 months. A total of 163 patients participated, including 147 with stage III and 19 with stage IV with no evidence of disease. The primary outcomes were relapse-free survival (RFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS).

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Introduction: Current treatment guidelines for cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) advocate a stage-driven approach, considering clinical presentation, symptom burden, and patient comorbidities. Therapy selection hinges on factors like disease subtype, severity, and treatment availability. The primary goal is to enhance the quality of life by mitigating symptoms, as achieving lasting complete remission is infrequent.

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Background: Tirbanibulin 1% ointment is approved for the field treatment of Olsen grade I actinic keratoses (AKs) of the face and scalp.

Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective study involving 15 dermatologic units in Italy to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of tirbanibulin in a real-life setting. 250 patients were enrolled.

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Background: Reports on the expression of CD38 in Sézary syndrome (SS), erythrodermic primary cutaneous T cell lymphoma with leukemic involvement, are limited. The aim of the present study is the analysis of the expression of CD38 by skin-infiltrating mononuclear cells and circulating T lymphocytes in a cohort of SS patients.

Methods: SS patients diagnosed since 1985 in our clinic were retrospectively analyzed for CD38 expression in biopsy and blood samples by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry, respectively.

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Primary cutaneous lymphomas encompass a wide spectrum of rare lymphoproliferative disorders originating in the skin, among which, mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common subtype. The treatment of this disease is based on skin-directed therapies eventually in association with biologic response modifiers in the early phases, whereas in patients with the advanced stages, several therapeutic strategies can be used including mono and/or polychemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. In recent years, the identification of specific markers (phenotypical, immunological, and molecular) has led to the development of several studies (including two randomized phase III trials).

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Detection of BRAF within cell free tumor DNA (ctDNA) is emerging as a promising means to improve patients' stratification or enable BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) therapeutic monitoring in a minimally invasive manner. Here, we investigated whether extracellular vesicle-(EV)-associated-DNA (EV-DNA) has value as an alternative source of circulating BRAF. To do so, we identified a clinical practice-compatible protocol for the isolation of EV-DNA and assessed BRAF gene status on plasma samples from metastatic melanoma patients at the beginning and during BRAFi therapy.

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Aim: A survival benefit was demonstrated by dabrafenib + trametinib for metastatic BRAF-mutated melanoma patients. Best response is a strong prognostic marker for survival.

Patients & Methods: The specific features associated with complete response (CR) were evaluated.

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Mycosis fungoides (MF) is characterized by a switch from indolent behaviour in the early stages to a worse clinical outcome in the advanced ones. Recently, various studies have investigated the role the microenvironment might play in such a switch. We have analysed the distribution of Langerhans cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in 46 MF cases in various stages, aiming to assess whether changes occur from early to advanced stage.

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The prognosis of stage IV metastatic melanoma is poor. An overall 1-year survival of 25.5% and a median survival of 6.

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Unlabelled: Cancer survival rates are lower in Eastern Europe. To describe, based on a single-centre database in northern Italy, clinical, histopathological, and prognostic features of melanoma in a migrant population from Eastern Europe.

Materials & Methods: We retrospectively analysed data from 18,190 consecutive foreign patients who visited our institution, with 49 cases of melanoma from Eastern Europe.

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Introduction: The therapeutic landscape of metastatic melanoma drastically changed after the introduction of targeted therapies and immunotherapy, in particular immune checkpoints inhibitors (ICI). In recent years, positive effects on the immune system associated to radiotherapy (RT) were discovered, and radiation has been tested in combination with ICI in both pre-clinical and clinical studies (many of them still ongoing). We here summarize the rationale and the preliminary clinical results of this approach.

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In the last years the onset of new therapies changed the management of malignant melanoma. Anti CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab was the first drug to achieve a significant improvement in survival of advanced stage melanoma. This new therapeutic agent is characterized by a number of side effects that are totally different from those of traditional chemotherapy, mainly caused by the immune system activation.

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Background: Multiple primary melanoma (MPM), in concert with a positive family history, is a predictor of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) germline mutations. A rule regarding the presence of either 2 or 3 or more cancer events (melanoma and pancreatic cancer) in low or high melanoma incidence populations, respectively, has been established to select patients for genetic referral.

Objective: We sought to determine the CDKN2A/CDK4/microphthalmia-associated transcription factor mutation rate among Italian patients with MPM to appropriately direct genetic counseling regardless of family history.

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Background: Mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary syndrome (SS) are the most frequent cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL). Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) were reverse transcribed and integrated into primate chromosomal DNA, becoming noninfectious, although various stimuli may reactivate them. HERV expression seems to be impaired in several human diseases but limited data regarding CTCL are available.

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