Evaluation of sustainable diagnostic approaches in metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Introduction: Assessing bone metastases in metastatic breast cancer is challenging. Due to rising concerns over energy use and emissions, energy-efficient imaging is essential. This study aimed to compare three diagnostic imaging approaches used in therapy monitoring of MBC patients, evaluating both their environmental impact-quantified by energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions-and their biological cost, defined as patient exposure to ionizing radiation and contrast media volume.

CT-Based Radiomics Enhance Respiratory Function Analysis for Lung SBRT.

Radiomics is the extraction of non-invasive and reproducible quantitative imaging features, which may yield mineable information for clinical practice implementation. Quantification of lung function through radiomics could play a role in the management of patients with pulmonary lesions. The aim of this study is to test the capability of radiomic features to predict pulmonary function parameters, focusing on the diffusing capacity of lungs to carbon monoxide (DL).

Management of advanced basal cell carcinoma with hedgehog inhibitors: a real-world prospective comparative study.

Background: Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitors (HHIs) should be offered to patients with advanced BCC as a first line treatment. Two systemic HHIs are currently available: sonidegib and vismodegib.

Objective: Since there is no head-to-head trial of sonidegib versus vismodegib and very few comparative studies have been published, we aimed at prospectively describing our long-term approach to manage advanced BCC based on our 10 years' experience with HHIs.

Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitors in Lung Neuroendocrine Tumors - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Lung neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are well-differentiated neuroendocrine neoplasms of lung origin, including typical and atypical carcinoids (ACs). Therapeutic options for this rare disease are limited in daily clinical practice. Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are under clinical investigation.

Histopathologic Yields and Concordance of In-Bore MRI-targeted Biopsy for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis.

Background MRI-targeted biopsies are recommended for prostate cancer diagnosis. In-bore MRI-targeted biopsy enables high-precision needle placement; however, the factors affecting prostate cancer detection rates and the potential for grade and patient risk migration require further investigation. Purpose To evaluate factors affecting the detection rate of prostate cancer in patients who underwent in-bore MRI-targeted biopsy and their influence on histologic concordance between biopsy (bGG) and surgical grade group (sGG).

Aprepitant use during chemotherapy and association with survival in women with early breast cancer.

Background: Preclinical studies have shown that aprepitant, an antiemetic used to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, slows mammary tumor growth and progression. Here, we evaluated the association between aprepitant and survival in a large cohort of women with early breast cancer.

Methods: Using linked nationwide registry data, we identified 13,811 women diagnosed with early breast cancer between 2008 and 2020 in Norway, who received chemotherapy and antiemetics.

Coffee and tea intake and survival of cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Coffee and tea intake has been suggested to favourably affect survival of cancer patients, but studies published so far produced conflicting results. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the existing evidence on the association between coffee and tea consumption and cancer survival across different types of cancers.

Methods: We included 26 prospective studies (1993-2023) involving over 40,000 cancer patients from North America, Europe, and Asia.

Off-Label Use of Imiquimod for Lower Female Genital Tract Diseases: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Imiquimod (IMQ) is an immunomodulatory topical drug with antiviral and antitumoral activity. Given its effectiveness and safety, IMQ is broadly off-label used for many vulvovaginal conditions as monotherapy and in association with other therapeutic approaches. However, standardized dose regimens and the total duration of therapy are still debated.

Metabolic traits shape responses to LSD1-directed therapy in glioblastoma tumor-initiating cells.

Lysine-specific histone demethylase 1A (LSD1) is an epigenetic regulator involved in various biological processes, including metabolic pathways. We demonstrated the therapeutic potential of its pharmacological inhibition in glioblastoma using DDP_38003 (LSD1i), which selectively targets tumor-initiating cells (TICs) by hampering their adaptability to stress. Through biological, metabolic, and omic approaches, we now show that LSD1i acts as an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stressor, activating the integrated stress response and altering mitochondrial structure and function.

Effects of metformin on transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles in breast cancer survivors enrolled in the randomized placebo-controlled MetBreCS trial.

Metformin reduces the incidence of breast cancer in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, our knowledge of the effects of metformin on breast cancer recurrence is limited. Within the randomized double-blind placebo-controlled phase II trial MetBreCS, we examined changes in breast tissue from breast cancer survivors with BMI > 25 kg/m2 after treatment with metformin.

ESR1 testing on FFPE samples from metastatic lesions in HR + /HER2- breast cancer after progression on CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy.

Mutations in ESR1 play a critical role in resistance to endocrine therapy (ET) in hormone receptor-positive (HR +)/HER2- metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Testing for ESR1 mutations is essential for guiding treatment with novel oral selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs) like elacestrant or camizestrant. While most studies have utilized liquid biopsy (LB) for mutation detection, the role of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue biopsy in this context remains unclear.

Germline Testing in Breast Cancer: A Single-Center Analysis Comparing Strengths and Challenges of Different Approaches.

Background/objectives: Compared to single gene testing (SGT), multigene panel testing (MGPT) improves pathogenic variants (PVs) detection. However, MGPT yields complex results, including secondary findings, heterozygous PVs in recessive genes, low-penetrance PVs, and variants of uncertain significance. We reported our mono-institutional experience of germline testing in breast cancer (BC), comparing SGT and MGPT.

Predictors of recurrence in early-stage cervical cancer without adjuvant treatment after radical surgery.

Objective: The role of adjuvant radiotherapy after radical surgery for early-stage cervical cancer is controversial in the absence of high-risk factors. This study aimed to evaluate predictors of recurrence in patients with early-stage cervical cancer undergoing observation after radical surgery.

Methods: Patients with FIGO 2018 stage I cervical cancer who underwent radical surgery without adjuvant therapy at the European Institute of Oncology, IEO (Milan, Italy) between 2010 and 2023 were retrospectively identified.

Tongue tumor and prognostic factors: Could a diagnostic procedure influence patient outcomes?

Objectives: Diagnosis of tongue tumors is often performed in primary care centers with an incisional biopsy using stitches in the lesion at the end of the procedure. We hypothesize that stitches placed in tumor tissue could potentially increase local inflammation and significantly affect the tumor microenvironment, influencing the cancer spread and local relapses.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective study involving a consecutive series of 299 patients with Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OTSCC).

From Dose-Finding to Dose-Optimization in Early-Phase oncology clinical trials.

Dose optimization in Phase I oncology trials balances therapeutic efficacy and patient safety. Traditional dose-escalation methods, such as the 3 + 3 design, primarily focus on safety, often resulting in prolonged exposure to subtherapeutic or excessively toxic doses. Additionally, these methods may fail to account for modern therapies' complex pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, including targeted agents and immunotherapies.

External validation of the annual recurrence risk model for tailored surveillance strategy in patients with cervical cancer.

Objective: The annual recurrence risk model (ARRM), developed by the Surveillance in Cervical Cancer consortium and endorsed by the European Society of Gynecological Oncology, predicts the annual risk of cervical cancer recurrence. However, it lacks an external validation, which we aimed to address in the current retrospective study.

Methods: We included patients with pathology confirmed T1a to T2b cervical cancers who underwent radical surgery at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan from January 2010 to December 2022.

Harnessing Baseline Radiomic Features in Early-Stage NSCLC: What Role in Clinical Outcome Modeling for SBRT Candidates?

An Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (ES-NSCLC) patient candidate for stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may start their treatment without a histopathological assessment, due to relevant comorbidities. The aim of this study is twofold: (i) build prognostic models to test the association between CT-derived radiomic features (RFs) and the outcomes of interest (overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and loco-regional progression-free survival (LRPFS)); (ii) quantify whether the combination of clinical and radiomic descriptors yields better prediction than clinical descriptors alone in prognostic modeling for ES-NSCLC patients treated with SBRT. Simulation CT scans of ES-NSCLC patients treated with curative-intent SBRT at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO), Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), Milan, Italy between 2013 and 2023 were retrospectively retrieved.

ADT with SBRT versus SBRT alone for hormone-sensitive oligorecurrent prostate cancer (RADIOSA): a randomised, open-label, phase 2 clinical trial.

Background: Metastasis-directed therapy by stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in the oligometastatic prostate cancer setting. We aimed to investigate whether short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and SBRT at all oligometastatic sites versus SBRT alone improves clinical progression-free survival in men with metachronous oligorecurrent hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

Methods: The RADIOSA study was a single-centre, randomised, open-label, controlled phase 2 trial done in the European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.

Survival Following CDK4/6 Inhibitor Therapy for Hormone Receptor-Positive, ERBB2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Importance: Endocrine therapy (ET) combined with cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) agents is the standard first-line treatment for patients with hormone receptor-positive, ERBB2 (formerly HER2 or HER2/neu)-negative metastatic breast cancer. However, optimal therapy after tumor progression to ET plus CDK4/6i remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the clinical practice setting in patients with hormone receptor-positive, ERBB2-negative metastatic breast cancer following progression with ET plus CDK4/6i.

The pathologic and genomic evolution of primary malignant phyllodes tumors of the breast: retrospective cohort study and case-control genomic analysis.

Background: In patients with phyllodes tumors of the breast, the presence of mediator of RNA polymerase II transcription subunit 12 homolog mutations (MED12m) and a history of previous fibroadenoma may predict better outcomes. To aid in the prognostication of malignant phyllodes tumors of the breast (B-MPT), we assessed the prognostic value of fibroadenoma-like areas (supposed to have stemmed from a pre-existing fibroadenoma) and MED12m, in patients with resected primary B-MPTs.

Methods: We conducted a single-center, retrospective, cohort study including all consecutive patients aged ≥18 years old, with non-metastatic B-MPT, who underwent surgery from January 2000 to December 2021.

Vitamin D, acute respiratory infections, and Covid-19: The curse of small-size randomised trials. A critical review with meta-analysis of randomised trials.

Background: Randomised trials conducted from 2006 to 2021 indicated that vitamin D supplementation (VDS) was able to prevent severe COVID-19 and acute respiratory infections (ARI). However, larger randomised trials published in 2022 did not confirm the health benefits of VDS in COVID-19 patients.

Objective: To examine through a systematic review with meta-analysis the characteristics of randomised trials on VDS to COVID-19 patients and admission to intensive care unit (ICU), and of randomised trials on VDS for the prevention of ARI.

Upgrading your best chances: postdiagnosis smoking cessation boosts life expectancy of patients with cancer - a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundTobacco use is linked to increased cancer risk, and people who smoke represent a large proportion of newly diagnosed patients with cancer. The fact that smoking cessation at the time of diagnosis can improve the patient's life expectancy is still not broadly understood. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the survival benefits obtainable by quitting smoking on diagnosis.

Methodological issues in radiomics: impact on accuracy of MRI for predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer.

Aim: To investigate whether methodological aspects may influence the performance of MRI-radiomic models to predict response to neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) in breast cancer (BC) patients.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a systematic review until March 2023. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to combine the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values.

Effect of Distress, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms on SARS-CoV-2 mRNA BNT162b2 Vaccine Efficacy in Cancer Patients.

Background/objectives: Our previous study of 291 cancer patients, we showed that 20% did not respond to two doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered six weeks apart.

Methods: Here, we investigated if psychological factors (distress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms) affected antibody response and markers of vaccine activation (D-dimer) after 6 months from initial vaccination.

Results: Overall, 31 subjects (14.