HPV Vaccination: The Position Paper of the Italian Society of Colposcopy and Cervico-Vaginal Pathology (SICPCV)

Human papillomavirus (HPV) related cervical cancer represents an issue of public health priority. The World Health Organization recommended the introduction of HPV vaccination in all national public programs. In Europe, vaccines against HPV have been available since 2006. In Italy, vaccination is recommended and has been freely offered to all young girls aged 11 years since 2008. Three prophylactic HPV vaccines are available against high- and low-risk genotypes. The quadrivalent vaccine contains protein antigens for HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18. The bivalent vaccine includes antigens for HPV 16 and 18. The nonavalent vaccine was introduced in 2014, and it targets HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. Clinical trials demonstrated the effectiveness of the three vaccines in healthy young women. Likewise, all vaccines showed an excellent safety profile. The bivalent vaccine provides two doses in subjects aged between 9 and 14 years and three doses in subjects over 14 years of age. The quadrivalent vaccine provides two doses in individuals from 9 to 13 years and three doses in individuals aged 14 years and over. The nonavalent vaccine schedule provides two doses in individuals from 9 to 14 years of age and three doses in individuals aged 15 years and over at the time of the first administration. Preliminary results suggest that the HPV vaccine is effective in the prevention of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions even after local treatment. Given these outcomes, in general, it is imperative to expand the vaccinated target population. Some interventions to improve the HPV vaccine’s uptake include patient reminders, physicians-focused interventions, school-based vaccinations programs, and social marketing strategies. The Italian Society of Colposcopy and Cervico-Vaginal Pathology (SICPCV) is committed to supporting vaccination programs for children and adolescents with a catch-up program for young adults. The SICPCV also helps clinical and information initiatives in developing countries to decrease the incidence of cervico-vaginal and vulvar pathology

Adherence to Dietary Recommendations after One Year of Intervention in Breast Cancer Women: The DIANA-5 Trial

The Diet and Androgen-5 (DIANA-5) trial aimed at testing whether a dietary change based on the Mediterranean diet and on macrobiotic principles can reduce the incidence of breast cancer (BC)-related events. We analyzed the adherence to the DIANA-5 dietary recommendations by randomization group after 1 year of intervention. We evaluated the association between dietary adherence and changes in body weight and metabolic syndrome (MS) parameters. BC women aged 35–70 years were eligible. After the baseline examinations, women were randomized into an intervention group (IG) or a control group (CG). A total of 1344 BC women (689 IG and 655 CG) concluded the first year of dietary intervention. IG showed greater anthropometric and metabolic improvements compared to CG. These changes were significantly associated with increased adherence to the dietary recommendations. Women who increased recommended foods consumption or reduced discouraged foods consumption showed an Odds Ratio (OR) of 1.37 (0.70–2.67) and 2.02 (1.03–3.98) to improve three or more MS parameters. Moreover, women in the higher category of dietary change showed a four times higher OR of reducing body weight compared to the lower category (p < 0.001). The DIANA-5 dietary intervention is effective in reducing body weight and MS parameters

Colposcopy Accuracy and Diagnostic Performance: A Quality Control and Quality Assurance Survey in Italian Tertiary-Level Teaching and Academic Institutions-The Italian Society of Colposcopy and Cervico-Vaginal Pathology (SICPCV)

Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) principles are essential for effective cervical cancer prevention. Being a crucial diagnostic step, colposcopy's sensitivity and specificity improvements are strongly advocated worldwide since inter- and intra-observer differences are the main limiting factors. The objective of the present study was the evaluation of colposcopy accuracy through the results of a QC/QA assessment from a survey in Italian tertiary-level academic and teaching hospitals. A web-based, user-friendly platform based on 100 colposcopic digital images was forwarded to colposcopists with different levels of experience. Seventy-three participants were asked to identify colposcopic patterns, provide personal impressions, and indicate the correct clinical practice. The data were correlated with a panel of experts' evaluation and with the clinical/pathological data of the cases. Overall sensitivity and specificity with the threshold of CIN2+ accounted for 73.7% and 87.7%, respectively, with minor differences between senior and junior candidates. Identification and interpretation of colposcopic patterns showed full agreement with the experts' panel, ranging from 50% to 82%, in some instances with better results from junior colposcopists. Colposcopic impressions correlated with a 20% underestimation of CIN2+ lesions, with no differences linked to level of experience. Our results demonstrate the good diagnostic performance of colposcopy and the need for improving accuracy through QC assessments and adhesion to standard requirements and recommendations

Monitoring the activities of Italian colposcopy clinics before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

To evaluate the impact of healthcare reorganization during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic on Italian colposcopy clinic activities, focusing on cervical excision procedures, follow-ups for conservative management of low-grade lesions, and follow-ups post cervical excision

Supplementary Data 1 from The Effect of Diet on Breast Cancer Recurrence: The DIANA-5 Randomized Trial

Supplementary Figure 1; Supplementary Figure 2; Supplementary Table 1 ; Supplementary Figure 3; Supplementary Table 2</p

Table 1 from The Effect of Diet on Breast Cancer Recurrence: The DIANA-5 Randomized Trial

Representativeness of Study Participants</p

Oncoplastic and reconstructive surgery in SENONETWORK Italian breast centers: lights and shadows

: • Despite the significance of oncoplastic procedure, an italian database is lacking. • Senonetwork established a multidisciplinary survey to assess their safety and efficacy. • Reconstructive outcomes were positive across low and high-volume centers. • After mastectomy, implant-based techniques are common. DTI reconstruction is advantageuos. • This contributes to the global understanding of effective strategies against breast cancer