Computation of H→ggH\to gg in FDH and DRED: renormalization, operator mixing, and explicit two-loop results

The $H\to gg$ amplitude relevant for Higgs production via gluon fusion is computed in the four-dimensional helicity scheme (FDH) and in dimensional reduction (DRED) at the two-loop level. The required renormalization is developed and described in detail, including the treatment of evanescent $\epsilon$-scalar contributions. In FDH and DRED there are additional dimension-5 operators generating the $H g g$ vertices, where $g$ can either be a gluon or an $\epsilon$-scalar. An appropriate operator basis is given and the operator mixing through renormalization is described. The results of the present paper provide building blocks for further computations, and they allow to complete the study of the infrared divergence structure of two-loop amplitudes in FDH and DRED

SCET approach to regularization-scheme dependence of QCD amplitudes

We investigate the regularization-scheme dependence of scattering amplitudes in massless QCD and find that the four-dimensional helicity scheme (FDH) and dimensional reduction (DRED) are consistent at least up to NNLO in the perturbative expansion if renormalization is done appropriately. Scheme dependence is shown to be deeply linked to the structure of UV and IR singularities. We use jet and soft functions defined in soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) to efficiently extract the relevant anomalous dimensions in the different schemes. This result allows us to construct transition rules for scattering amplitudes between different schemes (CDR, HV, FDH, DRED) up to NNLO in massless QCD. We also show by explicit calculation that the hard, soft and jet functions in SCET are regularization-scheme independent.Comment: 46 pages, 6 figure

NNLO hard functions in massless QCD

We derive the hard functions for all 2 → 2 processes in massless QCD up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong coupling constant. By employing the known one- and two-loop helicity amplitudes for these processes, we obtain analytic expressions for the ultraviolet and infrared finite, minimally subtracted hard functions, which are matrices in color space. These hard functions will be useful in carrying out higher-order resummations in processes such as dijet and highly energetic top-quark pair production by means of soft-collinear effective theory methods

NNLL Resummation for the Associated Production of a Top Pair and a Higgs Boson at the LHC

We study the resummation of soft gluon emission corrections to the production of a top-antitop pair in association with a Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider. Starting from a soft-gluon resummation formula derived in previous work, we develop a bespoke parton-level Monte Carlo program which can be used to calculate the total cross section along with differential distributions. We use this tool to study the phenomenological impact of the resummation to next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNLL) accuracy, finding that these corrections increase the total cross section and the differential distributions with respect to NLO calculations of the same observables

Ki67 and breast cancer mortality in women with invasive breast cancer

Background: The percentage of cells staining positive for Ki67 is sometimes used for decision-making in patients with early invasive breast cancer (IBC). However, there is uncertainty regarding the most appropriate Ki67 cut points and the influence of interlaboratory measurement variability. We examined the relationship between breast cancer mortality and Ki67 both before and after accounting for interlaboratory variability and 8 patient and tumor characteristics. Methods: A multicenter cohort study of women with early IBC diagnosed during 2009-2016 in more than 20 NHS hospitals in England and followed until December 31, 2020. Results: Ki67 was strongly prognostic of breast cancer mortality in 8212 women with estrogen receptor (ER)–positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–negative early IBC (Ptrend < .001). This relationship remained strong after adjustment for patient and tumor characteristics (Ptrend < .001). Standardization for interlaboratory variability did little to alter these results. For women with Ki67 scores of 0%-5%, 6%-10%, 11%-19%, and 20%-29% the corresponding 8-year adjusted cumulative breast cancer mortality risks were 3.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.8% to 4.0%), 3.7% (95% CI = 3.0% to 4.4%), 3.4% (95% CI = 2.8% to 4.1%), and 3.4% (95% CI = 2.8% to 4.1%), whereas for women with Ki67 scores of 30%-39% and 40%-100%, these risks were higher, at 5.1% (95% CI = 4.3% to 6.2%) and 7.7% (95% CI = 6.6% to 9.1) (Ptrend < .001). Similar results were obtained when the adjusted analysis was repeated with omission of pathological information about tumor size and nodal involvement, which would not be available preoperatively for patients being considered for neoadjuvant therapy. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the prognostic value of Ki67 scores of 30% or more in women with ER-positive, HER2-negative early IBC, irrespective of interlaboratory variability. These results also suggest that Ki67 may be useful to aid decision-making in the neoadjuvant setting

To dd, or not to dd: Recent developments and comparisons of regularization schemes

We give an introduction to several regularization schemes that deal with ultraviolet and infrared singularities appearing in higher-order computations in quantum field theories. Comparing the computation of simple quantities in the various schemes, we point out similarities and differences between them.Comment: 61 pages, 12 figures; version sent to EPJC, references update

Long-term disease-free survival in surgically-resected oral tongue cancer: a 10-year retrospective study

Sopravvivenza libera da malattia a lungo termine nel tumore della lingua mobile operato: studio retrospettivo a 10 anni.PLAIN-LANGUAGE-SUMMARY: Early and loco-regionally advanced oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) can be treated by surgery alone or followed by adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Nevertheless, up to 40% of patients develop tumour relapse. The aim of our study is to investigate the clinical and pathological features associated with reduced disease-free survival (DFS) in a cohort of surgically-resected OTSCC patients. One hundred and six patients surgically resected for OTSCC were retrospectively identified from clinical records. DFS was calculated according to the Kaplan\u2013Meier method and differences between variables were assessed with Log-Rank test. A multivariable Cox regression model was used to analyse the impact of different prognostic factors on DFS. After a median of follow-up of 8.9 years, 22 events, including 11 deaths, were observed. Overall, the 5-year DFS-rate was 87.4%. The presence of extra-nodal extension (p = 0.023) and perineural invasion (p = 0.003) were significantly correlated with shorter DFS (in univariate analysis). In multivariable analysis, extra-nodal extension and perineural invasion confirmed their role as independent prognostic factors associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence [hazard ratio (HR) 2.87, 95% CI 1.11-7.42, p = 0.03; HR 3.85, 95% CI 1.49-9.96, p = 0.006, respectively]. p16 and p53 expressions in tumour cells were detected in 12% (n = 9) and 46% (n = 40) of cases, respectively. No differences in DFS were observed between p16+ and p16- (p = 0.125) and between p53+ and p53- tumours (p = 0.213). In conclusion, radical surgery, eventually followed by adjuvant radiotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy, can achieve high cure rates in OTSCC. After long-term follow-up, perineural invasion and extra-nodal extension confirmed their role as prognostic factors associated with reduced DFS in OTSCC patients

Adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer in older women: an analysis of retrospective English cancer registration data

Aims Adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended as a treatment for women with high recurrence risk early breast cancer. Older women are less likely to receive chemotherapy than younger women. This study investigated the impact of chemotherapy on breast cancer-specific survival in women aged 70 + years using English registry data. Materials and methods Cancer registration data were obtained from two English regions from 2002 to 2012 (n = 29 728). The impact of patient-level characteristics on the probability of receiving adjuvant chemotherapy was explored using logistic regression. Survival modelling was undertaken to show the effect of chemotherapy and age/health status on breast cancer-specific survival. Missing data were handled using multiple imputation. Results In total, 11 735 surgically treated early breast cancer patients were identified. Use of adjuvant chemotherapy has increased over time. Younger age at diagnosis, increased nodal involvement, tumour size and grade, oestrogen receptor-negative or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive disease were all associated with increased probability of receiving chemotherapy. Chemotherapy was associated with a significant reduction in the hazard of breast cancer-specific mortality in women with high risk cancer, after adjusting for patient-level characteristics (hazard ratio 0.74, 95% confidence interval 0.67–0.81). Discussion Chemotherapy is associated with an improved breast cancer-specific survival in older women with early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence . Lower rates of chemotherapy use in older women may, therefore, contribute to inferior cancer outcomes. Decisions on potential benefits for individual patients should be made on the basis of life expectancy, treatment tolerance and patient preference