Radiographic and HRCT imaging findings of chronic pulmonary schistosomiasis: review of 10 consecutive cases

Objective: To describe the chest radiography (CR) and the high resolution CT (HRCT) imaging findings of chronic pulmonary schistosomiasis (CPS)Methods and materials: This retrospective study included 10 patients suffering from CPS, studied between September 2013 and October 2016 by using CR and HRCT. Images were reviewed by two experienced radiologists in consensus, blinded to clinical data. A p value < 0.05 was considered significantResults: All the patients enrolled showed some abnormalities at HRCT, including lung consolidations, solid nodules, nodules with pen-nodular halo, ground-glass opacities, enlarged hilar lymph-nodes. Only seven patients showed findings at CR (p = 0.001). At CT, none of the patients had significant pleural, vascular (pulmonary arteries) or cardiac findings. Post-therapy studies (mean interval 35 days) demonstrated the absence of residual disease in all patients.Conclusion: The imaging findings of CPS varied widely in our study population. HRCT may show signs which are occult on plain radiograph. All lesions disappeared after appropriate therapy at imaging follow-up studie

SENSING THE LAND SUBSIDENCE IN THE VENICE LAGOON BY INTERFEROMETRIC POINT TARGET ANALYSIS

Land subsidence is a severe geologic hazard threading the lowlying coastal areas worldwide. Monitoring land subsidence has been significantly improved over the last few years by space borne earth observation techniques based on SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Interferometry. Within the INLET Project, funded by Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia – Venice Water Authority (VWA) and Consorzio Venezia Nuova (CVN), we have used the Interferometric Point Target Analysis (IPTA) to characterize the ground displacements within the Venice Lagoon. IPTA measures the movement of backscattering objects (point targets, PT) at the ground surface which persistently reflect radar signal emitted by the SAR antenna. For this study 80 ERS-1/2 and 44 ENVISAT scenes recorded from 1992 to 2005 and from 2003 to 2007, respectively, have been processed by IPTA. High reliable land subsidence data have been detected for thousands of PT located on the lagoon margins, along the littorals, in major and small islands, and on single anthropogenic structures scattered within the lagoon. On the average, land subsidence ranges from less than 1 mm/year to 5 mm/year, with some PT that exhibit values also larger than 10 mm/year depending on both the local geologic conditions and anthropogenic activities. A network of few tens of artificial square trihedral corner reflectors (TCR) has been established before summer 2007 to monitor land subsidence in the inner lagoon areas where natural reflectors completely lack (e.g., on the salt marshes). The first interferometric results on the TCR appear very promising

Adherence to dietary guidelines (DG) and body weight change (BWC) in early-stage breast cancer (EBC): A prospective trial in patients submitted to nutrition evidence-based educational intervention

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AGIP, 1994. Acque dolci sotterranee, Inventario dei dati raccolti dall’Agip durante la ricerca di idrocarburi in Italia dal 1971 al 1990. Roma, Italy, Agip S.p.A., 515 pp. Beaty, R.D., Kerber J.D., 1993. Concepts, Instrumentation and Techniques in Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry, Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Norwalk Benvenuti, G., Norinelli, A., Zambrano, R., 1973. Contributo alla conoscenza del sottosuolo dell’area circumlagunare veneta mediante sondaggi elettrici verticali. Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica e Applicata XV (57), 23-38. Benvenuti, G., Norinelli A., 1974. Studio geofisico di interfaccia acqua dolce- acqua marina nell’area circumlagunare veneta e nella zona delle sorgenti del Chidro (Taranto), Memorie degli Istituti di Geologia e Mineralogia dell’Università di Padova, 1974, vol. XXXI, 1-16 Bixio, A.C., Putti, M., Tosi, L., Carbognin, L., Gambolati, G., 1998. Finite Element Modeling of Salt water Intrusion in the Venice Aquifer System. In: Computational Methods in Surface and Ground Water Transport, 2, 193-200, Burganos V.N. et al. (Eds.), Suthampton, UK. Bondesan, A., Meneghel, M., 2004. Geomorfologia della Provincia di Venezia: Note Illustrative della Carta Geomorfologica della Provincia di Venezia, Esedra Editrice Brambati, A., Carbognin, L., Quaia, T., Teatini, P., Tosi, L., 2003. The Lagoon of Venice: geological setting, evolution and land subsidence. Episodes, 26(3), 264-268. Carbognin, L., Tosi, L., 2003. Il Progetto ISES per l’analisi dei processi di intrusione salina e subsidenza nei territori meridionali delle Province di Padova e Venezia. Grafiche Erredici Padova (Italy), 95 pp. Carbognin, L., P. Teatini & L. Tosi, 2004, Eustasy and land subsidence in the Venice Lagoon at the beginning of the new millennium. Journal of Marine Systems, 51, 345-353. Carbognin L., Teatini P. & L. Tosi, 2005. Land Subsidence in the venetian area: known and recent aspects. Giornale di Geologia Applicata 1,2005, 5–11, doi: 10.1474/GGA.2005-01.0-01.0001. Carbognin, L., Teatini, P., Tomasin, A., Tosi, L., 2009. Global change and relative sea level rise at Venice: what impact in term of flooding. Climate Dynamics, doi:10.1007/s00382-009-0617-5. Clark I., Fritz P. 1997. Environmental Isotopes in Hydrogeology, Lewis Publisher, 1997 Cozzi R., Protti P., Raro T. 1987. Analisi chimica: Moderni metodi strumentali, ESU Spa Craig H. 1961. Isotopic variations in meteoric waters, Science 133, 1702-1703 De Franco, R., Biella, G., Tosi, L., Teatini, P., Lozej, A., Chiozzotto, B., Giada, M., Rizzetto, F., Claude, C., Mayer, A., Bassan, V., Gasparetto-Stori, G., 2009. Monitoring the saltwater intrusion by time lapse electrical resistivity tomography: The Chioggia test site (Venice Lagoon, Italy). Journal of Applied Geophysics, 69, 117-130. Di Sipio E., Galgaro A., Zuppi G.M. and Zangheri P., 2005. 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Updated Neoadjuvant Treatment Landscape for Early Triple Negative Breast Cancer: Immunotherapy, Potential Predictive Biomarkers, and Novel Agents

: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by the absence of hormone receptor and HER2 expression, and therefore a lack of therapeutic targets. Anthracyclines and taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy have historically been the cornerstone of treatment of early TNBC. However, genomic and transcriptomic analyses have suggested that TNBCs include various subtypes, characterized by peculiar genomic drivers and potential therapeutic targets. Therefore, several efforts have been made to expand the therapeutic landscape of early TNBC, leading to the introduction of platinum and immunomodulatory agents into the neoadjuvant setting. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the currently available evidence regarding platinum agents and immune-checkpoint-inhibitors for the neoadjuvant treatment of TNBC, as well as the novel target therapies that are currently being evaluated in this setting. Taking into account the economic issues and the side effects of the expanding therapeutic options, we focus on the potential efficacy biomarkers of the emerging therapies, in order to select the best therapeutic strategy for each specific patient

Evidence-based tailored nutrition educational intervention improves adherence to dietary guidelines, anthropometric measures and serum metabolic biomarkers in early-stage breast cancer patients: A prospective interventional study

Purpose: The impact of the adherence to dietary guidelines of early-stage breast cancer (EBC) patients on body composition changes during treatment is not entirely defined. This study aimed to evaluate the role of an evidence-based nutrition educational intervention, according to adherence to dietary guidelines, in EBC patients. Methods: This prospective study included EBC patients, candidates for neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy. Patients received an evidence-based tailored nutrition educational intervention. The adherence to dietary guidelines, anthropometric and dietary assessments, and blood glucose and lipid profile tests were evaluated at baseline and after a 12-months nutritional intervention. Results: Two hundred and forty-three patients were enrolled. At baseline, 38.3% and 23.9% of patients were overweight and obese, weight gain ≥5% (compared to 6-months before enrollment) and central obesity were observed in 47.3% and 52.7% of patients, respectively. Adherence to dietary guidelines was low (median Med-Diet score: 6 [IQR 4-8]). After the nutritional intervention (median follow-up: 22 months [range 12-45]), adherence to dietary guidelines significantly increased (median Med-Diet score: 12 [IQR 8-13]), p < 0.0001). High adherence to dietary guidelines (defines as Med-Diet score ≥10) significantly correlated with: 1) overall weight loss ≥5% (21.8% vs. 2.5%, p = 0.003); 2) median BMI drop (from 25.6 kg/m2 to 24.4 kg/m2, p = 0.003); 3) lower prevalence of central obesity (38.2% vs. 7.2%, p = 0.01); 4) improvement in blood glucose levels and lipid profile. Conclusion: This study suggests that an evidence-based tailored nutrition educational intervention during treatment for EBC significantly increases overall adherence to dietary guidelines, and it improves both anthropometric measures and serum metabolic biomarkers in patients with high adherence

BRCA Mutation Status in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: A Pivotal Role for Treatment Decision-Making

Simple Summary In this retrospective observational study, we evaluated data from patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in order to better define the impact of germline BRCA1/2 (gBRCA1/2) mutation status on outcomes in this patient population. Our results show that patients with BRCA1/2 mutation had a higher pathologic complete response (pCR) rate than non-mutated patients; nevertheless, the benefit was confirmed only in the subset of patients who received a platinum-based NACT. Furthermore, pCR was associated with improved Event Free Survival (EFS) and Overall Survival (OS), regardless of BRCA1/2 mutation status and type of NACT received. Long-term follow-up analyses are needed to further define the impact of gBRCA mutation status in patients with early-TNBC. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by earlier recurrence and shorter survival compared with other types of breast cancer. Moreover, approximately 15 to 25% of all TNBC patients harbor germline BRCA (gBRCA) 1/2 mutations, which confer a more aggressive phenotype. However, TNBC seems to be particularly sensitive to chemotherapy, the so-called 'triple negative paradox'. Therefore, Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is currently considered the preferred approach for early-stage TNBC. BRCA status has also been studied as a predictive biomarker of response to platinum compounds. Although several randomized trials investigated the addition of carboplatin to standard NACT in early-stage TNBC, the role of BRCA status remains unclear. In this retrospective analysis, we evaluated data from 136 consecutive patients with Stage I-III TNBC who received standard NACT with or without the addition of carboplatin, in order to define clinical features and outcomes in BRCA 1/2 mutation carriers and non-carrier controls. Between January 2013 and February 2021, 67 (51.3%) out of 136 patients received a standard anthracyclines/taxane regimen and 69 (50.7%) patients received a platinum-containing chemotherapy regimen. Deleterious germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations were identified in 39 (28.7%) patients. Overall, patients with deleterious gBRCA1/2 mutation have significantly higher pCR rate than non-carrier patients (23 [59%] of 39 vs. 33 [34%] of 97; p = 0.008). The benefit of harboring a gBRCA mutation was confirmed only in the subset of patients who received a platinum-based NACT (17 [65.4%] of 26 vs. 13 [30.2%] of 43; p = 0.005) while no differences were found in the platinum-free subgroup. Patients who achieved pCR after NACT had significantly better EFS (OR 4.5; 95% CI 1.9-10.7; p = 0.001) and OS (OR 3.3; 95% CI 1.3-8.9; p = 0.01) than patients who did not, regardless of BRCA1/2 mutation status and type of NACT received. Our results based on real-world evidence show that TNBC patients with the gBRCA1/2 mutation who received platinum-based NACT have a higher pCR rate than non-carrier patients, supporting the use of this chemotherapy regimen in this patient population. Long-term follow-up analyses are needed to further define the role of gBRCA mutation status on clinical outcomes in patients with early-TNBC

Assessing the pathogenicity of BRCA1/2 variants of unknown significance: Relevance and challenges for breast cancer precision medicine

IntroductionBreast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Pathogenic variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes account for approximately 50% of all hereditary BC, with 60-80% of patients characterized by Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) at an early stage phenotype. The identification of a pathogenic BRCA1/2 variant has important and expanding roles in risk-reducing surgeries, treatment planning, and familial surveillance. Otherwise, finding unclassified Variants of Unknown Significance (VUS) limits the clinical utility of the molecular test, leading to an “imprecise medicine”.MethodsWe reported the explanatory example of the BRCA1 c.5057A>C, p.(His1686Pro) VUS identified in a patient with TNBC. We integrated data from family history and clinic-pathological evaluations, genetic analyses, and bioinformatics in silico investigations to evaluate the VUS classification.ResultsOur evaluation posed evidences for the pathogenicity significance of the investigated VUS: 1) association of the BRCA1 variant to cancer-affected members of the family; 2) absence of another high-risk mutation; 3) multiple indirect evidences derived from gene and protein structural analysis.DiscussionIn line with the ongoing efforts to uncertain variants classification, we speculated about the relevance of an in-depth assessment of pathogenicity of BRCA1/2 VUS for a personalized management of patients with BC. We underlined that the efficient integration of clinical data with the widest number of supporting molecular evidences should be adopted for the proper management of patients, with the final aim of effectively guide the best prognostic and therapeutic paths