Liquid biopsy for rectal cancer: a systematic review

Background: The management of locally advanced rectal cancer (RC) is an evolving clinical field where the multidisciplinary approach can reach its best, and liquid biopsy for obtaining tumor-derived component such as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) might provide complementary informations. Methods: A systematic review of studies available in literature of liquid biopsy in non-metastatic RC has been performed according to PRISMA criteria to assess the role of ctDNA as a diagnostic, predictive and prognostic biomarker in this setting. Results: Twenty-five publications have been retrieved, of which 8 full-text articles, 7 abstracts and 10 clinical trials. Results have been categorized into three groups: diagnostic, predictive and prognostic. Few but promising data are available about the use of liquid biopsy for early diagnosis of RC, with the main limitation of sensitivity due to low concentrations of ctDNA in this setting. In terms of prediction of response to chemoradiation, still inconclusive data are available about the utility of a pre-treatment liquid biopsy, whereas some studies report a positive correlation with a dynamic (pre/post-treatment) monitoring. The presence of minimal residual disease by ctDNA was consistently associated with worse prognosis across studies. Conclusions: The use of liquid biopsy for monitoring response to chemoradiation and assess the risk of disease recurrence are the most advanced potential applications for liquid biopsy in RC, with implications also in the context of non-operative management strategies

Predictive score using clinical and blood biomarkers in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients treated with immunotherapy

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Peripheral blood biomarkers as prognostic factors for immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients

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Evaluation of COVID-19 impact on DELAYing diagnostic-therapeutic pathways of lung cancer patients in Italy (COVID-DELAY study): fewer cases and higher stages from a real-world scenario

Introduction: COVID-19 has disrupted the global health care system since March 2020. Lung cancer (LC) patients (pts) represent a vulnerable population highly affected by the pandemic. This multicenter Italian study aimed to evaluate whether the COVID-19 outbreak had an impact on access to cancer diagnosis and treatment of LC pts compared with pre-pandemic time. Methods: Consecutive newly diagnosed LC pts referred to 25 Italian Oncology Departments between March and December 2020 were included. Access rate and temporal intervals between date of symptoms onset and diagnostic and therapeutic services were compared with the same period in 2019. Differences between the 2 years were analyzed using the chi-square test for categorical variables and the Mann\u2013Whitney U test for continuous variables. Results: A slight reduction ( 126.9%) in newly diagnosed LC cases was observed in 2020 compared with 2019 (1523 versus 1637, P = 0.09). Newly diagnosed LC pts in 2020 were more likely to be diagnosed with stage IV disease (P < 0.01) and to be current smokers (someone who has smoked more than 100 cigarettes, including hand-rolled cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, in their lifetime and has smoked in the last 28 days) (P < 0.01). The drop in terms of new diagnoses was greater in the lockdown period (percentage drop 1212% versus 123.2%) compared with the other months included. More LC pts were referred to a low/medium volume hospital in 2020 compared with 2019 (P = 0.01). No differences emerged in terms of interval between symptoms onset and radiological diagnosis (P = 0.94), symptoms onset and cytohistological diagnosis (P = 0.92), symptoms onset and treatment start (P = 0.40), and treatment start and first radiological revaluation (P = 0.36). Conclusions: Our study pointed out a reduction of new diagnoses with a shift towards higher stage at diagnosis for LC pts in 2020. Despite this, the measures adopted by Italian Oncology Departments ensured the maintenance of the diagnostic-therapeutic pathways of LC pts

FinTech revolution: the impact of management information systems upon relative firm value and risk

The FinTech or ‘financial technology’ revolution has been gaining increasing interest as technologies are fundamentally changing the business of financial services. Consequently, financial technology is playing an increasingly important role in providing relative performance growth to firms. It is also well known that such relative performance can be observed through pairs trading investment. Therefore pairs trading have implications for understanding financial technology performance, yet the relationships between relative firm value and financial technology are not well understood. In this paper we investigate the impact of financial technology upon relative firm value in the banking sector. Firstly, using pairs trade data we show that financial technologies reveal differences in relative operational performance of firms, providing insight on the value of financial technologies. Secondly, we find that contribution of relative firm value growth from financial technologies is dependent on the specific business characteristics of the technology, such as the business application and activity type. Finally, we show that financial technologies impact the operational risk of firms and so firms need to take into account both the value and risk benefits in implementing new technological innovations. This paper will be of interest to academics and industry professionals

Baseline BMI and BMI variation during first line pembrolizumab in NSCLC patients with a PD-L1 expression >= 50%: a multicenter study with external validation

Background The association between obesity and outcomes in patients receiving programmed death-1/ programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) checkpoint inhibitors has already been confirmed in pre-treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, regardless of PD-L1 tumor expression. Methods We present the outcomes analysis according to baseline body mass index (BMI) and BMI variation in a large cohort of metastatic NSCLC patients with a PD-L1 expression ≥50%, receiving first line pembrolizumab. We also evaluated a control cohort of metastatic NSCLC patients treated with first line platinum-based chemotherapy. Normal weight was set as control group. Results 962 patients and 426 patients were included in the pembrolizumab and chemotherapy cohorts, respectively. Obese patients had a significantly higher objective response rate (ORR) (OR=1.61 (95% CI: 1.04– 2.50)) in the pembrolizumab cohort, while overweight patients had a significantly lower ORR (OR=0.59 (95% CI: 0.37–0.92)) within the chemotherapy cohort. Obese patients had a significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) (HR=0.61 (95% CI: 0.45–0.82)) in the pembrolizumab cohort. Conversely, they had a significantly shorter PFS in the chemotherapy cohort (HR=1.27 (95% CI: 1.01–1.60)). Obese patients had a significantly longer overall survival (OS) within the pembrolizumab cohort (HR=0.70 (95% CI: 0.49–0.99)), while no significant differences according to baseline BMI were found in the chemotherapy cohort. BMI variation significantly affected ORR, PFS and OS in both the pembrolizumab and the chemotherapy cohorts. Conclusions Baseline obesity is associated to significantly improved ORR, PFS and OS in metastatic NSCLC patients with a PD-L1 expression of ≥50%, receiving first line pembrolizumab, but not among patients treated with chemotherapy. BMI variation is also significantly related to clinical outcomes

Country-Specific Risk Diversification through Internationa Equity Portfolios

The existence of country-specific risk factors that could be mitigated by international investment is investigated. An innovative methodology for quantifying the benefits of international diversification is also proposed and tested. In order to overcome many of the problems that arise in the study of international diversification, the analysis is restricted to the equity markets of the Eurozone. The results clearly show the benefits of international equity diversification, even in close economies. The introduction of constraints on short selling significantly reduces these benefits. For asset managers and practitioners, the analysis shows unambiguously that, despite the economic and monetary union and notwithstanding the high degree of correlation between the European markets, opportunities for diversification into the national stock markets of the Eurozone still exist. There is, furthermore, a significant country-specific source of risk that can be hedged via the use of non-domestic diversification

Special Issue - Socially Responsible Investments

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is any kind of investment strategy which seeks to combine both financial return and social good. Currently, several US$ trillions are socially responsibly invested all over the world. The number of investors that avoid investing in unethical companies constantly increases. SRI has become an established way of investing both for institutional and private investors. The rapid growth of the SRI industry has fostered financial and economic studies, though with nonconclusive and oen conflicting results. Moreover, many areas of SRI-related issues deserve further investigation. This Special Issue aims at bridging this gap by collecting cutting-edge original papers that will improve the actual understanding of the SRI universe in all of its subsets (sustainable investing, impact investing, green finance, ethical investing, positive investing, community investing, etc.). Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome. Case studies will be eligible for publication provided that they offer substantial comparisons and policy implications

LO IAS 39: IL TRATTAMENTO CONTABILE DEL PORTAFOGLIO TITOLI ED I RIFLESSI SULL'EQUILIBRIO ECONOMICO DELLA BANCA

L’evolversi in ottica moderna e polifunzionale dell’attività bancaria ha permesso di superare il tradizionale concetto di accessorietà e marginalità del portafoglio titoli delle banche e di attribuirgli un ruolo centrale nella complessiva strategia degli intermediari creditizi e sinergico con le diverse funzioni (creditizia e di tesoreria in particolare) e attività svolte (si pensi alla prestazione di servizi di investimento). In una accezione ristretta il portafoglio titoli delle banche comprende i soli strumenti finanziari di proprietà, non qualificabili come partecipazioni. In una accezione più ampia ed integrata dell’attività di intermediazione bancaria, il portafoglio titoli è definibile come insieme degli strumenti finanziari di proprietà e degli strumenti finanziari emessi. In tale ottica il portafoglio titoli è rappresentativo del complessivo ricorso agli strumenti finanziari del mercato dei capitali, sia per finalità di impiego, sia per il mantenimento di condizioni di liquidità, sia per necessità di raccolta, sia per consentire lo svolgimento dei servizi di investimento. In questo lavoro si adotterà l’accezione ampia dell’aggregato “portafoglio titoli”, con l’unica precisazione che, essendo gli strumenti derivati oggetto di specifica trattazione in altre parti del testo, si concentrerà l’attenzione sugli strumenti finanziari del portafoglio titoli diversi da quelli derivati. L’importanza del portafoglio titoli nella moderna gestione bancaria è cresciuta, con grande intensità, nel tempo. Da strumento per la sola gestione delle esigenze di tesoreria, l’assolvimento di vincoli di portafoglio ed il finanziamento degli istituti di credito speciale, si è trasformato, anche grazie al concorso di una serie di fattori esterni, in elemento attivo della complessiva dinamica della raccolta, degli impieghi bancari e dell’offerta di servizi di investimento. L’International accounting standards committee ha dedicato lo IAS 39 alla rilevazione ed alla valutazione degli strumenti finanziari. Adottato, nella versione attuale, nel dicembre 2003, il principio contabile è stato oggetto, sin dai mesi successivi alla sua pubblicazione, di integrazioni ed emendamenti. Obiettivo del presente lavoro è tracciare il quadro economico, finanziario e normativo dell’applicazione dello IAS 39 al portafoglio titoli delle banche e valutarne i possibili effetti in termini di equilibrio economico, rappresentatività di bilancio e tutela dei portatori esterni di interesse. L’analisi permetterà di svolgere diverse riflessioni ed evidenziare alcuni aspetti di criticità. Non ci si soffermerà sull’evoluzione, travagliata, della formulazione del principio o quella delle sue interpretazioni, né tanto meno a descrivere i vari passaggi che hanno portato alla sua adozione nella legislazione comunitaria e nazionale . Si farà, invece, riferimento al principio in vigore al momento della redazione di queste pagine ed alle norme di introduzione in Italia e nella Unione europea