Erratum to nodal management and upstaging of disease. Initial results from the Italian VATS Lobectomy Registry

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.21037/jtd.2017.06.12.]

Can quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) predict elevated MIB-1 proliferation index in invasive breast cancer?

Purpose: To investigate whether quantitative Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) parameters predict elevated levels of MIB-1 proliferation index in patients with breast cancer. Methods and Materials: We retrospectively enrolled 52 patients with biopsyand surgically-proven invasive cancers (n=52), who underwent preoperative breast Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) on a 1.5 T magnet. MRI examination included a Single Shot Echoplanar DWI sequence with b values of 0 and 1000s/mm2. For each lesion, two experienced readers in consensus measured the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) (on the ADC maps) and lesion-to-background-ratio (LBGR) (on b=1000 s/mm2 images). Based on immunohistochemistry results, we then compared mean ADC and LBGR values between MIB-1-positive (> 14%) and MIB-1-negative (14%) patients using the unpaired T-test. Results: Patients were assessed as MIB-1-positive and MIB-1-negative in 23/52 (44.2%) and 29/52 (55.8%), respectively. ADC values were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in MIB-1-positive patients (0.86x10-3 s/mm2; 95%IC 0.80 - 0.92) compared to MIB-1-negative ones (1.01x10-3 s/mm2; 95%IC 0.91-1.11). On the contrary, we showed no significant difference in LBGR between MIB-1- positive (6.73; 95%IC 4.15-9.32) and MIB-1-negative (9.14; 95%IC 4.45-12.82) women. Conclusion: Lower ADC values at DWI are associated with elevated MIB-1 proliferation index in patients with invasive breast cancer

Sotto Esame. La vita degli studenti universitari al tempo del Covid-19

Cos\u2019\ue8 successo agli studenti universitari durante il primo periodo di diffusione, in Italia, del Covid-19? Nasce da questa domanda la ricerca presentata in questo volume, che \ue8 stata condotta attraverso un questionario online durante il periodo centrale dell\u2019emergenza, tra maggio e luglio 2020. La rilevazione, avvenuta in collaborazione con il Consiglio Nazionale degli Studenti Universitari, ha consentito di dare voce all\u2019esperienza degli studenti ancora attivi e alle prese con gli impegni universitari legati allo studio, alle lezioni e agli esami. Chi ha risposto \ue8 soprattutto chi vive l\u2019universit\ue0 non solo come struttura erogatrice di servizi didattici o formativi, ma anche come comunit\ue0 e luogo nel quale costruire relazioni sociali. La ricerca fa emergere proprio questo: l\u2019importanza che l\u2019istituzione universitaria ha non solo in termini strettamente funzionali, per la sussistenza degli alti sottosistemi (economici e produttivi), ma anche per la formazione dell\u2019identit\ue0 personale dei soggetti e, insieme a questa, del pi\uf9 esteso contesto sociale

Age, gender and drug therapy influences on Tpeak-tend interval and on electrical risk score

Background and objectives: Electrical risk score (ERS) has been proposed as easy, inexpensive test to stratify of sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk in subjects with normal left ventricular function. Potentially, aging, gender and drugs can influence ERS affecting two on six electrical markers, particularly, those based on the repolarization. Aim of this study was to establish aging, gender and drug therapy possible influences on ERS and mortality in elderly patients. Method: 237 consecutive, low SCD risk-outpatients with asymptomatic and treated cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed. Six simple ECG markers composed ERS: heart rate (N75 bpm); left ventricular hypertrophy (Sokolow-Lyon criteria); delayed QRS transition zone (≥V4), frontal QRS-T angle (N90°), long QTBazett; long T peak to T end interval (Tp-e). We obtained ERS in 237 outpatients, grouped according age (b40 ys, ≥40 to b60 ys and ≥60 ys), gender and drug therapy with or without possible influence on the repolarization phase. Results: Two-hundred-thirty-seven patients were grouped respectively in the following age classes: b40 years old; ≥40 to b60 years old and ≥60 years old. ERS (p b 0.05), QTBazett (p b 0.001), Tp-e (p b 0.001) were higher in older subjects independently from gender, drug therapy and cardiovascular comorbidity. After two years we reported a 7.3% of mortality in the older groups; age (deceased versus survivors: 80 ± 4 versus 73 ± 7 years, p b 0.05) and Tp-e (deceased versus survivors: 117 ± 15 versus 93 ± 21 ms, p b 0.05) were significantly lower in survivors,multivariable logistic regression analysis selected only the Tp-e as significant risk factor for totalmortality (odd ratio 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.12, p b 0.05). Conclusion: Aging was associated to the ERS and repolarization phase derangement. Tp-e should be considered a marker of total mortality rather than SCD in the over sixty years old patients