Family history of cancer and the risk of cancer: a network of case-control studies

Background The risk of many cancers is higher in subjects with a family history (FH) of cancer at a concordant site. However, few studies investigated FH of cancer at discordant sites. Patients and methods This study is based on a network of Italian and Swiss case-control studies on 13 cancer sites conducted between 1991 and 2009, and including more than 12 000 cases and 11 000 controls. We collected information on history of any cancer in first degree relatives, and age at diagnosis. Odds ratios (ORs) for FH were calculated by multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for major confounding factors. Results All sites showed an excess risk in relation to FH of cancer at the same site. Increased risks were also found for oral and pharyngeal cancer and FH of laryngeal cancer (OR = 3.3), esophageal cancer and FH of oral and pharyngeal cancer (OR = 4.1), breast cancer and FH of colorectal cancer (OR = 1.5) and of hemolymphopoietic cancers (OR = 1.7), ovarian cancer and FH of breast cancer (OR = 2.3), and prostate cancer and FH of bladder cancer (OR = 3.4). For most cancer sites, the association with FH was stronger when the proband was affected at age <60 years. Conclusions Our results point to several potential cancer syndromes that appear among close relatives and may indicate the presence of genetic factors influencing multiple cancer site

Ensaio regional de linhagens de arroz irrigado do Programa de Melhoramento Genético da Embrapa no RS - safra 2008/09.

O Ensaio Regional de linhagens de arroz irrigado visa selecionar genótipos que apresentem alta adaptabilidade e estabilidade aos diversos ambientes em que são cultivadas e que expressem elevado rendimento de grãos, associado à características agronômicas, industriais e culinárias adequadas. Este experimento teve como objetivo avaliar linhagens do programa da Embrapa no Ensaio Regional de Rendimento

Desempenho de linhagens elites de arroz irrigado de ciclo precoce do Programa de Melhoramento Genético da Embrapa em ensaios VCU no RS - safra 2008/09.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho em rendimento de grãos e características agronômicas de interesse das linhagens de ciclo precoce geradas pelo programa de melhoramento genético da Embrapa, em diferentes regiões orizícolas do Rio Grande do Sul, para verificar a possibilidade de indicação de novas cultivares

Desempenho de linhagens elite de arroz irrigado de ciclo médio do Programa de Melhoramento Genético da Embrapa em ensaios VCU no RS - safra 2008/09.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho das linhagens geradas pelo Programa de Melhoramento Genético da Embrapa, em diferente regiões orizícolas do Rio Grande do Sul, visando possível lançamento de novas cultivares

Osteochondritis dissecans of the knee: Epidemiology, etiology, and natural history.

Osteochondritis dissecans of the knee is a disease that typically affects skeletally immature patients. Clinically manifested with knee pain, limping, and joint disfunction, this condition has remained misunderstood and undervalued for a long period. Although being a rare condition, its awareness is of utmost clinical interest because of the possible severe consequences it can bring when misrecognized or inadequately treated. Its etiology remains unclear and is still debated. Many theories have been proposed, including inflammation, local ischemia, subchondral ossification abnormalities, genetic factors, and repetitive mechanical microtrauma, with a likely interplay of the same. This review article aims to deliver and discuss current and up-to-date concepts on epidemiology, etiology, and natural history of this pediatric condition. Level of evidence: level V

Laryngeal mask airway in neonatal stabilization and transport: a retrospective study.

Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) may be considered by health caregivers of level I–II hospitals for neonatal resuscitation and stabilization before and during interhospital care, but literature provides little information on this aspect. This study reviewed the use of LMA during stabilization and transport in a large series of neonates. This is a retrospective study evaluating the use of LMA in infants who underwent emergency transport by the Eastern Veneto Neonatal Emergency Transport Service between January 2003 and December 2021. All data were obtained from transport registry, transport forms, and hospital charts. In total, 64/3252 transferred neonates (2%) received positive pressure ventilation with an LMA, with increasing trend over time (p = 0.001). Most of these neonates were transferred after birth (97%), due to a respiratory or neurologic disease (95%). LMA was used before the transport (n = 60), during the transport (n = 1), or both (n = 3). No device-related adverse effects were recorded. Sixty-one neonates (95%) survived and were discharged/transferred from the receiving center

The effect of co-payments on the take-up of prenatal tests

Noninvasive prenatal screening tests help identify genetic disorders in a fetus, but their take-up remains low in several countries. Using a regression discontinuity design, we test the causal effect of a policy that eliminated co-payments for noninvasive screening tests in Italy. We identify the treatment effects by a discontinuity in women's eligibility for a free test based on their conception date. We find that the policy increases the probability of women's undergoing noninvasive screening tests by 5.5 percentage points, and the effect varies by socioeconomic status. We do not find evidence of substitution effects with more expensive and riskier invasive diagnostic tests. In addition, the increase in take-up does not affect pregnancy termination or newborn health. We find some evidence of positive effects on mothers’ health behaviors during pregnancy as measured by reductions in mothers’ weight gain and hospital admissions during pregnancy, but these are statistically significant only at the 10 percent level

Faricimab versus the standard of care for neovascular age-related macular degeneration in Italy: an indirect treatment comparison

Objectives: To assess through an indirect treatment comparison (ITC) the potential benefit of faricimab over the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) real-life scenario, hereby defined standard of care (SoC), in Italy, that is, aflibercept, bevacizumab, and ranibizumab, in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) naïve to any anti-VEGF treatment. Methods: Individual patient-level data from the phase III clinical trials TENAYA and LUCERNE (faricimab cohort) and the real-world study RADIANCE (RADIANCE cohort) were used. Efficacy was evaluated with changes in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central subfield thickness (CST) from baseline to 1 year (week 52 in the RADIANCE and week 48 in the faricimab cohorts, respectively). Propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting was utilized to balance cohorts and mitigate bias due to potential confounding. Sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate treatment differences adjusted for the number of injections. Results: The ITC included 513 patients treated with faricimab and 263 patients treated with SoC. At 1 year, faricimab showed a greater mean BCVA gain (treatment difference +5.4 letters, p<0.001) and CST reduction (treatment difference −71.8 μm, p<0.001) compared to SoC. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of results, showing a BCVA improvement of +4.0 letters and a CST reduction of −71.5 μm in favor of faricimab. Conclusions: Despite the limitations due to the use of ITC and the comparison between clinical trials and realworld cohorts, the present analysis suggests potential benefits in terms of vision gain and CST reduction in naïve nAMD patients treated with faricimab compared with SoC in a real-world setting

Paediatric knee fractures: A current concept review.

Knee periarticular and intra-articular fractures in children and adolescents have specific features and should be carefully detected. Typical non-contact and contact mechanisms that may lead to an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a skeletally immature patient can cause a tibial eminence fracture. During patellar dislocation or other traumatic events, pure chondral fractures can occur and should be excluded. During sports, traumatic events leading to a forceful quadriceps contraction can cause specific paediatric fracture patterns such as patella sleeve and tibial apophyseal fractures. This review will highlight controversies and innovative aspects of non-operative and operative treatment, basic science, new evidence and unanswered questions for these fractures. Level of evidence: level V