Development of sentinel node localization and ROLL in breast cancer in Europe

The concept of a precise region in which to find the lymph nodes that drain the lymph directly from the primary tumor site can be traced back to a century ago to the observations of Jamieson and Dobson who described how cancer cells spread from cancer of the stomach in a single lymph node, which they called the â\u80\u9cprimary glandâ\u80\u9d. However, Cabanas was the first in 1977 to realize the importance of this concept in clinical studies following lymphography performed in patients with penile cancer. Thanks to Mortonâ\u80\u99s studies on melanoma in 1992, we began to understand the potential impact of the sentinel lymph node (SN) on the surgical treatment of this type of cancer. The use of a vital dye (blue dye) administered subdermally in the region surrounding the melanoma lesion led to the identification of the sentinel node, and the vital dye technique was subsequently applied to other types of solid tumors, e.g. breast, vulva. However, difficulties in using this technique in anatomical regions with deep lymphatic vessels, e.g. axilla, led to the development of lymphoscintigraphy, started by Alex and Krag in 1993 on melanoma and breast cancer and optimized by our group at European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan in 1996. Today, lymphoscintigraphy is still considered as the most reliable method for the detection of the SN. In 1996, a new method for the localization of non-palpable breast lesion called radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) was also developed at IEO. Retrospective and prospective studies have since shown that the ROLL procedure permits the easy and accurate surgical removal of non-palpable breast lesions, overcoming the limitations of previous techniques such as the wire-guided localization. The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution of SN biopsy and radioguided surgery in the management of breast cancer. We also include a review of the literature on the clinical scenarios in which SN biopsy in breast cancer is currently used, with particular reference to controversies and future prospects

Italian expert panel consensus statements on two-drug antiretroviral regimens to treat naïve and virologically suppressed HIV-1 infected patients

New strategies for HIV treatment able to reduce drug-exposure, medium-long term toxicities and costs are a recognized clinical need. The availability of newer drugs with improved potency and tolerability, as well as high genetic barrier to resistance, makes antiretroviral-sparing strategies with two-drug regimens (2DRs) particularly attractive. Substantial evidence has been generated over the last few years supporting 2DR in virologically suppressed HIV infected patients for whom a therapy switch is planned. More recently, very promising data on 2DR in naïve patients have also been reported. The main purpose of this consensus is to provide an overview of guideline indications and recommendations, and the most recent data from clinical studies of 2DR in both naïve and virologically suppressed patients. As an expert consensus, suggestions and indications on the use and management of 2DR are also provided