The role of stereotactic body radiation therapy in oligometastatic colorectal cancer

Rationale: Regorafenib is the new standard third-line therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, the reported 1-year overall survival rate does not exceed 25%. Patient concerns: A 55-year-old man affected by mCRC, treated with regorafenib combined with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), showing a durable response. Interventions: After 6 months of regorafenib, a PET/CT scan revealed a focal uptake in a solid lung nodule which was treated with SBRT, whereas continuing regorafenib administration. Fourteen months later, the patient had further progression in a parasternal lymph node, but treatment with regorafenib was continued. The regorafenib-associated side effects, such us the hand-foot syndrome, were favorable managed by reducing the dose from 160 to 120 mg/day. Outcomes: Patient-reported outcome was characterized by a progression-free survival of approximately 3 years. Lessons: in presence of oligometastatic progression, a local SBRT while retaining the same systemic therapy may be a better multidisciplinary approach. Moreover, disease progression is no longer an absolute contraindication for continuing the regorafenib treatment

How technology can help in oncologic patient management during COVID-19 outbreak

No abstract availabl

Cytogenetic and immunofluorescence analysis of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adduct formation and chromosome damage in larval brain neuroblasts of Drosophila melanogaster.

Recently we have evaluated the relationship between benzo[a]-pyrene(BaP)-DNA adducts, determined by 32P-postlabelling, and clone frequencies in the somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) in Drosophila melanogaster. Following that study we proceeded to characterise further the mechanism of induction of genetic damage in vivo by BaP in Drosophila by cytogenetic analysis of larval brain neuroblasts. Third stage larvae were treated with 4 and 10 mM BaP for 24, 48 or 72 h. In all cases, the larvae were killed 72 h after the beginning of treatment, entailing 48, 24 or 0 h post-treatment recovery in BaP-free medium, respectively. At the end of the treatment the following data were collected: (i) the types and levels of chromosome aberrations in neuroblast metaphase and anaphase nuclei; (ii) the distribution and level of BaP-DNA adducts, revealed by indirect immunofluorescence in neuroblast nuclei using an anti-(BaP-DNA) antibody. The results indicate that BaP induces chromosome breaks, deletions and exchanges in this system. In particular, chromosome exchanges decrease as the post-treatment recovery time increases, and the dynamics of breaks and deletions appear to be inversely related to those of the exchanges. This suggests that exchanges may require few preconditions to occur and are thus expressed soon after treatment. Chromosome breaks and deletions could require multiple single events before the actual damage is expressed (even some cell divisions away from the end of treatment). The immunofluorescence analysis suggests that BaP-DNA adducts are more abundant in the heterochromatin of the neuroblast nuclei

Photodynamic therapy: parameters predictive of pain

none4The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between pain and skin type, the variation in pain intensity relative to the erythema of lesions caused by the erythematous effect of light, and the correlation between skin type and this redness. Other possible factors related to pain previously considered n the literature (type and location of lesion treated, sex, age) were also investigated. No statistical difference was found between the pain experienced by patients with one or two lesions and those with three or more lesions. Lesions located on the head and neck caused a greater degree of pain than those on the limbs and trunk. However, no statistical difference was evidenced between lesions on the trunk compared with limbs neither by different sexes In our study we found statistical confirmation that patients with skin type III perceived more pain than those with skin type IV. Correlating sex, skin type and age with the value of pain experienced, the highest level of pain was reported by women older than 65 years with skin type III. Thus we can conclude that the predictive value of skin type is far more important than that of sex and age.---openVirgili A.; Osti F.; Maranini C.; Corazza M.Virgili, Anna; Osti, Federica; Maranini, C.; Corazza, Monic

Prevalence of pityriasis versicolor in a group of Italian pregnant women

Although a predisposing role of pregnancy to Malassezia infections is referred, data on the prevalence of pityriasis versicolor (PV) in pregnant women are not available in literature. To investigate the frequency of PV during pregnancy, 60 pregnant women were clinically and microscopically investigated during and after pregnancy. Fifty-two women completed all visits; three women were affected by PV at first or third trimester of pregnancy, and none at 6 months after delivery. Colonization due to Malassezia yeasts was very significantly (P<0.01) or significantly increased (P<0.05) at the third trimester and 6 months after delivery, respectively. No variation was observed between the end of pregnancy and the postpartum ( P > 0.05). Frequency of PV during pregnancy (5.7%) does not seem different from that reported in general population living in temperate climates (2-5%). However, higher degree of colonization by Malassezia resulted at the end of pregnancy and postpartum

Isotretinoina orale: attualità prescrittive

Si analizzano le novità in tema di prescrizione di isotretinoina orale dopo la normativa di novembre 200

Symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccine status of sixty-seven adult patients affected by inherited metabolic diseases: a phone survey

Abstract Background The Covid pandemic seems to have had several detrimental effects on managing patients affected by inherited metabolic diseases (IMD), although published data about the impact of COVID-19 on patients suffering from IMD are very scarce. The scope of our work was to evaluate adherence to the vaccination plan, the side effects experienced by our adult IMD patients, and the symptoms of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results Sixty-seven patients agreed to respond to a phone interview. The mean age was 36.5 (± 11.6 SD). Regarding the vaccination campaign, fifty-five patients (82%) joined it, of whom ten had received two doses and the remaining forty-five, three. Forty-two patients (76%) reported adverse events following vaccination, the most frequent being local reaction, fever, and asthenia, which lasted an average of two days and resolved without sequelae. Regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection, twenty-seven out of sixty-seven patients (40%) tested positive for the virus; seven of them were not vaccinated at the time of infection; on the other hand, twenty had already had at least two doses. Regarding the prevalence of long-Covid, as many as 12 patients (44%) reported symptoms that persisted after the nasopharyngeal swab tested negative and lasted an average of 81 (± 74 SD) days. There were no statistically significant differences in BMI of patients who contracted the infection and patients who did not (25.15 vs. 25.20, p = .861), between those who had adverse reactions to the vaccine and those who did not (24.40 vs. 25.75, p = .223), between those who had long-Covid and those who did not (25.9 vs. 27.7, p = .183). No relation was observed between metabolic inherited disease, SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms and adverse vaccine reactions. Conclusions The data indicate that IMD patients adhered to the vaccination campaign comparably to the general Italian population. Adverse events to the vaccine were negligible. SARS-CoV-2 infection, which occurred in most cases after receiving at least two doses of the vaccine, did not cause serious symptoms and never required hospitalisation. A non-negligible share of patients suffered from long-Covid symptoms