Lipoplatin Treatment in Lung and Breast Cancer

The introduction of cisplatin in cancer treatment represents an important achievement in the oncologic field. Many types of cancers are now treated with this drug, and in testicular cancer patients major results are reached. Since 1965, other compounds were disovered and among them carboplatin and oxaliplatin are the main Cisplatin analogues showing similar clinical efficacy with a safer toxicity profile. Lipoplatin is a new liposomal cisplatin formulation which seems to have these characteristics. Lipoplatin was shown to be effective in NSCLC both in phase 2 and phase 3 trials, with the same response rate of Cisplatin, a comparable overall survival but less toxicity. A new protocol aiming to elucidate the double capacity of Lipoplatin to act as a chemotherapeutic and angiogenetic agent in triple-negative breast cancer patients is upcoming

Cure indicators and prevalence by stage at diagnosis for breast and colorectal cancer patients: A population‐based study in Italy

People alive many years after breast (BC) or colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnoses are increasing. This paper aimed to estimate the indicators of cancer cure and complete prevalence for Italian patients with BC and CRC by stage and age. A total of 31 Italian Cancer Registries (47% of the population) data until 2017 were included. Mixture cure models allowed estimation of net survival (NS); cure fraction (CF); time to cure (TTC, 5-year conditional NS >95%); cure prevalence (who will not die of cancer); and already cured (prevalent patients living longer than TTC). 2.6% of all Italian women (806,410) were alive in 2018 after BC and 88% will not die of BC. For those diagnosed in 2010, CF was 73%, 99% when diagnosed at stage I, 81% at stage II, and 36% at stages III-IV. For all stages combined, TTC was >10 years under 45 and over 65 years and for women with advanced stages, but <= 1 year for all BC patients at stage I. The proportion of already cured prevalent BC women was 75% (94% at stage I). Prevalent CRC cases were 422,407 (0.7% of the Italian population), 90% will not die of CRC. For CRC patients, CF was 56%, 92% at stage I, 71% at stage II, and 35% at stages III-IV. TTC was <= 10 years for all age groups and stages. Already cured were 59% of all prevalent CRC patients (93% at stage I). Cancer cure indicators by stage may contribute to appropriate follow-up in the years after diagnosis, thus avoiding patients' discrimination

[Evaluation of chlorine dioxide concentrations needed to effectively control contamination by Legionella spp in hospital hot water distribution systems]

This aim of the study was to identify effective levels of ClO2 for control of Legionella spp. contamination in the hot water (45-55 °C.) distribution system of a 579-bed hospital in Ravenna (Italy). Overall, 663 hot water samples were collected from the hospital's sinks and shower taps and were analyzed. Trend line analysis, which describes the trend in the number of positive samples collected according to disinfectant concentration, shows that the lowest number of positive samples was achieved with concentrations of ClO2 between 0.22 and 0, 32 mg /l

Prevalence of Salmonella strains in wild animals from a highly populated area of north-eastern Italy

Salmonella is a ubiquitous pathogen that can infect host species, like wild birds, rodents, and/or arthropods, which may transmit infection to domestic animals and human population

Small cell neuroendocrine tumor of the breast in a 40 year-old woman: a case report

Abstract Introduction Small cell neuroendocrine cancer of the breast is a rare tumor with less than 30 cases reported in the literature. The morphological and immunohistochemical patterns of this tumor are similar to small cell neuroendocrine cancer of the lung. For this reason, it is often difficult to distinguish a primary small cell neuroendocrine cancer of the breast from a metastatic lesion from other sites. Case presentation We report and characterize with immunohistochemical techniques a case of primary small cell neuroendocrine cancer of the breast occurring in a 40-year-old Caucasian woman. A palpable and mobile 3.0 cm tumor was located in the upper-outer quadrant of her right breast. Lumpectomy and subsequent radical mastectomy with axillary lymph node resection were performed. Microscopically, the tumor consisted predominantly of a diffuse proliferation of small oat cells. The tumor cells were positive for neuroendocrine markers chromogranin A and synaptophysin. One of 16 lymph nodes was metastatic. A correct treatment needs to be chosen. Conclusions It has recently been demonstrated that early small cell neuroendocrine cancer of the breast shows a good prognosis with adjuvant treatments with high disease free survival. Our patient is alive and well without disease eight years after treatment. We performed an adjuvant therapy with the classic scheme doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, followed by carboplatin and etoposide. A more extensive review is required to define a standard treatment protocol for this rare neoplasm.</p

Estimating the impact of an organised screening programme on cervical cancer incidence: A 26-year study from northern Italy

The impact of the organised cervical cancer (CC) screening programmes implemented in Europe since the 1990s has been insufficiently evaluated. We investigated the changes in CC incidence following the introduction of a screening programme in the Emilia-Romagna Region (northern Italy). The study period was 1988–2013. The programme, targeting women aged 25–64 years (1,219,000 in 2018), started in 1998. The annual incidence rates that would be expected in 1998–2013 in the absence of screening were estimated, first, by analysing the annual rates in 1988–1997 with a log-linear model and, second, by analysing the annual rates in 1988–2013 with an age-period model in which the period effect was enforced to be linear. Cervical adenocarcinoma incidence trend over the entire period was used to validate both estimates. Observed annual rates were compared to the two series of expected ones with the incidence rate ratio (IRR). Incidence remained stable during 1988–1997, peaked in 1998 and then decreased until 2007, when it stabilised. The two series of expected rates were virtually coincident and their trends roughly paralleled the stable adenocarcinoma incidence trend. After 2007, the median IRR was 0.60 (95% confidence interval, 0.45–0.81) based on the log-linear model and 0.58 (95% confidence interval, 0.34–0.97) based on the age-period model. Thirty-six to seventy-five CC cases were prevented annually for an average annual frequency of 6.5 per 100,000 women in the target population. In summary, consistent circumstantial evidences were obtained that the organised screening programme brought about a 40% reduction in annual CC incidence after 10 years

INDAGINE SULLO STATO IMMUNITARIO NEI CONFRONTI DELL'INFEZIONE DA HPV NELLA POPOLAZIONE FEMMINILE GIOVANILE ED ADULTA DI FERRARA

È nota l'associazione tra infezione da virus del papilloma umano (HPV) e sviluppo di lesioni precancerose e neoplasie cervicali. Con l'inizio dell'attività sessuale le donne entrano in contatto con il virus ma non tutte sviluppano una risposta immunitaria sufficiente ad evitare una futura reinfezione. Una protezione efficace e duratura viene conferita attraverso la vaccinazione. Lo studio ha l'obiettivo di valutare presenza e livelli di anticorpi anti-HPV, sia derivanti dall'infezione naturale che dalla vaccinazione, in un campione di ragazze e giovani donne. Nel periodo ottobre-dicembre 2011, sono stati complessivamente raccolti, dalle eccedenze delle procedure analitiche eseguite presso il Laboratorio Analisi dell'Ospedale S. Anna di Ferrara, 798 campioni di siero anonimi. Il gruppo di controllo è formato da 110 maschi e 151 femmine di età inferiore a 10 anni. La quota restante appartiene a soggetti di sesso femminile: 270 ragazze di 11-18 anni e 267 donne di 19-26 anni. La ricerca anticorpale è stata effettuata con test immunoenzimatico ELISA (DRG) per evidenziare presenza e livelli di IgG dei ceppi 6,11,16,18 espressi in EU/ml. In aggiunta per ogni soggetto è stata allestita una serie di diluizioni per ottenere il titolo anticorpale. L'analisi statistica è stata condotta con StatView® applicando il Chi quadro sulle percentuali di campioni positivi ed il t di Student per il confronto tra livelli e titoli anticorpali (valori trasformati logaritmicamente). Tutti i campioni appartenenti al gruppo di controllo sono risultati negativi. Complessivamente i sieri in cui è stata riscontrata la presenza di anticorpi sono stati 168, di cui solo 22 tra le giovani donne. Oltre la metà (54,1%) delle ragazze è risultata positiva contro una percentuale dell'8,2% nella fascia d'età superiore evidenziando una differenza statisticamente significativa (p<0,0001). La concentrazione di IgG è distribuita in un range variabile da 14,52 a 200,88 nella fascia d'età 11-18 anni e da 14,69 a 130,91 in quella 19-26 anni. Il titolo geometrico medio di 68,85 EU/ml (IC 95% 65,73-71,97 EU/ml) rilevato nelle ragazze è oltre il doppio rispetto a quello evidenziato nelle giovani donne (28,98 EU/ml, IC 95% 18,93-39,03 EU/ml). Il confronto tra le fasce d'età ha evidenziato una differenza significativa (p<0,0001). Alti livelli di titolo anticorpale sono stati riscontrati nelle ragazze, di cui oltre la metà ha valori superiori a 1:500 (34 casi 1:500, 35 casi 1:1000 e ben 42 campioni con titolo maggiore di 1:2000). Nelle giovani donne il più elevato titolo riscontrato è stato 1:1000. La metà dei campioni ha raggiunto solamente un titolo di 1:125 e solo 8 casi fino a 1:250: tra i due gruppi esiste una differenza significativa (p<0,0001). La maggiore frequenza di campioni positivi ed i livelli anticorpali più elevati ha riguardato la fascia 11-18 anni, corrispondente alle coorti di nascita interessate dall'offerta attiva della vaccinazione ed in cui generalmente si verifica il debutto sessuale. Purtroppo l'assenza di indicazioni circa i comportamenti sessuali e la vaccinazione non permette di distinguere se derivino da infezione naturale o immunizzazione, tuttavia il riscontro di un titolo anticorpale positivo ad elevate diluizioni permette di ipotizzare si tratti della risposta alla vaccinazione