COVID-19 Lung Segmentation

The COVID-19 Lung Segmentation project provides a novel, unsupervised and fully auto- mated pipeline for the semantic segmentation of ground-glass opacity (GGO) areas in chest Computer Tomography (CT) scans of patients affected by COVID-19. In the project we provide a series of scripts and functions for the automated segmentation of lungs 3D areas, segmentation of GGO areas, and estimation of radiomic features

The role of Micro-RNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: From Molecular Biology to Treatment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer deaths. microRNAs (miRNAs) are evolutionary conserved small non-coding RNA that negatively regulate gene expression and protein translation. Recent evidences have shown that they are involved in many biological processes, from development and cell-cycle regulation to apoptosis. miRNAs can behave as tumor suppressor or promoter of oncogenesis depending on the cellular function of their targets. Moreover, they are frequently dysregulated in HCC. In this review we summarize the latest findings of miRNAs regulation in HCC and their role as potentially diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for HCC. We highlight development of miRNAs as potential therapeutic targets for HCC

Tracking the 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium: bridging cancer biology to clinical gastrointestinal oncology

The 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (San Francisco, CA, USA; January 15–17) is the world-class conference co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the American Gastroenterological Association Institute, and the Society of Surgical Oncology, in which the most innovative research results in digestive tract oncology are presented and discussed. In its twelfth edition, the meeting has provided new insights focusing on the underpinning biology and clinical management of gastrointestinal malignancies. More than 3,400 health care professionals gathered from all over the world to share their experiences on how to bridge the recent novelties in cancer biology with everyday medical practice. In this article, the authors report on the most significant advances, didactically moving on three different anatomic tracks: gastroesophageal malignancies, pancreatic and biliary cancers, and colorectal adenocarcinomas

translational challenges from the 2014 gastrointestinal cancers symposium toward a true tailored therapy through effective research

Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium 2014, San Francisco, CA, USA, 16–18 January 2014 The Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium represents an indisputable occasion for sharing results and research opportunities for investigators around the globe. Across the years along with clinical trials presentations the meeting increasingly acquired a distinct role as a scientific arena for translational research. Also, this year the need for predictive markers for first-generation targeted agents and research about novel biologically driven therapeutic options characterized most of the studies presented. We focus here on reports from the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium indicating an opportunity for biological selection of either the pharmacological target or the patient population in order to enhance clinical outcome

Lactate Dehydrogenase in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Something Old, Something New

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver tumour (80-90%) and represents more than 5.7% of all cancers. Although in recent years the therapeutic options for these patients have increased, clinical results are yet unsatisfactory and the prognosis remains dismal. Clinical or molecular criteria allowing a more accurate selection of patients are in fact largely lacking. Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) is a glycolytic key enzyme in the conversion of pyruvate to lactate under anaerobic conditions. In preclinical models, upregulation of LDH has been suggested to ensure both an efficient anaerobic/glycolytic metabolism and a reduced dependence on oxygen under hypoxic conditions in tumour cells. Data from several analyses on different tumour types seem to suggest that LDH levels may be a significant prognostic factor. The role of LDH in HCC has been investigated by different authors in heterogeneous populations of patients. It has been tested as a potential biomarker in retrospective, small, and nonfocused studies in patients undergoing surgery, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), and systemic therapy. In the major part of these studies, high LDH serum levels seem to predict a poorer outcome. We have reviewed literature in this setting trying to resume basis for future studies validating the role of LDH in this disease

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2–Specific Antibodies in Cancer Patients Undergoing Active Systemic Treatment: A Single-Center Experience from the Marche Region, Italy

none13noSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence in cancer patients may vary widely dependent on the geographic area and this has significant implications for oncological care. The aim of this observational, prospective study was to assess the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG antibodies in solid cancer patients referred to the academic institution of the Marche Region, Italy, between 1 July and 26 October 2020 and to determine the accuracy of the rapid serological test. After performing 3767 GCCOV-402a rapid serological tests on a total of 949 patients, seroconversion was initially observed in 13 patients (1.4%). Ten (77% of the total positive) were IgG-positive, 1 (8%) were IgM-positive and 2 (15%) IgM-positive/IgG-positive. However, only 7 out of 13 were confirmed as positive at the reference serological test (true positives), thus seroprevalence after cross-checking was 0.7%. No false negatives were reported. The kappa value of the consistency analysis was 0.71. Due to rapid serological test high false positive rate, its role in assessing seroconversion rate is limited, and the standard serological tests should remain the gold standard. However, as rapid test negative predictive value is high, GCCOV-402a may instead be useful to monitor patient immunity over time, thus helping to assist ongoing vaccination programsopenCantini, Luca; Bastianelli, Lucia; Lupi, Alessio; Pinterpe, Giada; Pecci, Federica; Belletti, Giovanni; Stoico, Rosa; Vitarelli, Francesca; Moretti, Marco; Onori, Nicoletta; Giampieri, Riccardo; Rocchi, Marco Bruno Luigi; Berardi, RossanaCantini, Luca; Bastianelli, Lucia; Lupi, Alessio; Pinterpe, Giada; Pecci, Federica; Belletti, Giovanni; Stoico, Rosa; Vitarelli, Francesca; Moretti, Marco; Onori, Nicoletta; Giampieri, Riccardo; Rocchi, Marco Bruno Luigi; Berardi, Rossan

Phosphorylated AKT and MAPK expression in primary tumours and in corresponding metastases and clinical outcome in colorectal cancer patients receiving irinotecan-cetuximab

Clinical observations suggested that a non negligible proportion of patients, ranging from 40% to 70%, does not seem to benefit from the use of anti-EGFR targeted antibodies even in the absence of a mutation of the K- RAS gene. The EGFR pathway activation via the Ras-Raf-MAP-kinase and the protein-serine/threonine kinase AKT could determine resistance to anti-EGFR treatment.We tested the interaction between phosphorylated AKT and MAPK expression in colorectal tumours and corresponding metastases and global outcome in K-RAS wild type patients receiving irinotecan-cetuximab.Seventy-two patients with histologically proven metastatic colorectal cancer, treated with Irinotecan and Cetuximab based chemotherapy, were eligible for our analysis.In metastases pAKT correlated with RR (9% vs. 58%, p\u2009=\u20090.004), PFS (2.3 months vs. 9.2 months p\u2009<\u20090.0001) and OS (6.1 months vs. 26.7 months p\u2009<\u20090.0001) and pMAPK correlated with RR (10% vs. 47%, p\u2009=\u20090.002), PFS (2.3 months vs. 8.6 months p\u2009<\u20090.0001) and OS (7.8 months vs. 26 months p\u2009=\u20090.0004). At multivariate analysis pAKT and pMAPK in metastases were able to independently predict PFS. pAKT in metastases independently correlated with RR as wellpAKT and pMAPK expression in metastases may modulate the activity of EGFR-targeted antibodies. We could speculate that in patients with pAKT and pMAPK metastases expression targeting these factors may be crucial

VEGF and VEGFR polymorphisms affect clinical outcome in advanced renal cell carcinoma patients receiving first-line sunitinib

Background: Currently, sunitinib represents one of the therapeutic strongholds for renal cell carcinoma, but the criteria for treatment selection are lacking. We assessed the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptor (VEGFR) polymorphisms in the prediction of the clinical outcome in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients.Methods:A total of 84 tumour samples from mRCC patients receiving first-line sunitinib were tested for VEGF and VEGFR single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The SNP results were correlated with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).Results:Median PFS was 8.22 months, although whereas median OS was 32.13 months. The VEGF A rs833061 resulted significant in PFS (17 vs 4 months; P<0.0001) and OS (38 vs 10 months; P<0.0001). The VEGF A rs699947 was significant for PFS (18 vs 4 months; P=0.0001) and OS (37 vs 16 months; P<0.0001). The VEGF A rs2010963 was significant in PFS (18 vs 8 vs 2 months; P=0.0001) and OS (31 vs 36 vs 9 months; P=0.0045). The VEGR3 rs6877011 was significant in PFS (12 vs 4 months; P=0.0075) and OS (36 vs 17 months; P=0.0001). At multivariate analysis, rs833061, rs2010963 and rs68877011 were significant in PFS, and rs833061 and rs68877011 were independent factors in OS.Conclusions:In our analysis, patients with TT polymorphism of rs833061, CC polymorphism of rs699947, CC polymorphism of rs2010963 and CG polymorphism of rs6877011 seem to have a worse PFS and OS when receiving first-line sunitini