Improving Diagnostic Yield of Capsule Endoscopy in Coeliac Disease: Can Flexible Spectral Imaging Colour Enhancement Play a Role?

Introduction: Flexible spectral imaging colour enhancement (FICE) is a form of virtual chromoendoscopy that is incorporated in the capsule reading software and that can be used by reviewers to enhance the delineation of lesions in the small bowel. This has been shown to be useful in the detection of pigmented (ulcers, angioectasias) lesions. However, its application to coeliac disease (CD) images from small bowel capsule endoscopies (SBCEs) has rarely been studied. Methods: This was a European, multicentre study that included 5 expert capsule reviewers who were asked to evaluate a number of normal and abnormal de-identified images from SBCEs of patients with CD to determine whether the use of FICE and blue light can improve the detection of CD-related changes. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of conventional white light in the delineation of CD-related changes were 100%. The next best image modification was FICE 1 with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 100%. There was no difference between conventional white light, FICE and blue light for the identification of CD-related changes. There was a low agreement (Fleiss kappa 0.107; p = 0.147) between expert reviewers in selecting the best image modification that detected CD-related changes. Conclusions: FICE and blue light were not found to be superior to conventional white light in the delineation of macroscopic changes related to CD on SBCEs

[Management of nausea and vomiting in cancer patients. Use of transdermal patches containing granisetron in patients affected by head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma]

In the management of cancer patients, supportive therapies play a crucial role. In patients with HNSCC in particular, swallowing may be difficult or completely prevented, therefore it is necessary to resort to alternative routes of administration instead of the oral one. The use of transdermal patches containing granisetron is thereby particularly indicated for the management of nausea and vomiting in these patients, ensuring a better quality of life and better compliance to the antineoplastic therapy

Complete response to anti-PD-1 nivolumab in massive skin metastasis from melanoma: Efficacy and tolerability in an elderly patient

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors anti-PD-1/PD-L1 has delivered new and effective treatment options with proven clinical benefits for patients affected by metastatic melanoma. The 30-40% of treated patients experience an objective tumour regression, with a significantly prolonged survival and an improved quality of life. Here, we report a case of a 75-year-old Caucasian woman affected by a massive cutaneous metastasis from a BRAF wild-type melanoma who experienced multiple relapses after surgery and repeated electrochemotherapy treatments. A poor response was observed after systemic therapy with ipilimumab, whereas a marked reduction in the lesion size was obtained during the treatment with nivolumab, with an objectively complete response after 6 months. Therapy was well tolerated, without immune-related side effects. During treatment, LDH levels decreased up to the standard values. Our experience confirms the good efficacy and the safety of anti-PD-1 nivolumab for the treatment of relapsed or refractory massive skin lesions, also in elderly patients

A Simon's two-stage design trial evaluating the potential role of a kind of honey in preventing chemotherapy-hematopoietic toxicities

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Hematopoietic toxicities are a serious consequence of myelosuppressive CT that may result in dose reductions, delays or even discontinuation of CT, which, in turn, may compromise patient outcomes. Concerns about tolerability and costs of CSFs are still ongoing, therefore the potential use of supportive therapeutics agents are still of interest. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE: We performed a monocentric, phase II study using Simon's two-stage design. The primary endpoint was the evaluation of the potential clinical benefit of a special kind of honey (Life-Mel Honey) administered prophylactically to reduce the incidence of hematopoietic toxicities following chemotherapy. We have enrolled patients undergoing adjuvant or first-line chemotherapy. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: From November 2013 to May 2014 (First stage) and from November 2014 to April 2016 (Second stage), 39 patients were enrolled at our Institution. The majority of patients was male (24/39, 61.5%), medium age was 60.4 years (range 34–77 years). The median follow up was 74.5 days (SD +/- 28.5). Overall, the majority of patients could underwent their chemoterapy with a regular schedule (25/39, 64.1%), while 9/39 patients (23.1%) need to delay chemotherapy due to hematological adverse events of various grade. Ten/39 patients (25.6%) had a grade 1 neutrophils count decreased, 56.4% a grade 1 platelets count decrease and 64.1% a grade 1 hemoglobin decrease. Therefore, Life-Mel Honey showed an interesting profile to reduce hematological toxicities. The proportion of responses is sufficiently high to recommend this honey to go to a next step in the clinical trial phase

Primary Ewing's sarcoma of the sinonasal tract, eroding the ethmoid and sphenoid sinus with intracranial extension: A rare case report

Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is an aggressive tumour that may present with skeletal and extraskeletal forms. The extraskeletal form is rarely encountered in the head and neck region and is extremely rare in the sinonasal tract. This is the case report of a ES of the ethmoid sinus with intracranial and orbital extension in a 33-year-old male patient who presented with anosmia, epistaxis, reduction of visual acuity in the left eye and headache. On otorhinolaryngological clinical examination and biopsy via flexible endoscope, the lesion was misdiagnosed as ethmoid sinus carcinoma. The subsequent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed a large mass (6 77 cm) eroding the ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses, extending beyond the orbits and occupying the anterior cranial fossa with a maximum extension of ~5 cm. The patient underwent surgical resection and the microscopic examination of the specimen established the diagnosis of ES (immunohistochemically positive for CD99, neuron-specific enolase, CD56, synaptophysin, pancytokeratin, low-molecular weight cytokeratins and vimentin. The periodic acid Schiff stain exhibited strong intracytoplasmic block positivity and fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed a t(22;11) translocation. First-line chemotherapy was administered for 3 cycles; however, on restaging MRI, local disease progression was diagnosed. The patient received radiotherapy and second-line chemotherapy for 6 cycles. At 15 months after the diagnosis, the patient remains recurrence-free and maintains a good functional status and quality of life

Capsule Retention in Crohn's Disease: A Meta-analysis

Background: The main factor that limits wider utilization of capsule endoscopy (CE) in Crohn's disease (CD) is the potential risk of retention. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate capsule retention rates in adult and pediatric CD and determine if retention risk is reduced in established CD (ECD) with patency capsule (PC) or magnetic resonance/computed tomography (MR/CT) enterography. Methods: Studies of CD patients undergoing CE that reported retention were identified. Pooled estimates for retention rates and relative risk in ECD to suspected CD (SCD) were calculated. All hypothesis tests were 2-sided; statistical significance was set at a P value of <0.05. Results: In the overall CD cohort, retention rates were 3.32% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.62%-4.2%): 4.63% (95% CI, 3.42%-6.25%) and 2.35% (95% CI, 1.31%-4.19%) in ECD and SCD, respectively. Retention rates were 3.49% (95% CI, 2.73%-4.46%) and 1.64% (95% CI, 0.68%-3.89%) in adult and pediatric CD, respectively. Retention risk in adult ECD was 3.4 times higher than SCD, but there was no difference in retention risk in pediatric ECD compared with SCD. Retention rates in ECD were decreased after patency capsule (2.88%; 95% CI, 1.74%-4.74%) and MR/CT enterography (2.32%; 95% CI, 0.87%-6.03%). Conclusions: In comparison with older literature, this meta-analysis demonstrates lower CE retention rates in SCD and ECD. Retention rates in pediatric CD were lower than in adult CD. Retention rates in adult ECD were higher than SCD, but there were no differences between pediatric ECD and SCD. Retention rates in ECD were lower after negative PC or MR/CT enterography