Can the plasma PD-1 levels predict the presence and efficiency of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with metastatic melanoma?

Background: The immune response in melanoma patients is locally affected by presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), generally divided into brisk, nonbrisk, and absent. Several studies have shown that a greater presence of TILs, especially brisk, in primary melanoma is associated with a better prognosis and higher survival rate. Patients and Methods: We investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) the correlation between PD-1 levels in plasma and the presence/absence of TILs in 28 patients with metastatic melanoma. Results: Low plasma PD-1 levels were correlated with brisk TILs in primary melanoma, whereas intermediate values correlated with the nonbrisk TILs, and high PD-1 levels with absent TILs. Although the low number of samples did not allow us to obtain a statistically significant correlation between the plasma PD-1 levels and the patients' overall survival depending on the absence/presence of TILs, the median survival of patients having brisk type TILs was 5 months higher than that of patients with absent and nonbrisk TILs. Conclusions: This work highlights the ability of measuring the plasma PD-1 levels in order to predict the prognosis of patients with untreated metastatic melanoma without a BRAF mutation at the time of diagnosis

Frequency and determinants for hemorrhagic transformation of posterior cerebral stroke : Posterior ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic transformation.

BACKGROUND: hemorrhagic transformation is a threatening ischemic stroke complication. Frequency of hemorrhagic transformation differs greatly among studies, and its risk factors have been usually studied in patients with anterior ischemic stroke who received thrombolytic therapy. We evaluated, in a hospital-based series of patients with posterior ischemic stroke not treated with thrombolysis, frequency and risk factors of hemorrhagic transformation. Patients with posterior circulation stroke were seen in our Department during the period January 2004 to December 2009. Demographic and clinical information were collected. We estimated risk for spontaneous hemorrhagic transformation by means of uni- and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: 119 consecutive patients were included (73 males, 61.3%). Hemorrhagic transformation was observed in 7 patients (5.9%). Only clinical worsening was significantly associated with hemorrhagic transformation (OR 6.8, 95% CI 1.3-34.5). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that patients with posterior have a low risk of spontaneous hemorrhagic transformation, suggesting that these patients might have greater advantage from intravenous thrombolysis

The prognostic role of KRAS and BRAF in patients undergoing surgical resection of colorectal cancer liver metastasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Clinical trials investigated the potential role of both KRAS and BRAF mutations, as prognostic biomarkers, in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients who underwent surgical treatment of liver metastasis (CLM), showing conflicting results. This meta-analysis aims to review all the studies reporting survival outcomes (recurrence free survival (RFS), and/or overall survival (OS)) of patients undergoing resection of CLM, stratified according to KRAS and/or BRAF mutation status. Materials and Methods: Data from all published studies reporting survival outcomes (RFS and/or OS) of CRC patients who received resection of CLM, stratified by KRAS and/or BRAF mutation status were collected by searching in PubMed, Cochrane Library, American Society of Clinical Oncology and European Society of Medical Oncology meeting proceedings. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for both the OS and/or RFS. Results: Seven eligible trials (1403 patients) were included. Pooled analysis showed that KRAS mutations predicted a significant worse both RFS (HR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.23 \u2013 2.21) and OS (HR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.51 \u2013 2.30) in patients who underwent surgical resection of CLM. BRAF mutations were also associated with a significant worse OS (HR: 3.90; 95% CI: 1.96 \u2013 7.73) in this subgroup of patients. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests both KRAS and BRAF mutations as negative prognostic biomarkers associated with worse survival outcomes in patients undergoing hepatic resection of CLM. Such evidences support the introduction of new treatment decision models, taking into account the tumor molecular profile in order to individualize both systemic and loco-regional treatment strategies

Recurrent Ischemic Stroke and Bleeding in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Who Suffered an Acute Stroke While on Treatment With Nonvitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants: The RENO-EXTEND Study

Background: In patients with atrial fibrillation who suffered an ischemic stroke while on treatment with nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants, rates and determinants of recurrent ischemic events and major bleedings remain uncertain. Methods: This prospective multicenter observational study aimed to estimate the rates of ischemic and bleeding events and their determinants in the follow-up of consecutive patients with atrial fibrillation who suffered an acute cerebrovascular ischemic event while on nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant treatment. Afterwards, we compared the estimated risks of ischemic and bleeding events between the patients in whom anticoagulant therapy was changed to those who continued the original treatment. Results: After a mean follow-up time of 15.0±10.9 months, 192 out of 1240 patients (15.5%) had 207 ischemic or bleeding events corresponding to an annual rate of 13.4%. Among the events, 111 were ischemic strokes, 15 systemic embolisms, 24 intracranial bleedings, and 57 major extracranial bleedings. Predictive factors of recurrent ischemic events (strokes and systemic embolisms) included CHA2DS2-VASc score after the index event (odds ratio [OR], 1.2 [95% CI, 1.0–1.3] for each point increase; P=0.05) and hypertension (OR, 2.3 [95% CI, 1.0–5.1]; P=0.04). Predictive factors of bleeding events (intracranial and major extracranial bleedings) included age (OR, 1.1 [95% CI, 1.0–1.2] for each year increase; P=0.002), history of major bleeding (OR, 6.9 [95% CI, 3.4–14.2]; P=0.0001) and the concomitant administration of an antiplatelet agent (OR, 2.8 [95% CI, 1.4–5.5]; P=0.003). Rates of ischemic and bleeding events were no different in patients who changed or not changed the original nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants treatment (OR, 1.2 [95% CI, 0.8–1.7]). Conclusions: Patients suffering a stroke despite being on nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant therapy are at high risk of recurrent ischemic stroke and bleeding. In these patients, further research is needed to improve secondary prevention by investigating the mechanisms of recurrent ischemic stroke and bleeding

Clinical Features of Patients with Cervical Artery Dissection and Fibromuscular Dysplasia

Background and Purpose: Observational studies have suggested a link between fibromuscular dysplasia and spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCeAD). However, whether patients with coexistence of the two conditions have distinctive clinical characteristics has not been extensively investigated. Methods: In a cohort of consecutive patients with first-ever sCeAD, enrolled in the setting of the multicenter IPSYS CeAD study (Italian Project on Stroke in Young Adults Cervical Artery Dissection) between January 2000 and June 2019, we compared demographic and clinical characteristics, risk factor profile, vascular pathology, and midterm outcome of patients with coexistent cerebrovascular fibromuscular dysplasia (cFMD; cFMD+) with those of patients without cFMD (cFMD-). Results: A total of 1283 sCeAD patients (mean age, 47.8±11.4 years; women, 545 [42.5%]) qualified for the analysis, of whom 103 (8.0%) were diagnosed with cFMD+. In multivariable analysis, history of migraine (odds ratio, 1.78 [95% CI, 1.13-2.79]), the presence of intracranial aneurysms (odds ratio, 8.71 [95% CI, 4.06-18.68]), and the occurrence of minor traumas before the event (odds ratio, 0.48 [95% CI, 0.26-0.89]) were associated with cFMD. After a median follow-up of 34.0 months (25th to 75th percentile, 60.0), 39 (3.3%) patients had recurrent sCeAD events. cFMD+ and history of migraine predicted independently the risk of recurrent sCeAD (hazard ratio, 3.40 [95% CI, 1.58-7.31] and 2.07 [95% CI, 1.06-4.03], respectively) in multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis. Conclusions: Risk factor profile of sCeAD patients with cFMD differs from that of patients without cFMD. cFMD and migraine are independent predictors of midterm risk of sCeAD recurrence

Cholesterol levels and risk of hemorrhagic transformation after acute ischemic stroke

Background: The association between cholesterol levels and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) is still controversial. Studies investigating this issue are influenced by treatments as some are characterized by a higher risk of HT. The aim of our study was to evaluate, in a hospital-based series of patients not treated with thrombolysis, the relationship between cholesterol levels and HT. Methods: We retrospectively collected information about total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) levels at admission in a consecutive series of 240 patients with anterior ischemic stroke (IS). The TC and LDLC levels were arranged in 3 groups according to their percentile distribution. Results: TC levels were available for 215 patients (89.6%), while LDLC levels were available for 184 patients (76.7%). The risk of HT significantly increased with decreasing levels of TC (p for trend = 0.03) and LDLC (p for trend = 0.01). In multivariate analysis, the risk of HT was significantly higher in the groups of patients with the lowest TC (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.0-8.9, p = 0.05) and LDLC (OR 5.0, 95% CI 1.2-20.1, p = 0.002) values compared to those with the highest ones. Conclusion: We confirm that lower TC and lower LDLC levels are associated with an increased risk of HT. As none of our patients received thrombolytic therapy, the results of our study provide baseline information about the natural history of H

Leprosy: report of a case with severe peripheral neuropathy.

Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, with cutaneous and neurological manifestations. Leprosy is very rare in Europe but some cases are reported, especially among people coming from endemic areas. Here, we report a case of Hansen's disease and emphasize the importance of a prompt diagnosis and treatment also in non-endemic areas