Onset and Progression of Precancerous Lesions on Gastric Mucosa of Patients Treated for Gastric Lymphoma.

Background and Aims: Patients with primary gastric lymphoma are at an increased risk of developing gastric cancer. Data on gastric precancerous lesions development in these patients are scanty. We assessed gastric precancerous lesions in a cohort of patients with primary lymphoma. Methods: Data of patients with primary gastric lymphoma [mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)- lymphoma or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)] were analysed. Multiple (>10) biopsies were performed on gastric mucosa at each endoscopic control, beyond macroscopic lesions. Presence and distribution of intestinal metaplasia (IM) at baseline, the onset at follow-up, and progression through the stomach or transformation in the incomplete IM type were assessed. The onset of neoplastic lesions was recorded. Results: Data of 50 patients (mean age of 63.6 ± 10.7 years; M/F: 25/25), including 40 with MALT-lymphoma and 10 with DLBCL, with median follow-up of 30.5 months (range: 9-108) and a median of 6 endoscopic controls (range: 3-14) were evaluated. At entry, IM was present in 12 (24%), and it developed in other 22 (57.9%) patients at a median follow-up of 6 (range: 3-40) months. Overall, progression of IM was observed in 7 (21.2%) cases, including extension in the stomach (n=5) or transformation into the incomplete type (n=2). Low-grade dysplasia was detected in 4, and indefinite dysplasia in other 7 patients. In one patient, low-grade dysplasia had progressed to high-grade and gastric adenocarcinoma of the fundus. Conclusions: Our data found a frequent onset and rapid progression of precancerous lesions on gastric mucosa of lymphoma patients. This observation could explain the increased incidence of metachronous gastric cancer in these patients

Bortezomib, melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide for relapsed multiple myeloma

AbstractIn multiple myeloma (MM), the addition of thalidomide or bortezomib to the standard oral melphalan/prednisone combination significantly increased response rate and event-free survival. In this multicenter phase 1/2 trial, dosing, safety, and efficacy of the 4-drug combination, bortezomib, melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide (VMPT) was determined. Bortezomib was administered at 3 dose levels (1.0 mg/m2, 1.3 mg/m2, or 1.6 mg/m2) on days 1, 4, 15, and 22; melphalan was given at a dose of 6 mg/m2 on days 1 through 5 and prednisone at 60 mg/m2 on days 1 through 5. Thalidomide was delivered at 50 mg on days 1 through 35. Each course was repeated every 35 days. The maximum tolerated dose of bortezomib was 1.3 mg/m2. Thirty patients with relapsed or refractory MM were enrolled; 20 patients (67%) achieved a partial response (PR) including 13 patients (43%) who achieved at least a very good PR. Among 14 patients who received VMPT as second-line treatment, the PR rate was 79% and the immunofixation-negative complete response rate 36%. The 1-year progression-free survival was 61%, and the 1-year survival from study entry was 84%. Grade 3 nonhematologic adverse events included infections (5 patients), fatigue (1), vasculitis (1), and peripheral neuropathy (2); no grade 4 toxicities were recorded. Initial results showed that VMPT is an effective salvage therapy with a very high proportion of responses. The incidence of neurotoxicities was unexpectedly low

Rappresentazione dei migranti nei libri di testo italiani di storia e geografia

Un aspetto importante della didattica della scienza è rappresentato dai libri di testo. I libri di testo forniscono un contesto per comprendere la relazione tra conoscenze e valori e per osservare in che modo i risultati di ricerca sono presentati alla società. In questo working paper analizziamo come è trattato il fenomeno delle migrazioni umane nei libri di testo scolastici italiani di storia e geografia. La scelta di concentrarsi sui libri di testo di storia e geografia di classi e anni specifici si è basata su un’analisi delle Indicazioni Nazionali del Ministero dell’Istruzione. Sono state costruite delle griglie d’analisi che hanno incluso diverse dimensioni, con l’obiettivo di individuare le differenze tra l’attuale dibattito scientifico sulle migrazioni e l’informazione contenuta nei libri di testo, e di rivelare i sistemi di valori impliciti e impliciti veicolati dai libri di testo. Mentre la ricerca scientifica mostra come le migrazioni in Italia siano un fenomeno estremamente eterogeneo, sui libri di testo abbiamo trovato una rappresentazione di esso eccessivamente semplificata. Emergono valori impliciti come il determinismo biologico e il sessismo, e sono presenti rilevanti questioni di genere

Immunotactoid glomerulopathy and chronic lymphocytic leukemia: The need for a multidisciplinary approach

Abstract Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia in western countries. The association between CLL and glomerular disease (GD) is rare. The most frequent GD associated with CLL is membranoproliferative membranous glomerulonephritis (GN) (MPGN) (45%) types I and II, followed by membranous glomerulonephritis, with the same reports of immunotactoid glomerulopathy (ITG). We report a case of ITG diagnosed on kidney biopsy in a CLL patient and the response of renal parameters to drug treatment for CLL. The patient was treated with several lines of therapies with a good response

Patient-reported outcomes in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: a systematic review

We performed a systematic review to quantify the amount of evidence-based data available on patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM) patients and to examine the added value of such studies in supporting clinical decision-making