Variazioni temporali del fitoplancton del Mar Mediterraneo e anomalie climatologiche

Questa tesi si basa sui dati, rilevati in maniera remota da satellite, di temperatura e concentrazione di clorofilla superficiali del Mare Mediterraneo nel periodo 1998-2017. Lo scopo del lavoro è la valutazione dei trend temporali di variazione. Sono state generate mappe climatologiche annuali e stagionali. Inoltre sono stati calcolati anche i trend temporali di variazioni della temperatura e della clorofilla superficiale. Lo scopo ultimo di questa tesi è di identificare, se esistenti, le possibili interazioni tra le variazioni delle due proprietà. La fisica e la circolazione del Mediterraneo sono elementi fondamentali per la comprensione delle variazioni delle variabili biogeochimiche. Sono state calcolate anche le variazioni ventennali, considerando le serie temporali calcolate con una procedura di media. Per questo, in questo elaborato si è voluto prendere in considerazione oltre che l’intero Bacino anche delle zone particolari del Mediterraneo per valutare meglio la climatologia annuale e stagionale sia per la temperatura superficiale che per la clorofilla superficiale anche con il calcolo dei trend temporali di variazione per entrambe le variabili. Le aree sono del Nord Ovest del Mediterraneo, l’area del Golfo del Leone, il Mar Adriatico meridionale e la regione Sud-Est dell’Isola di Creta, dove la circolazione generale del Bacino è caratterizzata dalla presenza del gyre anticiclonico denominato “Ierapetra gyre”

Genomic alterations in rectal tumors and response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: an exploratory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is the treatment of choice in advanced rectal cancer, even though there are many patients who will not benefit from it. There are still no effective methods for predicting which patients will respond or not. The present study aimed to define the genomic profile of rectal tumors and to identify alterations that are predictive of response in order to optimize therapeutic strategies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty-eight candidates for neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy were recruited and their pretherapy biopsies analyzed by array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH). Pathologic response was evaluated by tumor regression grade.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both Hidden Markov Model and Smoothing approaches identified similar alterations, with a prevalence of DNA gains. Non responsive patients had a different alteration profile from responsive ones, with a higher number of genome changes mainly located on 2q21, 3q29, 7p22-21, 7q21, 7q36, 8q23-24, 10p14-13, 13q12, 13q31-34, 16p13, 17p13-12 and 18q23 chromosomal regions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This exploratory study suggests that an in depth characterization of chromosomal alterations by aCGH would provide useful predictive information on response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and could help to optimize therapy in rectal cancer patients.</p> <p>The data discussed in this study are available on the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus [GEO: GSE25885].</p

Activity of chemotherapy in mucinous ovarian cancer with a recurrence free interval of more than 6 months: results from the SOCRATES retrospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mucinous ovarian carcinoma have a poorer prognosis compared with other histological subtypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate, retrospectively, the activity of chemotherapy in patients with platinum sensitive recurrent mucinous ovarian cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The SOCRATES study retrospectively assessed the pattern of care of a cohort of patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer observed in the years 2000–2002 in 37 Italian centres. Data were collected between April and September 2005. Patients with recurrent ovarian cancer with > 6 months of platinum free interval were considered eligible.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty patients with mucinous histotype and 388 patients with other histotypes were analyzed. At baseline, mucinous tumours differed from the others for an higher number of patients with lower tumor grading (p = 0.0056) and less advanced FIGO stage (p = 0.025). At time of recurrence, a statistically significant difference was found in performance status (worse in mucinous, p = 0.024). About 20% of patients underwent secondary cytoreduction in both groups, but a lower number of patients were optimally debulked in the mucinous group (p = 0.03). Patients with mucinous cancer received more frequently single agent platinum than platinum based-combination therapy or other non-platinum schedules as second line therapy (p = 0.026), with a response rate lower than in non-mucinous group (36.4% vs 62.6%, respectively, p = 0.04). Median time to progression and overall survival were worse for mucinous ovarian cancer. Finally, mucinous cancer received a lower number of chemotherapy lines (p = 0.0023).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This analysis shows that platinum sensitive mucinous ovarian cancer has a poor response to chemotherapy. Studies dedicated to this histological subgroup are needed.</p

Prognostic factors in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with intra-arterial chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to identify the prognostic factors of a large group of patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent the same regimen of intra-arterial chemotherapy.METHODS: 5-fluorouracil (1000 mg/m2), leucovorin (100 mg/m2), epirubicin (60 mg/m2), and carboplatin (300 mg/m2) were administered every 3 weeks into celiac axis (FLEC regimen). Kaplan-Meyer survival curve for univariate analysis and Cox regression model for multivariate one were used to determine factors predictive of survival. RESULTS: Data of 211 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who underwent FLEC regimen were analyzed. Eighty-nine had locally advanced disease, and 112 had distant metastases. Median overall survival was 9.2 months. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, pain reduction after treatment (30\%; overall survival, 7.6 vs 11.5 months), stage of disease (III vs IV; overall survival, 10.5 vs 6.6 months), and number of administered cycles (3; overall survival, 5.9 vs 12.3 months) were significant and independent predictors of survival. CONCLUSIONS: Pain reduction, stage of disease, and number of administered cycles are independent prognostic factors of overall survival in a multivariate analysis of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer receiving FLEC regimen intra-arterially

Poor outcome of elderly patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer: results from the SOCRATES retrospective study

Elderly patients with ovarian carcinoma have a poorer prognosis compared with their younger counterpart, and this depends in most cases on undertreatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate, retrospectively, the pattern of care and the prognosis of elderly patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer. The SOCRATES study retrospectively assessed the pattern of care of a cohort of patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer observed in the years 2000-2002 in 37 Italian centres. Data were collected between April and September 2005