Ricerc@Sapienza

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was found associated with worse disease recurrence and progression in patients with T1 non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer in some single-center studies. We validated high pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (cutoff, 3) as an independent predictor of disease recurrence, progression, and cancer-specific survival in patients with primary T1 HG/G3 non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy.

TO THE EDITOR: The article by Hensley et al1 recently published in Journal of Clinical Oncology was interesting, even if apparently negative (Gynecology Oncology Group [GOG]-0277 randomized phase III trial). The study investigated the activity and safety of gemcitabine plus docetaxel followed by doxorubicin versus observation in patients with uterus-limited, highgrade leiomyosarcoma (LMS) in an adjuvant setting. Although the study was closed for accrual futility,

This study sought to evaluate the expression of programmed cell death-ligand-1 (PD-L1) and HLA class I on neuroblastoma cells and programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG3) on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes to better define patient risk stratification and understand whether this tumor may benefit from therapies targeting immune checkpoint molecules. In situ IHC staining for PD-L1, HLA class I, PD-1, and LAG3 was assessed in 77 neuroblastoma specimens, previously characterized for tumor-infiltrating T-cell density and correlated with clinical outcome.

The most common subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is clear cell RCC (ccRCC).
It accounts for 70-80% of all renal malignancies representing the third most common
urological cancer after prostate and bladder cancer. The identification of non-invasive
biomarkers for the diagnosis and responsiveness to therapy of ccRCC may represent
a relevant step-forward in ccRCC management. The aim of this study is to evaluate
whether specific miRNAs deregulated in ccRCC tissues present altered levels also

INTRODUCTION: Bartholin gland carcinoma is an extremely rare condition. Because of its, phase III trials have not been carried out, there exists no unanimous consensus on treatment and guidelines are missing. METHODS: All studies reporting cases of Bartholin cancer were collected and screened for the evaluations. Baseline characteristics of studies were extracted and were queried in a database. RESULTS: A total number of 133 manuscripts collected were available for the review process, representing a total number of 275 reported cases.

Background. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. The treatment choice for advanced stage of lung cancer may depend on histotype, performance status (PS), age, and comorbidities. In the present study, we focused on the effect of metronomic vinorelbine treatment in elderly patients with advanced unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods. From January 2016 to December 2016, 44 patients affected by non- small cell lung cancer referred to our oncology day hospital were progressively analyzed.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been shown to be dramatically effective in the treatment of B-cell malignancies. However, there are still substantial obstacles to overcome, before similar responses can be achieved in patients with solid tumors. We evaluated both in vitro and in a preclinical murine model the efficacy of different 2nd and 3rd generation CAR constructs targeting GD2, a disial-ganglioside expressed on the surface of neuroblastoma (NB) tumor cells.

The identification of new therapeutic strategies against osteosarcoma, the most common primary bone tumor, continues to be a primary goal to improve the outcomes of patients refractory to conventional chemotherapy. Osteosarcoma originates from the transformation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and/or osteoblast progenitors, and the loss of differentiation is a common biological osteosarcoma feature, which has strong significance in predicting tumor aggressiveness. Thus, restoring differentiation through epigenetic reprogramming is potentially exploitable for therapeutic benefits.

Epigenomic alterations have been associated with both pathogenesis and progression of cancer. Here, we analyzed the epigenome of two high-risk APL (hrAPL) patients and compared it to non-high-risk APL cases. Despite the lack of common genetic signatures, we found that human hrAPL blasts from patients with extremely poor prognosis display specific patterns of histone H3 acetylation, specifically hyperacetylation at a common set of enhancer regions. In addition, unique profiles of the repressive marks H3K27me3 and DNA methylation were exposed in high-risk APLs.

Epigenetic alterations have been associated with both pathogenesis and progression of cancer. By screening of library compounds, we identified a novel hybrid epi-drug MC2884, a HAT/EZH2 inhibitor, able to induce bona fide cancer-selective cell death in both solid and hematological cancers in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo xenograft models. Anticancer action was due to an epigenome modulation by H3K27me3, H3K27ac, H3K9/14ac decrease, and to caspase-dependent apoptosis induction. MC2884 triggered mitochondrial pathway apoptosis by up-regulation of cleaved-BID, and strong down-regulation of BCL2.