Ricerc@Sapienza

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare cancer with a poor prognosis. Centralization of rare cancer in dedicated centers is recommended to ensure expertise, multidisciplinarity and access to innovation. In Italy, expert centers for MPM have not been identified in all regions. We aimed to describe the treatment patterns among MPM patients across different Italian regions and to identify factors associated with the treatment patterns across the regions. Methods: We performed an observational study on a random sample of 2026 MPM patients diagnosed in 2003–2008.

Uncontrolled MAPK signaling is the main oncogenic driver in metastatic melanomas bearing mutations in BRAF kinase. These tumors are currently treated with the combination of BRAF/MEK inhibitors (MAPKi), but this therapy is plagued by drug resistance. In this context we recently discovered that several microRNAs are involved in the development of drug resistance. In particular miR-204-5p and miR-199b-5p were found to function as antagonists of resistance because their enforced overexpression is able to inhibit melanoma cell growth in vitro either alone or in combination with MAPKi.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in almost 28 million cases of COVID-19 (Corona virus disease-2019) and more than 900000 deaths worldwide since December 2019. In the absence of effective antiviral therapy and vaccine, treatment of COVID-19 is largely symptomatic. By making use of its spike (S) protein, the virus binds to its primary human cell receptor, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) which is present in the pulmonary epithelial cells as well as other organs. SARS-CoV-2 may cause a downregulation of ACE2.

Rhinophyma is a deforming disorder of the nose and considered the most severe stage of rosacea. Since 1950, a large variety of surgical and non-surgical treatments have been adopted to treat it. From January 2014 to June 2016, we treated ten patients (average age: 58 years) affected by moderate (4) and severe (6) degrees of rhinophyma. A nasal skin decortication was performed with a loop-shaped electrotome (Valleylab E1560 15 x 12 mm) in order to excise the hypertrophic tissue and restore a pleasing appearance to the nose.