Marche Polytechnic University

About: Marche Polytechnic University is a education organization based out in Ancona, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 5905 authors who have published 15769 publications receiving 382286 citations. The organization is also known as: Universitá Politecnica delle Marche & Universita Politecnica delle Marche.

Scimitar Syndrome A European Congenital Heart Surgeons Association (ECHSA) Multicentric Study

Abstract: Background-Scimitar syndrome is a rare congenital heart disease. To evaluate the surgical results, we embarked on the European Congenital Heart Surgeons Association (ECHSA) multicentric study. Methods and Results-From January 1997 to December 2007, we collected data on 68 patients who underwent surgery for scimitar syndrome. Primary outcomes included hospital mortality and the efficacy of repair at follow-up. Median age at surgery was 1.4 years (interquartile range, 0.46 to 7.92 years). Forty-four patients (64%) presented with symptoms. Surgical repair included intraatrial baffle in 38 patients (56%; group 1) and reimplantation of the scimitar vein onto the left atrium in 21 patients (31%; group 2). Eight patients underwent right pneumectomy, and 1 had a right lower lobe lobectomy (group 3). Four patients died in hospital (5.9%; 1 patient in group 1, 2.6%; 3 patients in group 3, 33%). Median follow-up time was 4.5 years. There were 2 late deaths (3.1%) resulting from severe pulmonary arterial hypertension. Freedom from scimitar drainage stenosis at 13 years was 83.8% in group 1 and 85.8% in group 2. Four patients in group 1 were reoperated, and 3 patients (2 in group 1 [6%] and 1 in group 2 [4.8%]) required balloon dilation/stenting for scimitar drainage stenosis. Conclusions-The surgical treatment of this rare syndrome is safe and effective. The majority of patients were asymptomatic at the follow-up control. There were a relatively high incidence of residual scimitar drainage stenosis that is similar between the 2 reported corrective surgical techniques used. (Circulation. 2010;122:1159-1166.)

The genetic aspects of berries: from field to health.

Abstract: Berries are a relevant source of micronutrients and nonessential phytochemicals, such as polyphenol compounds, that play a synergistic and cumulative role in human health promotion. Several systematic analyses showed that berry phenolics are able to detoxify reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, blocking their production, to intervene in the cell cycle, participating in the transduction and expression of genes involved in apoptosis, and to repair oxidative DNA damage. As a consequence, the improvement of the nutritional quality of berries has become a new quality target of breeding and biotechnological strategies, to control or to increase the content of specific health-related compounds in fruits. This work reviews, on the basis of the in vitro and in vivo evidence, the main berries' phytochemical compounds and their possible mechanisms of action on pathways involved in several type of diseases, with particular attention to cancer, inflammation, neurodegeneration, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Advanced Cancer and Pre-Existing Autoimmune Diseases Treated with Anti-Programmed Death-1 Immunotherapy: A Real-World Transverse Study

Abstract: BACKGROUND Patients with a history of autoimmune diseases (AIDs) have not usually been included in clinical trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Consecutive patients with advanced cancer, treated with anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) agents, were evaluated according to the presence of pre-existing AIDs. The incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and clinical outcomes were compared among subgroups. RESULTS A total of 751 patients were enrolled; median age was 69 years. Primary tumors were as follows: non-small cell lung cancer, 492 (65.5%); melanoma, 159 (21.2%); kidney cancer, 94 (12.5%); and others, 6 (0.8%). Male/female ratio was 499/252. Eighty-five patients (11.3%) had pre-existing AIDs, further differentiated in clinically active (17.6%) and inactive (82.4%). Among patients with pre-existing AIDs, incidence of irAEs of any grade was significantly higher when compared with patients without AIDs (65.9% vs. 39.9%). At multivariate analysis, both inactive (p = .0005) and active pre-existing AIDs (p = .0162), female sex (p = .0004), and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status <2 (p = .0030) were significantly related to a higher incidence of irAEs of any grade. No significant differences were observed regarding grade 3/4 irAEs and objective response rate among subgroups. Pre-existing AIDs were not significantly related with progression-free survival and overall survival. CONCLUSION This study quantifies the increased risk of developing irAEs in patients with pre-existing AIDs who had to be treated with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Nevertheless, the incidence of grade 3/4 irAEs is not significantly higher when compared with control population. The finding of a greater incidence of irAEs among female patients ranks among the "hot topics" in gender-related differences in immuno-oncology. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Patients with a history of autoimmune diseases (AIDs) have not usually been included in clinical trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors but are frequent in clinical practice. This study quantifies the increased risk of developing immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients with pre-existing AIDs who had to be treated with anti-programmed death-1 immunotherapy. Nevertheless, their toxicities are mild and the incidence of grade 3/4 irAEs is not significantly higher compared with those of controls. These results will help clinicians in everyday practice, improving their ability to offer a proper counselling to patients, in order to offer an immunotherapy treatment even to patients with pre-existing autoimmune disease.

Basic fibroblast growth factor overexpression in endothelial cells: an autocrine mechanism for angiogenesis and angioproliferative diseases

Abstract: Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is expressed in vascular endothelium during tumor neovascularization and angioproliferative diseases. The ultimate significance of this observation is poorly understood. We have investigated the biological consequences of endothelial cell activation by endogeneous bFGF in a mouse aortic endothelial cell line stably transfected with a retroviral expressionvector harboring a human bFGF cDNA. Selected clones expressing 24 kD, 22 kD, and/or 18 kD bFGF isoforms were characterized by a transformed morphology and an increased saturation density. bFGF transfectants showed invasive behavior and sprouting activity in three-dimensional fibrin gels and formed a complex network of branching cord-like structures connecting foci of infiltrating cells when seeded on laminin-rich basement membrane matrix (Matrigel). The invasive and morphogenetic behavior was prevented by anti-bFGF antibody, revealing the autocrine modality of the process. The biological consequences of this autocrine activation were investigated in vivo. bFGF-transfected cells gave rise to highly vascularized lesions resembling Kaposi’s sarcoma when injected in nude mice and induced angiogenesis in avascular rabbit cornea. Injected into the allantoic sac of the chick embryo they caused an increase in vascular density and formation of mangiomas in the choriallantoic membrane. In conclusion, bFGF-overexpressing endothelial cells acquire an angiogeneic phenotype and reclute quiescent endothelium originating angioproliferative lesions in vivo. These findings demonstrated that bFGF overexpression exerts an autocrine role for endothelial cells and support the notion that tumor neovascularization and angioproliferative diseases can be triggered by stimuli that induce vascular endothelium to produce its own autocrine factors(s).