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Cancer pain requires careful comprehensive patient evaluation and an appropriate and personalized clinical approach by a trained multidisciplinary team. The proper assessment of breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) is part of an all-inclusive multidimensional evaluation of the patient. The aim of this narrative review is to explore the relationship between high-rate BTcP, which strongly impacts healthrelated quality of life and tumour characteristics, in the face of novel approaches that should provide guidance for future clinical practice. The presentation of short, emblematic clinical reports also promotes knowledge of BTcP, which, despite the availability of numerous therapeutic approaches, remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. This article is part of the Management of breakthrough cancer pain Special Issue: https://www.drugsincontext.com/special_issues/management-of-breakthrough-cancer-pain

Several tumor types have been efficiently treated with PARP inhibitors (PARPis), which are now approved for the treatment of ovarian, breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. The BRCA1/2 genes and mutations in many additional genes involved in the HR pathway may be responsible for the HRD phenomenon. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between genomic loss of heterozygosity (gLOH) and alterations in 513 genes with targeted and immuno-oncology therapies in 406 samples using an NGS assay. In addition, the %gLOHs of 24 samples were calculated using the Affymetrix technology in order to compare the results obtained via the two methodologies. HR variations occurred in 20.93% of the malignancies, while BRCA1/2 gene alterations occurred in 5.17% of the malignancies. The %LOH was highly correlated with alterations in the BRCA1/2 genes, since 76.19% (16/21) of the BRCA1/2 positive tumors had a high %LOH value (p = 0.007). Moreover, the LOH status was highly correlated with the TP53 and KRAS statuses, but there was no association with the TMB value. Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient for the 24 samples simultaneously examined via both assays was 0.87, indicating a nearly perfect agreement. In conclusion, the addition of gLOH analysis could assist in the detection of additional patients eligible for treatment with PARPis.

Intestinal intussusception in adults is a rare medical condition accounting for less than 5% of all intussusceptions. Herein we present a 45-year-old patient with a history of abdominal pain and loss of weight. CT scan revealed jejunojejunal intussusceptions. The patient was subjected to exploratory operation and small intestine resection due to a mass causing intestinal intussusception. Pathology confirmed suspected diagnosis of metastatic melanoma to small intestine secondary to melanoma, 7 years after the initial manifestation. Postoperative evaluation with 18FDG-PET/CT revealed increased uptake in the thyroid gland. Subsequent total thyroidectomy revealed severe Hashimoto thyroiditis and no signs of metastasis. The patient received adjuvant immunotherapy and is healthy with no signs of recurrence 3 years after the initial diagnosis and treatment.