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Background Cabazitaxel was shown to improve overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after abiraterone/enzalutamine and docetaxel failure, though benefit by the presence of DNA damage repair (DDR) defects is unknown. With the advent of poly(adenosine diphosphate–ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) in partially overlapping indications with cabazitaxel, we aimed to determine cabazitaxel activity in men with mCRPC according to their DDR status. Methods This is a retrospective multicenter study that enrolled patients with mCRPC treated with cabazitaxel who had undergone DDR tumour tissue profiling. Patients with at least one deleterious germline or somatic alterations were considered DDR positive (DDR+). Each DDR + patient has been matched with a DDR negative (DDR-) from the same institution who underwent the same test. An exploratory cohort of patients found to be DDR + by liquid biopsy was also included. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) decline≥50% (PSA50), PSA progression-free survival (PFS, PSA-PFS), radiographic PFS (rPFS), clinical PFS or radiographic PFS (c/rPFS) and OS were evaluated. Results Among 190 men (95 DDR+, 95 DDR-) with tissue sequencing, PSA50 was achieved with cabazitaxel in 29/92 (32%) and 33/92 (36%) in patients with DDR+ and DDR- (P = 0.64). The median rPFS was 5.33 months [95%CI 4.34–7.04] versus 5.75 months [95%CI 4.67–7.27] (P = 0.55). The median OS was 15.4 months [95%CI 12.16–26.6] and 11.5 months [95%CI 9.76–14.4] (P = 0.036), respectively. No PSA50 responses on cabazitaxel were observed in BRCA1/2 patients previously treated with PARPi (n = 10). Similar outcomes with cabazitaxel were observed in the liquid biopsy cohort (n = 63 DDR+). Conclusions Our study suggests that cabazitaxel is active in patients with mCRPC regardless of their DDR status, although its activity in men pretreated with a PARPi may be lower.

Nowadays, buildings are responsible for large consumption of energy in our cities. Moreover, buildings can be seen as the smallest entity of urban energy systems. On these premises, in this article, we present a flexible and distributed cosimulation platform that exploits a multimodeling approach to simulate and evaluate energy performance in smart buildings. The developed platform exploits the Mosaik cosimulation framework and implements the functional mock-up interface standard in order to couple and synchronize heterogeneous simulators and models. The platform combines in a shared simulation environment: 1) the thermal performance of the building simulated with EnergyPlus; 2) a heat pump integrated with a proportional–integral–derivative control strategy modeled in Modelica to satisfy the heating demand of the building; 3) an electrical energy storage system modeled in MATLAB Simulink; and 4) different Python models used to simulate household occupancy, electrical loads, photovoltaic production, and smart meters, respectively. The platform guarantees a plug-and-play integration of models and simulators, in which one or more models can be easily replaced without affecting the whole simulation engine. Finally, we present a demonstration example to test the functionalities, capability, and usability of the developed platform and discuss future developments of our framework.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), aiming to foster cancer-targeted immune response, proved to be effective in several advanced malignancies at the price of immune-related adverse events affecting various organs, notably the kidneys. Herein, a retrospective descriptive analysis was performed on all biopsy-confirmed cases of ICI-induced nephropathy notified to the French Pharmacovigilance database to date. Data were gathered about patients' characteristics, acute kidney injuries and histopathological features. A total of 63 biopsy-proven cases were included for analysis. Immune-related nephropathy occurred after a mean of 105.5 ± 98.6 (standard deviation) days after the introduction of the ICI. Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes acute kidney injury stage 3 occurred in 36.5% of patients, and the mean peak serum creatinine was 288 µmol/L. Histopathology suggested acute tubule-interstitial nephritis in 52 patients (83%), while signs of acute tubular necrosis were found in 18 (29%) and glomerular involvement in 5 of them (8%). Another immune-related adverse event was documented in 25 patients (39.7%). Patients were treated with corticosteroids in 88.9% of cases. All in all, 27.0% fully recovered, 54.0% partially recovered, 12.7% did not recover. Rechallenge was attempted in 19 patients and one patient relapsed. Three-quarters of patients received a medication known to cause acute tubule-interstitial nephritis. The major limits of this study are those inherent to pharmacovigilance studies, such as its retrospective nature and incomplete data. Although it cannot pretend drawing any pathophysiological conclusion, this study depicts the clinical and histopathological pictures of ICI-induced nephropathies in a large cohort of biopsied patients with all grades of severity.

Introduction: In patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a short course of steroids is routinely given as first-line therapy. However, the response is often transient and additional therapy is usually needed. Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) are frequently used as second-line therapy, although there is little clinical guidance on the timing of their administration and on tapering/discontinuation of the drug. To provide clinical recommendations, we used the Delphi technique to obtain consensus for statements regarding administration and on tapering/discontinuation of second-line TPO-RAs among a group of Italian clinicians with expertise in management of ITP. Methods: The Delphi process was used to obtain agreement on five statements regarding initiation and on tapering/discontinuation of second-line TPO-RAs. Agreement was considered when 75% of participants approved the statement. Eleven experts participated in the voting. Results: Full consensus was reached for three of the five statements. The experts held that an early switch from corticosteroids to a TPO-RA has the dual advantage of sparing patients from corticosteroid abuse and improve long-term clinical outcomes. All felt that dose reduction of TPO-RAs can be considered in patients with a stable response and platelet count >100 × 109/L that is maintained for at least 6 months in the absence of concomitant treatments, although there was less agreement in patients with a platelet count >50 × 109/L. Near consensus was reached regarding the statement that early treatment with a TPO-RA is associated with an increase in clinically significant partial or complete response. The experts also agreed that optimization of tapering and discontinuation of TPO-RA therapy in selected patients can improve the quality of life. Conclusion: The present consensus can help to provide guidance on use of TPO-RAs in daily practice in patients with ITP. Plain language summary Second-line administration of thrombopoietin receptor agonists in immune thrombocytopenia There is little guidance on the timing of administration and tapering/discontinuation of thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The Delphi technique was used to obtain consensus for five statements. The present consensus among Italian clinicians aims to provide guidance on second-line use of TPO-RAs for patients with ITP in daily practice.

The efficacy and safety of thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TRAs) in older patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) are unknown. We investigated TRA response and switch, thrombotic/hemorrhagic risk, and sustained responses off-treatment (SROTs) in 384 patients with ITP aged ≥60 years. After 3 months, 82.5% and 74.3% of eltrombopag- and romiplostim-treated patients, respectively, achieved a response; 66.7% maintained the response (median follow-up, 2.7 years). Eighty-five (22.2%) patients switched to the alternative TRA; although no cross-toxicity was observed, 83.3% of resistant patients had a response after the switch. Thirty-four major thromboses (3 fatal) and 14 major hemorrhages (none fatal) occurred in 18 and 10 patients, respectively, while on TRAs and were associated with thrombosis history (subdistribution hazard ratio, 2.04, P = .05) and platelet count

The first interim analysis of the KEYNOTE-426 study showed superior efficacy of pembrolizumab plus axitinib over sunitinib monotherapy in treatment-naive, advanced renal cell carcinoma. The exploratory analysis with extended follow-up reported here aims to assess long-term efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab plus axitinib versus sunitinib monotherapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.In the ongoing, randomised, open-label, phase 3 KEYNOTE-426 study, adults (≥18 years old) with treatment-naive, advanced renal cell carcinoma with clear cell histology were enrolled in 129 sites (hospitals and cancer centres) across 16 countries. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 200 mg pembrolizumab intravenously every 3 weeks for up to 35 cycles plus 5 mg axitinib orally twice daily or 50 mg sunitinib monotherapy orally once daily for 4 weeks per 6-week cycle. Randomisation was done using an interactive voice response system or integrated web response system, and was stratified by International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium risk status and geographical region. Primary endpoints were overall survival and progression-free survival in the intention-to-treat population. Since the primary endpoints were met at the first interim analysis, updated data are reported with nominal p values. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02853331.Between Oct 24, 2016, and Jan 24, 2018, 861 patients were randomly assigned to receive pembrolizumab plus axitinib (n=432) or sunitinib monotherapy (n=429). With a median follow-up of 30·6 months (IQR 27·2-34·2), continued clinical benefit was observed with pembrolizumab plus axitinib over sunitinib in terms of overall survival (median not reached with pembrolizumab and axitinib vs 35·7 months [95% CI 33·3-not reached] with sunitinib); hazard ratio [HR] 0·68 [95% CI 0·55-0·85], p=0·0003) and progression-free survival (median 15·4 months [12·7-18·9] vs 11·1 months [9·1-12·5]; 0·71 [0·60-0·84], p0·0001). The most frequent (≥10% patients in either group) treatment-related grade 3 or worse adverse events were hypertension (95 [22%] of 429 patients in the pembrolizumab plus axitinib group vs 84 [20%] of 425 patients in the sunitinib group), alanine aminotransferase increase (54 [13%] vs 11 [3%]), and diarrhoea (46 [11%] vs 23 [5%]). No new treatment-related deaths were reported since the first interim analysis.With extended study follow-up, results from KEYNOTE-426 show that pembrolizumab plus axitinib continues to have superior clinical outcomes over sunitinib. These results continue to support the first-line treatment with pembrolizumab plus axitinib as the standard of care of advanced renal cell carcinoma.Merck SharpDohme Corp, a subsidiary of MerckCo, Inc.

Practical, safe, and effective hemostatic approach to orthopedic surgery using Extended Half‐Life factor IX in hemophilia B. By intraindividual comparison, we found a lower FIX consumption, number of infusions, and cost compared to plasma‐derived FIX.

International audience; Objectives: To investigate the role of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) with respect to tumour aggressiveness, metastasis development, and resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors [VEGFR-TKI]).Patients and methods: Our study involved tissue samples from three distinct and independent cohorts of patients with ccRCC. The presence of CAFs and tumour lymphangiogenesis was investigated, respectively, by transcriptional signatures and then correlated with tumour development and prognosis. The effect of these CAFs on tumour cell migration and VEGFR-TKI resistance was analysed on co-cultures of ccRCC cells with CAFs.Results: Results from our cohorts and from in silico investigations showed that VEGFR-TKI significantly increase the number of CAFs in tumours. In the same populations of patients with ccRCC, the proportion of intra-tumoral CAFs correlated to shorter disease-free and overall survival. The presence of CAFs was also correlated with lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis. CAFs increased the migration and decreased the VEGFR-TKI-dependent cytotoxic effect of tumour cells.Conclusions: Our results show that VEGFR-TKI promote the development of CAFs, and CAFs favour tumour aggressiveness, metastatic dissemination, and resistance to treatment in ccRCC. CAFs could represent a new therapeutic target to fight resistance to treatment of ccRCC. Targeting CAF and immunotherapies combination are emerging as efficient treatments in many types of solid tumours. Our results highlight their relevance in ccRCC.

congenital bleeding disorders

rVIII-SingleChain is indicated for treatment and prophylaxis of bleeding in patients with haemophilia A (HA). The safety and efficacy of rVIII-SingleChain have previously been shown in the AFFINITY clinical trial programme. This survey evaluated clinical experience following a switch to rVIII-SingleChain from the perspective of both physicians and patients. A web-based survey (July–September 2019) involving 14 Haemophilia Treatment Centres (HTCs) collected data about HA patients who were under treatment with rVIII-SingleChain for ≥ 12 months, as reported by their physicians. In addition, about half of these patients were separately interviewed. Out of 91 patients receiving rVIII-SingleChain in the 14 participating HTCs, 48 had been treated for ≥ 12 months; among those 48, 38% were ≤ 18 years, 37% 19–40 years and 25 % ≥ 41 years; 73% of them had severe HA and 85% were being treated with prophylactic therapy. Twenty-six patients accepted to be separately interviewed: mean age was 30 years; 62% had severe HA and 85% were receiving prophylaxis. Focusing on those patients who were already in prophylaxis with prior FVIII (all but one with recombinant factors), infusion frequency was significantly reduced from 3–2 per week following the switch to rVIII-SingleChain (mean, 2.74 vs. 2.44, respectively; p=0.013), as reported by physicians; the rate of patients needing 3 infusions per week dropped from 74% with previous products to 44% with rFVIII-SingleChain. The annual mean factor consumption was 4740 IU/Kg (median, 4500 IU/Kg; min, 2.215 IU/Kg; max, 7.200 IU/Kg) with prior product and 4320 IU/Kg (median, 4320 IU/Kg; min, 2.215 IU/Kg; max, 6.646 IU/Kg) with rVIII-SingleChain. Both physicians and patients reported a significant reduction in annual total bleeding rates with rVIII-SingleChain compared with prior product (mean 2.15–0.96 and 2.46–0.71 events/year, p = 0.031 and p = 0.018, respectively). Mean satisfaction ratings (from 1; dissatisfied, to 5; very satisfied) for rVIII-SingleChain were quite high for both physicians (4.14, 86% satisfied/very satisfied) and patients (4.18, 86% satisfied/very satisfied). This survey suggested that switching to rVIII-SingleChain allowed patients to reduce their injection frequency without increasing factor consumption or compromising clinical results. Both physicians and patients reported a positive experience with rVIII-SingleChain after 1 year of treatment.

Deep awareness of a particular industry sector represents a fundamental starting point for its energy efficiency enhancement. In this perspective, a huge amount of industrial facilities’ energy measurements are collected thanks to the widespread usage of monitoring systems and Internet-of-Things infrastructures. In this context, data mining techniques allows an effective exploitation of data for knowledge extraction to automatically analyse such enormous amount of data. This paper investigates a large data set including real telecommunication sites’ aggregate electrical demand provided by the largest telecommunication service provider in Italy. The goal is the assessment of the actual usage category of telecommunication sites, aiming at supporting the facility management of the company and the energy knowledge discovery of each site category. A novel methodology is proposed that includes i) a proper normalisation method focused on energy Key Performance Indicators for telecommunication network energy management, ii) a time series decomposition tool to extract trends and periodical fluctuation of telecommunication sites’ aggregated electric demand, and iii) the application of a k-Means clustering algorithm to assess sites’ actual usage. The proposed methodology results in accurate outcomes, which witness the potential for practical application and discloses opportunities for further developments.

International audience; Background: Docetaxel (DOCE) is a standard of care in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Several retrospective studies suggested a decrease in Prostate Cancer incidence and mortality with metformin (MET). MET has also demonstrated anti-tumor activity in Prostate Cancer preclinical models, with increased apoptosis when added to DOCE. We aimed at exploring the role of MET in combination with DOCE in mCRPC.Patients and methods: Non-diabetic mCRPC patients were randomly assigned to receive DOCE 75 mg/m2 every 21 days + prednisone (5 mg. BID) with either MET 850 mg BID (D+M) or placebo (D+P) up to 10 cycles. Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) response ≥50% from baseline was the primary end point. Secondary end points included objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), toxicity and quality of life (QoL).Results: Out of 99 patients were randomized (D+M = 50; D+P = 49) in 10 French centers. The median follow-up was 86 (IQR 73-88) months. The PSA-response rate reached 66% in the D+M arm, but was not different from that observed in the D+P arm (63%, P = 0,94). In the D+M and D+P arms, the ORR was 28% and 24%, the median PFS was 7.8 and 6.0 months and the median OS was 27 and 20 months (ns), respectively. Diarrhea grade I to II was more frequent in the MET arm (66% vs. 43%). No impairment of QoL was observed.Conclusion: MET addition failed to improve the standard DOCE regimen in mCRPC. Further research targeting tumor cell metabolism should be performed.

Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) are currently indicated for continuous treatment of chronic primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). However, there is growing evidence that TPO-RAs can also trigger sustained response in 10-30% of cases after treatment tapering and discontinuation. Therefore, at least for selected responding patients, it might be rational to plan TPO-RA interruption to exploit off-treatment response. Intriguingly, complete or partial responses with TPO-RAs are frequently observed when treatments are initiated early, suggesting that unknown immune-related mechanisms may be involved in this phenomenon. The sustained responses observed after interruption of TPO-RAs may be interpreted as a recovery of immunological tolerance; thus, the re-establishment of immunological equilibrium might be primarily responsible for the observed off-treatment effect. Importantly, these findings may indicate that anticipated TPO-RA usage can lead to improved responses, and that optimized tapering and interruption in selected patients can furthermore improve prognoses. On the base of this rationale, a series of real-life considerations have been generated by a panel of Experts to elucidate possible novel criteria and modalities to identify subgroups of patients who can benefit from tapering and/or discontinuation of TPO-RAs. Towards this aim, the results of a survey of ITP experts are herein reported, reflecting a snapshot of current real-life experience on early discontinuation of TPO-RA-based therapy. The present manuscript also highlights the importance of future translational studies on novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers that can stratify patients and facilitate the clinical choice for second-line treatment of ITP.

PURPOSE Nivolumab is standard of care for patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) after failure of antiangiogenic therapies, but its activity on brain metastases from ccRCC remains unknown, because these patients were excluded from pivotal studies. We aimed to assess the activity of nivolumab in this population. METHODS The GETUG-AFU 26 NIVOREN phase II trial assessed the activity and safety of nivolumab in patients with metastatic ccRCC who failed vascular endothelial growth factor–directed therapies ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03013335 ). Patients with asymptomatic brain metastases were prospectively identified and underwent dedicated brain evaluation. Two cohorts were constituted: cohort A comprised patients with previously untreated brain metastases, and cohort B comprised patients whose brain metastases underwent prior therapy. The primary end point was intracranial response rate in cohort A. RESULTS Seventy-three patients with brain metastases were included: 39 in cohort A and 34 in cohort B. Intracranial response rate was 12% in cohort A; no objective response was reported in patients with brain lesions that were multiple or larger than 1 cm. Median intracranial progression-free survival was 2.7 months (95% CI, 2.3 to 4.6 months) in cohort A and 4.8 months (95% CI, 3.0 to 8.0 months) in cohort B, with adjusted hazard ratio of 2.04 (95% CI, 1.08 to 3.83). Overall survival rate at 12 months was 67% (95% CI, 49.6% to 79.1%) in cohort A and 59% (95% CI, 40.6% to 73.2%) in cohort B. Most patients in cohort A (72%) needed subsequent focal brain therapy. Nivolumab was well tolerated, with no unexpected toxicity. CONCLUSION Nivolumab activity is limited in patients with untreated brain metastases from ccRCC. Brain imaging and focal therapy should be considered before immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with metastatic ccRCC.

Anemia is common in oncology and negatively impacts quality of life. However, there is lack of knowledge about iron deficiency (ID) epidemiology. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess iron status in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer beginning chemotherapy. In this prospective, multicenter cohort study, anemia and ID were evaluated in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors and lymphoma before starting chemotherapy. Blood samples were collected at inclusion (W0), 6 weeks (W6), and 12 weeks (W12). Prevalence was evaluated in the general population, according to tumor location and was correlated with tumor response. One hundred twenty-nine patients were enrolled between 2013 and 2015; 119 had solid tumors and 10 lymphomas. At W0, there were no significant difference between locations with a prevalence around 50–60% (range 47.2–70.4%) and only a trend for colorectal cancer (70.4%, P = 0.069) due to a higher prevalence of absolute ID (18.5%). Prevalence of ID+ decreased between W0 and W6 and remained stable until W12 due to the proportion of patients with ID and without anemia. However, anemia prevalence increased during W0 and W6 and remained stable to W6 from W12 due to patients with anemia but without ID. A significant correlation between tumor response and ID prevalence was found (P = 0.036). We confirm the high prevalence of ID and anemia in cancer patients. ID status is correlated to tumor response providing a strong rationale for iron monitoring during cancer management.

Background The combination of pembrolizumab and axitinib showed antitumor activity in a phase 1b trial involving patients with previously untreated advanced renal-cell carcinoma. Whether pembrolizumab plus axitinib would result in better outcomes than sunitinib in such patients was unclear. Methods In an open-label, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned 861 patients with previously untreated advanced clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma to receive pembrolizumab (200 mg) intravenously once every 3 weeks plus axitinib (5 mg) orally twice daily (432 patients) or sunitinib (50 mg) orally once daily for the first 4 weeks of each 6-week cycle (429 patients). The primary end points were overall survival and progression-free survival in the intention-to-treat population. The key secondary end point was the objective response rate. All reported results are from the protocol-specified first interim analysis. Results After a median follow-up of 12.8 months, the estimated percentage of patients who were alive at 12 months was 89.9% in the pembrolizumab-axitinib group and 78.3% in the sunitinib group (hazard ratio for death, 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38 to 0.74; P Conclusions Among patients with previously untreated advanced renal-cell carcinoma, treatment with pembrolizumab plus axitinib resulted in significantly longer overall survival and progression-free survival, as well as a higher objective response rate, than treatment with sunitinib. (Funded by Merck Sharp & Dohme; KEYNOTE-426 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02853331.).

Resume Le traitement du cancer du rein avance ou metastatique a connu des avancees majeures ces 10 dernieres annees. A partir de la 2e ligne, apres echec du ciblage initial de la voie du VEGF (en pratique apres echec des inhibiteurs de tyrosine kinase (TKI) ciblant le VEGFR, le sunitinib ou le pazopanib), l’axitinib et l’everolimus ont ete, pendant plusieurs annees, les molecules recommandees, jusqu’a l’arrivee de deux nouvelles molecules considerees aujourd’hui comme standard dans cette indication, le cabozantinib (TKI ciblant le VEGF, MET et AXL) et le nivolumab (premiere immunotherapie ciblant PD-1). Le lenvatinib, autre TKI-VEGFR, a montre des resultats prometteurs en association a l’everolimus, mais n’est pas disponible en France. Comme toujours, le choix complexifie la decision pour le praticien qui, en dehors d’une contreindication particuliere a un traitement donne, base son raisonnement sur des criteres dont le niveau de preuve est parfois faible. Cette revue vise a resumer les donnees disponibles de la litterature, en tenant compte pour chaque traitement de l’efficacite, du profil de tolerance et de la qualite de vie, afin de proposer au praticien une aide a la decision la plus objective possible. Au-dela du choix de la 2e ligne, il est important de souligner que c’est toute la sequence therapeutique qui importe et que les patients devront idealement avoir recu toutes les molecules disponibles ayant demontre une amelioration de la survie globale.

BACKGROUND: MET signaling is a key driver of papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC). Given that there is no optimal therapy for metastatic PRCC, we sought to compare an existing standard (sunitinib) to MET kinase inhibitors. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, open-label, phase II trial involving patients with metastatic PRCC who had received up to one prior therapy (excluding vascular endothelial growth factor-directed agents). Patients were assigned to receive sunitinib, cabozantinib, crizotinib or savolitinib, with stratification by receipt of prior therapy and PRCC subtype. Progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary endpoint. With 41 eligible patients per arm, there was 85% power to detect a 75% improvement in median PFS in each experimental arm compared to sunitinib, employing a one-sided alpha of 0.10 for each test. FINDINGS: Overall, 152 patients were enrolled. Enrollment to savolitinib (N=29) and crizotinib (N=28) arms was halted after a pre-specified futility analysis; planned accrual was completed for both sunitinib (N=46) and cabozantinib (n=44) arms. PFS was longer with cabozantinib versus sunitinib (9.0 months vs. 5.6 months; hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.60; 95% CI 0.37–0.97, P=0.019 [1-sided]). Response rate for cabozantinib was 23% versus 4% for sunitinib (2-sided P=0.010). Savolitinib and crizotinib did not improve PFS relative to sunitinib. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 69%, 74%, 37% and 39% of patients receiving sunitinib, cabozantinib, crizotinib and savolitinib, respectively; one grade 5 thromboembolic event was seen with cabozantinib. INTERPRETATION: Cabozantinib resulted in significantly longer PFS when compared to sunitinib in patients with metastatic PRCC.

Quality of care and patient satisfaction are important aspects of high standard care. If clinical staff is subject to an elevated workload there is a possible decrease of both. This justifies the development of tools to quantify the workload and to find organizational changes that will normalize it. We have previously developed a simulation system to quantify the workload of the staff working in a regional reference center for the treatment of bleeding and hemorrhagic disorders. The goal of this new work is to simulate, through an agent-based model, the impact of adding a physician to the staff. Ten sets of initial parameters were defined to simulate ten typical weeks. Results show that the introduction of the new physician together with a second ambulatory room can reduce the workload of all the staff to the expected 8-hour. In this situation, in which the staff workload does not exceed the daily capacity, we may suppose that an increase in the quality of care and patient satisfaction will be possible.

Community-scale energy planning entails concerted efforts for realizing localized energy and emission plans geared towards achieving energy sustainable communities. This is largely under-investigated for the developing world together with exploring the synergies between community planning and energy planning strategies. This study performs community-scale energy planning from 2015 to 2040 for Onyen-okpon and Giere, two rural communities in Nigeria. Utilizing the hybrid integration approach with the Low Emissions Analysis Platform model, the study investigates the implications for transforming rural communities to sustainable renewable based energy supply and quantitatively analyses the strategy integration based on four scenarios: the reference scenario and three composite demand side management scenarios. The results show that the integration of strategies has clear benefits with the composite scenarios availing reduced energy use with significant reductions in energy demand and greenhouse gases emissions. The third demand side management scenario provides the best performance among the composite scenarios in terms of demand and emissions reductions, energy conservation, and overall reduction in energy expenditures. The integration approach provides useful insights for design and implementation of localised energy policies across different sectors in the community where productive uses are taken into account for clean and sustainable economic production. This avails the opportunity to concurrently define and reach multiple targets, goals and impacts in reducing emissions while ensuring energy access and productive services.

Hemophilia A (HA) is a rare bleeding disorder caused by deficiency/dysfunction of the FVIII protein. As current therapies based on frequent FVIII infusions are not a definitive cure, long-term expression of FVIII in endothelial cells through lentiviral vector (LV)-mediated gene transfer holds the promise of a one-time treatment. Thus, here we sought to determine whether LV-corrected blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs) implanted through a prevascularized medical device (Cell Pouch) would rescue the bleeding phenotype of HA mice. To this end, BOECs from HA patients and healthy donors were isolated, expanded, and transduced with an LV carrying FVIII driven by an endothelial-specific promoter employing GMP-like procedures. FVIII-corrected HA BOECs were either directly transplanted into the peritoneal cavity or injected into a Cell Pouch implanted subcutaneously in NSG-HA mice. In both cases, FVIII secretion was sufficient to improve the mouse bleeding phenotype. Indeed, FVIII-corrected HA BOECs reached a relatively short-term clinically relevant engraftment being detected up to 16 weeks after transplantation, and their genomic integration profile did not show enrichment for oncogenes, confirming the process safety. Overall, this is the first preclinical study showing the safety and feasibility of transplantation of GMP-like produced LV-corrected BOECs within an implantable device for the long-term treatment of HA., Graphical abstract, BOECs from HA patients and healthy donors were isolated, expanded, and LV-FVIII-transduced under GMP-like procedures. Amelioration of bleeding phenotype in a preclinical mouse model was reached by implantation of FVIII gene-corrected hemophilic BOECs injected in a pre-vascularized Cell Pouch reaching a long-term engraftment with a safe genomic integration profile.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is widely used to simulate tunnels and partially substitute on-site tests. As technology advances, new application opportunities appear; some examples are the optimal operation of ventilation and emergency systems, risk assessment of tunnels and training of the operators. Even when the computational capacity of computers has grown, CFD is still constrained by the large amount of computational resources needed in long tunnels. This introduces a need for methods able to reduce the amount of time required for simulations. To face this need, a novel 1D–3D multiscale model is presented in this paper. The model incorporates the code Whitesmoke into FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) through a direct coupling. Whitesmoke manages the fluid dynamics, temperature and concentration of species in the 1D portion, while FDS calculates these fields in the portion where fire occurs. Using this multiscale model, the computation time for long tunnels is reduced, proportionally to the 1D length in the domain. Also, additional simulation capabilities particularly useful for tunnel analysis are obtained. Some new characteristics are pressure boundary conditions can be easily imposed at the tunnel portals or at the ventilation shafts; the characteristic curves of the fans/jet-fans can be included, also considering the degradation effects due to smoke propagation; the piston effect can be properly considered. Our research verifies most of its capabilities, also clarifying its limitations and the criteria used to set the domain for the analysis. As a final step, the model is tested in a tunnel with a cross section of 4.8 m and 600 m of length with a 2 MW fire, comparing its performance with a full 3D FDS simulation. The difference in temperature and velocity is minimal for most of the domain, making It a good way to optimize resource usage in large simulations. Furthermore, the multiscale manages to reduce the computational time of more than a 50%.

Urban districts should evolve towards a more sustainable infrastructure and greener energy carriers. The utmost challenge is the smart integration and control, within the existing infrastructure, of new information and energy technologies (such as sensors, appliances, electric and thermal power and storage devices) that are able to provide multi-services based on multi-actors and multi and interchangeable energy carriers. In recent years, the Municipality of Torino represents an experimental scenario, in which practical experiences in the below-areas have taken place through a number of projects: 1. energy efficiency in building; 2. smart energy grids management and smart metering; 3. biowaste-to-energy: mixed urban/industrial waste management with enhanced energy recovery from biogas. This work provides an overview and update on the most interesting initiatives of smart energy management in the urban context of Torino, with an analysis and quantification of the advantages gained in terms of energy and environmental efficiency.

Vaccination against communicable diseases is crucial for disease prevention, but this practice poses challenges to healthcare professionals in patients with haemophilia. Poor knowledge of the vaccination requirements for these patients and safety concerns often result in vaccination delay or avoidance. In order to address this issue, a panel of 11 Italian haemophilia and immunization experts conducted a Delphi consensus process to identify the main concerns regarding the safe use of vaccines in patients with haemophilia. The consensus was based on a literature search of the available evidence, which was used by the experts to design 27 consensus statements. A group of clinicians then rated these statements using the 5‐point Likert‐type scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). The main issues identified by the expert panel included vaccination schedule for haemophilic patients; protocol and optimal route of vaccine administration; vaccination of haemophilic patients with antibodies inhibiting coagulation factor VIII (inhibitors); and vaccination and risk of inhibitor development. This manuscript discusses these controversial areas in detail supported by the available literature evidence and provides evidence‐ and consensus‐based recommendations. Overall, participants agreed on most statements, except those addressing the potential role of vaccination in inhibitor formation. Participants agreed that patients with haemophilia should receive vaccinations according to the institutional schedule for individuals without bleeding disorders; however, vaccination of patients with haemophilia requires comprehensive planning, taking into account disease severity, type and route of vaccination, and bleeding risk. Data also suggest vaccination timing does not need to take into consideration when the patient received factor VIII replacement.

Background: The appearance of inhibitors is the most serious complication in haemophilia A (HA) patients. The primary objective is their eradication. Up to date, immune tolerance induction (ITI) was the only therapeutic option to achieve this. Aim: To assess the efficacy of moroctocog-alpha as an ITI regimen in a population of HA patients with high-titre inhibitors. Methods: The REF.IT Registry is a retrospective-prospective study that collected data on all patients with HA and high-titre inhibitors treated with moroctocog-alpha as an ITI regimen at twelve Italian Haemophilia Centres. Results: We enrolled 27 patients, 85.2% were children. All patients were high responders, 88.9% had severe HA. We found 69.3% of them had one or more risk factors for poor ITI prognosis, 14.8% were ITI rescue. Overall 59.3% achieved a complete/partial success (complete in 51.9%). ITI failed in 11 patients, 63.6% of them with poor-prognosis risk factors. Inhibitors appeared after a mean of 27 exposure days. Mean historical peak was 78.8BU/mL. The primary ITIs started on average 20.2months after the diagnosis. A partial or complete success after a mean of 15months of treatment was achieved in 56.6% of the children while the same result was obtained by 75.0% adults after 22months from ITI onset. Patients who were treated with high-dose moroctocog-alpha (200UI/kg/day) were 63.0%. Conclusion: Our Registry showed that the use of moroctocog-alpha in the setting of ITI was effective and safe also in a population of patients with high-titre inhibitors, presenting one or more risk factors for poor ITI prognosis.

Anemia associated with Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) is usually hemolytic and regenerative. Cases of non-regenerative pure red cell aplasia are rare, and typically improve upon drug discontinuation and after corticotherapy. We herein report a case of nivolumab-related erythroblastopenia refractory to steroids in a melanoma patient that improved only after treatment with cyclosporin. Nivolumab had been well tolerated for 2 months after being introduced as an adjuvant treatment. Hemoglobin level then progressively decreased from 12.7 g/dl as baseline value to a nadir of 4.3 g/dL despite transfusion with a total of 29 packed red blood cells in 3 months. Extensive workup including repeated bone marrow examinations led to the diagnosis of pure red cell aplasia. Anemia persisted despite nivolumab discontinuation and over a month of corticotherapy, but improved dramatically 3 days after cyclosporin initiation and did not recur upon cyclosporin tapering. The patient remains cancer-free 9 months after nivolumab withdrawal. This case highlights the under-recognized risk of erythroblastopenia in patients treated with ICI and proves cyclosporin is a valid alternative for the treatment of steroid-refractory cases.

The growing interest in Multi-Energy Systems (MES) leads the scientific community to implement innovative technologies to analyse and simulate these complex systems. Two main research trends are identified in such analysis: i) improve the usability and capability of preexisting reference architectures in the energy field to cope with high-level use case descriptions, and ii) study the interoperability of such reference architectures in order to increase systematic and functional analysis of MES use cases. GAMES is a a general-purpose architectural model for MES engineering application. The aim is twofold: i) GAMES implements an extension of Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM) to cope with MES use case descriptions, and ii) it offers a methodology to deal with a systemic description of the use case through a combination of UML and SysML integrated in the proposed architectural model. Furthermore, GAMES will allow the implementation of Domain Specific Language (DSL) and hardware configuration for the specific components described by UML/SysML diagrams. Compared to other solutions, GAMES allows to assess both research trends in a single hierarchical ICT infrastructure.

Three drug combinations, ipilimumab-nivolumab (Ipi-Nivo), pembrolizumab-axitinib (Pembro-Axi), and avelumab-axitinib (Ave-Axi), have received regulatory approval in the USA and Europe for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma with clear cell component (mRCC). However, no head-to-head comparison data are available to identify the best option. Therefore, we aimed to compare these new treatments in a first-line setting. We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov for any randomized controlled trials of treatment-na&iuml, ve patients with mRCC, from January 2015 to October 2019. The process was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. We performed a Bayesian network meta-analysis with two different approaches, a contrast-based model comparing HRs and ORs between studies and arm-based using parametric modeling. The outcomes for the analysis were overall survival, progression-free survival (PFS), and objective response rate. Our search identified 3 published phase 3 randomized clinical trials (2835 patients). In the contrast-based model, Ave-Axi (SUCRA = 83%) and Pembro-Axi (SUCRA = 80%) exhibited the best ranking probabilities for PFS. For overall survival (OS), Pembro-Axi (SUCRA = 96%) was the most preferable option against Ave-Axi and Ipi-Nivo. Objective response rate analysis showed Ave-Axi as the best (SUCRA: 94%) and Pembro-Axi as the second best option. In the parametric models, the risk of progression was comparable for Ave-Axi and Ipi-Nivo, whereas Pembro-Axi exhibited a lower risk during the first 6 months of treatment and a higher risk afterwards. Furthermore, Pembro-Axi exhibited a net advantage in terms of OS over the two other regimens, while Ave-Axi was the least preferable option. Overall evidence suggests that pembrolizumab plus axitinib seems to have a slight advantage over the other two combinations.

Nowadays, buildings are responsible of a large consumption of energy in our cities. Moreover, buildings can be seen as the smallest entity of urban energy systems. On these premises, in this paper we present a flexible and distributed co-simulation platform that exploits a multi-modelling approach to simulate and evaluate energy performance in smart buildings. The developed platform exploits the Mosaik co-simulation framework and implements the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) standard in order to couple and synchronise heterogeneous simulators and models. The platform integrates: i) the thermal performance of the building simulated with EnergyPlus, ii) the space heating and hot water system modelled as an heat pump with PID control strategy in Modelica, and iii) different Python models used to simulate household occupancy, electrical loads, roof-top photovoltaic production and smart meters. The platform guaranties a plug-and-play integration of models and simulators, hence, one or more models can be easily replaced without affecting the whole simulation engine. Finally, we present a demonstration example to test the functionalities and capabilities of the developed platform, and discuss future developments of our framework.

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) expression is inversely correlated with survival advantages in many cancers. However, molecular mechanisms that underlie Plk1 expression are poorly understood. Here, we uncover a hypoxia-regulated mechanism of Plk1-mediated cancer metastasis and drug resistance. We demonstrated that a HIF-2-dependent regulatory pathway drives Plk1 expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Mechanistically, HIF-2 transcriptionally targets the hypoxia response element of the Plk1 promoter. In ccRCC patients, high expression of Plk1 was correlated to poor disease-free survival and overall survival. Loss-of-function of Plk1 in vivo markedly attenuated ccRCC growth and metastasis. High Plk1 expression conferred a resistant phenotype of ccRCC to targeted therapeutics such as sunitinib, in vitro, in vivo, and in metastatic ccRCC patients. Importantly, high Plk1 expression was defined in a subpopulation of ccRCC patients that are refractory to current therapies. Hence, we propose a therapeutic paradigm for improving outcomes of ccRCC patients., Dufies et al. find high Plk1 expression levels in aggressive clear cell renal cell carcinoma and discover that Plk1 is transcriptionally upregulated in a manner dependent on HIF-2. They also find that high Plk1 expression is correlated to a poor prognosis and resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitor against VEGF receptor, suggesting a critical role for hypoxia/HIF-2-induced Plk1 in disease progression.

This prospective study aimed (1) to assess the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) evolutive patterns to immunotherapy using FDG-PET and (2) to describe their association with clinical outcome. Fifty patients with metastatic NSCLC were included before pembrolizumab or nivolumab initiation. FDG-PET scan was performed at baseline and after 7 weeks of treatment (PETinterim1) and different criteria/parameters of tumor response were assessed, including PET response criteria in solid tumors (PERCIST). If a first PERCIST progressive disease (PD) without clinical worsening was observed, treatment was continued and a subsequent FDG-PET (PETinterim2) was performed at 3 months of treatment. Pseudo-progression (PsPD) was defined as a PERCIST response/stability on PETinterim2 after an initial PD. If a second PERCIST PD was assessed on PETinterim2, a homogeneous progression of lesions (termed immune homogeneous progressive-disease: iPDhomogeneous) was distinguished from a heterogeneous evolution (termed immune dissociated-response: iDR). A durable clinical benefit (DCB) of immunotherapy was defined as treatment continuation over a 6-month period. The association between PET evolutive profiles and DCB was assessed. Using PERCIST on PETinterim1, 42% (21/50) of patients showed a response or stable disease, most of them (18/21) reached a DCB. In contrast, 58% (29/50) showed a PD, but more than one-third (11/29) were misclassified as they finally reached a DCB. No standard PETinterim1 criteria could accurately distinguished responding from non-responding patients. Treatment was continued in 19/29 of patients with a first PERCIST PD; the subsequent PETinterim2 demonstrated iPDhomogeneous, iDR and PsPD in 42% (8/19), 26% (5/19), and 32% (6/19), respectively. Whereas no patients with iPDhomogeneous experienced a DCB, all patients with iDR and PsPD reached a clinical benefit to immunotherapy. In patients with a first PD on PERCIST and treatment continuation, a subsequent PET identifies more than half of them with iDR and PsPD, both patterns being strongly associated with a clinical benefit of immunotherapy.

Polo-Like Kinase 1 (Plk1) expression is inversely correlated with survival advantages in many cancers. However, molecular mechanisms that underlie Plk1 expression are poorly understood. Here, we uncover a novel hypoxia-regulated mechanism of Plk1-mediated cancer metastasis and drug resistance. We demonstrated that a new HIF-2-dependent regulatory pathway drives Plk1 expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Mechanistically, HIF-2 transcriptionally targets the hypoxia response element of the Plk1 promoter. In ccRCC patients, high expression of Plk1 was correlated to poor disease-free survival and overall survival. Loss-of-function of Plk1 in vivo markedly attenuated ccRCC growth and metastasis. High Plk1 expression conferred a resistant phenotype of ccRCC to targeted therapeutics such as sunitinib, in vitro, in vivo and in metastatic ccRCC patients. Importantly, high Plk1 expression was defined in a subpopulation of ccRCC patients that are refractory to current therapies. Hence, we propose a therapeutic paradigm for improving outcomes of ccRCC patients.

Hyperprogressive disease (HPD), an unexpected acceleration of tumor growth kinetics, is described in cancer patients treated with anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 agents. Here, our aim was to take into consideration the host and explore whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in key genes involved in immune response might predispose to HPD. DNA was extracted from blood-samples from 98 patients treated under CPI monotherapy. Four candidate genes (PD-1, PD-L1, IDO1 and VEGFR2) and 15 potential SNPs were selected. The TGKR (ratio of the slope of tumor growth before treatment and the slope of tumor growth on treatment) was calculated. Hyperprogression was defined as a TGKR≥2. TGKR calculation was feasible for 80 patients (82%). HPD was observed for 11 patients (14%) and was associated with shorter overall survival (P = 0.003). In univariate analysis, HPD was significantly associated with age ≥70 y (P = 0.025), immune-related toxicity (P = 0.016), VEGFR2 rs1870377 A/T or A/A (P = 0.005), PD-L1 rs2282055 G/T or G/G (P = 0.024) and PD-L1 rs2227981 G/A or A/A (P = 0.024). Multivariate analysis confirmed the correlation between HPD and age ≥70 y (P = 0.006), VEGFR2 rs1870377 A/T or A/A (P = 0.007) and PD-L1 rs2282055 G/T or G/G (P = 0.018). Immunogenetics could become integral predictive factors for CPI-based immunotherapy.

Background Checkpoint inhibitors bring marked benefits but only in a minority of patients and may also be associated with severe adverse events. Treatment outcome still cannot be faithfully predicted. The following study hypothesized that host genetics could be applied as predictive biomarkers for checkpoint inhibitor response and immune-related adverse events. We conducted a study based on germinal polymorphisms from genes coding for proteins involved in immune regulation. Methods Germinal DNA was obtained from advanced cancer patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors. DNA was genotyped using a custom panel of 166 single nucleotide polymorphisms covering 86 preselected immunogenetic-related genes. Computational analysis using a GTEX portal was made to determine potential expression Quantitative Trait Loci in tissues. Results Ninety-four consecutive patients were included. Objective response rate (complete or partial response) was significantly correlated to tumor microenvironment-related SNPs concerning CCL2, NOS3, IL1RN, IL12B, CXCR3 and IL6R genes. Toxicity were linked to target-related gene SNPs including UNG, IFNW1, CTLA4, PD-L1 and IFNL4 genes. The Area Under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.72–0.9) for response and 0.89 (95% CI: 0.76–1.00) for toxicity. In silico functionality exploring pointed rs4845618 (IL6R), rs10964859 (IFNW1) and rs3087243 (CTLA4) as potentially impacting gene expression. Conclusion These results strongly support a role for distinct immunogenetic-related gene SNPs able to predict efficacy and safety of anti-PD1/PD-L1 therapies. The results highlight the existence of patient-specific, germinal biomarkers able predict response to checkpoint inhibitor efficacy and, possibly, to predict treatment-related adverse events.

Introduction The factor VIII (FVIII)-mimetic bispecific monoclonal antibody, emicizumab, previously approved for prophylaxis in haemophilia A with inhibitors, has been recently licensed in several countries also in patients with severe haemophilia A (PWSHA) without inhibitors. The introduction of this innovative agent requires the development of specific pathways at Haemophilia Treatment Centres (HTC), particularly regarding laboratory testing and treatment of breakthrough bleeds and invasive procedures/surgeries, even more critical when patients are managed by non-specialist professionals. Limited literature data and clinical experience in PWSHA without inhibitors on emicizumab are currently available. Aim To promote awareness and overcome these challenges, the Italian Association of Haemophilia Centres (AICE) issued a guidance on the management of PWSHA without inhibitors on emicizumab prophylaxis, focused on emergency and shared with other National Scientific Societies in the field. Methods The document, drafted by an AICE expert panel and approved through online consultation, was further revised by a multidisciplinary working group, including members of 5 haemostasis, laboratory and emergency scientific societies. The final version was approved by the Council of each society. Results General recommendations about use of FVIII concentrates for the treatment of bleeding or haemostatic coverage of invasive procedures/surgeries and laboratory monitoring in PWSHA without inhibitors on emicizumab are provided. Specific issues of the management in the emergency room are focused, highlighting the need for direct involvement or formalized supervision by specialist HTC physicians. Conclusions This guidance provides a reference pathway to be implemented in the different healthcare organizations, especially for the challenging emergency management in this setting.

Objectives The role of 18F-fluorocholine positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-Choline PET/CT) in different clinical situations remains controversial and current practices are very heterogeneous. The aim of this study was to evaluate the “real-world” practice of 18F-Choline PET/CT in patients with prostate cancer and its potential impacts on therapeutic strategy. Methods and materials This is a retrospective multicenter observational study including 265 consecutive men who underwent 18F-Choline PET/CT for prostate cancer between November 2014 and November 2015. Primary outcome was impact on therapeutic strategy. Secondary outcomes were sensitivity of the 18F-Choline PET/CT and predictive factors associated with positive scans. Statistical analyses comprised Student's t test for continuous variables or chi-squared test for qualitative variables. Results Median PSA level at the time of PET/CT was 4.19 ng/ml. The decision to perform PET/CT was made after multidisciplinary discussion in 29.8% of cases; most were prescribed by urologists (50.2% of cases). Three main indications were concerned: biochemical recurrence after local treatment (61.1%), initial staging (26.0%), or at the time of progression to castration-resistance (12.9%). Upon biochemical recurrence, 18F-Choline PET/CT allowed identification of ≥1 site(s) with a sensitivity of 80.9%. In multivariate analysis, predictive factors associated with 18F-Choline PET/CT sensitivity were serum PSA level and local treatment type in cases of biochemical recurrence, and PSA doubling time and Gleason score in case of initial staging. 18F-Choline PET/CT results allowed restaging and change in therapeutic strategy in 58.1% of all combined indications. Conclusions Indications of 18F-Choline PET/CT were varied. The detection rate of metastatic lesions was suitable, especially when PSA rate was >1 ng/mL. In most cases, 18F-Choline PET/CT led to a change in therapeutic strategy, particularly in the setting of biochemical recurrence.

International audience; Rationale: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for about 2% of all adult cancers, and clear cell RCC (ccRCC) is the most common RCC histologic subtype. A hallmark of ccRCC is the loss of the primary cilium, a cellular antenna that senses a wide variety of signals. Loss of this key organelle in ccRCC is associated with the loss of the von Hippel-Lindau protein (VHL). However, not all mechanisms of ciliopathy have been clearly elucidated. Methods: By using RCC4 renal cancer cells and patient samples, we examined the regulation of ciliogenesis via the presence or absence of the hypoxic form of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC1-ΔC) and its impact on tumor aggressiveness. Three independent cohorts were analyzed. Cohort A was from PREDIR and included 12 patients with hereditary pVHL mutations and 22 sporadic patients presenting tumors with wild-type pVHL or mutated pVHL; Cohort B included tissue samples from 43 patients with non-metastatic ccRCC who had undergone surgery; and Cohort C was composed of 375 non-metastatic ccRCC tumor samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and was used for validation. The presence of VDAC1-ΔC and legumain was determined by immunoblot. Transcriptional regulation of IFT20/GLI1 expression was evaluated by qPCR. Ciliogenesis was detected using both mouse anti-acetylated α-tubulin and rabbit polyclonal ARL13B antibodies for immunofluorescence. Results: Our study defines, for the first time, a group of ccRCC patients in which the hypoxia-cleaved form of VDAC1 (VDAC1-ΔC) induces resorption of the primary cilium in a Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1 (HIF-1)-dependent manner. An additional novel group, in which the primary cilium is re-expressed or maintained, lacked VDAC1-ΔC yet maintained glycolysis, a signature of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and more aggressive tumor progression, but was independent to VHL. Moreover, these patients were less sensitive to sunitinib, the first-line treatment for ccRCC, but were potentially suitable for immunotherapy, as indicated by the immunophenoscore and the presence of PDL1 expression. Conclusion: This study provides a new way to classify ccRCC patients and proposes potential therapeutic targets linked to metabolism and immunotherapy.

Metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC) benefits from several treatment options in the first-line setting with VEGFR inhibitors and/or immunotherapy including anti-PD-L1 or anti-PD1 agents. Identification of predictive biomarkers is highly needed to optimize patient care. Circulating markers could reflect the biology of metastatic disease. Therefore, we evaluated soluble forms of PD-L1 (sPD-L1) and PD-1 (sPD-1) in mccRCC patients. The levels of sPD-L1 and sPD-1 were evaluated from plasma samples of mccRCC patients before they received a first-line treatment (T0) by the VEGFR inhibitor sunitinib (50 patients) or by the anti-VEGF bevacizumab (37 patients). The levels of sPD-L1 and sPD-1 were correlated to clinical parameters and progression-free survival (PFS). High levels of sPD-1 or sPDL1 were not correlated to PFS under bevacizumab while they were independent prognostic factors of PFS in the sunitinib group. Patients with high T0 plasmatic levels of sPD-L1 had a shorter PFS (11.3 vs 22.5 months, p = .011) in the sunitinib group. Equivalent shorter PFS was found with high levels of sPD-1 (8.6 vs 14.1 months, p = .009). mccRCC patients with high plasmatic levels of sPD-L1 or sPD-1 are poor responders to sunitinib. sPD-L1 or sPD-1 could be a valuable tool to guide the optimal treatment strategy including VEGFR inhibitor.

This work aims to investigate what kind of impact retrofit scenarios have on “building energy communities” in view of the European Union climate targets on CO2 emission reduction, energy efficiency, and the share of renewable energy. Data-driven retrofit scenarios have been simulated considering a condominium constituted by eighty-seven units, located in the North-West of Italy. Different technology mixes (including roof-top photovoltaic, air-source heat pump, battery energy storage, and electric vehicles chargers) supplying for the electric and head demands have been simulated. The techno-economic feasibility of each retrofit scenario has been evaluated along with its compliance with the EU climate target by a multi-criteria analysis. The retrofit with roof-top photovoltaic systems always leads to positive environmental and economic indicators. Besides, it also reaches the highest internal rate of return of 18.2%. The air-water heat pump helps in reducing the total primary energy demand of −26% and the CO2 emission of −30%. Nonetheless, it introduces electric load-volatility on the electric grid that appears to be even more challenging than the photovoltaic intermittency. This issue can be conditioned by installing a storage system smoothing the heat pump load-volatility. The charge of electric vehicles within the condominium also has a global positive effect as it increasing the self-consumption up to 9.5%. The multi-criteria analysis shows that the diffusion of condominium energy communities by itself does not guarantee the pursue of the European Union decarbonization roadmap. In fact, if the purpose of condominium energy communities is not well channeled to the citizen, by giving them other forms of incentives besides the economic ones, they might still opt for the economic benefit over the environmental one jeopardizing the potential benefit related to energy communities initiatives.

Background Papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) is the most common non-clear cell RCC (nccRCC). Pivotal studies evaluating immune checkpoint inhibitors mostly excluded nccRCC. The aim of this retrospective and multicentre study was to evaluate the activity of programmed death-1 (PD-1)/ programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors specifically in metastatic pRCC. Methods The primary end-point was time to treatment failure (TTF). Secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS) and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). Results From 02/2016 to 01/2019, 57 patients with pRCC were included. Histology included 16 (28%) type 1 pRCC, 34 (60%) type 2 pRCC and 7 (12%) unclassified pRCC. Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors was used in the first-line setting in 4 patients (7%), in the second-line setting in 32 patients (56%) and in the third-line setting or more in 21 patients (37%). With a median follow-up of 12 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.9–21.0), the median TTF was 3.1 months (95% CI: 2.7–5.0). Among the 55 patients evaluable for ORR, best response was complete response/partial response in 6 patients (11%), stable disease in 18 patients (33%) and progressive disease in 31 patients (56%). The median OS was 14.6 months (95% CI: 9.0- not reached). TRAEs of grade III–IV were noted in 6 patients (10%) leading to treatment discontinuation, and no grade V TRAEs were observed. Conclusion PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors exhibit limited activity as monotherapy in this pRCC population, which remains an unmet need. Our findings underline the need for further prospective clinical trials evaluating immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations in patients with pRCC.

International audience; BACKGROUND:Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the urinary bladder (NCUB) is rare, accounting for < 1% of bladder cancer cases, with scarce reported data available.MATERIALS AND METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed the data from patients with NCUB treated at French institutions. The objectives were to describe the patient characteristics, treatments received, and outcomes (ie, disease-free survival [DFS], progression-free survival, overall survival [OS]) and investigate the prognostic factors.RESULTS:From 1997 to 2017, we included 236 patients, 173 with early-stage NCUB and 63 with advanced-stage NCUB. For those with early-stage disease, the median DFS was better for the patients who had received cisplatin-based chemotherapy compared with carboplatin (hazard ratio [HR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-3.46), with no difference found between the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings (HR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.61-1.97). The median OS was 36 months (95% CI, 29-43 months) for stage I and II, 26 months (95% CI, 18 months to not reached) for stage IIIA, 16 months (95% CI, 12-21 months) for stage IIIB. The HR for stage IIIB compared with stage I/II was 2.6 (95% CI, 1.5-4.4). The DFS at 6 months was associated with OS (HR, 7.8; 95% CI, 4.1-15.0). For patients with metastases at diagnosis who had received chemotherapy, the median progression-free survival was 9 months (95% CI, 8-11) for first-line cisplatin and 6 months (95% CI, 4-13 months) for carboplatin; the median OS was 13 months (95% CI, 9-15 months). A high-risk Bajorin score (HR, 11.5; 95% CI, 1.2-112.6) and the use of carboplatin (HR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.03-4.96) were associated with worse outcomes.CONCLUSIONS:In early-stage disease, a shorter DFS was associated with worse OS, and the use of cisplatin was associated with better OS. For the patients with metastases at diagnosis, a high-risk Bajorin score and the use of carboplatin were associated with worse outcomes.

The majority of patients with prostate cancer who later develop lethal metastatic disease have high-risk localized disease at presentation, emphasizing the importance of effective treatment strategies at this stage. Multimodal treatment approaches that combine systemic and local therapies offer a promising strategy for improving the clinical outcomes of patients with high-risk localized prostate cancer. Combinations of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or chemohormonal therapy are considered to be the standard of care in most solid tumours and should be investigated in the future for the treatment of prostate cancer to improve patient outcomes. However, although the combination of androgen deprivation therapy and radiotherapy is a standard of care in high-risk localized or locally advanced prostate cancer, the benefit of chemotherapy or chemohormonal therapy has yet to be demonstrated outside of the metastatic setting. Moreover, the benefit of neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant systemic therapies in combination with radical prostatectomy has not been proved. The development of next-generation hormonal agents, which have been approved for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer, offers further therapeutic possibilities that are being assessed in early-phase clinical trials.