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OBJECTIVE: The study's purpose was to compare the quality of life (QoL) in oncologic patients treated with different rehabilitation protocols following maxillary tumor resections. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients were divided into three groups. Group A: 18 patients with maxillary obturator prosthesis. Group B: 17 patients with simultaneous autologous tissue reconstruction. Group C: 12 patients with prosthesis on zygomatic implants. The post-operative QoL was compared using standard questionnaires, investigating items like pain, mood, social relations, and specific functions that could potentially compromise the post-operative QoL. A secondary analysis compared reconstructed vs. non-reconstructed pa-tients. RESULTS: Most questionnaire items did not show significant differences among groups. Statistically significant outcomes were found in two parameters (social contact and sexuality), in which patients treated with zygomatic implants had the best satisfaction, and patients with obturator prostheses showed the lowest satisfaction. Patients belonging to the non-reconstructed group showed better moods than those in the reconstructed group, while taste problem complaints and pain were lower in the reconstructed group. CONCLUSIONS: Although the type of reconstruction procedure depends on the type of maxillectomy to be performed and on the general health situation of each patient, the impact of the rehabilitation protocol on the patients' QoL should be accounted for when planning the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giulio Rossi,1 Genny Jocollé,2 Antonia Conti,3 Marcello Tiseo,4 Federica Zito Marino,5,6 Giovanni Donati,7 Renato Franco,5,6 Francesca Bono,8 Francesca Barbisan,9 Francesco Facchinetti4,10 1Pathology Unit, 2Oncology Unit, Azienda USL Valle d’Aosta, Regional Hospital “Parini”, Aosta, 3Medical Illustrator, Riccione, 4Medical Oncology Unit, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, 5Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione G. Pascale, 6Pathology Unit, Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania, Naples, 7Unit of Thoracic and Senology Surgery, Azienda USL Valle d’Aosta, Regional Hospital “Parini”, Aosta, 8Unit of Pathologic Anatomy, San Gerardo Hospital, IRCCS, Monza, 9Pathology Unit, University Hospital, Azienda Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy; 10INSERM, U981, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France Abstract: ROS1 rearrangement characterizes a small subset (1%–2%) of non-small cell lung cancer and is associated with slight/never smoking patients and adenocarcinoma histology. Identification of ROS1 rearrangement is mandatory to permit targeted therapy with specific inhibitors, demonstrating a significantly better survival when compared with conventional chemotherapy. Detection of ROS1 rearrangement is based on in situ (immunohistochemistry, fluorescence in situ hybridization) and extractive non-in situ assays. While fluorescence in situ hybridization still represents the gold standard in clinical trials, this technique may fail to recognize rearrangements of ROS1 with some gene fusion partner. On the other hand, immunohistochemistry is the most cost-effective screening technique, but it seems to be characterized by low specificity. Extractive molecular assays are expensive and laborious methods, but they specifically recognize almost all ROS1 fusions using a limited amount of mRNA even from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. This review is a discussion on the present and futuristic diagnostic scenario of ROS1 identification in lung cancer. Keywords: lung, adenocarcinoma, ROS1, FISH, immunohistochemistry, NGS, rearrangement

Maria Cappuccilli,1 Gabriele Donati,1 Giorgia Comai,1 Olga Baraldi,1 Diletta Conte,1 Irene Capelli,1 Valeria Aiello,1 Andrea Pession,2 Gaetano La Manna1 1Department of Experimental Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), Nephrology, Dialysis, and Renal Transplant Unit, 2Molecular Laboratory of Pediatrics, Hematology–Oncology Unit, St Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Background: The aim of this study was the application of complementarity-determining region-3 spectratyping analysis to determine T-cell-repertoire complexity and to detect T-cell-clone expansion, as a measure of immune response in nonfunctioning kidney transplants (group hemodialysis-transplant [HD-Tx]), nontransplanted dialysis patients (group hemodialysis [HD]), and normal subjects as controls (group C).Patients and methods: Analysis of T-cell receptor (TCR) diversity by spectratyping was applied to peripheral blood samples collected from 21 subjects: eight in group HD-Tx, seven in group HD, and six in group C.Results: Considering the extent of the skew in TCR variable region repertoires as a measure of clonal T cells, we found that the number of altered spectra showed a progressive increase from normal subjects to dialysis patients and to nonfunctioning kidney transplants, respectively. Healthy subjects had the lowest number of altered spectra, and patients with nonfunctioning kidney transplants the highest. Differences were significant for group HD-Tx vs group C (P=0.017) and group HD vs group C (P=0.015), but not between nonfunctioning kidney-transplant recipients and dialysis patients (group HD-Tx vs group HD).Conclusion: Although dialysis appears to be a weaker trigger for clonal expansion of T cells, our data suggest that the utilization of complementarity-determining region-3 spectratyping analysis of the TCR repertoire might be useful to monitor specific immunoactivation in patients before and after kidney transplantation. Keywords: dialysis, nonfunctioning kidney transplant, T-cell repertoire, TCR spectratyping

Irene Capelli, Olga Baraldi, Giorgia Comai, Elisa Sala, Maria Cappuccilli, Chiara Donadei, Vania Cuna, Maria Laura Angelini, Gabriele Donati, Gaetano La Manna Department of Experimental Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), Nephrology, Dialysis and Renal Transplant Unit, St Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Background: Acute kidney injury occurring after kidney transplantation frequently leads to delayed graft function with detrimental long-term effects on graft survival. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been validated as a biomarker for posttransplant acute kidney injury. This observational study aimed to assess the effectiveness of urinary NGAL as a predictive marker of delayed graft function.Materials and methods: Forty-three consecutive patients who received renal transplant were included in the study. Urine samples were collected before transplant (if available) and at days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 30 after transplant, and urinary NGAL levels were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: Urinary NGAL progressively decreased after transplant in patients with both delayed and immediate graft function. However, urinary NGAL concentration remained significantly higher in the presence of delayed graft function in the first 14 days after transplant. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the ability of urinary NGAL to predict delayed graft function was accurate at 1st and 3rd days after transplant.Conclusion: The relative decrease of urinary NGAL concentration rather than its absolute value may be relevant to predict delayed graft function after renal transplant. In particular, urinary NGAL area under the curve for 3 days seems to be a more valuable parameter of decision making in the early posttransplant period. Keywords: area under the curve, delayed graft function, immediate graft function, kidney transplant, NGAL, acute kidney injury

OBJECTIVE: Kidney failure increases in-hospital mortality (IHM); however, comorbidity is crucial for predicting mortality in dialysis patients. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of comorbidity, assessed by modified Elixhauser index (mEI), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and age-adjusted CCI, on IHM in a cohort of peritoneal dialysis patients admitted to hospitals of the Emilia Romagna region (ERR) of Italy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All hospital admissions of peritoneal dialysis patients recorded between 2007 and 2021 in the ERR database were analyzed. The International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9- CM) was used for detecting diagnoses and procedures, and the inclusion criterion was code 5498. Comorbidity burden was evaluated by three different scores, and hemodialysis (HD) treatment need was considered. IHM was our outcome. RESULTS: During the 15 years of the study, 3,242 hospitalized peritoneal dialysis patients (62.7% males) were evaluated. Mean age was 62.8±20.6 years, 9.6% underwent HD, and IHM was 5.9% (n=192). IHM mortality was stable throughout the study period. Deceased subjects were older, were hospitalized longer, had a higher comorbidity burden, and had a higher percentage of HD treatment needs than survivors. Age, male sex, comorbidity burden, and HD treatment were predictors of IHM. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis confirmed the impact of comorbidity burden on IHM, especially when age was considered. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that in male, elderly hospitalized peritoneal dialysis patients with failing dialysis technique, comorbidity burden should be considered being a predictor of IHM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]