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The role of the skin-gut axis in atopic dermatitis (AD) remains a subject of debate, limiting non-pharmacological interventions such as probiotics and prebiotics. To improve understanding of their potential as a monotherapy for stable mild cases, we conducted a real-life, multicenter, retrospective observational study in Italy. We administered three selected bacteria ( Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BS01, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LP14, and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus LR05) orally to patients with mild atopic dermatitis without a placebo control group, following up for 12 weeks. Clinical assessments using the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), and Three-Item Severity (TIS) score were conducted on 144 enrolled patients (average age: 25.1 ± 17.6 years). Notably, both pruritus and AD-related lesions (erythema, edema/papules, excoriation) exhibited significant clinical and statistical improvement ( p < 0.001) after 12 weeks of exclusive probiotic and prebiotic use. These preliminary results suggest a potential link between the skin-gut microbiome and support the rationale for using specific probiotics and prebiotics in mild AD, even for maintenance, to reduce flares and dysbiosis.

Background: The treatment of cutaneous advanced non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) and multiple cutaneous and subcutaneous melanoma metastases (Mm) represents a main therapeutic challenge. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is an anticancer procedure that facilitates the penetration of cytotoxic drugs into cancer cells by means of the application of electrical pulses. The aim of our study was to evaluate efficacy and tolerability of ECT in the treatment of advanced NMSC and Mm., Methods: Thirteen patients with a total of 88 cutaneous and subcutaneous tumour lesions were selected (69 Mm in 6 patients and 19 NMSC in 7 patients). The lesions were divided into "Target" (NMSC: 7; Mm: 9) and "Non -target" (NMSC: 12; Mm: 60) lesions according to RECIST criteria 1.1. All patients underwent ECT under mild general anaesthesia. Eight minutes following intravenous bleomycin, electrical pulses were delivered to the tumour nodules using a square wave pulse generator (CliniporatorTM, IGEA S.p.A., Carpi, Italy)., Results: A complete response of "Target" NMSC lesions and "Target" Mm nodules was observed in 85.7% (6/7) and 33.3% (3/9), respectively. Only one NMSC underwent two courses of treatment, achieving a complete response 1 month after the second ECT session. Among Mm, 6 of 9 "Target" lesions received more than one ECT session, achieving a size reduction in 3 of 6 lesions. This improvement, however, was not classified as partial response because the size reduction was lower than 30%. In 1 patient, one Mm "Target" lesion increased in volume while other two "Target" lesions appeared stable. No statistically significant difference was observed, between the size of the lesions before treatment and after treatment, nevertheless statistical significance was achieved in the "Target" lesions comparing the response to ECT of NMSC group vs. Mm group (P<0.05)., Conclusions: Our study confirms the potential therapeutic role of ECT. This procedure could represent the 1st line treatment for advanced NMSC, especially in elderly patients not suitable for surgery or radiotherapy. As already described in literature, we hereby validate the effective role of ECT in the palliation of Mm.

Background: No studies are available in the literature on the distribution of different melanoma features and risk factors in the Italian geographical areas., Objective: To identify the differences in clinical-pathological features of melanoma, the distribution of risk factors and sun exposure in various Italian macro-areas., Methods: Multicentric-observational study involving 1,472 melanoma cases (713 north, 345 centre, 414 south) from 26 referral centres belonging to the Italian Multidisciplinary Group for Melanoma., Results: Melanoma patients in northern regions are younger, with thinner melanoma, multiple primaries, lower-intermediate phototype and higher counts of naevi with respect to southern patients; detection of a primary was mostly connected with a physician examination, while relatives were more involved in the south. Northern patients reported a more frequent use of sunbeds and occurrence of sunburns before melanoma despite sunscreen use and a lower sun exposure during the central hours of the day., Conclusions: The understanding of differences in risk factors distribution could represent the basis for tailored prevention programmes.