Multiple myeloma is a chronic hematologic malignancy that obstinately tends to relapse. Basic research has made giant strides in better characterizing the molecular mechanisms of the disease. The ...results have led to the manufacturing of new, revolutionary drugs which have been widely tested in clinical trials. These drugs have been approved and are now part of the therapeutic armamentarium. As a consequence, it is essential to combine what we know from clinical trials with real-world data in order to improve therapeutic strategies. Starting with this premise, our review aims to describe the currently employed regimens in multiple myeloma and compare clinical trials with real-life experiences. We also intend to put a spotlight on promising therapies such as T-cell engagers and chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T) which are proving to be effective in changing the course of advanced-stage disease.
Acute promyelocytic leukemia is a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia in which immature promyelocytes abnormally proliferate in the bone marrow. In most cases, the disease is characterised by the ...translocation t(15;17) (q24;q21), which causes the formation of PML::RARA, an oncogenic fusion protein responsible for blocking myeloid differentiation and survival advantage. Here, we present a case of acute promyelocytic leukemia with two unusual features: basophilic differentiation and a three-way translocation involving chromosomes 12, 15 and 17. In the few cases reported, basophilic differentiation was associated with a poor prognosis. In contrast, our patient responded promptly to the standard treatment with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) and obtained complete remission. To our knowledge, this is the first report of basophilic acute promyelocytic leukemia with the three-way translocation t(12;17;15) (p13; q24;q21).
We conducted a prospective study aimed at investigating the prognostic value of the dynamic of a-GVHD progression from cutaneous to visceral involvement. In 108 consecutive patients who underwent ...allogeneic HSCT, we classified a-GVHD according to a "GHVD skin dynamic": 18/82 patients started Corticosteroid (CS) within 48 h (Group 1); 13/82 started CS within days 3-7 (Group 2); Group 3A (n 31) was defined when Skin GVHD Overall Grade 1, left untreated for 1 week, showed an increase in involved body surface area <5 %; Group 3B (n 20), was defined when Skin GVHD Overall Grade 1, left untreated at 1 week, had an increase in involved body surface area >5%. These four groups had distinctive 2-y OS. Patients could be then grouped into "poor risk" (Group 1 and Group 3B) and "good risk" (Group 2 and Group 3A). "Poor risk" had inferior OS in univariate and multivariate analysis, (HR 2.222; 95% CL: 1.017-4.855; p 0.04). Among the patients with skin-only Grade 1 GVHD, subgroup 3A had an OS of 75.1% versus 39.8% found in subgroup 3B (p = 0.03). The dynamic of skin GVHD may be used to classify a-GVHD and guide treatment in Overall Grade 1 skin-only GVHD.
The role of worry and rumination in eating disorders (EDs) is controversial. This meta-analysis of the literature is aimed at clarifying the relationship between repetitive negative thinking (RNT) ...and EDs. In accordance with the PRISMA criteria, a comprehensive search of the literature was conducted on PubMed and PsycInfo from inception to March 2021. Search terms: “eating disorder/anorexia/bulimia/binge eating disorder” AND “worry/rumination/brooding/repetitive thinking”. A manual search of reference lists was also run. Forty-three studies were included. RNT was found to be associated with anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. A moderating effect was found for “presence/absence ED diagnosis” and “subtype of ED symptom”. ED patients showed higher RNT than the general population. No differences were observed for age or between worry and rumination in the magnitude of their association with EDs.
Multifocality in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is a common event, ranging from 18% to 87%. Additional multiple foci are frequently very small and generally detected in pathology specimens. The ...mechanisms of intrathyroidal spread, and its correlation with age, gender, tumour size, and lymph node metastases remain unclear. Moreover, studies assessing the prognostic impact of PTC multifocality have yielded non-univocal results. We aimed to evaluate the following: a) the histopathological and clinical characteristics associated with multifocal PTC; and b) the impact of multifocality on the long-term outcome.
We analysed a consecutive series of 2814 PTC patients without evidence of microscopic extrathyroidal extension (T1a, T1b, and T2), all of whom had undergone total thyroidectomy and were followed-up (median 4.7 years) in our thyroid clinic. Females comprised 81.3% and males 18.7% (F/M = 4.4/1), with a median age at diagnosis of 45.0 years. Patients were subdivided into 2 groups: 72.7% unifocal tumour and 27.3% multifocal tumour. Post-surgical radioiodine ablation (RAI) (30-100 mCi of 131-I) was performed in 1425 (50.6%) patients. All patients were periodically followed with thyroglobulin and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies measurements and with neck ultrasonography under L-thyroxine therapy and subjected to additional radioiodine administration or another therapeutic measure if not cured.
Patients in the multifocal group were older (median age 46.4 vs. 44.5 years, respectively, p < 0.05) and presented a lower F/M ratio (F/M = 3.7/1 and 4.7/1; p = 0.01). T1a and T1b tumours showed no significant difference in multifocality rate whereas T2 tumours were less frequently multifocal (14.2% vs. 10.9%, p < 0.05). Multifocal tumours were more frequent in N1b (11.3% vs. 7.8%, p < 0.01) and less frequent in Nx (50.5% vs. 56.8%, p < 0.01), with no difference between the N0 and N1a groups. The clinical outcome was similar in the 2 group of patients (88.2 % in the unifocal group vs. 90.2% in the multifocal group).
Multifocality is more frequent in older and male patients, in smaller tumours, and in N1b. However, multifocality "per se" was not associated, in our study, with worse clinical outcome in PTC patients.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) models show both similarities and differences in conceptualizing anxiety. This work ...assumes that REBT’s irrational and MCT’s metacognitive beliefs play a mediation role while CBT’s disorder specific content beliefs act as triggers. This hypothesis is tested using a regression model in which metacognitive and irrational beliefs play a mediation role while content disorder beliefs are independent variables. This paper applied this model to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a psychiatric diagnosis in which anxiety is the major feature. In GAD, the specific content beliefs are negative problem orientation and intolerance of uncertainty. Therefore, 149 non clinical subjects completed 4 self-report questionnaires: the Negative Orientation to the Problems Questionnaire and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale as measures for content cognitive beliefs, the Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for irrational beliefs, and the Metacognitive Questionnaire 30 Items Version for metacognitive beliefs. The generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire was chosen in order to measure anxiety as dependent variable. Regression analyses confirmed that irrational and metacognitive beliefs mediate the relation between cognitive content beliefs and GAD. We clinically interpret mediation as a second level regulation.
PDF
