Luca Ampollini | University of Parma (original) (raw)

Papers by Luca Ampollini

Diagnostics

Background: Thymic carcinoma is a rare and highly malignant tumor with a dismal prognosis, which ... more Background: Thymic carcinoma is a rare and highly malignant tumor with a dismal prognosis, which occasionally coexists with myasthenia gravis (MG). This study aims to investigate the MG incidence on a surgical cohort of patients with thymic carcinoma and to explore its influence on long-term survival. Methods: the prospectively collected data from the ESTS database on thymic epithelial tumors were reviewed. Clinical, pathological, and survival information on thymic carcinoma were analyzed. Results: the analysis was conducted on 203 patients, with an equal gender distribution (96 males and 107 females). MG was detected in 22 (10.8%) patients, more frequently elderly (>60 years, p = 0.048) and male (p = 0.003). Induction therapy was performed in 22 (10.8%) cases. After surgery, 120 (59.1%) patients had a Masaoka stage II–III while complete resection (R0) was achieved in 158 (77.8%). Adjuvant therapy was performed in 68 cases. Mean follow-up was 60 (SD = 14) months. The 3-year, 5-ye...

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-jnp-10.1177_23993693211028593 for Pulmonary metastasectomy in ren... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-jnp-10.1177_23993693211028593 for Pulmonary metastasectomy in renal cell carcinoma: Predictive and prognostic elements from paired histopathological analysis of primary tumors and respective metastases by Melissa Bersanelli, Sebastiano Buti, Letizia Gnetti, Elena Varotti, Paolo Carbognani, Michele Rusca, Francesco Leonardi, Nicoletta Campanini, Francesco Ziglioli, Clara Indira Dadomo, Francesco Paolo Pilato, Luigi Ventura, Cesare Braggio, Giovanni Bocchialini, Alessio Cortellini, Matteo Brunelli, Elena Rapacchi, Roberta Camisa, Giuseppe Caruso, Enrico Maria Silini, Umberto Maestroni and Luca Ampollini in Journal of Onco-Nephrology

European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 2022

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyse the outcomes of an international cohort of patien... more OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyse the outcomes of an international cohort of patients affected by Masaoka stage III thymic epithelial tumours with vascular involvement and treated by surgery. METHODS Study design was the observational multicentre retrospective cohort study. Data were extracted from the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons thymic database; additional variables were collected. Inclusion criteria were as follows: stage III (Masaoka–Koga) thymic epithelial tumours; surgery with radical intention; clinical or pathological great vessels involvement; and radiologically suspected or diagnosed intraoperatively. Outcome items were analysed. RESULTS Sixty-five patients submitted to surgery from 2001 to 2017 fulfilled inclusion criteria. Thymoma and thymic carcinoma patients did not differ for demographics and clinical characteristics. The majority of great vessel treated were superior vena cava or innominate veins (72.3%). Eleven patients (16.9%) had postoperati...

Cancer treatment and research communications, 2020

The prognosis of patients affected by malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is presently poor and ... more The prognosis of patients affected by malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is presently poor and no therapeutic strategies have improved their survival yet. Introduction of miRNA mimics to restore their reduced or absent functionality in cancer cells is considered an important opportunity and a combination of miR's might be even more effective. In the present study, miR-16 and miR-34a were transfected, singularly and in combination, in MPM cell lines H2052 and H28, and their effects on cell proliferation and sensitivity to cisplatin are reported. Interestingly, the overexpression of both miRs, alone or combined, slows down the cell cycle progression, modulates the p53 and HMGB1 expression and increases the sensitivity of cells to cisplatin, producing a marked impairment of cell proliferation and strengthening the apoptotic effect of the drug. However, the co-overexpression of the two miRs results more effective only in the regulation of the cell cycle, but does not enhance the s...

Second primary cancer is the leading cause of death in lymphoma long-term survivors, with lung ca... more Second primary cancer is the leading cause of death in lymphoma long-term survivors, with lung cancer representing the most common second tumour. Previous studies investigated the risk of developing lung cancer after lymphoma, but limited information exists about the treatment and prognosis of these patients. Herein, we aimed to investigate the outcome of lymphoma survivors treated for second primary lung cancer

Translational Lung Cancer Research, 2021

Chest wall tumors are a relatively uncommon disease in clinical practice. Most of the published s... more Chest wall tumors are a relatively uncommon disease in clinical practice. Most of the published studies about chest wall tumors are usually single-center retrospective studies, involving few patients. Therefore, evidences regarding clinical conclusions about chest wall tumors are lacking, and some controversial issues have still to be agreed upon. In January 2019, 73 experts in thoracic surgery, plastic surgery, science, and engineering jointly released the Chinese Expert Consensus on Chest Wall Tumor Resection and Chest Wall Reconstruction (2018 edition). After that, numerous experts put forward new perspectives on some academic issues in this version of the consensus, pointing out the necessity to further discuss the points of contention. Thus, we conducted a survey through the administration of a questionnaire among 85 experts in the world. Consensus has been reached on some major points as follows. (I) Wide excision should be performed for desmoid tumor (DT) of chest wall. After excluding the distant metastasis by multidisciplinary team, solitary sternal plasmacytoma can be treated with extensive resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. (II) Wide excision with above 2 cm margin distance should be attempted to obtain R0 resection margin for chest wall tumor unless the tumor involves vital organs or structures, including the great vessels, heart, trachea, joints, and spine. (III) For patients with chest wall tumors undergoing unplanned excision (UE) for the first time, it is necessary to carry out wide excision as soon as possible within 1-3 months following the previous surgery. (IV) Current Tumor Node Metastasis staging criteria (American Joint Committee on Cancer) of bone tumor and soft tissue sarcoma are not suitable for chest wall sarcomas. (V) It is necessary to use rigid implants for chest wall reconstruction once the maximum diameter of the chest wall defect exceeds 5 cm in adults and adolescents. (VI) For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) invading the chest wall, wide excision with neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant therapy are recommended for patients with stage T 3-4 N 0-1 M 0. As clear guidelines are lacking, these consensus statements on controversial issues

Biomedicines, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has now affected around 190 million people worldwide, accounting for more t... more The COVID-19 pandemic has now affected around 190 million people worldwide, accounting for more than 4 million confirmed deaths. Besides ongoing global vaccination, finding protective and therapeutic strategies is an urgent clinical need. SARS-CoV-2 mostly infects the host organism via the respiratory system, requiring angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) to enter target cells. Therefore, these surface proteins are considered potential druggable targets. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gasotransmitter produced by several cell types and is also part of natural compounds, such as sulfurous waters that are often inhaled as low-intensity therapy and prevention in different respiratory conditions. H2S is a potent biological mediator, with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and, as more recently shown, also anti-viral activities. Considering that respiratory epithelial cells can be directly exposed to H2S by inhalation, here we tested the in vitro...

European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 2021

In the original version of this article, the last name of collaborator Giorgio Lo Iacono was miss... more In the original version of this article, the last name of collaborator Giorgio Lo Iacono was misspelled. This has now been corrected above and in the full article.

British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 2020

A 32-year-old woman with burning stomach pain and fatigue was admitted to the emergency departmen... more A 32-year-old woman with burning stomach pain and fatigue was admitted to the emergency department. Blood chemistry showed elevated serum calcium level and mild anaemia. The patient had no familial history of multiple endocrine neoplasia. Further laboratory evaluation for hypercalcaemia showed elevated parathyroid hormone level. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the neck and thorax revealed an anterior-superior mediastinal solid mass with lobulated contour, 28x20 mm in diameter. The lesion had diffuse contrast enhancement (Figure 1a). Dual-phase 99mTc-sestamibi parathyroid scintigraphy showed increased uptake in the mediastinal mass (Figure 1b). Most parathyroid adenomas are located close to the lower poles of the thyroid lobes. However, ectopic parathyroid adenomas have been reported, including in mediastinal, thyroidal and thymic sites (Kim et al, 2013). A mediastinal parathyroid adenoma is rare. 99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy is the most effective imaging modality to demonstrate ectopic parathyroid adenoma. Treatment is usually surgical excision (Kim et al, 2014).

Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 2019

Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to establish the predictive model. A prospecti... more Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to establish the predictive model. A prospective internal validation cohort contained 14 patients from January 2018 to December 2018. The performance was evaluated with Harrell' concordance index (C-index). Result: 7 radiomics features were selected to build the radiomics signature. Smoking status (P¼0.01) was the only independent clinicopathologic risk factor for overall survival prediction. Multivariate analysis indicated that the radiomics signature (P¼0.007) was an independent prognostic factor, with a C-index of 0.810 and 0.900 for the primary and validation cohort. Conclusion: This study developed a radiomics model for predicting OS in synchronous oligometastatic NSCLC, which may serve as a predictive tool to identify individualized treatment strategy. Further external validation of the model are required. Support: 81572279,

Journal of Thoracic Disease, 2018

European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery, 2018

Lymphangiogenesis plays a critical role in the immune response, tumour progression and therapy ef... more Lymphangiogenesis plays a critical role in the immune response, tumour progression and therapy effectiveness. The aim of this study was to determine whether the interplay between the lymphatic and the blood microvasculature, tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and the programmed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint constitutes an immune microenvironment affecting the clinical outcome of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. Samples from 50 squamous cell carcinomas and 42 adenocarcinomas were subjected to immunofluorescence to detect blood and lymphatic vessels. CD3pos, CD8pos and PD-1pos tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and tumour PD-L1 expression were assessed by immunohistochemical analysis. Quantification of vascular structures documented a peak of lymphatics at the invasive margin together with a decreasing gradient of blood and lymphatic vessels from the peritumour area throughout the neoplastic core. Nodal involvement and pathological stage were st...

Journal of minimal access surgery, Jan 4, 2018

Myelolipoma (ML) is a benign tumour composed of haematopoietic and mature adipose tissue commonly... more Myelolipoma (ML) is a benign tumour composed of haematopoietic and mature adipose tissue commonly found in adrenal glands. Prognosis is usually good with an indolent clinical course. The occurrence of an ML in the extra-adrenal site is very rare. Herein, we report a very interesting and unusual case of ML located in the posterior mediastinum successfully resected by video-assisted thoracic surgery. The clinical and histological features are largely discussed.

Tumori, 2018

To describe a case of giant intercostal nerve schwannoma successfully resected in a patient with ... more To describe a case of giant intercostal nerve schwannoma successfully resected in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 2. A 44-year-old woman, with a history of neurofibromatosis type 2, presented with chest discomfort and mild dyspnea. She had undergone a recent resection of a large frontal parasagittal benign meningioma. Radiologic examinations showed a large lesion (9×12×9 cm) of the left hemithorax causing a complete atelectasis of left upper lobe. Bronchoscopy did not show any endobronchial alterations, apart from an ab estriseco compression of the left upper bronchial tree. A transthoracic needle biopsy was then performed and microscopic examination revealed a mesenchymal tumor composed of spindle-like cells. A video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery procedure was proposed. The tumor mass appeared to be tenaciously adherent to the parietal pleura in its anterolateral aspect, confirming the radiologic appearance. No invasion of the lung parenchyma or parietal pleural metastases w...

Journal of thoracic disease, 2018

European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery, Jan 18, 2018

Typical carcinoids (TCs) are rare, slow-growing neoplasms, usually characterized by satisfactory ... more Typical carcinoids (TCs) are rare, slow-growing neoplasms, usually characterized by satisfactory surgical outcomes. Due to the rarity of TCs, international guidelines for the management of particular clinical presentations currently do not exist. In particular, non-anatomical resections (wedges) are sometimes advocated for Stage 1 TCs because of their indolent behaviour. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the most effective type of surgery for Stage 1 TCs, using the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons retrospective database of the Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Lung Working Group. We analysed the effect of surgical procedure on the survival of patients with Stage 1 TCs. Overall survival (OS) was calculated from the date of intervention. The cumulative incidence of cause-specific death (tumour- and non-tumour-related) was also estimated. The impact of the surgical procedure (i.e. lobectomy vs segmentectomy vs wedge resection) on survival was investigated using the Cox model with s...

European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery, Jan 20, 2018

The Italian VATS Group database was accessed to evaluate whether preoperative and intraoperative ... more The Italian VATS Group database was accessed to evaluate whether preoperative and intraoperative factors may affect the safety of lymphadenectomy (LA) during video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy. All video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy procedures performed between 1 January 2014 and 30 March 2017 for non-small-cell lung cancer with cN0 or cN1 disease were identified in the database. LA safety was evaluated based on intraoperative (operative time, bleeding and conversion rate) and postoperative (30-day morbidity and mortality, chest drain duration and length of stay) outcomes and was correlated with the number of resected lymph nodes and the rates of nodal upstaging. Continuous variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation and compared using the unpaired t-test; the χ2 test was used for categorical variables. Univariable analysis was performed on selected variables. Significant variables (P < 0.30) were entered into a Cox multivariable logistic regression model,...

Journal of thoracic disease, 2018

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) continues to be a distressing tumor due to its aggressive bi... more Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) continues to be a distressing tumor due to its aggressive biologic behavior and scanty prognosis. Several therapeutic approaches have been tested both in clinical and preclinical settings, being intrapleural chemotherapy one of the most promising. Some years ago, our interest focused on polymeric films loaded with cisplatin for the adjuvant intrapleural treatment of surgical patients. After and studies in a rat recurrence model of MPM, the aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of the polymeric films in a sheep model in view of further studies in a clinical setting. An ovine model was used. Animals were divided into four groups according to pharmacologic treatment: control group (three animals undergoing left pneumonectomy and saline-NaCl solution); intrapleural hyaluronate cisplatin films (HYALCIS) group (six animals undergoing left pneumonectomy and intrapleural application of polymeric films loaded with cisplatin); intrapleural...

Diagnostics

Background: Thymic carcinoma is a rare and highly malignant tumor with a dismal prognosis, which ... more Background: Thymic carcinoma is a rare and highly malignant tumor with a dismal prognosis, which occasionally coexists with myasthenia gravis (MG). This study aims to investigate the MG incidence on a surgical cohort of patients with thymic carcinoma and to explore its influence on long-term survival. Methods: the prospectively collected data from the ESTS database on thymic epithelial tumors were reviewed. Clinical, pathological, and survival information on thymic carcinoma were analyzed. Results: the analysis was conducted on 203 patients, with an equal gender distribution (96 males and 107 females). MG was detected in 22 (10.8%) patients, more frequently elderly (>60 years, p = 0.048) and male (p = 0.003). Induction therapy was performed in 22 (10.8%) cases. After surgery, 120 (59.1%) patients had a Masaoka stage II–III while complete resection (R0) was achieved in 158 (77.8%). Adjuvant therapy was performed in 68 cases. Mean follow-up was 60 (SD = 14) months. The 3-year, 5-ye...

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-jnp-10.1177_23993693211028593 for Pulmonary metastasectomy in ren... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-jnp-10.1177_23993693211028593 for Pulmonary metastasectomy in renal cell carcinoma: Predictive and prognostic elements from paired histopathological analysis of primary tumors and respective metastases by Melissa Bersanelli, Sebastiano Buti, Letizia Gnetti, Elena Varotti, Paolo Carbognani, Michele Rusca, Francesco Leonardi, Nicoletta Campanini, Francesco Ziglioli, Clara Indira Dadomo, Francesco Paolo Pilato, Luigi Ventura, Cesare Braggio, Giovanni Bocchialini, Alessio Cortellini, Matteo Brunelli, Elena Rapacchi, Roberta Camisa, Giuseppe Caruso, Enrico Maria Silini, Umberto Maestroni and Luca Ampollini in Journal of Onco-Nephrology

European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 2022

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyse the outcomes of an international cohort of patien... more OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyse the outcomes of an international cohort of patients affected by Masaoka stage III thymic epithelial tumours with vascular involvement and treated by surgery. METHODS Study design was the observational multicentre retrospective cohort study. Data were extracted from the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons thymic database; additional variables were collected. Inclusion criteria were as follows: stage III (Masaoka–Koga) thymic epithelial tumours; surgery with radical intention; clinical or pathological great vessels involvement; and radiologically suspected or diagnosed intraoperatively. Outcome items were analysed. RESULTS Sixty-five patients submitted to surgery from 2001 to 2017 fulfilled inclusion criteria. Thymoma and thymic carcinoma patients did not differ for demographics and clinical characteristics. The majority of great vessel treated were superior vena cava or innominate veins (72.3%). Eleven patients (16.9%) had postoperati...

Cancer treatment and research communications, 2020

The prognosis of patients affected by malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is presently poor and ... more The prognosis of patients affected by malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is presently poor and no therapeutic strategies have improved their survival yet. Introduction of miRNA mimics to restore their reduced or absent functionality in cancer cells is considered an important opportunity and a combination of miR's might be even more effective. In the present study, miR-16 and miR-34a were transfected, singularly and in combination, in MPM cell lines H2052 and H28, and their effects on cell proliferation and sensitivity to cisplatin are reported. Interestingly, the overexpression of both miRs, alone or combined, slows down the cell cycle progression, modulates the p53 and HMGB1 expression and increases the sensitivity of cells to cisplatin, producing a marked impairment of cell proliferation and strengthening the apoptotic effect of the drug. However, the co-overexpression of the two miRs results more effective only in the regulation of the cell cycle, but does not enhance the s...

Second primary cancer is the leading cause of death in lymphoma long-term survivors, with lung ca... more Second primary cancer is the leading cause of death in lymphoma long-term survivors, with lung cancer representing the most common second tumour. Previous studies investigated the risk of developing lung cancer after lymphoma, but limited information exists about the treatment and prognosis of these patients. Herein, we aimed to investigate the outcome of lymphoma survivors treated for second primary lung cancer

Translational Lung Cancer Research, 2021

Chest wall tumors are a relatively uncommon disease in clinical practice. Most of the published s... more Chest wall tumors are a relatively uncommon disease in clinical practice. Most of the published studies about chest wall tumors are usually single-center retrospective studies, involving few patients. Therefore, evidences regarding clinical conclusions about chest wall tumors are lacking, and some controversial issues have still to be agreed upon. In January 2019, 73 experts in thoracic surgery, plastic surgery, science, and engineering jointly released the Chinese Expert Consensus on Chest Wall Tumor Resection and Chest Wall Reconstruction (2018 edition). After that, numerous experts put forward new perspectives on some academic issues in this version of the consensus, pointing out the necessity to further discuss the points of contention. Thus, we conducted a survey through the administration of a questionnaire among 85 experts in the world. Consensus has been reached on some major points as follows. (I) Wide excision should be performed for desmoid tumor (DT) of chest wall. After excluding the distant metastasis by multidisciplinary team, solitary sternal plasmacytoma can be treated with extensive resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. (II) Wide excision with above 2 cm margin distance should be attempted to obtain R0 resection margin for chest wall tumor unless the tumor involves vital organs or structures, including the great vessels, heart, trachea, joints, and spine. (III) For patients with chest wall tumors undergoing unplanned excision (UE) for the first time, it is necessary to carry out wide excision as soon as possible within 1-3 months following the previous surgery. (IV) Current Tumor Node Metastasis staging criteria (American Joint Committee on Cancer) of bone tumor and soft tissue sarcoma are not suitable for chest wall sarcomas. (V) It is necessary to use rigid implants for chest wall reconstruction once the maximum diameter of the chest wall defect exceeds 5 cm in adults and adolescents. (VI) For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) invading the chest wall, wide excision with neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant therapy are recommended for patients with stage T 3-4 N 0-1 M 0. As clear guidelines are lacking, these consensus statements on controversial issues

Biomedicines, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has now affected around 190 million people worldwide, accounting for more t... more The COVID-19 pandemic has now affected around 190 million people worldwide, accounting for more than 4 million confirmed deaths. Besides ongoing global vaccination, finding protective and therapeutic strategies is an urgent clinical need. SARS-CoV-2 mostly infects the host organism via the respiratory system, requiring angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) to enter target cells. Therefore, these surface proteins are considered potential druggable targets. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gasotransmitter produced by several cell types and is also part of natural compounds, such as sulfurous waters that are often inhaled as low-intensity therapy and prevention in different respiratory conditions. H2S is a potent biological mediator, with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and, as more recently shown, also anti-viral activities. Considering that respiratory epithelial cells can be directly exposed to H2S by inhalation, here we tested the in vitro...

European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 2021

In the original version of this article, the last name of collaborator Giorgio Lo Iacono was miss... more In the original version of this article, the last name of collaborator Giorgio Lo Iacono was misspelled. This has now been corrected above and in the full article.

British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 2020

A 32-year-old woman with burning stomach pain and fatigue was admitted to the emergency departmen... more A 32-year-old woman with burning stomach pain and fatigue was admitted to the emergency department. Blood chemistry showed elevated serum calcium level and mild anaemia. The patient had no familial history of multiple endocrine neoplasia. Further laboratory evaluation for hypercalcaemia showed elevated parathyroid hormone level. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the neck and thorax revealed an anterior-superior mediastinal solid mass with lobulated contour, 28x20 mm in diameter. The lesion had diffuse contrast enhancement (Figure 1a). Dual-phase 99mTc-sestamibi parathyroid scintigraphy showed increased uptake in the mediastinal mass (Figure 1b). Most parathyroid adenomas are located close to the lower poles of the thyroid lobes. However, ectopic parathyroid adenomas have been reported, including in mediastinal, thyroidal and thymic sites (Kim et al, 2013). A mediastinal parathyroid adenoma is rare. 99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy is the most effective imaging modality to demonstrate ectopic parathyroid adenoma. Treatment is usually surgical excision (Kim et al, 2014).

Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 2019

Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to establish the predictive model. A prospecti... more Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to establish the predictive model. A prospective internal validation cohort contained 14 patients from January 2018 to December 2018. The performance was evaluated with Harrell' concordance index (C-index). Result: 7 radiomics features were selected to build the radiomics signature. Smoking status (P¼0.01) was the only independent clinicopathologic risk factor for overall survival prediction. Multivariate analysis indicated that the radiomics signature (P¼0.007) was an independent prognostic factor, with a C-index of 0.810 and 0.900 for the primary and validation cohort. Conclusion: This study developed a radiomics model for predicting OS in synchronous oligometastatic NSCLC, which may serve as a predictive tool to identify individualized treatment strategy. Further external validation of the model are required. Support: 81572279,

Journal of Thoracic Disease, 2018

European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery, 2018

Lymphangiogenesis plays a critical role in the immune response, tumour progression and therapy ef... more Lymphangiogenesis plays a critical role in the immune response, tumour progression and therapy effectiveness. The aim of this study was to determine whether the interplay between the lymphatic and the blood microvasculature, tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and the programmed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint constitutes an immune microenvironment affecting the clinical outcome of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. Samples from 50 squamous cell carcinomas and 42 adenocarcinomas were subjected to immunofluorescence to detect blood and lymphatic vessels. CD3pos, CD8pos and PD-1pos tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and tumour PD-L1 expression were assessed by immunohistochemical analysis. Quantification of vascular structures documented a peak of lymphatics at the invasive margin together with a decreasing gradient of blood and lymphatic vessels from the peritumour area throughout the neoplastic core. Nodal involvement and pathological stage were st...

Journal of minimal access surgery, Jan 4, 2018

Myelolipoma (ML) is a benign tumour composed of haematopoietic and mature adipose tissue commonly... more Myelolipoma (ML) is a benign tumour composed of haematopoietic and mature adipose tissue commonly found in adrenal glands. Prognosis is usually good with an indolent clinical course. The occurrence of an ML in the extra-adrenal site is very rare. Herein, we report a very interesting and unusual case of ML located in the posterior mediastinum successfully resected by video-assisted thoracic surgery. The clinical and histological features are largely discussed.

Tumori, 2018

To describe a case of giant intercostal nerve schwannoma successfully resected in a patient with ... more To describe a case of giant intercostal nerve schwannoma successfully resected in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 2. A 44-year-old woman, with a history of neurofibromatosis type 2, presented with chest discomfort and mild dyspnea. She had undergone a recent resection of a large frontal parasagittal benign meningioma. Radiologic examinations showed a large lesion (9×12×9 cm) of the left hemithorax causing a complete atelectasis of left upper lobe. Bronchoscopy did not show any endobronchial alterations, apart from an ab estriseco compression of the left upper bronchial tree. A transthoracic needle biopsy was then performed and microscopic examination revealed a mesenchymal tumor composed of spindle-like cells. A video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery procedure was proposed. The tumor mass appeared to be tenaciously adherent to the parietal pleura in its anterolateral aspect, confirming the radiologic appearance. No invasion of the lung parenchyma or parietal pleural metastases w...

Journal of thoracic disease, 2018

European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery, Jan 18, 2018

Typical carcinoids (TCs) are rare, slow-growing neoplasms, usually characterized by satisfactory ... more Typical carcinoids (TCs) are rare, slow-growing neoplasms, usually characterized by satisfactory surgical outcomes. Due to the rarity of TCs, international guidelines for the management of particular clinical presentations currently do not exist. In particular, non-anatomical resections (wedges) are sometimes advocated for Stage 1 TCs because of their indolent behaviour. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the most effective type of surgery for Stage 1 TCs, using the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons retrospective database of the Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Lung Working Group. We analysed the effect of surgical procedure on the survival of patients with Stage 1 TCs. Overall survival (OS) was calculated from the date of intervention. The cumulative incidence of cause-specific death (tumour- and non-tumour-related) was also estimated. The impact of the surgical procedure (i.e. lobectomy vs segmentectomy vs wedge resection) on survival was investigated using the Cox model with s...

European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery, Jan 20, 2018

The Italian VATS Group database was accessed to evaluate whether preoperative and intraoperative ... more The Italian VATS Group database was accessed to evaluate whether preoperative and intraoperative factors may affect the safety of lymphadenectomy (LA) during video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy. All video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy procedures performed between 1 January 2014 and 30 March 2017 for non-small-cell lung cancer with cN0 or cN1 disease were identified in the database. LA safety was evaluated based on intraoperative (operative time, bleeding and conversion rate) and postoperative (30-day morbidity and mortality, chest drain duration and length of stay) outcomes and was correlated with the number of resected lymph nodes and the rates of nodal upstaging. Continuous variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation and compared using the unpaired t-test; the χ2 test was used for categorical variables. Univariable analysis was performed on selected variables. Significant variables (P < 0.30) were entered into a Cox multivariable logistic regression model,...

Journal of thoracic disease, 2018

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) continues to be a distressing tumor due to its aggressive bi... more Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) continues to be a distressing tumor due to its aggressive biologic behavior and scanty prognosis. Several therapeutic approaches have been tested both in clinical and preclinical settings, being intrapleural chemotherapy one of the most promising. Some years ago, our interest focused on polymeric films loaded with cisplatin for the adjuvant intrapleural treatment of surgical patients. After and studies in a rat recurrence model of MPM, the aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of the polymeric films in a sheep model in view of further studies in a clinical setting. An ovine model was used. Animals were divided into four groups according to pharmacologic treatment: control group (three animals undergoing left pneumonectomy and saline-NaCl solution); intrapleural hyaluronate cisplatin films (HYALCIS) group (six animals undergoing left pneumonectomy and intrapleural application of polymeric films loaded with cisplatin); intrapleural...