Department of Morphology and Embryology, Section of Histology and Embryology and Center of Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; Immunovirology and Biotherapy Unit, Department of Pre-Clinical and Epidemiological Research, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, National Cancer Institute, Aviano, Italy; Departments of Radiochemothera...

One of the major prognostic factors in rectal cancer is lymph node metastasis. The formation of lymph node metastases is dependent on the existence of a premetastatic niche. An important factor preceding metastasis are lymph vessels which are located in the lymph node. Accordingly, the occurrence of intranodal lymphangiogenesis is thought to indicate distant metastasis and worse prognosis. To e...

UNLABELLED Radiation therapy and radiochemotherapy protocols can cause swallowing difficulties. AIM To evaluate swallowing in patients undergoing radiation therapy and radiochemotherapy protocol only for the treatment of laryngeal tumors. METHODS A prospective study of 20 patients, with a mean age of 62 years, at the end of oncological therapy. Six patients (30%) underwent radiation therapy...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate 15-year experience with patients treated with transurethral resection (TUR) of a bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by radiochemotherapy (RCT) or radiation (RT) and to describe the association of different parameters with clinical outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS Bladder cancer patients (473) who underwent TURBT and RCT or RT with curative intent between 1982 and 2007 in our cl...

Ever accumulating evidence indicates that the long-term effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy largely depend on the induction (or restoration) of an anticancer immune response. Here, we investigated this paradigm in the context of esophageal carcinomas treated by neo-adjuvant radiochemotherapy, in a cohort encompassing 196 patients. We found that the density of the FOXP3+ regulatory T cell (...

Resistance of cancer stem-like and cancer tumor bulk cells to radiochemotherapy and destructive infiltration of the brain fundamentally influence the treatment efficiency to cure of patients suffering from Glioblastoma (GBM). The interplay of adhesion and stress-related signaling and activation of bypass cascades that counteract therapeutic approaches remain to be identified in GBM cells. We he...

BACKGROUND Smell and taste disorders, sicca symptoms, can be detected in patients with head and neck cancer. The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of local liposomal application in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancers. METHODS Ninety-eight patients with head and neck cancer were included in this study. The groups were defined as: group 1 = only surgery; group 2 =...

Rhabdoid glioblastoma (RGBM) is rare, but the most malignant among astrocytic tumors. Accumulating evidence indicates its highly aggressive nature and distinct histopathological features. Here, we report a new case of RGBM and review previously reported cases of astrocytic tumors with rhabdoid components. We describe a 58-year-old man who presented with aphasia and right-sided weakness. Magneti...

Locally advanced rectal cancer is currently treated with pre-operative radiochemotherapy (pRCT), but the response is not uniform. Identification of patients with higher likelihood of responding to pRCT is clinically relevant, as patients with resistant tumors could be spared exposure to radiation or DNA-damaging drugs that are associated with adverse side effects. To highlight predictive biomar...

Rhabdoid glioblastoma (RGBM) is rare, but the most malignant among astrocytic tumors. Accumulating evidence indicates its highly aggressive nature and distinct histopathological features. Here, we report a new case of RGBM and review previously reported cases of astrocytic tumors with rhabdoid components. We describe a 58-year-old man who presented with aphasia and right-sided weakness. Magneti...