Positive ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) Modulator Engineered Device Support Skin Treatment in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer (LABC) Enhancing Patient Quality of Life.

The development of research in genetic and biochemical fields has made it possible to investigate certain metabolic aspects of the microenvironment of chronic skin lesions, including altered cell signalling, highlighting its importance in determining the blockage of repair processes. The purpose of this prospective observational study is to evaluate the efficacy of a medical device consisting of a polyester scaffold enriched with an oleic matrix with controlled release of ROS in the management of LABC skin lesions. During the period from October 2018 to March 2020, 20 patients with locally advanced breast cancer were enrolled and ten were treated with the devices abovementioned. After 30 days of treatment all patients treated reported a general improvement in local conditions with reduction in ulceration area, exudate and odour. The results suggest that the application of these devices even in particular conditions (healthy and neoplastic tissue) does not lead to the onset of negative effects due to the release of ROS, though their role in tissue repair requires further study to fully understand their potential and increase the fields of application of the device by exploiting its modulation capabilities.

[Intraoperative ultrasonography in the staging of pancreatic head neoplasms]. / L'ecografia intraoperatoria nella stadiazione delle neoplasie cefalopancreatiche.

Tumours of the head of the pancreas constitute the fourth most common cause of cancer deaths. These tumours are characterised by low survival rates (5% at 5 years) and low surgical resectability rates (20-25%). Liver metastases, lymph-node and vascular involvement, and peritoneal metastases are, in our opinion, exclusion criteria for curative surgical resection. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of intraoperative ultrasonography on the staging of such tumours. Over the period from 1990 to 2000 we introduced intraoperative ultrasonography in the staging of pancreatic cancer. We evaluated 51 patients who at preoperative staging had been regarded as candidates for surgical therapy consisting in a pancreaticoduodenectomy. All patients had been staged by preoperative abdominal ultrasound, ERCP, CT and MRI. Intraoperative ultrasound and colour-Doppler imaging (from 1997 on) revealed involvement of (i) the liver, (ii) the splenomesenteric vessels and (iii) the portal vein. Intraoperative ultrasonography yielded a diagnosis of occult liver metastases in 10 cases and signs of vascular involvement (absence of cleavage, partial and total thrombosis) in 12. One false-negative was registered. Intraoperative ultrasonography in our experience showed 98% sensitivity and specificity in the detection of vascular and lymph-node involvement. Its sensitivity in the detection of liver metastases was 100%. Intraoperative ultrasound is a procedure with a very high sensitivity in the operative staging of cancer of the head of the pancreas.