Colorectal Cancer in Elderly Patients: From Best Supportive Care to Cure

Colorectal cancer is one of the major causes of cancer mortality in the elderly population (median age at diagnosis of 71 years) in Western Countries. Moreover patients with metastatic disease are often elderly with significant co- morbidities. Unfortunately, elderly patients are often untreated and under-represented in clinical trials, even if most clinical trials that have included this setting of population have shown similar survival rates and toxicities to younger patients. Age itself should not be considered for candidacy to chemotherapy but it should be taken in consideration the great heterogeneity of co-morbidities present in the elderly population. Therefore, the best treatment st…

Ondansetron versus granisetron in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

Estimating minimum adult HIV prevalence: A cross-sectional study to assess the characteristics of people living with HIV in Italy

In 2012, we conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study to assess the number of people living with HIV linked to care and, among these, the number of people on antiretroviral therapy. The health authority in each of the 20 Italian Regions provided the list of Public Infectious Diseases Clinics providing antiretroviral therapy and monitoring people with HIV infection. We asked every Public Infectious Diseases Clinic to report the number of HIV-positive people diagnosed and linked to care and the number of those on antiretroviral therapy during 2012. In 2012, 94,146 people diagnosed with HIV and linked to care were reported. The majority were males (70.1%), Italians (84.4%), and aged betw…

Use of the word "cured" for cancer patients-implications for patients and physicians: the Siracusa charter

Long-term survival for adult patients with solid tumours continues to increase. For some cancers, the possibility of recurrence after a number of years is extremely low, and the risk of death becomes similar to that of the general population of the same sex and age. During the Fifth European Conference on Survivors and Chronic Cancer Patients held in Siracusa, Italy, June 2014, oncologists, general practitioners, epidemiologists, cancer patients and survivors, and patient advocates joined to discuss the possible use of the term “cured” in reference to some adult patients with solid tumours. The specific focus was the appropriateness of using the term in communicating with cancer patients, s…

Long Term Results of Stanford V Regimen and Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) In 59 Patients (pts) with HD and HIV Infection (HD-HIV)

Abstract Abstract 4827 Background: The introduction of HAART has significantly improved the outcome of pts with HD-HIV. However there are no data on the long term follow-up of HD-HIV pts treated with conventional chemotherapy (CT) regimens. In 2002, we reported the results of a prospective phase II study with the intensive 12-week CT with adjuvant radiotherapy (Stanford V) and concomitant HAART in 59 pts (Spina et al. Blood 2002;100:1984-1988). Methods: To analyze the long term outcome of patients included in the Stanford V and HAART protocol. Results: The median follow-up is 67months (range 3–156 months The 5-yr overall survival (OS), freedom from progression (FFP), disease free survival a…