Dendritic cells (DC) are key sentinels of the host immune response with an important role in linking innate and adaptive immunity and maintaining tolerance. There is increasing recognition that DC are critical determinants of initiating and sustaining effective T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immune responses. Recent progress in immuno-oncology has led to the evolving insight that the presence and function of DC within the tumor microenvironment (TME) may dictate efficacy of cancer immunotherapies as well as conventional cancer therapies, including immune checkpoint blockade, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. As such, improved understanding of dendritic cell immunobiology specifically focusing on their role in T-cell priming, migration into tissues and TME, and the coordinated in vivo responses of functionally specialized DC subsets will facilitate a better mechanistic understanding of how tumor-immune surveillance can be leveraged to improve patient outcomes and to develop novel DC-targeted therapeutic approaches.

Aim of the study was to evaluate the Florence intracorporeal neobladder (FloRIN) oncological and functional outcomes at the end of assessment phase (phase 3) IDEAL-Guidelines.

This single-institution prospective series included consecutive patients treated with robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) and FloRIN reconfiguration technique from February 2016 to June 2020. Functional features were evaluated six months after surgery. Patients were grouped into four quartiles according to time of radical cystectomy and impact of learning curve improvement was evaluated.

One-hundred FloRIN were completed with a median console time of 373 (IQR 312-415) minutes. Two cases were converted to open surgery. No intraoperative complications occurred. At pathological examination, 30% of patients were staged as pT≤1 and 47% as pT≥3. Brivudine in vitro Transitional cell carcinoma was present in 87% of cases. Carcinoma in situ (CIS) and nodal involvement were observed in 38% and 29% of patients, respectively. At a median follow-up time of 17 (IQR 7-28) months, 20 clinically relevant events (Clavien-Dindo≥3) occurred. Operative time significantly decreased throughout the series (median minutes 435; 395; 365 and 330 in the four quartiles, respectively; p<0.001). Similarly, early Clavien-Dindo≥3 postoperative complications rate significantly decreased across the series (number of events 1; 4; 0; 0; p=0.03). Overall, 75% and 65% of patients achieved day-time and nigh-time continence, respectively. Twenty-seven patients experienced disease recurrence. Cancer-specific and overall survival were equal to 80%.

RARC with FloRIN reconfiguration showed worthy functional and survival outcomes, with learning curve improvement significantly influencing operative time and early complications rate across series.

RARC with FloRIN reconfiguration showed worthy functional and survival outcomes, with learning curve improvement significantly influencing operative time and early complications rate across series.

The prognostic importance of sterilized lymph nodes (SLN) remains unclear in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC) treated by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). This study aimed to determine whether SLN predicted disease-free survival (DFS) in ESCC.

We enrolled 246 eligible patients who were divided into SLN (+) and SLN (-) group according to the presence or absence of fibrosis, necrosis, calcifications and/or foreign body giant cell reactions in the negative lymph nodes specimens. The prognostic value of SLN was determined using univariate and multivariate analyses. The prognostic strength of counting SLN as positive lymph nodes was evaluated using the difference of Akaike information criterion (ΔAIC).

A total of 61 SLN were identified in 38 (15.4%) patients. There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between SLN (+) and SLN (-) group. The most frequently detected SLN in the thoracic cavity and abdominal cavity were those along bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve (21/38,55.3%) and left gastric artery (13/24,60.9%), respectively. The univariate and multivariate analyses showed SLN was an independent prognostic factor for worse DFS in the whole cohort (HR=2.05, 95%CI=1.08-3.90, P=0.029). The SLN (+) group additionally correlated with worse 5-year DFS than SLN (-) group in the ypT0, ypN0 and pCR subgroups. Counting SLN as positive lymph nodes showed better prognostic strength than ignoring them.

SLN was of prognostic significance for worse DFS in patients with ESCC, particularly in patients with good response to nCRT.

SLN was of prognostic significance for worse DFS in patients with ESCC, particularly in patients with good response to nCRT.

Sarcopenia and obesity may be associated with negative outcomes in many cancers, but their prevalence and impact in modern regimens for soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) have not been systematically studied. This study summarises and critically evaluates the current evidence-based literature on body mass index (BMI) and body composition among patients with STS, with respect to clinical and pathologic characteristics, treatment-associated morbidity and oncologic outcome.

A systematic literature search of the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases was performed. Meta-analysis of the relationship between BMI, body composition and pathologic characteristics, operative morbidity and oncologic outcome was undertaken using RevMan v.5.4 using fixed or random effects methods as appropriate.

14 studies including 3598 patients met inclusion criteria. Ten studies reported on BMI, two on CT and two on PET-CT assessment of body composition. BMI ranged from 14.6 to 63.7kg/m

, with obesity in 18%-39% of patients. Although somec outcomes. Sarcopenia may be associated with a poorer long-term prognosis. A greater understanding of the impact of nutritional status on disease characteristics and treatment outcomes is essential to facilitate improvements in clinical care for patients with STS.

While obesity is associated with increased postoperative morbidity, it had no significant association with long-term oncologic outcomes. Sarcopenia may be associated with a poorer long-term prognosis. A greater understanding of the impact of nutritional status on disease characteristics and treatment outcomes is essential to facilitate improvements in clinical care for patients with STS.