1.Outstanding Pinkish Brown-Spored Neotropical Boletes: Austroboletus subflavidus and Fistulinella gloeocarpa (Boletaceae, Boletales) from the Dominican Republic
Matteo GELARDI ; Claudio ANGELINI ; Federica COSTANZO ; Enrico ERCOLE ; Beatriz ORTIZ-SANTANA ; Alfredo VIZZINI
Mycobiology 2021;49(1):24-45
The occurrence of Austroboletus subflavidus and Fistulinella gloeocarpa is documented from the Dominican Republic. The latter species is reported for the first time outside its original locality in Martinique, extending the geographic range for this uncommon pinkish-spored bolete. A detailed morphological description is provided for each species and accompanied by color pictures of fresh basidiomes in habitat and line drawings of the main anatomical features. Both species represent independent lineages within their respective genera based on phylogenetic inference. In addition, A. subflavidus clusters in a sister lineage to the core Austroboletus clade (Austroboletus clade I) here named as Austroboletus clade II. In order to confirm the accuracy of species identification, their identity and relationships were subjected to multilocus phylogenetic analyses of three gene markers (ITS, nrLSU, RPB2) including genetic material already available in public databases. Austroboletus subflavidus is a widely distributed species in North and Central America, whereas F. gloeocarpa is apparently highly localized and seems to appear sparingly in the Dominican Republic, Martinque, and southern Florida. Comparisons with morphologically similar and molecularly inferred allied species are also presented and discussed.
2.Optimal number of neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles prior to interval debulking surgery in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of progression-free survival and overall survival
Camelia Alexandra COADA ; Giulia DONDI ; Gloria RAVEGNINI ; Stella Di COSTANZO ; Marco TESEI ; Enrico FIUZZI ; Marco Di STANISLAO ; Susanna GIUNCHI ; Claudio ZAMAGNI ; Alessandro BOVICELLI ; Patrizia HRELIA ; Sabrina ANGELINI ; Pierandrea De IACO ; Anna Myriam PERRONE
Journal of Gynecologic Oncology 2023;34(6):e82-
Objective:
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) represents a treatment option in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (AEOC) who are not good candidates for primary debulking surgery. Usually, 3 cycles of chemotherapy before surgery have been considered the best option for patient survival, although quite often some patients receive more than 3 cycles. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify the optimal number of NACT cycles reporting better survival in AEOC patients.
Methods:
PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus were searched for original articles that analyzed the relationship between the number of chemotherapy cycles and clinical outcomes in AEOC patients before interval debulking surgery (IDS). The main outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
Results:
A total of 22 studies comprising 7,005 patients diagnosed with AEOC were included in our analysis. In terms of survival, the reviewed studies dividing the patients in ≤3 NACT cycles vs. >3, showed a trend for a decrease in PFS and a significant reduction in OS with an increasing number of cycles, while a difference in both PFS and OS was revealed if early IDS included patients with 4 NACT cycles. These results should be interpreted with caution due to the complex characteristics of AEOC patients.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our review and meta-analysis revealed that there is not enough evidence to determine the optimal number of NACT treatments before surgery. Further research in the form of well-designed randomized controlled trials is necessary to address this issue.