Clinical Research Directory

Six Versus Twelve Month Index Follow-up After Large Colon Polyp Resection

The study will compare the use of a 6-month follow-up vs a 12-month follow-up after the removal of a large non-pedunculated polyp 20-50mm in size and without high grade dysplasia.

Evaluation of Recurrence Risk Factors in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer Patients Underwent Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

INTRODUCTION Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Since the early 1980s, the implementation of screening programs has reduced the number of patients diagnosed with locally advanced breast cancer. Currently, the treatment for these patients involves initial neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by surgical treatment. In recent years, NACT has also been used for highly chemoresponsive tumors such as triple-negative (TN) and HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer. The widespread use of NACT has led to additional benefits, including downstaging of breast and axillary neoplasms, resulting in reduced morbidity; improved cosmetic outcomes due to increased use of conservative interventions; and personalized adjuvant chemotherapy treatment. Several studies have shown that response to chemotherapy predicts better systemic outcomes. Complete pathological response (pCR), defined as the absence of invasive neoplastic residue in the surgical specimen, has been predictive of better distant outcomes. Limited evidence exists regarding other predictive factors for distant outcomes. Given the significant impact of disease recurrence on patient prognosis, efforts have been made to understand the factors contributing to recurrence and to predict which patients are more prone to relapse. In this context, the term "Early Disease Recurrence" (EDR) has been coined to define the occurrence of disease recurrence, both locally and distantly, within 3 years after completing treatment. In recent years, the potential of radiomic analysis in aiding diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making processes in BC has been demonstrated. Specifically, radiomic features obtained from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images appear capable of predicting tumor receptor status, differentiating tumor subtypes, and predicting response to NACT. Although the role of radiomics in predicting recurrence has been investigated, research is still in its early stages, and there are variations in technology and methodology for extracting radiomic features. Additionally, to date, no studies have evaluated the feasibility and reliability of using radiomic models combined with clinical and radiological variables to predict disease recurrence in BC patients undergoing NACT.

Trial of Low Dose Tamoxifen in Women With Breast Intraepithelial Neoplasia - Long Term Follow-up

The aim of the study is to evaluate whether tamoxifen at a low dose of 5mg/d reduces in the long term the incidence of invasive breast cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ, DCIS (DIN 1c, 2, 3) of the breast, in woman operated for lobular intraepithelial neoplasia (LIN1, 2 and 3) or ER-positive ductal intraepithelial neoplasia (DIN 1b, DIN2, DIN3, 1a excluded) of the breast. To improve the risk-benefit ratio, the use of lower doses of the drug has been proposed. Biomarker trials revealed that 5 mg/d was noninferior to 20 mg/d in inhibiting proliferation of breast cancer and normal endometrial tissue. By contrast, the risk of endometrial cancer si dose-dependent, and the dose reduction can lead a substantial decrease. Morover a dose of 5 mg/day is associated with an overall decrease of the estrogenic activity of tamoxifen on insulin like growth factor (IGF-I), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and antithrombin-III, with a decrease of venous thromboembolic events. Moreover, tamoxifen exhibits a high tissue distribution, so that a dose of 5 mg/day attains at the breast tissue level a concentration 10 times higher than that needed to inhibit cell growth in vitro. A prospective cohort study also showed that 10 mg on alternate days halves recurrence of DCIS in postmenopausal women. It has been shown that the treatment of dysplasia or pre-cancer drives the reduction of the invasive neoplasms onset. This is a chemoprevention trial designed to validatate the low-dose Tamoxifen in women with diseases at high evolutionary risk. The demonstration of efficacy and safety of such a treatment for the prevention of the invasive breast cancer would lead improvements in term of survival and quality of life for the patients at increased risk.