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The authors regret that some Author information was incorrectly given in the published article. Author Manuel Zamparini was missed in the Author list, and the listed affiliation for Paola Queirolo was incorrect. The full and correct details for the Authors are: Paola Queirolo Division of Melanoma, Sarcomas and Rare Tumors, IEO, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy Manuel Zamparini University of Brescia, Department of Medical-Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, Medical Oncology, ASST-Spedali Civili, Brescia, Lombardia, ItalyThe Authors also note that values in the first column of Table 4 were mistakenly reversed for ‘Antibiotic intake (within 1 month before therapy)’ and ‘Haemoglobin’. The correct table in full is given here.

Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) has an overall favourable outcome, except for patients with an advanced stage disease. The programmed death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor cemiplimab has been approved for use in advanced cSCC. We report clinical outcomes from the named patient programme-compassionate use of cemiplimab for patients with advanced cSCC in Italy. Methods: This is a retrospective, observational, multicentre study. We analysed medical records of patients with advanced cSCC treated with cemiplimab between May 2019 and February 2020 in 17 referral Italian centres. We assessed the safety profile according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 5.0 (CTCAE v 5.0), the clinical activity in terms of response rate, clinical benefit and duration of response and baseline clinical-pathologic characteristics associated with response. Results: 131 patients were included, with a median age of 79 years. Of them, 9.2% had a concurrent chronic lymphoproliferative disease and 8.5% a concomitant autoimmune disease. Some 42.7% of the total patients had at least one treatment-related adverse events (AEs); out of above, 9.2% had grade 3–4 adverse events, and there were two fatal adverse events. The overall response rate (ORR) was 58%, and the disease control rate (DCR) was 71.7%. Cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) arising on the head and neck area (p = 0.007) and haemoglobin values in normal range (p = 0.034) were significantly associated with a better response, while cSCCs on the genitalia (p = 0.041), treatment with any systemic antibiotic within 1 month of cemiplimab initiation (p = 0.012), performance status ≥1 (p = 0.012), chronic corticosteroids therapy (p = 0.038), previous radiation therapy to lymph nodes (p = 0.052) and previous chemotherapy (p = 0.0020) were significantly associated with a worse response. Conclusions: Our real-world study showed safety and effectiveness results comparable to those obtained in clinical t

Onco-nephrology is an emerging field in medicine. Patients with cancer may suffer from kidney diseases because of the cancer itself and cancer-related therapy. It is critical for nephrologists to be knowledgeable of cancer biology and therapy in order to be fully integrated in the multidisciplinary team and optimally manage patients with cancer and kidney diseases. In a recent international meeting, the key issues in this challenging clinical interface were addressed, including many unresolved basic science questions, such as the high tumor incidence in kidney transplant recipients. To this end, 70 highly qualified faculty members were gathered from all over the world to discuss these issues in 8 plenary sessions, including 5 keynote lectures. In addition, 48 young nephrologists and oncologists were invited to present their original observations that were highlighted in 2 large poster sessions.

n many developing countries, the rapid growth of town and cities has generated a rising levels of waste and illegal dumps have become a serious issue. The booming construction industry in Mongolia has resulted in the production of massive amounts of CDW which is one of the largest waste streams. In Ulaanbaatar (UB) and other cities in Mongolia, the construction waste is dumped illegally. In order to promote the sustainability of the building industry, plenty of regulations focusing on reducing or recycling the CDW have been carried out worldwide. This paper investigates the current CDW management in Mongolia and proposes a quantification of the amount of CDW in UB by using a Material Flow Analysis (MFA). Questionnaire surveys and interviews were conducted with main stakeholders in construction and recycling sector. From the questionnaire results, it is clear that the awareness about the CDW issues in Mongolia is low among the principal stakeholders in the sector, such as Government agencies and construction companies. On the other hand, recycling in Mongolia belongs to an informal sector and the lack of investment constitutes a major problem. In this regards, the technical and non-technical solutions to improve CDW management system are proposed. A stricter control of landfilling for CDW and a creation of a dedicated regulatory framework specific to CDW are needed. To increase the recovery and recycling rates of materials an optimum demolition strategy (for example process, costs, logistics, procedures, timing) is recommended., Materials and Environment

n many developing countries, the rapid growth of town and cities has generated a rising levels of waste and illegal dumps have become a serious issue. The booming construction industry in Mongolia has resulted in the production of massive amounts of CDW which is one of the largest waste streams. In Ulaanbaatar (UB) and other cities in Mongolia, the construction waste is dumped illegally. In order to promote the sustainability of the building industry, plenty of regulations focusing on reducing or recycling the CDW have been carried out worldwide. This paper investigates the current CDW management in Mongolia and proposes a quantification of the amount of CDW in UB by using a Material Flow Analysis (MFA). Questionnaire surveys and interviews were conducted with main stakeholders in construction and recycling sector. From the questionnaire results, it is clear that the awareness about the CDW issues in Mongolia is low among the principal stakeholders in the sector, such as Government agencies and construction companies. On the other hand, recycling in Mongolia belongs to an informal sector and the lack of investment constitutes a major problem. In this regards, the technical and non-technical solutions to improve CDW management system are proposed. A stricter control of landfilling for CDW and a creation of a dedicated regulatory framework specific to CDW are needed. To increase the recovery and recycling rates of materials an optimum demolition strategy (for example process, costs, logistics, procedures, timing) is recommended., Materials and Environment

Background: Cetuximab plus chemotherapy is a first-line treatment option in metastatic KRAS and NRAS wild-type colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. No data are currently available on continuing anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy beyond progression. Patients and methods: We did this open-label, 1:1 randomized phase II trial at 25 hospitals in Italy to evaluate the efficacy of cetuximab plus 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) as second-line treatment of KRAS exon 2 wild-type metastatic CRC patients treated in first line with 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) plus cetuximab. Patients received FOLFOX plus cetuximab (arm A) or FOLFOX (arm B). Primary end point was progressionfree survival (PFS). Tumour tissues were assessed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). This report is the final analysis. Results: Between 1 February 2010 and 28 September 2014, 153 patients were randomized (74 in arm A and 79 in arm B). Median PFS was 6.4 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.7-8.0] versus 4.5 months (95% CI 3.3-5.7); [hazard ratio (HR), 0.81; 95% CI 0.58-1.12; P = 0.19], respectively. NGS was performed in 117/153 (76.5%) cases; 66/117 patients (34 in arm A and 32 in arm B) had KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA wild-type tumours. For these patients, PFS was longer in the FOLFOX plus cetuximab arm [median 6.9 (95% CI 5.5-8.2) versus 5.3 months (95% CI 3.7-6.9); HR, 0.56 (95% CI 0.33-0.94); P = 0.025]. There was a trend in better overall survival: median 23.7 [(95% CI 19.4-28.0) versus 19.8 months (95% CI 14.9-24.7); HR, 0.57 (95% CI 0.32-1.02); P = 0.056]. Conclusions: Continuing cetuximab treatment in combination with chemotherapy is of potential therapeutic efficacy in molecularly selected patients and should be validated in randomized phase III trials.

Heterogeneity of KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA mutations in metastatic colorectal cancer and potential effects on therapy in the CAPRI GOIM trial

[Background:] The EGFR-dependent growth pathway plays a key role in colorectal cancer. Gene mutations in EGFR downstream intracellular effectors correlate with resistance to EGFR targeting agents. Approximately 40% of colorectal cancers carry an activating K-RAS gene mutation mostly in codons 12 or 13; whereas in about 5 to 8% cases an activating V600E B-RAF gene mutation is observed. These mutations are mutually exclusive, whereas PI3KCA mutations (5-15%) can occur independently. We aimed to evaluate the role of AZD6244, a MEK1/2 inhibitor, in colon cancer cell lines with different mutation profiles in these three genes. [Methods:] Western blots were performed to evaluate the expression of total and activated EGFR, RAS, MAPK and AKT proteins in a panel of six (GEO, HCT15, HCT116, SW620, SW480 and LS174T) colon cancer cell lines. The antiproliferative effects of AZD6244 and gefitinib, a selective EGFR inhibitor, were determined using MTT assays. Induction of apoptosis was quantified by flow cytometry. [Results:] Different levels of total and phosphorylated EGFR were detected in five out of six colon cancer cell lines (except in SW620 cells). Four colon cancer cell lines were sensitive to AZD6244-induced growth inhibition, whereas two (HCT15 and LS174T) cell lines were resistant. In AZD6244-sensitive colon cancer cell lines, AZD6244 treatment induced early apoptosis (within 24 hours), which was enhanced between 48 and 72 hours. No correlation between sensitivity to AZD6244 and the expression of total and activated EGFR, RAS, MAPK and AKT proteins was observed. Of note, AZD6244 activity correlated with gene mutation status. K-RAS gene was mutated in GEO, HCT15, HCT116, SW480 and LS174T cells. PI3KCA was mutated in HCT15 and LS174T cells. All cancer cell lines harboured a wild type B-RAF gene. Cancer cells sensitive to AZD6244-induced growth inhibition carried a normal, wild type PI3KCA gene with either a wild type or a mutated K-RAS gene. On the contrary, the two AZD6