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Purpose: The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network identified Epstein-Barr-Virus (EBV)-positive gastric cancer as a distinct molecular subtype. The prevalence is 8-9% and the histological examination shows pronounced lymphocytic infiltration, elevated levels of IFN-γ and consequently overexpression of PD-L1. The role of plasma EBV DNA load as a prognostic factor in patients with this cancer subtype is still to be defined., Methods and Analysis: The present multicenter prospective observational study "EBV PRESAGE", involving German and Italian cancer centers, aims to evaluate the prognostic role of plasma EBV DNA in EBV-related gastric cancer (GC). The objective is to study the association between plasma EBV DNA load at different consecutive time points and the patient's prognosis. Every patient with a new diagnosis of gastric cancer (including gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma) will be screened for Epstein-Barr encoded small Region (EBER) on tissue biopsies using in situ hybridization (ISH). If EBER ISH is positive, blood analysis for plasma EBV DNA will be conducted. The plasma EBV quantitative analysis will be centralized, and extraction, detection, and quantification of EBV DNA in plasma samples will be performed using real-time PCR., Discussion: We hypothesized that plasma EBV DNA represents a non-invasive tool for monitoring EBV-related GC and might be valuable as a prognostic marker., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declare that PB and AB were both associate editors and author AA was a review editor and were members of Frontiers editorial board, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2023 Alberti, Stocker, Lordick, Hacker, Kobitzsch, Haffner, Baiocchi, Zamparini, Tiberio, Baronchelli, Caruso, Bossi and Berruti.)

Background: Ovarian strumal carcinoid is a rare tumor in which thyroid (struma) and carcinoid components coexist. The disease is generally considered to be a borderline malignancy, however, cases with metastatic disease have been described. No data in the literature are available to guide diagnosis and therapy., Methods: We performed a pooled analysis and a systematic review of histopathological-confirmed strumal carcinoid cases published in the literature using the following keywords: "strumal carcinoid of the ovary", "strumal carcinoid case report". A case of strumal carcinoid tumor diagnosed and followed-up at the Medical Oncology Unit of Spedali Civili (Brescia, Italy) was also described and included., Results: Sixty-six eligible publications were identified, providing data from one hundred and seventeen patients, plus a case diagnosed at our institution. At presentation, among the eighty-eight patients with symptomatic disease, 37% of patients suffered from abdominal distention and 49% from pain due to a growing abdominal tumor mass, 37% from constipation (peptide YY was analyzed in only nine of them, resulting above the physiologic range). Surgery was the primary therapy in 99% of the patients. Three patients had metastatic disease at diagnosis and five patients underwent recurrence after radical surgery. Histology at disease recurrence concerned the thyroid component in two patients, the carcinoid component in two patients, both histologies in one patient. Median disease-free survival and overall survival in this series were not attained., Conclusion: Strumal carcinoid of the ovary generally presents a benign behavior and surgery is curative in most cases. However, a small group of patients with this disease can undergo disease recurrence due to both the thyroid and the neuroendocrine (carcinoid) components. A follow-up in radically operated patients is therefore needed, particularly in those with a voluminous disease at diagnosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Turla, Zamparini, Milione, Grisanti, Amoroso, Pedersini, Cosentini and Berruti.)

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of clinical triage of oncological patients for safe continuation of cancer therapy implemented during the first SARS-CoV-2 outbreak., Methods: Between 25 February and 21 April 2020, patients attending the Medical Oncology Unit, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia (Italy) for cancer therapy underwent triage to identify those with no signs and symptoms suspicious for SARS-CoV-2 infection in which antineoplastic treatment could be continued as scheduled. Triage questions investigated common symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, dyspnea, anosmia, dysgeusia, headache, nasal congestion, conjunctival congestion, sore throat, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting); body temperature and pulse oximetry were also recorded. All patients were followed-up for overt SARS-CoV-2 through to 18 th May 2020., Results: Overall, 1180 patients (median age 65 years) underwent triage during the study period. The most frequent primary malignances were breast (32%), gastrointestinal (18%), and lung (16.5%) cancer. Thirty-one (2.5%) presented with clinically evident SARS-CoV-2 infection and tested positive on nasopharyngeal swab testing and/or radiological imaging. Triage identified 69 (6%) grey zone patients with symptoms suspicious for SARS-CoV-2; 5 (7.2%) subsequently developed symptomatic disease. Neither the symptomatic nor the grey zone patients received their scheduled treatment; instead, they were referred for hospitalization or home quarantine., Conclusion: Triage of oncological patients at our Unit provided for safe continuation of scheduled cancer treatment in 91.5% of patients during the initial SARS-CoV-2 outbreak., Competing Interests: ABe reported advisory board membership or receiving funding unrelated to the submitted study from: Advanced Accelerator Applications, Astellas, Janssen Cilag, Ipsen, Amgen, Novartis, Sanofi. PB reported advisory board membership or receiving funding unrelated to the submitted study from: Merck, Sanofi, Merck Sharp & Dohme, SunPharma, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Angelini, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Helsinn, Novartis, Roche, GSK. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Gurizzan, Pedersini, Fornaro, Sardini, Zamparini, Monteverdi, Tovazzi, Cosentini, Dalla Volta, Baggi, Turla, Di Mauro, Lorini, Laganà, Bianchi, Grisanti, Consoli, Conti, Bossi and Berruti.)