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Simple Summary: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common cancer in older adults, but treatment decisions for these patients can be challenging due to age-related factors, such as frailty. This study aimed to evaluate how pre-treatment frailty assessment can help predict survival outcomes and treatment-related side effects in older patients with HNSCC who undergo radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy. We found that frailty plays a significant role in determining overall survival, but it was not directly related to acute radiation toxicity. Our findings suggest that incorporating frailty assessment into treatment planning could help personalize therapy for older patients, improving decision-making and potentially enhancing long-term outcomes. Background/Objectives: Over 60% of diagnoses of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) occur in patients aged over 65. The benefits of radiotherapy (RT) combined with chemotherapy remain controversial in geriatric patients. Frailty stratification is underutilized in clinical practice despite evidence suggesting its predictive power. We aimed to assess the impact of pre-treatment frailty stratification on overall survival (OS) and acute radiation-related toxicity in a cohort of older patients with HNSCC. Methods: A prospective cohort of 117 patients aged ≥65 years with newly diagnosed HNSCC was enrolled between 2017 and 2022. Patients received RT with or without chemotherapy. Frailty was assessed using the 40-item Frailty Index (FI) as part of a comprehensive geriatric assessment. The primary outcomes were OS and acute RT toxicity, defined as a grade ≥ 3 based on CTCAE 5.0. Cox proportional hazard models and logistic regression models, adjusted for age, tumor stage, and chemotherapy, were used. Results: After a median follow-up of 819 days, FI (HR 1.478, 95% CI 1.182–1.848, p < 0.001) was an independent predictor of OS. Grade ≥ 3 toxicities were observed in 38% of patients, but frailty was not significantly associated with toxicity. A sub-analysis of oropharyngeal carcinoma patients demonstrated improved OS in HPV-positive patients (HR 0.231, 95% CI 0.078–0.686, p = 0.008). Conclusions: the standardized introduction of frailty assessment in the evaluation of older HNSCC patients holds great promise for predicting long-term survival. This approach could be crucial in tailoring treatment protocols that account for the biological heterogeneity of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aging population is associated with a net increase in the incidence and prevalence of chronic-degenerative diseases, particularly neurocognitive disorders. Therefore, the identification of preventative strategies to restrain the burden of such chronic conditions is of key relevance. Red wine and its components have accumulated evidence regarding their positive effects in terms of neurological pathologies associated with neurocognitive symptoms. Methods: Based on this background, the present narrative review aims to summarize the state-of-the-art evidence on the effects of red wine and its components on neurocognitive disorders in both preclinical and clinical settings. Results: The main findings highlight a protective effect of wine polyphenols present in red wine on dementia in different preclinical models of cognitive decline. The current translational clinical evidence remains uncertain, especially considering the risk-to-benefit ratio of alcohol consumption on brain health. Conclusions: Given the overall health risks associated with red wine consumption and consistent with the prevailing guidelines in the literature, there is insufficient evidence to support light-to-moderate red wine consumption as an effective strategy for preventing these diseases. However, the largely preclinical findings on polyphenols derived from red wine remain of significant interest in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In recent times, growing uncertainty has emerged regarding the effectiveness of standard pressure ulcer (PU) risk assessment tools, which are suspected to be no better than clinical judgment, especially in the frail and comorbid elderly population. This study aimed to identify the primary clinical predictive variables for PU development and severity in hospitalized older adults, utilizing a multidimensional frailty assessment, and compare them with the Braden scale. Patients and methods: The population consisted of 316 patients, admitted to the Geriatric Unit and Transitional Care of San Bartolomeo Hospital in Sarzana (Italy) during the period 21/02/22-01/07/22. The collected information included both anamnestic and laboratory data. A comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed, including also anthropometric and physical performance measurements. Multivariate logistic analysis was used, both in a binary classification test and in the subsequent ordinal classification test of severity levels. The final performance of the model was assessed by ROC curve estimation and AUC comparison with the Braden scale. Results: Within the population, 152 subjects (48%) developed PU at different levels of severity. The results showed that age, Braden scale (subscales of mobility and friction/shear), Barthel scale, Mini Nutritional Assessment, hemoglobin, and albumin are predictors associated with the development of PU (AUC 85%). The result is an improvement over the use of the Braden scale alone (AUC 75%). Regarding the identification of predictive factors for PU severity, 4AT also emerges as potentially relevant. Conclusion: Assessing the subject's nutritional status, physical performance, and functional autonomies enables the effective integration of the Braden scale in identifying patients most susceptible to developing PU. Our findings support the integration of a comprehensive set of methodologically robust frailty determinants into traditional risk assessment tools. This integration reflects the mutual interplay between patients' frailty, skin frailty, and PU development in very old hospitalized patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The growth arrest-specific transcript 5 gene (GAS5) encodes a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and hosts a number of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that have recently been implicated in multiple cellular processes and cancer. Here, we investigate the relationship between DNA damage, p53, and the GAS5 snoRNAs to gain further insight into the potential role of this locus in cell survival and oncogenesis both in vivo and in vitro. Methods: We used quantitative techniques to analyse the effect of DNA damage on GAS5 snoRNA expression and to assess the relationship between p53 and the GAS5 snoRNAs in cancer cell lines and in normal, pre-malignant, and malignant human colorectal tissue and used biological techniques to suggest potential roles for these snoRNAs in the DNA damage response. Results: GAS5-derived snoRNA expression was induced by DNA damage in a p53-dependent manner in colorectal cancer cell lines and their levels were not affected by DICER. Furthermore, p53 levels strongly correlated with GAS5-derived snoRNA expression in colorectal tissue. Conclusions: In aggregate, these data suggest that the GAS5-derived snoRNAs are under control of p53 and that they have an important role in mediating the p53 response to DNA damage, which may not relate to their function in the ribosome. We suggest that these snoRNAs are not processed by DICER to form smaller snoRNA-derived RNAs with microRNA (miRNA)-like functions, but their precise role requires further evaluation. Furthermore, since GAS5 host snoRNAs are often used as endogenous controls in qPCR quantifications we show that their use as housekeeping genes in DNA damage experiments can lead to inaccurate results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]