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Morton's neuroma (MN) is a compressive neuropathy of the common plantar digital nerve, most commonly affecting the third inter-digital space. The conservative approach is the first recommended treatment option. However, other different approaches have been proposed, offering several options of treatments, where, several degrees of efficacy and safety have been reported. We treated five consecutive patients affected by MN through three indirect ultrasound-guided injections of type I porcine collagen at weekly intervals. All patients were assessed before the treatment, after the treatment and up to 6 months after the last injection via AOFAS and VNS scores for pain, in which the function and pain were evaluated, respectively. In all patients, both analyzed variables progressively ameliorated, with benefits lasting until the last follow-up. The trend of the scores during the follow-up showed significant statistical differences. No side effects occurred. To our knowledge, this is the first study on injections of type I porcine collagen for the treatment of Morton's neuroma. Future research is needed to confirm the positive trend achieved in this MN mini-series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: For several years non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been considered non-immunogenic. Recent advances in antitumor immunity brought to the discovery of checkpoints that modulate immune response against cancer. One of them is programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1). Although PD-L1 expression seems predictive of response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agents, its prognostic value is unclear. In this study we investigated the prognostic value of PD-L1 expression and its correlation with clinical-pathological characteristics in a cohort of surgically resected NSCLC., Material and Methods: PD-L1 expression was evaluated in 289 surgically resected NSCLC samples by immunohistochemistry. Our cohort included patients not exposed to adjuvant chemotherapy. PD-L1 status was defined as: 1) PD-L1 high (tumor proportion score, TPS≥50%), PD-L1 low (TPS 1-49%), PD-L1 negative (TPS<1%); 2) PD-L1 positive (TPS≥50%) and negative (TPS<50%); 3) as a continuous variable., Results: Patients were mostly males (79%), former or current smokers (81%), with a median age of 67 years, non-squamous histology (67.5%) and high-grade tumors (55%). PD-L1 tumors were 18.7%. There was no significant association with sex, age, smoking status and histology. A strong correlation between high PD-L1 expression and tumor grade was detected. The difference in median OS in the different groups of patients was not statistically significant., Conclusion: PD-L1 is not prognostic in surgically resected NSCLC. The association with tumor differentiation suggests that grading could represent an easy-to-assess tool for selecting subjects potentially sensitive to immunotherapy warranting further investigations., Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Dr Federico Cappuzzo: consultancy and advisory boards for Roche, Astrazeneca, BMS, MSD, Pfizer.