Adenoid cystic carcinoma/basaloid cell carcinoma of the prostate (ACC/BCC) is a very rare variant of prostate cancer with uncertain behavior. Few cases are reported in the literature. Data on treatment options are scarce. The aim of our work was to retrospectively review the published reports. Thirty-three case reports or case series were analyzed (106 patients in total). Pathological features, management, and follow-up information were evaluated. Despite the relatively low level of evidence given the unavoidable lack of prospective trials for such a rare prostate tumor, the following considerations were made: prostate ACC/BCC is an aggressive tumor often presenting with locally advanced disease and incidental diagnosis occurs during transurethral resection of the prostate for urinary obstructive symptoms. Prostate-specific antigen was not a reliable marker for diagnosis nor follow-up. Adequate staging with Computed Tomography (CT) scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) should be performed before treatment and during follow-up, while there is no evidence for the use of Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Radical surgery with negative margins and possibly adjuvant radiotherapy appear to be the treatments of choice. The response to androgen deprivation therapy was poor. Currently, there is no evidence of the use of truly effective systemic therapies.

Background: Dendritic cell vaccination (DCV) strategies, thanks to a complex immune response, may flare tumor regression and improve patients’ long-term survival. This meta-analysis aims to assess the efficacy of DCV for newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients in clinical trials. Methods: The study databases, including PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Cochrane, were searched by two blinded investigators considering eligible studies based on the following keywords: “glioblastoma multiforme”, “dendritic cell”, “vaccination”, “immunotherapy”, “immune system”, “immune response”, “chemotherapy”, “recurrence”, and “temozolomide”. Among the 157 screened, only 15 articles were eligible for the final analysis. Results: Regimens including DCV showed no effect on 6-month progression-free survival (PFS, HR = 1.385, 95% CI: 0.822–2.335, p = 0.673) or on 6-month overall survival (OS, HR = 1.408, 95% CI: 0.882–2.248, p = 0.754). In contrast, DCV led to significantly longer 1-year OS (HR = 1.936, 95% CI: 1.396–2.85, p = 0.001) and longer 2-year OS (HR = 3.670, 95% CI: 2.291–5.879, p = 0.001) versus control groups. Hence, introducing DCV could lead to increased 1 and 2-year survival of patients by 1.9 and 3.6 times, respectively. Conclusion: Antitumor regimens including DCV can effectively improve mid-term survival in patients suffering glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), but its impact emerges only after one year from vaccination. These data indicate the need for more time to achieve an anti-GBM immune response and suggest additional therapeutics, such as checkpoint inhibitors, to empower an earlier DCV action in patients affected by a very poor prognosis.

Objectives: Common origins for brain metastases (BMs) are melanoma, lung, breast, and renal cell cancers. BMs account for a large share of morbidity and mortality caused by these cancers. The advent of new immunotherapeutic treatments has made a revolution in the treatment of cancer patients and particularly, as a new concept, if it is combined with radiotherapy, may lead to considerably longer survival. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the survival rate and toxicities of such a combination in brain metastases. Methods: To perform a systematic review of the literature until January 2021 using electronic databases such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase; the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the quality of cohort studies. For data extraction, two reviewers extracted the data blindly and independently. Hazard ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI), fixed-effect model, and inverse-variance method was calculated. The meta-analysis has been evaluated with the statistical software Stata/MP v.16 (The fastest version of Stata). Results: In the first step, 494 studies were selected to review the abstracts, in the second step, the full texts of 86 studies were reviewed. Finally, 28 studies were selected consisting of 1465 patients. The addition of IT to RT in the treatment of brain metastasis from melanoma and non-small-cell lung carcinoma was associated with a 39% reduction in mortality rate and has prolonged overall survival, with an acceptable toxicity profile. The addition of IT to RT compared with RT alone has a hazard ratio of 0.39(95% CI 0.34–0.44). Conclusions: A combination of immuno/radiotherapy (IR) for the treatment of patients with BMs from melanoma and non-small-cell lung carcinoma has prolonged overall survival and reduced mortality rate, with acceptable toxicity. In terms of timing, RT seems to have the best effect on the result when performed before or simultaneously with immunotherapy.

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is known for its devastating intracranial infiltration and its unfavorable prognosis, while extracranial involvement is a very rare event, more commonly attributed to IDH wild-type (primary) GBM evolution. Case presentation: We present a case of a young woman with a World Health Organization (WHO) grade II Astrocytoma evolved to WHO grade IV IDH mutant glioblastoma, with subsequent development of lymphatic and bone metastases, despite the favorable biomolecular pattern and the stability of the primary brain lesion. Conclusions: Our case highlights that grade II Astrocytoma may evolve to a GBM and rarely lead to a secondary metastatic diffusion, which can progress quite rapidly; any symptoms referable to a possible systemic involvement should be carefully investigated.