In this national experience, pirfenidone reduced the rate of annual FVC decline (p = 0.065). Since pirfenidone provided significant treatment benefit for patients with moderate-severe disease, our results suggest that the drug may also be effective in patients with more advanced disease.

Conference on 'Nutrition and age-related muscle loss, sarcopenia and cachexia' Symposium 1: Sarcopenia and cachexia: scale of the problem, importance, epidemiology and measurement

These results demonstrate a pivotal role of HMGA1 in cancer stem cell gliomagenesis and endorse HMGA1 as a suitable target for CSC-specific GBM therapy.

P. jiroveci (Pj) causes a potentially fatal pneumonia in immunocompromised patients and the factors associated with a bad outcome are poorly understood. A retrospective analysis on Pj pneumonia (PjP) cases occurring in Tor Vergata University Hospital, Italy, during the period 2011–2015. The patients’ demographic, clinical and radiological characteristics and the Pj genotypes were considered. The study population included 116 patients, 37.9% of whom had haematological malignancy or underwent haematological stem cell transplantation (HSCT), 22.4% had HIV infection, 16.4% had chronic lung diseases (CLD), 7.8% had a solid cancer, and 3.4% underwent a solid organ transplant (SOT). The remaining 12.1% had a miscellaneous other condition. At univariate analysis, being older than 60 years was significantly correlated with a severe PjP (OR [95%CI] 2.52 [0.10–5.76]; p = 0.031) and death (OR [95%CI] 2.44 [1.05–5.70]; p = 0.036), while a previous trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) prophylaxis were significantly associated with a less severe pneumonia (OR[95%CI] 0.35 [0.15–0.84], p = 0.023); moreover, death due to PjP was significantly more frequent in patients with CLD (OR[95%CI] 3.26 [1.17–9.05]; p = 0.019) while, admission to the Infectious Diseases Unit was significantly associated with fewer deaths (OR[95%CI] 0.10 [0.03–0.36], p = 0.002). At multivariate analysis, a better PjP outcome was observed in patients taking TMP/SMX prophylaxis and that were admitted to the Infectious Diseases Unit (OR[95%CI] 0.27 [0.07–1.03], p = 0.055, OR[95%CI] 0.16 [0.05–0.55]; p = 0.004, respectively).In conclusion, in our study population, TMP/SMX prophylaxis and infectious disease specialist approach were variables correlated with a better PjP outcome.