Malignant Mesothelioma is an uncommon and very aggressive tumor that accounts for 1% of all the deaths secondary to malignancy in humans. Interestingly, this neoplasm has been occasionally described in companion animals as well. Aim of this study was the preclinical evaluation of the combination of piroxicam with platinum-based intracavitary chemotherapy in pets. Three companion animals have been treated in a three years period with this combination. Diagnosis was obtained by ultrasonographic exam of the body cavities that evidenced thickening of the mesothelium. A surgical biopsy further substantiated the diagnosis. After drainage of the malignant effusion from the affected cavity, the patients received four cycles of intracavitary CDDP at the dose of 50 mg/m 2 every three weeks if dogs or four cycles of intracavitary carboplatin at the dose of 180 mg/m 2 (every 3 weeks) if cats, coupled with daily administration of piroxicam at the dose of 0.3 mg/kg. The therapy was able to arrest the effusion in all patients for variable remission times: one dog is still in remission after 3 years, one dog died of progressive disease after 8 months and one cat died due to progressive neoplastic growth after six months, when the patient developed a mesothelial cuirass. The combination showed remarkable efficacy at controlling the malignant effusion secondary to MM in our patients and warrants further investigations.

In severe COVID-19, which is characterized by blood clots and neutrophil-platelet aggregates in the circulating blood and different tissues, an increased incidence of cardiovascular complications and venous thrombotic events has been reported. The inflammatory storm that characterizes severe infections may act as a driver capable of profoundly disrupting the complex interplay between platelets, endothelium, and leukocytes, thus contributing to the definition of COVID-19-associated coagulopathy. In this frame, P-selectin represents a key molecule expressed on endothelial cells and on activated platelets, and contributes to endothelial activation, leucocyte recruitment, rolling, and tissue migration. Briefly, we describe the current state of knowledge about P-selectin involvement in COVID-19 pathogenesis, its possible use as a severity marker and as a target for host-directed therapeutic intervention.

The presence of a granulomatous reaction in lesions of cutaneous lymphomas has been described in the past in several cases. Especially in mycosis fungoides, a "granulomatous" variant of the disease has been well characterized. We studied the clinicopathologic features of cutaneous lymphomas with prominent granulomatous reaction, including both cutaneous T-cell lymphomas and B-cell lymphomas (primary cutaneous lymphoma 22, secondary cutaneous lymphoma one). Biopsies of 23 patients with histopathologic features of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma or cutaneous B-cell lymphoma with prominent granulomatous reaction were included in this study. A prominent granulomatous reaction was defined as the presence of a granulomatous component exceeding 25% of the dermal infiltrate. There were 14 cases of mycosis fungoides, two of subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma, four of small/medium pleomorphic T-cell lymphoma, one of follicle center cell lymphoma, one of large B-cell lymphoma, and one of secondary cutaneous peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Altogether, a prominent granulomatous reaction could be observed in 1.8% of all patients with cutaneous lymphoma (primary or secondary) registered in the files of the Department of Dermatology of the University of Graz (Graz, Austria), demonstrating that there is a distinct, albeit small, proportion of cases revealing this peculiar reaction pattern. In seven cases a misdiagnosis of granulomatous dermatitis preceded the correct diagnosis for a period of 1-216 months, suggesting that sequential biopsies and complete phenotypic and molecular genetic analyses should be carried out in cases of "unusual" granulomatous dermatitis.