Environmental ameliorations and politics in support of pollinators. Experiences from Europe: A review.

At least 87% of angiosperm species require animal vectors for their reproduction, while more than two-thirds of major global food crops depend on zoogamous pollination. Pollinator insects are a wide variety of organisms that require diverse biotic and abiotic resources. Many factors have contributed to a serious decrease in the abundance of populations and diversity of pollinator species over the years. This decline is alarming, and the European Union has taken several actions aimed at counteracting it by issuing new conservation policies and standardizing the actions of member countries. In 2019, the European Green Deal was presented, aiming to restore 100% of Europe's degraded land by 2050 through financial and legislative instruments. Moreover, the Common Agricultural Policies have entailed greening measures for the conservation of habitats and beneficial species for more than 10 years. The new CAP (CAP 23-27) reinforces conservation objectives through strategic plans based on eco-schemes defined at the national level by the member countries, and some states have specifically defined eco-schemes for pollinator conservation. Here, we review the framework of EU policies, directives, and regulations, which include measures aimed at protecting pollinators in agricultural, urban, and peri-urban environments. Moreover, we reviewed the literature reporting experimental works on the environmental amelioration for pollinators, particularly those where CAP measures were implemented and evaluated, as well as studies conducted in urban areas. Among CAP measures, several experimental works have considered the sowing and management of entomophilous plants and reported results important for environmental ameliorations. Some urban, peri-urban and wasteland areas have been reported to host a considerable number of pollinators, especially wild bees, and despite the lack of specific directives, their potential to contribute to pollinator conservation could be enhanced through targeted actions, as highlighted by some studies.

Tumor-to-Tumor Metastasis of Lung Cancer to Kidney Cancer: A Review of the Literature and Our Experience.

Tumor-to-tumor metastasis (TTM) is a rare phenomenon documented in patients with multiple primary cancers. This condition is defined as a metastasis between two true primary tumors. The most frequently reported recipient tumor is renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and the lung carcinomas are the most common metastatic tumor donors. Therefore, this paper attempts to address the current gap in knowledge about this rare phenomenon. The first part of this review outlines the recently proposed models and mechanisms involved in the TTM process. The second part then summarizes and analyzes previous case reports in the literature. We also present our experience with the case of lung cancer that metastasized into RCC. Given the sporadic incidence of TTM, no specific management guidelines exist. Therefore, considering TTM in patients with multiple primary tumors is important as it could potentially modify the oncological management offered.

The Prognostic Value of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) is an aggressive cancer characterised by an increased recurrence rate and an inadequate response to treatment. This study aimed to investigate the importance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a prognostic marker for long-term survival in patients with mRCC. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed data from 74 patients with mRCC treated at our medical centre with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We evaluated the predictive value of NLR for overall survival (OS) in these patients. RESULTS: The median OS was 5.1 months in the higher NLR group (≥3) and 13.3 months in the lower NLR group (<3) (p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the OS between the TKI and ICI therapies in the low NLR group (12.9 vs. 13.6 months, p = 0.411) or in the high NLR group (4.7 vs. 5.5 months, p = 0.32). Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that a higher NLR was an independent prognostic factor of long-term survival in patients with mRCC treated with first-line therapy. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study showed that adding NLR to other Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) variables might improve the prognostic and predictive power of these models.

Prognostic Models for Renal Cell Carcinoma in the Era of Immune Checkpoint Therapy.

With recent advances in oncology, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become a milestone in immuno-oncology. Unfortunately, although ICIs have demonstrated improved clinical efficacy in a broad spectrum of cancers, many patients do not respond to this newer therapy. As a result, it is crucial to identify predictive factors of response to immunotherapy in patients with kidney cancer. This review discusses the research investigating potential biomarkers of response to ICIs in renal cell carcinoma.