Patent Licensing and Capacity in a Cournot Model.

We consider the problem of patent licensing in a Cournot duopoly in which the innovator (patentee) is one of the firms and it is capacity constrained. We show that when the patentee can produce a relatively small (relatively large) quantity, it prefers licensing by means of a fixed fee (unit royalty). When the patentee can set two-part tariffs in the form of combinations of fixed fees and unit royalties, it charges a positive fixed fee if and only if it is limited to producing a relatively small quantity. We also show that with combinations of fixed fees and royalties, the royalty rate is lower than is true for the standard case.

Audit system on Quality of breast cancer diagnosis and Treatment (QT): results of quality indicators on screen-detected lesions in Italy for 2006 and preliminary results for 2007.

Within this survey, conducted by the Italian Breast Screening Network (Gruppo Italiano per lo Screening Mammografico, GISMa), individual data are collected yearly on more than 50% of all screen-detected operated lesions in Italy. In 2006, results showed overall good diagnosis and treatment quality and an improving trend over time. Critical issues were identified in waiting times, compliance with recommendations on not performing frozen section examination on small lesions and on performing specimen X-ray. Pre-operative diagnosis reached the acceptable target, but there is a large variation between Regions and programmes. The sentinel lymph node technique (SLN) was performed on the axilla in more than 70% of screen-detected invasive cancers, avoiding a large number of potentially harmful dissections. On the other hand, potential overuse of SLN in ductal carcinoma in situ deserves further investigation. The detailed results have been distributed to regional and local screening programmes, also by means of an online database, in order to allow multidisciplinary discussion and the identification of appropriate solutions to any problems documented by the data. Specialist Breast Units with adequate case volume and enough resources would provide the best setting for making audit effective in producing quality improvement with a shortening of waiting times.

Audit system on quality of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment (QT): results of quality indicators on screen-detected lesions in Italy in 2005 and preliminary results for 2006.

Within this survey, conducted by the Italian Group of Mammography Screening (GISMa), individual data are collected yearly on more than 50% of all screen-detected operated lesions in Italy. In 2005, results showed overall good diagnosis and treatment quality, and an improving trend over time. Critical issues were identified in waiting times, compliance with the recommendations on not performing frozen section examination on small lesions and on performing specimen X-ray. Pre-operative diagnosis has reached the acceptable target, but room for improvement still exists. The sentinel lymph node technique (SLN) was performed on the axilla in more than 70% of screen-detected invasive cancers, avoiding a large number of potentially harmful dissections. On the other hand, potential overuse of SLN deserves further investigation. The detailed results have been distributed to local and regional screening programmes in order to allow multidisciplinary discussion and the identification of appropriate solutions to any problems documented by the data. Specialist Breast Units with adequate case volume would provide the best setting for making audit effective in producing quality improvement.

A mammary nodule mimicking breast cancer.

Metastases to the breast from extramammary tumors are rare. Several clinical, radiologic, and histologic signs can help to distinguish metastases from breast primary tumors. In the present study, we present a case of a left-sided breast metastasis from renal cancer in a 44-year-old woman whose clinical presentation was a mammary nodule in the upper internal quadrant. The patient underwent quadrantectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy. The histology revealed a clear cell carcinoma. On computed tomography scan a 5×8-cm left renal mass with pulmonary, liver, and intrapericardial nodules was found. The patient underwent palliative care and died after 4 months. Metastasis to the breast is rare, but all of those clinical, radiologic, and histologic signs more typical of extramammary malignancies should always be considered in order to choose the best treatment strategy.