Cure indicators and prevalence by stage at diagnosis for breast and colorectal cancer patients: A population-based study in Italy.

People alive many years after breast (BC) or colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnoses are increasing. This paper aimed to estimate the indicators of cancer cure and complete prevalence for Italian patients with BC and CRC by stage and age. A total of 31 Italian Cancer Registries (47% of the population) data until 2017 were included. Mixture cure models allowed estimation of net survival (NS); cure fraction (CF); time to cure (TTC, 5-year conditional NS >95%); cure prevalence (who will not die of cancer); and already cured (prevalent patients living longer than TTC). 2.6% of all Italian women (806,410) were alive in 2018 after BC and 88% will not die of BC. For those diagnosed in 2010, CF was 73%, 99% when diagnosed at stage I, 81% at stage II, and 36% at stages III-IV. For all stages combined, TTC was >10 years under 45 and over 65 years and for women with advanced stages, but ≤1 year for all BC patients at stage I. The proportion of already cured prevalent BC women was 75% (94% at stage I). Prevalent CRC cases were 422,407 (0.7% of the Italian population), 90% will not die of CRC. For CRC patients, CF was 56%, 92% at stage I, 71% at stage II, and 35% at stages III-IV. TTC was ≤10 years for all age groups and stages. Already cured were 59% of all prevalent CRC patients (93% at stage I). Cancer cure indicators by stage may contribute to appropriate follow-up in the years after diagnosis, thus avoiding patients' discrimination.

Indicators of cure for women living after uterine and ovarian cancers: a population-based study.

This study aims to estimate long-term survival, cancer prevalence, and several cure indicators for Italian women with gynecological cancers. Thirty-one cancer registries, representing 47% of the Italian female population, were included. Mixture cure models were used to estimate net survival, cure fraction, time to cure (when 5-year conditional net survival becomes > 95%), cure prevalence (women who will not die of cancer), and already cured (living longer than time to cure). In 2018, 0.4% (121 704) of Italian women were alive after diagnosis of corpus uteri cancer, 0.2% (52 551) after cervical cancer, and 0.2% (52 153) after ovarian cancer. More than 90% of patients with uterine cancers and 83% with ovarian cancer will not die from their neoplasm (cure prevalence). Women with gynecological cancers have a residual excess risk of death <5% at 5 years after diagnosis. The cure fraction was 69% for corpus uteri, 32% for ovarian, and 58% for cervical cancer patients. Time to cure was ≤10 years for women with gynecological cancers aged <55 years; 74% of patients with cervical cancer, 63% with corpus uteri cancer, and 55% with ovarian cancer were already cured. These results can contribute to improving follow-up programs for women with gynecological cancers and supporting efforts against discrimination of already cured ones. This article is part of a Special Collection on Gynecological Cancers.

[Mortality in an Italian factory producing tetraethyl lead]. / Mortalità alla SLOI di Trento, un'azienda che produceva piombo tetraetile.

The Società Lavorazioni Organiche Inorganiche (SLOI) in Trento (North-Eastern Italy) produced tetraethyl lead from 1941 to 1978, when it was closed following an explosion, luckily with no fatalities. Working conditions were very bad. During the 1960s, 325 acute lead intoxications were reported and over 100 workers were hospitalized for neurological conditions attributable to tetraethyl lead. At least 12 SLOI workers were hospitalized in the mental asylum (psychiatric wards).The present work describes the first formal epidemiological study ever carried out on SLOI workers. In the absence of any original SLOI employee registers, a list of 1,742 workers hired since factory startup was assembled using the files of the Italian National Social Security Agency (digitalized in 1974 and perused manually by one of the Authors for the previous period). To date, follow-up for mortality has been completed for the 580 male employees at work in 1961 or hired subsequently and who worked at SLOI for at least 12 months. Twenty-two (3.8%) were lost to follow-up. Mortality in this sub-cohort was compared with that of the population of the province of Trento, gathered since 1986 by the Institute of Statistics of the Trento Province. Excluding deaths occurring at age 90+ years, during the 1986-2016 period, deaths in the SLOI sub-cohort were 295 vs 229.0 deaths expected from age- and period-specific rates in the reference population (standardazied mortality ratio 1.29; 95%CI 1.15-1.44). In the absence of individual data, the possible contribution to the mortality excess by non-occupational risk factors cannot be estimated. Identification of causes of death is underway.

Patient presentation, skin biopsy utilization and cutaneous malignant melanoma incidence and mortality in northern Italy: Trends and correlations.

BACKGROUND: The global increase in incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) occurring in the past decades has been partly attributed to increased diagnostic scrutiny of early lesions, with a potential phenomenon of overdiagnosis. The reported positive linear relation between skin biopsy rate and incidence of early CMM is compatible with this hypothesis. OBJECTIVES: We explored the ecological association between the trends in annual dermatologic office visit rates, skin biopsy rates, incidence rates of in situ and invasive CMM by tumour thickness category, and CMM mortality rates in the Emilia-Romagna Region (northern Italy). METHODS: Four cancer registries covering a population of 2,696,000 provided CMM incidence data for the years 2003-2017. Dermatologic office visit rates and skin biopsy rates were calculated using the Regional outpatient care database. All rates were age-standardized. Trends were described with the estimated average annual per cent change (EAAPC). Correlations were tested with the Spearman correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Incidence increased significantly. The increase was steeper for in situ CMM (EAAPC: men, 10.2; women, 6.9) followed by CMM <0.8 mm thick (9.1; 5.2), but the rates grew significantly for most subgroups of CMMs ≥0.8 mm thick. Mortality decreased significantly among women (-2.3) and non-significantly among men. For dermatologic office visit rate and skin biopsy rate the EAAPC were, respectively, 1.7 and 1.8 for men and 1.2 and 0.9 for women. Annual dermatologic office visit rate correlated with skin biopsy rate in both sexes. However, the proportion of skin biopsies out of dermatologic office visits was constant across the years (range: men, 0.182-0.216; women, 0.157-0.191). CONCLUSIONS: In Italy, the increasing CMM incidence trend is, at least in part, genuine. Overdiagnosis-if any-is due to an increased patient presentation at dermatologic offices and not to a lower dermatologic threshold to perform biopsy.

The relative contribution of the decreasing trend in tumour thickness to the 2010s increase in net survival from cutaneous malignant melanoma in Italy: a population-based investigation.

BACKGROUND: The long-term increase in survival from cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is generally attributed to the decreasing trend in tumour thickness, the single most important prognostic factor. OBJECTIVES: To determine the relative contribution of decreased tumour thickness to the favourable trend in survival from CMM in Italy. METHODS: Eleven local cancer registries covering a population of 8 056 608 (13.4% of the Italian population in 2010) provided records for people with primary CMM registered between 2003 and 2017. Age-standardized 5-year net survival was calculated. Multivariate analysis of 5-year net survival was undertaken by calculating the relative excess risk (RER) of death. The relative contribution of the decrease in tumour thickness to the RER of death was evaluated using a forward stepwise flexible parametric survival model including the available prognostic factors. RESULTS: Over the study period, tumour thickness was inversely associated with 5-year net survival and multivariate RER in both sexes. The median thickness was 0.90 mm in 2003-2007, 0.85 mm in 2008-2012 and 0.75 mm in 2013-2017 among male patients, and 0.78 mm, 0.77 mm and 0.68 mm among female patients, respectively. The 5-year net survival was 86.8%, 89.2% and 93.2% in male patients, and 91.4%, 92.0% and 93.4% in female patients, respectively. In 2013-2017, male patients exhibited the same survival as female patients despite having thicker lesions. For them, the increasing survival trend was more pronounced with increasing thickness, and the inclusion of thickness in the forward stepwise model made the RER in 2013-2017 vs. 2003-2007 increase from 0.64 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.51-0.80] to 0.70 (95% CI 0.57-0.86). This indicates that the thickness trend accounted for less than 20% of the survival increase. For female patients, the results were not significant but, with multiple imputation of missing thickness values, the RER rose from 0.74 (95% CI 0.58-0.93) to 0.82 (95% CI 0.66-1.02) in 2013-2017. CONCLUSIONS: For male patients in particular, decrease in tumour thickness accounted for a small part of the improvement in survival observed in 2013-2017. The introduction of targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors in 2013 is most likely to account for the remaining improvement.

[A suspect cluster of childhood cancer in Valle di Ledro (Province of Trento, Northern Italy). Epidemiological evaluation, risk management, and communication activities, 2018-2020]. / Un sospetto cluster di tumori infantili in Valle di Ledro (provincia di Trento). Valutazione epidemiologica e attività di comunicazione e gestione del rischio. Anni 2018-2020.

BACKGROUND: leukaemia is the most prevalent form of childhood cancer, an overall rare condition in childhood. Even few cases occurring in a small community can cause considerable apprehension among the population. From 2014 to 2017, 4 cases of childhood cancer occurred in Valle di Ledro, a municipality of 5,300 inhabitants in Province of Trento (Northern Italy), and a group of concerned citizens asked provincial health authorities for an investigation. OBJECTIVES: to address the community's health needs by verifying the hypothesis of a cluster of childhood cancer and through effective risk communication activities. DESIGN: retrospective cohort analysis based on data from the Cancer registry of the Autonomous Province of Trento and data collected from hospital discharge records. The communication activities were carried out according to the recommendations published by Epidemiologia&Prevenzione in 2016 in a Supplement "Childhood cancers, risk factors and investigation models for the evaluation of spatio-temporal clusters". SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Valle di Ledro, a municipality of 5,300 inhabitants in the Province of Trento. The participants in risk communication process were: city council; grassroot committee of concerned parents; health workforce of different services (epidemiology, cancer registry, public health; environmental health; primary health care; personnel of the Environmental Protection Agency; journalists; general population. The participants in the statistical analyses were: children of 0-14 years of age who were diagnosed a cancer from 1998 to 2014 in the Province of Trento (N. 212); leukaemia (N. 84) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (N. 66) incident cases in the period 1998-2017 in Trento province. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: verification of the presence of a cluster of childhood cancers; degree of consensus and collaboration of the different community stakeholders to the survey procedures and acceptance of the final results; atmosphere in public assemblies and feedback in the local press. RESULTS: a total of 212 incident cancer cases in children 0-14 years have been registred in Province of Trento from 1998 to 2014, leukaemia in 35% (N. 74) cases. From 2015 to 2017, another 10 cases of leukaemia occurred, for a total of 84 cases of leukaemia from 1998 to 2017. In the years from 1998 to 2017, in Valle di Ledro, taking the Italian population as reference group, the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were the following: cancer, all types 1,47 (IC95% 0,40-3,76); leukaemia 3,39 (IC95% 0,70-9,90), LLA 2,81 (IC95% 0,34-10,16). No cluster emerged from the geographical analyses. From the very beginning of the risk management approach, a decision-making working group was set up applying a participatory approach. Group members included the city council and the local committee of concerned parents and experts from different services of the local health unit. Data analyses was delegated to a technical working group that reported back to the decision-making group. Members of the technical working group were supervised by external experts. Following this approach, it was possible to establish a climate of trust and credibility. The involvement of all stakeholders right from the start in a totally transparent process was a key element of success. CONCLUSIONS: the cluster hypothesis was rejected for both childhood cancer (all types) and leukaemia (all types and ALL). The implementation of the risk communication process recommended by the AIE guidelines was successful in establishing a climate of reciprocal trust that allowed to overcome inevitable moments of conflict in a productive manner. Thanks to this positive atmosphere, the communication of the results of the statistical analyses was effective in reassuring the population.

Prevalence of gestational diabetes and recourse to postpartum oral glucose tolerance test in the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy).

OBJECTIVE: The occurrence of gestational diabetes (GDM) is increasing worldwide, and such a diagnosis is important for women's health beyond pregnancy. Therefore, many guidelines suggest the re-evaluation of glucose tolerance with a postpartum oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in women with GDM. This study reports the prevalence of GDM and the use of a postpartum OGTT in women assisted at maternity units in the Autonomous Province of Trento in the years 2017-2018, investigating the socio-demographic and health-care variables that can facilitate access to the test. STUDY DESIGN: For the diagnosis of GDM, the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group criteria were used. The Birth Assistance Certificate and the Hospital Information System were used to retrieve clinical and socio-demographic data. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the stratification of the use of a postpartum OGTT. RESULTS: In total, 8,308 pregnant women were assisted at the maternity units in Trento. There were 532 recorded cases of GDM (266 cases per year) and the overall average prevalence was 6.4 % (95 % CI, 5.90-6.90), 4.9 % of whom were Italian (95 % CI, 4.38-5.42) and 10.4 %, foreigners (95 % CI, 9.13-11.67). 135 women diagnosed with GDM and residing in Trento out of 513 were evaluated using a postpartum OGTT (26.3%, CI 95% 22.50-30.10), with pathological results in 61 cases (45.2%). In the multivariate analyses, insulin therapy during pregnancy, delivery at a third-level birth point, and a discharge letter informing of the presence of GDM and of the need for a postpartum OGTT were independent factors associated with the probability of carrying out a postpartum OGTT. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of GDM in our study is lower than in previous Italian studies; however, it is consistent with European data. The proportion of women who were assessed using the postpartum OGTT is lower than that reported by previous studies. The health-care factors seem predominant among the socio-demographic characteristics of the cases in influencing access to the test. The awareness of women, the sharing of guidelines among the different sectors of the health system, and an optimal management of the discharge from the birth point are critical in ensuring an optimal follow-up in women with GDM.

The descriptive epidemiology of melanoma in Italy has changed - for the better.

A recent research project using data from a total of 40 cancer registries has provided new epidemiologic insights into the results of efforts for melanoma control in Italy between the 1990s and the last decade. In this article, the authors present a summary and a commentary of their findings. Incidence increased significantly throughout the study period in both sexes. However, the rates showed a stabilization or a decrease in men and women aged below 35 years. The risk of disease increased for successive cohorts born until 1973 (women) and 1975 (men) while subsequently tending to decline. The trend towards decreasing tumor thickness and increasing survival has continued, but a novel favorable prognostic factor has emerged since 2013 for patients - particularly for males - with thick melanoma, most likely represented by molecular targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Due to this, the survival gap between males and females has been filled out. In the meanwhile, and despite the incidence increase, dermatologists have not lowered their threshold to perform skin biopsy. Skin biopsy rate has increased because of the increasingly greater volume of dermatologic office visits, but the proportion of skin biopsies out of dermatologic office visits has remained constant. In summary, an important breakthrough in melanoma control in Italy has taken place. Effective interventions have been implemented across the full scope of care, which involve many large local populations - virtually the whole national population. The strategies adopted during the last three decades represent a valuable basis for further steps ahead in melanoma control in Italy.

Complete prevalence and indicators of cancer cure: enhanced methods and validation in Italian population-based cancer registries.

Objectives: To describe the procedures to derive complete prevalence and several indicators of cancer cure from population-based cancer registries. Materials and methods: Cancer registry data (47% of the Italian population) were used to calculate limited duration prevalence for 62 cancer types by sex and registry. The incidence and survival models, needed to calculate the completeness index (R) and complete prevalence, were evaluated by likelihood ratio tests and by visual comparison. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore the effect on the complete prevalence of using different R indexes. Mixture cure models were used to estimate net survival (NS); life expectancy of fatal (LEF) cases; cure fraction (CF); time to cure (TTC); cure prevalence, prevalent patients who were not at risk of dying as a result of cancer; and already cured patients, those living longer than TTC at a specific point in time. CF was also compared with long-term NS since, for patients diagnosed after a certain age, CF (representing asymptotical values of NS) is reached far beyond the patient's life expectancy. Results: For the most frequent cancer types, the Weibull survival model stratified by sex and age showed a very good fit with observed survival. For men diagnosed with any cancer type at age 65-74 years, CF was 41%, while the NS was 49% until age 100 and 50% until age 90. In women, similar differences emerged for patients with any cancer type or with breast cancer. Among patients alive in 2018 with colorectal cancer at age 55-64 years, 48% were already cured (had reached their specific TTC), while the cure prevalence (lifelong probability to be cured from cancer) was 89%. Cure prevalence became 97.5% (2.5% will die because of their neoplasm) for patients alive >5 years after diagnosis. Conclusions: This study represents an addition to the current knowledge on the topic providing a detailed description of available indicators of prevalence and cancer cure, highlighting the links among them, and illustrating their interpretation. Indicators may be relevant for patients and clinical practice; they are unambiguously defined, measurable, and reproducible in different countries where population-based cancer registries are active.

Trends in Net Survival from Vulvar Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Italy (1990-2015).

(1) Objective: In many Western countries, survival from vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) has been stagnating for decades or has increased insufficiently from a clinical perspective. In Italy, previous studies on cancer survival have not taken vulvar cancer into consideration or have pooled patients with vulvar and vaginal cancer. To bridge this knowledge gap, we report the trend in survival from vulvar cancer between 1990 and 2015. (2) Methods: Thirty-eight local cancer registries covering 49% of the national female population contributed the records of 6274 patients. Study endpoints included 1- and 2-year net survival (NS) calculated using the Pohar-Perme estimator and 5-year NS conditional on having survived two years (5|2-year CNS). The significance of survival trends was assessed with the Wald test on the coefficient of the period of diagnosis, entered as a continuous regressor in a Poisson regression model. (3) Results: The median patient age was stable at 76 years. One-year NS decreased from 83.9% in 1990-2001 to 81.9% in 2009-2015 and 2-year NS from 72.2% to 70.5%. Five|2-year CNS increased from 85.7% to 86.7%. These trends were not significant. In the age stratum 70-79 years, a weakly significant decrease in 2-year NS from 71.4% to 65.7% occurred. Multivariate analysis adjusting for age group at diagnosis and geographic area showed an excess risk of death at 5|2-years, of borderline significance, in 2003-2015 versus 1990-2002. (4) Conclusions: One- and 2-year NS and 5|2-year CNS showed no improvements. Current strategies for VSCC control need to be revised both in Italy and at the global level.

Screening of group B Streptococcus infection in pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in the province of Trento, Italy.

The study analyzes the trend of group B streptococcal (GBS) infection in pregnancy in the province of Trento, Italy, where a universal screening of GBS infection in pregnancy has been active for some time. Data from pregnant women who gave birth at local maternity units between 2015-2019 were obtained from birth attendance certificates (BAC), the main - and mandatory - source of information for monitoring pregnancies, births and neonatal health in Italy. The BAC used in the province of Trento acquires the results of a vast range of infections in pregnancy. The data collected from the BAC were integrated with those provided by the Hospital Information System (SIO). The occurrence of neonatal GBS infection was investigated on 2019 birth cohort, using the hospital discharge archive as an ancillary information source. Between 2015-2019, 20,905 pregnant women received care at maternity units of the province of Trento, Italy, of whom 25.5% were foreigners. The average coverage of GBS testing in pregnancy was 91.8% (95% CI 91.25-92.35) without significant variations from one year to the next. Test coverage varies in relation to maternity units and some socio-demographic characteristics of mothers. The average proportion of GBS positive cases over the study period was 21.0% (95% CI 20.7-21.3), a value that does not show statistically significant changes from one year to the next. The proportion of positive cases appears uneven among the subgroups of pregnant women considered, even if the differences are not statistically significant. In the 2019 birth cohort, newborns to GBS-positive mothers had an excess of stillbirths, of those born with Apgar at 5 minutes <7 and hospitalized at birth. However, these excesses were not statistically significant. Intravenous Antibiotic Prophylaxis (IAP) was performed in 86.8% of births from GBS positive mothers who had an indication for IAP. IAP was inadequate in 7.4% of the GBS positive mothers. Postnatal evaluation of 783 live births to GBS positive mothers identified 3 cases of early neonatal GBS infection. The incidence of neonatal GBS infection over the whole series of live births is 0.71/1,000 (95% CI 0.56-0.86), 0.68/1000 (CI 95% 0.55-0.79) in Italians and 1.07/1000 (95% CI 0.45-1.65) in foreigners. Data collection on infections in pregnancy through BAC allows area-based assessment. The quality of the data recorded in the BAC can be considered satisfactory but it was necessary to access to other information sources. The local availability of various information sources should allow periodic audits and closer monitoring of neonatal GBS infection.

A comprehensive assessment of the impact of a colorectal cancer screening program in a northern Italian area.

BACKGROUND: The impact of a faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program in terms of patient prognosis could be affected by lead-time bias, which artificially increases the survival of screen-detected patients due to the early diagnosis. AIMS: To provide a description of the impact of the CRC screening program in the Trentino Region (Italy), including the Cure Fraction (CF), a prognostic indicator not affected by lead-time bias. METHODS: The program started in 2008, inviting the resident population aged 50-69 years. In this retrospective cohort study, 1,697 CRC diagnosed between 2003 and 2014 in patients aged 50-69 years were classified as pre-screening (PS), screen-detected (SD), interval cancers (IC) and not-screen-detected (NSD). We compared groups by stage at diagnosis and CF. Trends in CRC mortality were reported. RESULTS: The proportion of stage I among SD cases was 51%, higher than PS (19%; OR 4.66, 95%CI 3.50-6.20), NSD (20.6%; OR 3.96, 95%CI 2.95-5.32) and IC (33.3%; OR 2.11, 95%CI 1.10-4.04). The CF of PS, NSD and SD cases was respectively 57% (95%CI 54-60%), 60% (95%CI 58-63%) and 93% (95%CI 89-96%). CRC mortality dropped from 40.7 to 25.6\100,000. CONCLUSION: The program significantly improved the prognosis of patients, decreasing CRC mortality and incidence of advanced CRCs.

Trends in Liver Cancer Incidence and Survival in Italy by Histologic Type, 2003-2017.

(1) Background: Liver cancer in Italy is characterised by one of the highest incidence rates worldwide outside of Asia coupled with comparatively favourable survival figures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the most recent epidemiologic trends of the disease. (2) Methods: Thirteen cancer registries covering a population of about 12,740,000 (21% of the national population) made available the records of 35,574 cases registered between 2003 and 2017. Trends in age-standardised (Europe 2013) incidence rates were analysed using the results of age-drift models. Trends in survival were analysed using 1-year, 2-year, 5-year and 10-year net survival (NS) and 5|1-year and 5|2-year conditional NS. (3) Results: Over the study period, the average annual incidence rates per 100,000 persons were 29.4 (men) and 9.4 (women) for total liver cancer; 14.6 and 3.5 for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); 1.8 and 1.1 for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC); and 13.0 and 4.8 for the 'other liver cancer types' group. The incidence of total liver cancer and HCC decreased significantly for both sexes. For total liver cancer, the estimated average annual percent change was -1.6% among men and -2.1% among women. For HCC, the change was -1.3% among men and -2.7% among women. ICC followed an opposite trend. For men, the risk of HCC had two peaks, one in the birth cohorts of 1928 and 1933 and another, more moderate peak in the cohort of 1958. Men and women exhibited comparable improvements in both early and mid-term conditional NS from HCC. In 2013-2017, 5-year NS was 28.9% (95% CI: 27.3%; 30.6%) for men and 30.1% (95% CI: 26.9%; 33.5%) for women. The uptrend in survival from ICC was less pronounced and was weakly significant, with a 5-year NS in 2013-2017 of 13.9% (95% CI: 10.8%; 17.3%) for men and 17.4% (95% CI: 13.5%; 21.7%) for women. (4) Conclusions: The opposite incidence trends of HCC and ICC confirm a pattern observed in other populations. The generalised, albeit slow, improvement in survival from HCC indicates a trend towards earlier detection coupled with improvements in treatments.

Robotic upper limb rehabilitation after acute stroke by NeReBot: evaluation of treatment costs.

Stroke is the first cause of disability. Several robotic devices have been developed for stroke rehabilitation. Robot therapy by NeReBot is demonstrated to be an effective tool for the treatment of poststroke paretic upper limbs, able to improve the activities of daily living of stroke survivors when used both as additional treatment and in partial substitution of conventional rehabilitation therapy in the acute and subacute phases poststroke. This study presents the evaluation of the costs related to delivering such therapy, in comparison with conventional rehabilitation treatment. By comparing several NeReBot treatment protocols, made of different combinations of robotic and nonrobotic exercises, we show that robotic technology can be a valuable and economically sustainable aid in the management of poststroke patient rehabilitation.

Estimates of cancer burden in Trentino-Alto Adige.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The Trentino-Alto Adige region is composed of two autonomous provinces (Trento and Bolzano), each with its own cancer registry. The registries' total coverage is 100% of the regional population. The main difference between the two provinces in terms of cancer epidemiology is related to the prostate cancer incidence and survival, with higher values in Bolzano. This paper provides an update until 2015 of the basic epidemiological indicators for seven major cancers for the entire region. METHODS: The indicators were estimated by means of the MIAMOD method, a statistical back-calculation approach to derive incidence and prevalence figures starting from mortality and relative survival data. Mortality data were provided by ISTAT for the period 1970-2002 while survival was modeled on the basis of published data from the Italian cancer registries. RESULTS: The estimates for 2012 show that breast cancer was the most common cancer in women and prostate cancer was most common in men. Incidence and mortality were decreasing for cervix cancer and stomach cancer in both genders during the whole study period. The lung cancer incidence and mortality were decreasing in men but increasing in women. The colorectal cancer incidence rose in both genders while the mortality was decreasing in women. The incidence of skin melanoma increased in both sexes, while the mortality remained very low. The breast cancer incidence was increasing up to 2015 while the mortality was declining since 1986. The prostate cancer incidence increased up to 2006, thereafter the rates stabilized while mortality started to decrease in the early 2000s. The highest mortality rates were estimated for lung cancer in men and breast cancer in women. CONCLUSIONS: Lifestyle plays an important role in cancer trends, as does organized screening for early detection of cervix, breast and colorectal cancer. The provincial data on risk factor distribution and adherence to and coverage of organized screening are satisfactory and their optimization may allow additional benefits in terms of public health.