Research
The main interested is Oncologic Surgery with a very modern approach including a complete integration with all new knoledges (oncology, radiation therapy, molecolar biology and pathology) to finalise the best “tailored” treatment for each patient. The new surgical strategies include as well the advanced laparoscopic approach in benign diseases (diverticulitis, acute appendicitis) and in the malignat of colon rectal cancer. My Majior interest has been devoted to clinical and basic research topis according with modern traslational research. I have written many papers regarding gastric cancer wich shows a very hight incidecte in the catchment area (south of Tuscany, Siena province) . During the university I have been working in a laboratory group at Sclavo research center learning all the major tecniques for the basic research (DNA, RNA and proteins evaluation). Since 1991 I have been banking biomaterials as neoplastic tissue and serum from the patients affected by diffferent neoplasma and admitted in our department (stomach, colon rectal, breast, pancreas) storing in a deep fridge 1000 cases frozed during the surgery; for any patient all the clinical data and outcome is available. I have analized data on pratical use of tumor markers, the clinical impact of H. pilori and the role of different oncogenes and molecular markers. I have coordinated basic research projects sponsored by Siena University and University Minister involving national and international groups. The most important project are “Prognostic significance of microsatellite instability in gastric cancer patients from high incidente area” , “New circulating markers in gastric cancer patients:value of circulatic nucleic acids”, “Familiar gastric cancer in high incidente area”. He is part of International Linkage analisys consortium on gastric cancer coordinated by Carlos Caldas from Cambridge. I have been visiting Japan to learn extended lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer treatment, importing in Italy this extended approach; at this regard I have founded in 1998 an Italian Group of Research on Gastric Cancer pubblishing many multicenter papers on different topics. At moment he has scientific collaboration with Porto University (prof. Raquel Seruca on Familiar gastric cancer), Harvard University (Prof. Ramesh Shisvadani on Gastric cancer gene profile), Magdeburg University (Prof. Peter Malfeltheiner on Proteic profiles) and Oncologic Center of Latvia (Prof. Marcis Lejia on surgical treatment of gastric cancer) I’m involved actively in the organization of European Gastric Cancer Network of Excellence. General Secretary of International Gastric Cancer Congress held in Verona June 2013. Council Member of International Gastric Cancer Association. President fromn 2021-2023 of SICO (Italian Society of Surgical Oncology) ESSO affiliated. In the last years I hav developed a particolar interest for the locoregional treatment in some cases of peritoneal disease by abdominal malignancies performing 400 cases of peritonectomy and antiblastic perfusion in hypertrhermia (HIPEC) a modern approacch for limited number of cases.
I’m author or co-author many original papers in peer-reviewed journals and contributed also as author or co-author to many papers on different topics of Surgical Oncology and translational Research (358 papers H INDEX: 53 see pubmed).
I’m invited as rewiever from different journals (World Journal Surgery, British Journal Cancer, Annals Surgical Oncology, Surgery etc)
I’m Associate Editor on Upper GI section for EJSO