Novel Strategy for the Management of Cervical Multicystic Diseases

The present study evaluates the role of PET parameters pertaining to incidentally detected foci of colorectal uptake (IFCU) on FDG PET/CT in the differentiation of benign, premalignant and malignant lesions. This retrospective study included 74 patients. The colonoscopic and histopathological findings were regarded as the reference standards. The results were evaluated on a lesion basis by dividing the lesions into three groups as benign, premalignant and malignant. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), SUVmean, metabolic tumor volume(MTV) and total lesion glycolysis(TLG) values of the three groups were compared. There were 88 IFCU in a total of 74 patients (27 female, 47 male, mean age 65 years). Of the 88 IFCU, 26 were qualified as benign, 42 as premalignant and 20 as malignant. Malignant + premalignant lesions were found in 62/88 (70.4 %) of the IFCU. The SUVmax of the benign lesions was significantly lower than those of the premalignant and malignant lesions; and SUVmean was lower than that of the malignant lesions. The MTV of the malignant lesions was significantly higher than that of the premalignant and benign lesions; and TLG was higher than that of the premalignant lesions. The optimum cut-off value in differentiating between the malignant and non-malignant lesions was 9.15 for SUVmax, 5.05 for SUVmean, 4.7 for MTV and 30.25 for TLG. PET parameters can guide the differentiation of benign, premalignant and malignant lesions with IFCU. Besides, patients with IFCU should undergo further evaluation due to high probability of premalignant and malignant lesions.

The accuracy of incremental pre-operative breast MRI findings – Concordance with histopathology in the Swedish randomized multicenter POMB trial

Histopathologic observations of 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene (DMBA)-induced tumors in the mouse submandibular glands are reported using cryoprobe treatment. The experimental animals were divided into 2 groups; one received a carcinogen injection into the normal submandibular gland, and the other was injected with DMBA on the 14th day following cryosurgery of the gland using a -60 degrees C cryoprobe. Pathologic findings were classified as premalignant lesions or squamous-cell carcinomas with varying degrees of keratinization, fibrosarcoma and mixed carcinoma. There was also one case each of malignant pleomorphic adenoma and cystic adenoma. Tumor incidence was nearly the same in the 2 groups. Most of the carcinomas and sarcomas in the submandibular gland were induced during the 12th and 17th weeks. DMBA application during the proliferating stage which followed the cryosurgery did not enhance epithelial-tumor induction. During submandibular gland carcinogenesis, alterations in the granular convoluted tubule cells suggests they were the initial target cells undergoing malignant transformation. Squamous-cell carcinomas with varying degrees of keratinization were induced following squamous metaplasia in duct-like structures or multicystic lesions.

Postoperative radiotherapy omission in selected patients with early breast cancer following preoperative breast MRI (PROSPECT): primary results of a prospective two-arm study

OBJECTIVES:Refractory epilepsies (RE), as well as, the surgically correctable syndromes, are of great interest, since they affect the very young population of children and adolescents. The early diagnosis and treatment are very important in preventing the psychosocial disability. Therefore MRI and EEG are highly sensitive methods in the diagnosis and localization of epileptogenic focus, but also in pre-surgical evaluation of these patients. The aim of our study is to correlate the imaging findings of EEG, MRI and CT scan in refractory symptomatic epilepsies, and to determine their specificity in detecting the epileptogenic focus.METHODS:The study was prospective with duration of over two years, open-labelled, and involved a group of 37 patients that had been evaluated and diagnosed as refractory epilepsy patients. In the evaluation the type and frequency of seizures were considered, together with the etiologic factors and their association, and finally the risk for developing refractory epilepsy was weighted. EEG and MRI findings and CT scan results were evaluated for their specificity and sensitivity in detecting the epileptogenic focus, and the correlation between them was analyzed.RESULTS:Regarding the type of seizures considered in our study, the patients with PCS (partial complex seizures) dominated, as opposed to those with generalized seizures (GS) (D=1.178, p < 0.05). Positive MRI findings were registered in 28 patients (75.7%). Most of them were patients with hippocampal sclerosis, 12 (42.8%), and also they were found to have the highest risk of developing refractory epilepsy (RE) (Odds ratio = 5.7), and the highest association between the etiologic factor and refractory epilepsy (p < 0.01). In detecting the epileptogenic focus, a significant difference was found (p < 0.01) between MRI and CT scan findings, especially in patients with hippocampal sclerosis and cerebral malformations. There was a strong correlation between the MRI findings and the etiologic factor (R = 1), and for CT scan and etiologic factor an R=0.75 correlation. There was a significant difference between imaging methods MRI/CT (p < 0.1), and CT/EEG (p < 0.05) in detecting the etiologic factor, and little difference was noticed between findings of EEG/MRI.CONCLUSION:Our study confirms that for an accurate diagnosis of refractory epilepsy in patients, a combination of neuroimaging and neurophysiologic methods is required. MRI showed to be highly sensitive in detecting the etiologic factor in RE patients, whereas EEG was sensitive in localization of the epileptogenic focus, with high correlation between these two methods. An early diagnosis of these patients is very important in having a better therapeutic response and prognosis for them.

To describe the uptake of 68Gallium-labelled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (68Ga-FAPI) in the bones and joints for better understanding of the role of 68Ga-FAPI PET in benign and malignant bone lesions and joint diseases. All 129 68Ga-FAPI PET/MR or PET/CT scans from June 1, 2020, to February 20, 2021, performed at our PET center were retrospectively reviewed. Foci of elevated 68Ga-FAPI uptake in the bones and joints were identified. All lesions were divided into malignant and benign diseases. Benign lesions included osteofibrous dysplasia, periodontitis, degenerative bone diseases, arthritis, and other inflammatory or trauma-related abnormalities. The number, locations, and SUVmax of all lesions were recorded and analyzed. The detectability of 68Ga-FAPI PET and 18F-FDG PET in patients who had two scans was also compared. Elevated uptake of 68Ga-FAPI in/around the bones and joints was found in 82 cases (63.57%). A total of 295 lesions were identified, including 94 (31.9%) malignant lesions (all were metastases) and 201 (68.1%) benign lesions. The benign lesions consisted of 13 osteofibrous dysplasia, 48 degenerative bone disease, 33 periodontitis, 56 arthritis, and 51 other inflammatory or trauma-related abnormalities. The spine, shoulder joint, alveolar ridge, and pelvis were the most commonly involved locations. Bone metastases were mainly distributed in the spine, pelvis, and ribs. Among benign diseases, periodontitis and arthritis are site-specific. The mean SUVmax of bone metastases was significantly higher than that of benign diseases (7.14 ± 4.33 vs. 3.57 ± 1.60, p < 0.001), but overlap existed. The differences in SUVmax among subgroups of benign diseases were statistically significant (p < 0.001), with much higher uptake in periodontitis (4.45 ± 1.17). 68Ga-FAPI PET identified much more lesions than 18F-FDG PET (104 vs. 48) with higher uptake value. 68Ga-FAPI accumulated in both bone metastases and some benign diseases of the bones and joints. Although the uptake of 68Ga-FAPI was often higher in bone metastases, this finding cannot be used to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions. 68Ga-FAPI PETalso has the potential to locate and evaluate the extent of both malignant tumor and benign diseases in bones and joints. NCT04554719, NCT04605939. Registered September 8, 2020 and October 25, 2020-retrospectively registered, http://clinicaltrails.gov/show/NCT04554719 ; http://clinicaltrails.gov/show/NCT04605939.

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of features suggestive of nodal metastasis on preoperative MRI in patients with invasive breast cancer.Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the preoperative breast MRI of 192 consecutive patients with surgically proven invasive breast cancer. We analyzed MRI findings of axillary lymph nodes with regard to the size, long/short ratio, cortical thickness, shape and margin of the cortex, loss of hilum, asymmetry, signal intensity (SI) on T2-weighted images (T2WI), degree of enhancement in the early phase, and enhancement kinetics. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, chi-square test, t test, and McNemar’s test were used for statistical analysis.ResultsIncreased shorter diameter, uneven cortical shape, increased cortical thickness, loss of hilum, asymmetry, irregular cortical margin, and low SI on T2WI were significantly suggestive of metastasis. ROC analysis revealed the cutoff value for the shorter diameter and cortical thickness as 8.05 mm and 2.75 mm, respectively. Increased cortical thickness (> 2.75 mm) and uneven cortical shape showed significantly higher sensitivity than other findings in McNemar’s test. Irregular cortical margins showed the highest specificity (100%).ConclusionCortical thickness > 2.75 mm and uneven cortical shape are more sensitive parameters than other findings, and an irregular cortical margin is the most specific parameter for predicting axillary metastasis in patients with invasive breast cancer.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in differ-entiation between benign and malignant gallbladder diseases. Methods Contrast-enhanced ultrasound was performed in eighty patients who were suspicious of gallbladder cancer by conventional ultra-sound. Final diagnosis proved that it was gallbladder cancers 33 patients and benign gallbladder disease in 47. Contrast agent SonoVue and low mechanical index imaging mode were applied. The contrast en-hancement characteristics of the initial enhancement time, the enhancement pattern and the integrality of gallbladder wall adjacent to lesions were analyzed. Meanwhile, the ability of differentiating diagno-sis between benign and malignant gallbladder diseases with contrast-enhanced ultrasound was investi-gated. Results The percentages of those lesions that exhibited hyper-enhancement or iso-enhancement in the early phase and turned to hypo-enhancement within 35s after contrast agent administration were 96.8 % (30/31) in gallbladder cancers and 19.5 % (8/41) in benign lesions(P<0. 001), and the mean time to be hypo-enhancement was (29.5 ± 9.8) s in gallbladder cancers and (58. 8±13.9) s in benign lesions (P<0. 001). Inhomogeneous enhancement was found in 26 (78. 8% ,26/33) gallbladder carci-nomas and 13 (27.6% ,13/47) benign lesions (P<0. 001). Destruction of the integrality of gallblad-der wall was found in 28 (84. 8% ,28/33) gallbladder carcinomas and none (0. 0% ,0/47) of benign le-sions (P<0. 001). The accuracies for differential diagnosis between malignant and benign gallbladder diseases were 72. 5% (58/80) for conventional ultrasound and 93. 8% (75/80) for contrast-enhanced ultrasound (P<0. 001). Conclusion Contrast-enhanced ultrasound can significantly improve the abili-ty of differentiating diagnosis between benign and malignant gallbladder diseases compared with con-ventional ultrasound. The method is deserved to be popularized in clinical practice. Key words: Ultrasonic diagnosis; Gallbladder disease; Differentiating diagnosis

Background Surgical planning and local-regional treatment of breast cancer relies on accurate assessment of disease extent including the primary tumor size and the presence/absence of multiple tumor foci. As a staging modality for breast cancer, MRI has shown high sensitivity for detection of additional foci of diseases within the index breast. However, the impact of preoperative breast MRI on reducing re-excision rates and improving local control is less clear. Data from the COMICE trial in the UK suggested that routine use of pre-operative breast MRI did not alter rates of re-excision; however issues have been raised about the lack of quality standards for the MR imaging that may have resulted in the negative results of this trial. Retrospective data suggest that local recurrence is not impacted by use of breast MRI. In concert with data showing no improvement in clinical outcomes of breast cancer patients, concerns have been raised that routine use of preoperative breast MRI is associated with increased rates of mastectomy and delays to surgery. Therefore, the application of MRI for preoperative surgical staging remains controversial. In order to address this ongoing controversy, a joint effort has been launched by ACOSOG and ACRIN for a prospective clinical trial focused on evaluating the impact of preoperative breast MRI on clinically relevant patient outcomes. An important part of this collaboration is implementation of standards of how MRI findings should be clinically managed and used to direct localization methods and surgical planning, thereby creating guidelines for subsequent patient intervention. Trial design/eligibility criteria: A prospective multicenter trial will include women eligible for BCT by standard criteria and randomized between current standard of care, clinical examination and mammography (+/− ultrasound) and the same plus preoperative breast MRI. The study will focus on women at the highest risk of local recurrence: ER/PR/HER-2 negative (triple negative) and HER-2 amplified breast cancers. Specific aims: To compare the rates of local recurrence following breast conserving therapy in a cohort randomized to preoperative staging with mammography or mammography plus breast MRI. Additionally, a comparison of rates of re-operation, time to local recurrence, survival outcomes, contralateral breast cancer rates, rates of multicentric disease and other secondary aims will be performed. Costs and quality of life measures will also be investigated. Statistical methods: A stratified logrank test and Cox partial likelihood score test will be used to assess whether the distribution of LR times differs with respect to diagnostic work-up approach having adjusted for tumor stage. Cox modeling with the Cox partial likelihood score test will be used to examine the strength of association between these time to event distributions and such additional potential prognostic factors as menopausal status, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, ER, PR, number of positive lymph nodes, HER-2/neu expression, Nottingham grade, and Ki-67 expression. Target Accrual: 556 patients Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr OT2-05-06.

Objectives:To Investigate the association between MRI findings following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and synovial fluid biomarker profile at the time of surgeryMethods:Patients undergoing surgery for ACL injury from October 2011 to December 2021 were included in a database of subjects who had synovial fluid samples collected at the time of surgery. From this cohort, 82 subjects with acute ACL injury were retrospectively selected who met the following inclusion criteria: no history of prior knee trauma to suggest chronic ACL injury, history of acute non- contact knee injury, MRI examination of the knee performed within 3 weeks of knee injury, subsequent knee surgery performed between 4 and 12 weeks of knee injury, and no additional ligament tear requiring surgical treatment. All subjects underwent a preoperative MRI examination of the knee using multi-planar, multi-contrast fast spin-echo sequences. Synovial fluid was aspirated from the operative knee prior to surgical incision. Concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers including regulation on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), interleukin 6 (IL-6), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1), interleukin 1 receptor agonist (IL1-RA) and matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3) were measured. The MRI examinations of all subjects were reviewed by a fellowship trained musculoskeletal radiologist to assess the presence and severity of various MRI features of acute and chronic knee injury using the validated Anterior Cruciate Ligament Osteoarthritis Score (ACLOAS) system. Nonparametric Wilcoxon tests and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare demographic factors, MRI findings, clinical symptoms, and synovial fluid inflammatory biomarkers between clusters. K-means cluster analysis was used to identify 2 distinct clusters of subjects with acute ACL injury based on biomarkers concentrations in synovial fluid.Results:The mean age of the cohort was 31.6 ± 8 years, average body mass index (BMI) was 25.5 ± 4.4 kg/m2. There 42.7% (n=35) of the cohort was female and 85.4% (n=70) were non-smokers. Two distinct clusters were identified: cluster 1 included 45 subjects and was marked by older subjects (33.2 ± 9.1 years, p=.038) with lower levels of all inflammatory synovial fluid biomarkers. Cluster 2 included 37 subjects and was marked by younger patients (29.7 ± 6.1 years, p=.038) with a more pro-inflammatory synovial fluid biomarker profile, higher ACLOAS Hoffa’s synovitis score (p=.001), and a higher incidence of subchondral bone fractures (54%, p=.002). There were no differences between clusters in time from injury to surgery (p=), BMI (p=.141), or ACLOAS meniscus (p=.086), cartilage (p=.730), or effusion scores (p=.202)Conclusions:Given the variable outcomes seen following ACL reconstruction (ACLR) surgery, a better understanding of the pathophysiology following ACL injury is needed. This study found distinct cluster of patients who exhibited a higher inflammatory reaction at the time of surgery as well as more severe findings on preoperative MRI. These findings could be used to identified clinical parameters associated with more inflammation at the time of surgery and their effect on clinical outcomes of ACLR.

Can surgeons predict the extent of abdominal surgery based on MRI findings in CRS-HIPEC candidates with colorectal cancer?

Background: Eyelid tumors are common in the daily practice of skin tumors and are composed of benign and malignant lesions. Methods: This retrospective case series study collected histopathologic reports of eyelid tumors of patients treated between 2022 and 2023 in Razi and Farabi hospitals (Tehran, Iran). Patient data, including patient age, sex, location of the lesion, and recurrence, were collected. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to characterize the subgroups. Results: The sample was composed of 154 eyelid tumor specimens, including 72 (47%) malignant cases, 80 (52%) benign cases, and 2 (1%) premalignant cases. Malignant tumors included 81.9% basal cell carcinomas (BCC), 15.3% basosquamous cell carcinomas (BSC), and 1.4% squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The benign eyelid lesions were comprised of 20% intradermal melanocytic nevus, 11.3% epidermal cyst, 7.6% dermoid cyst, 10% seborrheic keratosis, 6.3% xanthelasma, 2.5% wart, 3.8% compound nevus, 5% fibroconnective tissue, 3.8% squamous papilloma, 3.8% neurofibroma, 2.5% comedone,2.5% apocrine hidrocystoma, 2.5% foreign body type granuloma, and 1.3% of others (arteriovenous hemangioma, cavernous hemangioma, cutaneous horn, etc.) The premalignant lesions were 2 cases of actinic keratosis. Benign lesions had an equal frequency of occurrence in the upper and lower lids. Malignant lesions were seen more in the lower lid. Premalignant lesions were seen in the lower lid. The mean age at diagnosis was 45.8 ± 23.06 years for patients with benign lesions and 63.5 ± 16.7 years for patients with malignant lesions. The mean age for patients with premalignant lesions was 81.5 ± 9.19 years (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: In our study, benign lesions were seen predominantly in young persons and malignant lesions were mostly seen in elderly persons. There is an equal occurrence of malignant lesions in males and females, and recurrence after excision was infrequent.

BACKGROUNDColon and rectal cancers are among the top five cancers worldwide in terms of their incidence and mortality rates. As the treatment options for cure include surgery even in specific advanced-stage cases, the early detection of lesions is important for applying active treatment methods. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is an established imaging study for many types of cancers; however, physiologic uptake in the gastrointestinal tract is a frequent finding and may interfere with lesion identification. Nevertheless, as unexpectedly observed focal colorectal F-18 FDG uptake may harbor malignant lesions, further examination must not be avoided.AIMTo assess the clinical implications of unexpected focal colorectal F-18 FDG uptake by analyzing FDG PET parameters.METHODSA total of 15143 F-18 FDG PET/CT scans performed at our hospital between January 2016 and September 2021 were retrospectively reviewed to identify incidentally observed focal colorectal FDG uptake. Finally, 83 regions showing focal colorectal FDG uptake with final histopathological reports from 80 patients (45 men and 35 women with mean ages of 66.9 ± 10.7 years and 63.7 ± 15.3 years, respectively) were eligible for inclusion in the present study. Each focal hypermetabolic colorectal region was classified as malignant, premalignant, or benign according to the histopathological report. PET parameters such as maximum and peak standardized uptake value (SUVmax and SUVpeak), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), mean SUV of the metabolic tumor volume (mSUVmtv), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were measured or calculated for the corresponding hypermetabolic regions. Parametric and non-parametric statistical comparisons of these parameters were performed among the three groups. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted to identify cut-off values. RESULTSThe detection rate of incidental focal colorectal uptake was 0.53% (80/15,143). Of the 83 regions with unexpected focal colorectal hypermetabolism, 28.9% (24/83) were malignant, 32.5% (27/83) were premalignant, and 38.6% (32/83) were benign. Overall, 61.4% of the regions had malignant or premalignant lesions. SUVmax, SUVpeak, and mSUVmtv differentiated malignant and/or premalignant lesions from benign lesions with statistical significance (P < 0.05). mSUVmtv3.5 differentiated malignant from benign lesions, with the largest area under the curve (AUC) of 0.792 and a cut-off of 4.9. SUVmax showed the largest AUC of 0.758 with a cut-off value of 7.5 for distinguishing between premalignant and benign lesions. Overall, SUVmax with a cut-off value of 7.6 (AUC: 0.770, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.668-0.872; sensitivity, 0.686; specificity, 0.688) was a superior parameter for distinguishing between malignant/premalignant and benign lesions or physiologic uptake. No parameters differentiated malignant from premalignant lesions. Moderate or weak positive correlations were observed between the long diameter of the malignant lesions and PET parameters such as SUVpeak and some mSUVmtv.CONCLUSIONApproximately two-thirds (61.4%) of incidental focal hypermetabolic colorectal regions were malignant/premalignant lesions, for which SUVmax was an independent diagnostic parameter. Unexpected suspicious focal colorectal FDG uptake should not be avoided and consideration for further evaluation is strongly recommended not to miss the two-thirds.

Multicystic benign lymphoepithelial lesions of the parotid gland (BLL) seen in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can produce considerable cosmetic deformity as well as physical discomfort. We previously reported our preliminary results with low-dose radiotherapy in this disease, and all 8 patients were satisfied with the initial improvement in their appearance. We now report the long-term follow-up of those patients and additional patients. Twelve HIV-positive patients with BLL were treated with 8-10 Gy of external radiation using 2-Gy daily fractions. Objective responses and subjective duration of patient-defined cosmetic control were recorded. All 12 patients (100%) had at least a 50% decrease in the size of their parotid masses. Five of 12 (42%) had a complete response and 7 (58%) had a partial response. Persisting complete response was achieved in only 1 patient, however, with relapse in the other 11 patients. Cosmetic palliation, as judged by the patients, was achieved for a median of 9.5 months. Eight patients were subsequently retreated with doses of 6-16 Gy (median and mode: 10 Gy). None (0%) of the 8 patients retreated achieved local control. Very low-dose radiation (8-10 Gy) provides reliable but temporary cosmetic palliation for BLL. Retreatment was unsatisfactory, and we are now investigating higher initial doses of radiation to prolong palliation and eliminate recurrences.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the restoration of the spinal cord just after decompression surgery and preoperative MRI findings. 13 patients underwent posterior decompression surgery at the cervical and thoracic level. The frontal diameter of the spinal cord was measured using pre-operative MRI and intra-operative ultrasonography. The restoration rate was calculated according to Kataoka's method from the pre and intra-operative diameters. Clinical results were also recorded using the Japanese Orthopedic Association score. Correlation between the restoration rate, clinical results, and MRI findings was evaluated. Significant correlation was observed between the restoration rate and clinical results (R=0.61). Also the spinal cord which indicated high signal intensity on the T2 WI preoperative MRI had a tendency to show a low restoration rate. These results suggest that the combination of the low restoration rate and high signal intensity of the spinal cord indicates severe spinal cord damage.