Does FDG PET-Based Radiomics Have an Added Value for Prediction of Overall Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?

: Radiomics and machine learning are innovative approaches to improve the clinical management of NSCLC. However, there is less information about the additive value of FDG PET-based radiomics compared with clinical and imaging variables. : This retrospective study included 320 NSCLC patients who underwent PET/CT with FDG at initial staging.

Multivariable Risk Modelling and Survival Analysis with Machine Learning in SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Aim: To evaluate the performance of a machine learning model based on demographic variables, blood tests, pre-existing comorbidities, and computed tomography(CT)-based radiomic features to predict critical outcome in patients with acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 694 SARS-CoV-2-positive patients. Clinical and demographic data were extracted from clinical records.

Assessment of Response to Immunotherapy in Patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma: Towards Quantifying Changes in Tumor Burden Using FDG-PET/CT.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are currently the standard of care for many advanced solid tumors, and they have been recently approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma. Assessments of the response to immunotherapy may be complicated by the occurrence of the flare/pseudoprogression phenomenon, consisting of initial tumor enlargement and even the appearance of new lesions, followed by a response, which may initially be indistinguishable from true progression. There have been efforts to characterize and capture the new patterns of response observed during immunotherapy, namely, pseudoprogression and delayed response, and several immune-related response criteria have been proposed.

An In-House 3D Voxel Dosimetric Tool to Compare Predictive and Post- Treatment Dosimetry in Y Radioembolization: A Proof of Concept.

Aim: The aim of this study was to implement an in-house dosimetric tool to assess tumour- absorbed doses in pre and post-dosimetry for Y radioembolization with resin spheres.

Materials And Methods: To perform dosimetric calculations we set up a dosimetric procedure and developed homemade software to calculate tumour absorbed dose and dose volume histograms (DVHs). The method is based on a simplified voxel dosimetry for an estimated 3D absorbed dose and it can be applied to both Tc-MAA SPECT/CT and Y PET/CT acquisitions for pre and post-dosimetry.

Machine Learning Model to Predict Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment by Using Radiomic and Amyloid Brain PET.

Purpose: The study aimed to develop a deep learning model for predicting amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) diagnosis using radiomic features and amyloid brain PET.

Patients And Methods: Subjects (n = 328) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database and the EudraCT 2015-001184-39 trial (159 males, 169 females), with a mean age of 72 ± 7.4 years, underwent PET/CT with 18 F-florbetaben.

Methodological Aspects and the Prognostic Value of Metabolic Tumor Volume assessed with 18F-FDG PET/CT in Lymphomas.

Although metabolic tumor volume (MTV) assessed with pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT has shown significant prognostic value across many lymphoma types, it is still not used in clinical practice due to technical concerns and the lack of standardisation. Numerous studies on the prognostic value of MTV in lymphomas have been published in recent years, but there is still no full agreement on the best methodology for MTV calculation. In this paper, we reviewed the methodological aspects of MTV assessment and reported recent works about its impact on outcome in lymphomas, with a focus on Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Impact of Tracer Retention Levels on Visual Analysis of Cerebral [F]- Florbetaben Pet Images.

Background: To compare visual and semi-quantitative analysis of brain [F]Florbetaben PET images in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients and relate this finding to the degree of ß-amyloid burden.

Methods: A sample of 71 amnestic MCI patients (age 74 ± 7.3 years, Mini Mental State Examination 24.

Changes over the years in radiopharmaceutical design.

Of the many uses of radiopharmaceuticals, developing radiotracers that contribute significantly to diagnosis and therapy of patients has been a major focus. This requires a broad spectrum of expertise including that of the attending physician who lends insight to an unmet clinical need neither addressed by other imaging techniques nor by analysis of tissue, blood, and urine for diagnostics and addressed by pharmaceuticals for therapeutic applications. The design criteria have depended on radiochemistry, on matching the radiopharmaceutical with the imaging devices, and basing the design on current pharmaceuticals.

Toward the Discovery and Development of PSMA Targeted Inhibitors for Nuclear Medicine Applications.

Background: The rising incidence rate of prostate cancer (PCa) has promoted the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals during the last decades. Promising improvements have been achieved in clinical practice using prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) labeled agents, including specific antibodies and small molecular weight inhibitors. Focusing on molecular docking studies, this review aims to highlight the progress in the design of PSMA targeted agents for a potential use in nuclear medicine.

Longitudinal cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment subjects with early amyloid-β neocortical deposition.

Purpose: The rate of clinical progression of cognitive impairment in subjects with early amyloid deposition is unknown. The primary aim of the study was to follow the rate of cognitive decline over 1 year in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) by determining amyloid retention levels in terms of standardized uptake value ratios (SUVr) that ranged from 0.85 to 1.

The brain cognitive reserve hypothesis: A review with emphasis on the contribution of nuclear medicine neuroimaging techniques.

Neuropathological and clinical evidence indicates that the clinical expression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) occurs as neuropathology exceeds the brain reserve capacity. The brain or cognitive reserve (BCR) hypothesis states that high premorbid intelligence, education, and an active and stimulating lifestyle provide reserve capacity, which acts as a buffer against the cognitive deficits due to accumulating neuropathology. Neuroimaging studies that assessed the BCR hypothesis are critically reviewed with emphasis on study design and statistical analysis.

C-choline PET/CT predicts survival in prostate cancer patients with PSA < 1 NG/ml.

Purpose: The main drawback of C-choline PET/CT for restaging prostate cancer (PCa) patients with biochemical failure is the relatively low positive detection rate for prostate specific antigen (PSA) < 1 ng/ml. This study assessed whether C-choline PET/CT predicts survival in PCa patients with PSA < 1 ng/ml.

Methods: This retrospective study included 210 PCa patients treated with radical prostatectomy who underwent C-choline PET/CT from December 1, 2004 to July 31, 2007 due to biochemical failure.

[Ga]-Dota Peptide PET/CT in Neuroendocrine Tumors: Main Clinical Applications.

Objective: Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) are generally defined as rare and heterogeneous tumors. The gastrointestinal system is the most frequent site of NENs localization, however they can be found in other anatomical regions, such as pancreas, lungs, ovaries, thyroid, pituitary, and adrenal glands. Neuroendocrine neoplasms have significant clinical manifestations depending on the production of active peptide.

Sensitivity of fluorine-18-fluoromethylcholine PET/CT to prostate-specific antigen over different plasma levels: a retrospective study in a cohort of 192 patients with prostate cancer.

Purpose: Several factors have been identified that predict positive fluorine-18-fluoromethylcholine (F-FCH) PET/CT result in patients with prostate cancer undergoing PET/CT for biochemical failure. Among these factors, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the single factor most consistently associated with the prediction of positive F-FCH PET/CT. In this study, we wished to confirm this finding and expand it in a large series of patients.

Amyloid burden identifies neuropsychological phenotypes at increased risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease in mild cognitive impairment patients.

Purpose: The extent of amyloid burden associated with cognitive impairment in amnestic mild cognitive impairment is unknown. The primary aim of the study was to determine the extent to which amyloid burden is associated to the cognitive impairment. The secondary objective was to test the relationship between amyloid accumulation and memory or cognitive impairment.

The relationship between local recurrences and distant metastases in prostate cancer: can C-choline PET/CT contribute to understand the link?

Purpose: Previous studies in prostate cancer (PCa) patients tried to correlate the onset of local recurrence (LR) with the development of distant metastases and formulated, based on theoretical and experimental data, hypotheses linking the two events. We aimed to address this issue with C-choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT).

Methods: This retrospective study included 491 PCa patients previously treated with radical prostatectomy who had undergone C-choline PET/CT owing to biochemical failure.

PET/CT With Ga-PSMA in Prostate Cancer: Radiopharmaceutical Background and Clinical Implications.

Background And Objective: In the last twenty years, positron emission tomography / computed tomography (PET/CT) with radiolabeled choline, represented the most powerful imaging modality for prostate cancer (PCa). However, the low positive detection rate of the technique for PSA < 1 ng/ml prompted the development of other tracers for imaging PCa.

Methods: We performed a critical review of 68Ga-PSMA, a receptor ligand tracer, which has been identified as the most promising radiopharmaceutical for imaging PCa.

PET/MR Tomographs: A Review with Technical, Radiochemical and Clinical Perspectives.

Background And Objective: In the last decade, an increasing number of positron emission tomography / magnetic resonance (PET/MR) tomographs were installed and many clinical studies were performed in the neurological field.

Methods: Although PET/MR has many favorable properties to support the application in brain imaging, attenuation correction, and therefore accurate quantification, is a problem that still requires optimal solution.

Results: In this review we have summarized the three main methods that are currently used to correct attenuation in PET/MR, namely atlas- or template-based methods, segmentation-based methods, and reconstruction-based methods.

PET and PET/CT with radiolabeled choline in prostate cancer: a critical reappraisal of 20 years of clinical studies.

We here aim to provide a comprehensive and critical review of the literature concerning the clinical applications of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with radiolabeled choline in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). We will initially briefly summarize the historical context that brought to the synthesis of [C]choline, which occurred exactly 20 years ago. We have arbitrarily grouped the clinical studies in three different periods, according to the year in which they were published and according to their relation with their applications in urology, radiotherapy and oncology.

Radiopharmaceuticals for the Diagnosis and Therapy of Neuroendocrine Differentiated Prostate Cancer.

Neuroendocrine differentiation of prostate cancer (PCa) is a relatively frequent event, generally understudied, that carries important prognostic information. It is the most frequently observed during the advanced stages of disease, when PCa has lost its sensitivity to androgen deprivation therapy or to chemotherapy, moderate to diffuse bone metastatic spread dominates the imaging scenario and it is responsible for painful clinical symptomatology. However, evidences indicate that neuroendocrine differentiation is a progressive phenomenon that starts at the very early part of the pathogenesis of cancer transformation contributing to it.

Molecular Imaging of Huntington's Disease.

The onset and the clinical progression of Huntington Disease (HD) is influenced by several events prompted by a genetic mutation that affects several organs tissues including different regions of the brain. In the last decades years, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) helped to deepen the knowledge of neurodegenerative mechanisms that guide to clinical symptoms. Brain imaging with PET represents a tool to investigate the physiopathology occurring in the brain and it has been used to predict the age of onset of the disease and to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of new drugs.

Targeted Therapy Towards Cancer-A Perspective.

Radionuclide antibody conjugates (RACs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) can function as biotherapeutic missiles in order to target cancer cells and destroy them. The advent of new technology platforms consisting of imaging modalities, drug design and radiochemistry will facilitate the personalised approach for cancer patient treatment programmes. The utilisation of radionuclides and cytotoxic drugs conjugated to biovectors can deliver a cytotoxic drug payload with the ability to emit alpha and/or beta particles in the vicinity of the tumour by binding onto the cancer cells surface antigens initiating cell death.