Radiomics Features from Positron Emission Tomography with [F] Fluorodeoxyglucose Can Help Predict Cervical Nodal Status in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.

Detecting pathological lymph nodes (LNs) is crucial for establishing the proper clinical approach in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Positron emission tomography with [F] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG PET) has high diagnostic value, although it can yield false positives since FDG-avid LNs can also occur from non-cancerous diseases. To explore if radiomics features from FDG PET can enhance the identification of pathological lymph nodes in head and neck cancer.

Performance Analysis of Six Semi-Automated Tumour Delineation Methods on [F] Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (FDG PET/CT) in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the seventh most common neoplastic disorder at the global level. Contouring HNC lesions on [18F] Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) scans plays a fundamental role for diagnosis, risk assessment, radiotherapy planning and post-treatment evaluation. However, manual contouring is a lengthy and tedious procedure which requires significant effort from the clinician.

PET Radiomics and Response to Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Unlabelled: The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing literature concerning the applications of positron emission tomography (PET) radiomics in lung cancer patient candidates or those undergoing immunotherapy.

Materials And Methods: A systematic review was conducted on databases and web sources. English-language original articles were considered.

Size measurement of lung nodules on CT: which diameter is most stable to inter-observer variability?

Indeterminate lung nodules detected on CT are common findings in the clinical practice, and the correct assessment of their size is critical for patient evaluation and management. We compared the stability of three definitions of nodule diameter (Feret's mean diameter, Martin's mean diameter and area-equivalent diameter) to inter-observer variability on a population of 336 solid nodules from 207 subjects. We found that inter-observer agreement was highest with Martin's mean diameter (intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.

Radiomics and theranostics with molecular and metabolic probes in prostate cancer: toward a personalized approach.

Introduction: In the last decade, two new radionuclide-based therapies, Radichloride and radioligand therapy (RLT) targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), have been approved by the regulatory authorities for the management of castrate-resistant prostate cancer (PCa).

Areas Covered: The basic principles of PCa molecular imaging are illustrated, with a particular attention to the combined use of diagnosis and therapy in a unique approach (the so-called theranostics) for response prediction and assessment in patients submitted to Radichloride or PSMA targeted therapies. In this perspective, the potential of radiomics, an emerging discipline based on the extraction of quantitative features from medical images, is covered.

DNA Damage Repair Defects and Targeted Radionuclide Therapies for Prostate Cancer: Does Mutation Really Matter? A Systematic Review.

The aim of the present review was to assess the impact of DNA damage repair (DDR) mutations on response and outcome of patients (pts) affected by advanced prostate cancer (PCa) submitted to radionuclide therapies with [223Ra]RaCl2 (223Ra-therapy) or prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligands. A systematic literature search according to PRISMA criteria was made by using two main databases. Only studies published up until to October 2022 in the English language with ≥10 enrolled patients were selected.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen-directed imaging and radioguided surgery with single-photon emission computed tomography: state of the art and future outlook.

Introduction: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has emerged as a highly relevant target for prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis and therapy. PSMA inhibitors targeting PSMA-enzymatic domain have been successfully labeled with radionuclides emitting positrons or gamma-photons, thus obtaining tracers suitable for imaging with positron emission computed tomography (PET/CT) or single-photon emission tomography (SPECT).

Areas Covered: The different approaches for obtaining PSMA-ligands labeled with gamma-emitting nuclides (Tc orIn) are reviewed.

Imaging Findings of F-Choline and F-DOPA PET/MRI in a Case of Glioblastoma Multiforme Pseudoprogression: Correlation with Clinical Outcome.

We describe the case of 74-year-old-male, previously treated with fronto-parietal craniotomy due to primary glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), followed by concurrent radiation therapy (RT) and temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, at 1 month after completing RT + TMZ, depicted partial response. Three months later, the patient was submitted to a further brain MRI, that resulted doubtful for therapy induced changes (i.

Differential Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease vs. Mild Cognitive Impairment Based on Left Temporal Lateral Lobe Hypomethabolism on F-FDG PET/CT and Automated Classifiers.

Purpose: We evaluate the ability of Artificial Intelligence with automatic classification methods applied to semi-quantitative data from brain F-FDG PET/CT to improve the differential diagnosis between Alzheimer Disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

Procedures: We retrospectively analyzed a total of 150 consecutive patients who underwent diagnostic evaluation for suspected AD (n = 67) or MCI (n = 83). All patients received brain 18F-FDG PET/CT according to the international guidelines, and images were analyzed both Qualitatively (QL) and Quantitatively (QN), the latter by a fully automated post-processing software that produced a z score metabolic map of 25 anatomically different cortical regions.

Somatostatin Receptor Targeted PET-Imaging for Diagnosis, Radiotherapy Planning and Theranostics of Meningiomas: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

The aims of the present systematic review are to: (1) assess the diagnostic performance of somatostatin receptor (SSR)targeted positron emission tomography (PET) with different tracers and devices in patients affected by meningiomas; and (2) to evaluate the theranostic applications of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) in meningiomas. A systematic literature search according to PRISMA criteria was made by using two main databases. Only studies published from 2011 up to March 2022 in the English language with ≥10 enrolled patients were selected.

Form Factors as Potential Imaging Biomarkers to Differentiate Benign vs. Malignant Lung Lesions on CT Scans.

Indeterminate lung nodules detected on CT scans are common findings in clinical practice. Their correct assessment is critical, as early diagnosis of malignancy is crucial to maximise the treatment outcome. In this work, we evaluated the role of form factors as imaging biomarkers to differentiate benign vs.

The Role and Potential of F-FDG PET/CT in Malignant Melanoma: Prognostication, Monitoring Response to Targeted and Immunotherapy, and Radiomics.

Novel therapeutic approaches, consisting of immune check-point inhibitors (ICIs) and molecularly targeted therapy, have thoroughly changed the clinical management of malignant melanoma (MM), the most frequent and deadly skin cancer. Since only 30-40% of MM patients respond to ICIs, imaging biomarkers suitable for the pre-therapeutic stratification and response assessment are warmly welcome. In this scenario, positron emission computed tomography (PET/CT) with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) has been successfully utilized for advanced MM staging and therapy response evaluation.

Neuroimaging with PET/CT in chronic traumatic encephalopathy: what nuclear medicine can do to move the field forward.

Introduction: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome, caused by single or repeated traumatic brain injuries. Since a few years ago, examination represented the only effective method to diagnose CTE through the detection of its peculiar neuropathological features (i.e.

Impact of Lesion Delineation and Intensity Quantisation on the Stability of Texture Features from Lung Nodules on CT: A Reproducible Study.

Computer-assisted analysis of three-dimensional imaging data () has received a lot of research attention as a possible means to improve the management of patients with lung cancer. Building robust predictive models for clinical decision making requires the imaging features to be stable enough to changes in the acquisition and extraction settings. Experimenting on 517 lung lesions from a cohort of 207 patients, we assessed the stability of 88 texture features from the following classes: first-order (13 features), Grey-level Co-Occurrence Matrix (24), Grey-level Difference Matrix (14), Grey-level Run-length Matrix (16), Grey-level Size Zone Matrix (16) and Neighbouring Grey-tone Difference Matrix (five).

Comparative evaluation of conventional and deep learning methods for semi-automated segmentation of pulmonary nodules on CT.

Background: Accurate segmentation of pulmonary nodules on computed tomography (CT) scans plays a crucial role in the evaluation and management of patients with suspicion of lung cancer (LC). When performed manually, not only the process requires highly skilled operators, but is also tiresome and time-consuming. To assist the physician in this task several automated and semi-automated methods have been proposed in the literature.

123I-Ioflupane SPECT and 18F-FDG PET Combined Use in the Characterization of Movement and Cognitive Associated Disorders in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Background: Both movement (MD) and cognitive (CD) disorders can occur associated in some neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: We further investigated the usefulness of 123I-Ioflupane SPECT and 18F-FDG PET combined use in patients with these disorders in the early stage.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled twenty-five consecutive patients with MD and CD clinical symptoms of recent appearance.

Value of Shape and Texture Features from F-FDG PET/CT to Discriminate between Benign and Malignant Solitary Pulmonary Nodules: An Experimental Evaluation.

In this paper, we investigate the role of shape and texture features from 18F-FDG PET/CT to discriminate between benign and malignant solitary pulmonary nodules. To this end, we retrospectively evaluated cross-sectional data from 111 patients (64 males, 47 females, age = 67.5 ± 11.

Classification Model to Estimate MIB-1 (Ki 67) Proliferation Index in NSCLC Patients Evaluated With F-FDG-PET/CT.

Background/aim: Proliferation biomarkers such as MIB-1 are strong predictors of clinical outcome and response to therapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, but they require histological examination. In this work, we present a classification model to predict MIB-1 expression based on clinical parameters from positron emission tomography.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 78 patients with histology-proven non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent F-FDG-PET/CT for clinical examination.