18F-FDG-PET/CT Imaging for Gastrointestinal Malignancies.

Gastrointestinal malignancies encompass a variety of primary tumor sites, each with different staging criteria and treatment approaches. In this review we discuss technical aspects of 18F-FDG-PET/CT scanning to optimize information from both the PET and computed tomography components. Specific applications for 18F-FDG-PET/CT are summarized for initial staging and follow-up of the major disease sites, including esophagus, stomach, hepatobiliary system, pancreas, colon, rectum, and anus.

The utility of initial staging PET-CT as a baseline scan for surveillance imaging in stage II and III melanoma.

Background: This study evaluates the utility of whole-body PET-CT for the initial staging and subsequent surveillance imaging of patients with completely resected stage II and stage III melanoma.

Methods: A single-center, retrospective review of patients who received perioperative whole-body PET-CT from January 1, 2005 to December 1, 2019 within three months of initial melanoma diagnosis was performed.

Results: Of 258 total patients with completely resected melanoma who had a PET-CT within 3 months after their melanoma diagnosis, 113 had stage II and 145 had stage III melanoma.

Molecular Imaging in the Head and Neck: Diagnosis and Therapy.

This article is a summary of the most up-to-date applications of radiopharmaceuticals to the diagnosis and therapy of benign and malignant diseases involving endocrine or neuroendocrine organs of the head and neck, focusing on radiotracers approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, such as I-123- and I-131-sodium iodide, F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose, Tc99m-sestamibi, as well as the more recently approved tracers Ga-68 DOTATATE and Lu-177 DOTATATE.

Predictors of Survival in 211 Patients with Stage IV Pulmonary and Gastroenteropancreatic MIBG-Positive Neuroendocrine Tumors Treated with I-MIBG.

This retrospective analysis identifies predictors of survival in a cohort of patients with meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG)-positive stage IV pulmonary and gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (P/GEP-NET) treated with I-MIBG therapy, to inform treatment selection and posttreatment monitoring. Survival, symptoms, imaging, and biochemical response were extracted via chart review from 211 P/GEP-NET patients treated with I-MIBG between 1991 and 2014. For patients with CT follow-up ( = 125), imaging response was assessed by RECIST 1.

Utility of Radionuclide Bone Scintigraphy in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

Purpose Of Review: To describe the current understanding of the role of three-phase bone scintigraphy (TPBS) in the diagnosis and management of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), discuss its advantages and limitations, and present three examples of TPBS patterns typically seen in CRPS patients.

Recent Findings: CRPS is a debilitating disorder frequently presenting with pain to ordinarily non-painful stimuli, redness, swelling, following fractures, stroke, myocardial infarction, surgery, or even minor trauma, and its diagnosis, based on clinical criteria and supportive imaging findings, is difficult. Of the available adjunctive diagnostic imaging modalities, radionuclide bone scintigraphy using a TPBS protocol is the most sensitive and specific for detecting abnormalities commonly seen with this condition-classically, increased periarticular uptake on delayed phase of TPBS, with variable increased uptake on perfusion phases, depending on chronicity.

A practical method of I-131 thyroid cancer therapy dose optimization using estimated effective renal clearance.

In thyroid cancer patients with renal impairment or other complicating factors, it is important to maximize I-131 therapy efficacy while minimizing bone marrow and lung damage. We developed a web-based calculator based on a modified Benua and Leeper method to calculate the maximum I-131 dose to reduce the risk of these toxicities, based on the effective renal clearance of I-123 as measured from two whole-body I-123 scans, performed at 0 and 24 h post-administration.

Unusual Soft Tissue Uptake of F-18 Sodium Fluoride in Three Patients Undergoing F-18 NaF PET/CT Bone Scans for Prostate Cancer.

Three males aged 71 to 80 years with known stage IV metastatic prostate cancer underwent F-18 sodium fluoride (NaF) PET/CT to assess osseous metastatic disease burden and stability. In addition to F-18 NaF avid known osseous metastases, each patient also exhibited increased F-18 NaF activity in soft tissues. The first patient exhibited multiple F-18 NaF avid enlarged retroperitoneal and pelvic lymph nodes on consecutive PET/CT scans.

Comparison of Bayesian penalized likelihood reconstruction versus OS-EM for characterization of small pulmonary nodules in oncologic PET/CT.

Objective: To determine whether the recently introduced Bayesian penalized likelihood PET reconstruction (Q.Clear) increases the visual conspicuity and SUV of small pulmonary nodules near the PET resolution limit, relative to ordered subset expectation maximization (OS-EM).

Methods: In this institutional review board-approved and HIPAA-compliant study, 29 FDG PET/CT scans performed on a five-ring GE Discovery IQ were retrospectively selected for pulmonary nodules described in the radiologist's report as "too small to characterize", or small lung nodules in patients at high risk for lung cancer.

Patient and tumor characteristics predictive of an elevated hepatopulmonary shunt fraction before radioembolization of hepatic tumors.

Objective: To determine whether any patient or hepatic tumor characteristics are predictive of hepatopulmonary shunt fraction when performed before radioembolization.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review was performed on 190 patients who underwent preradioembolization hepatic arteriography with calculation of hepatopulmonary shunt fraction using technetium-99m-labeled macroaggregated albumin perfusion scintigraphy. Patient and tumor characteristics including imaging features were reviewed for correlation with absolute shunt fraction, shunt fraction greater than 10%, and shunt fraction greater than 20%.

Isolated recto-sigmoid colitis: a new imaging pattern of ipilimumab-associated colitis.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe typical CT findings and distinct imaging patterns of ipilimumab-associated colitis in immunotherapeutic treatment of melanoma.

Materials And Methods: This HIPAA-compliant retrospective study included 86 patients with melanoma imaged with CT or PET/CT of the abdomen and pelvis during or shortly after administration of ipilimumab. Twelve of 86 patients (14%) developed symptoms of colitis and underwent CT imaging of the abdomen and pelvis while symptomatic.

Difference in appearance between prone and supine myocardial perfusion images obtained on a high-efficiency cadmium zinc telluride SPECT camera.

Objective: The recent introduction of high-efficiency solid-state gamma cameras for myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography has enabled lower patient radiation dose, faster imaging, and improved image quality. However, artifacts still complicate interpretation. Prone imaging is a common maneuver to reduce artifacts and increase accuracy for detection of coronary artery disease, but its effect on imaging relative to supine imaging has not been fully characterized in these new systems.

FDG Uptake on Positron Emission Tomography Correlates with Survival and Time to Recurrence in Patients with Stage I Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Introduction: Patients with stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have a wide variation in outcomes, most likely because there are undetected metastases at presentation. We retrospectively reviewed patients with early stage lung cancer to determine if FDG uptake of the primary tumor as measured on positron emission tomography (PET) at the time of diagnosis was associated with overall survival (OS) or time to recurrence (TTR).

Methods: We reviewed the Tumor Registry at our institution and identified 336 consecutive patients diagnosed with stage I NSCLC over a 5-year period who underwent an FDG-PET/computed tomography within 90 days before surgery.

Definitive diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid leak into the pleural space using 111In-DTPA cisternography.

A 58-year-old woman with a calcified disk extrusion causing severe spinal stenosis underwent T8 to T9 diskectomy and spinal fusion. A postoperative pseudomeningocele was treated with lumbar drain and fibrin glue. Performed for persistent right pleural effusion, CT myelogram failed to show communication between the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and pleural space--even on 2-hour delayed images.

Murine CD7 shares antigenic cross-reactivity with HSP-60.

Human (h) CD7 is a 40 kDa single chain Ig superfamily molecule that is expressed on thymocytes, a major subunit of peripheral T cells, and most natural killer cells. Ligands for hCD7 include the epithelial cell-produced molecule, K-12, and galectin. Mice deficient in CD7 have been shown to be resistant to LPS-induced endotoxic shock syndromes.

Stable RNA interference-mediated suppression of cyclophilin A diminishes non-small-cell lung tumor growth in vivo.

Cyclophilin A (CypA) was recently reported to be overexpressed in non-small-cell lung cancer, and represents a potentially novel therapeutic target. To determine the role of CypA in oncogenesis, stable RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of CypA was established in two non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines (ADLC-5M2 and LC-103H), and these cells were grown as xenografts in severe combined immunodeficient mice. Tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis were measured by Ki67, terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling, and CD31 immunohistochemistry, respectively.

Translating biomarkers into clinical practice: prognostic implications of cyclophilin A and macrophage migratory inhibitory factor identified from protein expression profiles in non-small cell lung cancer.

Biomarkers have the potential to significantly change diagnostic strategies and influence therapeutic management. We developed a MALDI-TOF protein expression profiling platform for biomarker discovery and a proof-of-principle study identified two proteins, cyclophilin A (CyPA) and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), that were overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The current study focused on evaluating the potential of CyPA and MIF as prognostic markers in patients with a new diagnosis of lung cancer for rapid translation into clinical practice.

Thermodynamic analysis of cyclosporin a binding to cyclophilin a in a lung tumor tissue lysate.

We report on the application of SUPREX (stability of unpurified proteins from rates of H/D exchange) to the analysis of a protein-ligand binding interaction under the ex vivo solution conditions of a human lung tumor tissue lysate. A SUPREX-derived binding free energy (i.e.

Identification and validation of a potential lung cancer serum biomarker detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight spectra analysis.

Many abnormalities detected in the thorax by routine conventional imaging studies are benign, yet all require further evaluation because of the concern for cancer. To address this deficiency and develop a serum biomarker for lung cancer, we designed a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) based platform to display the proteins present in the serum of patients with or without lung cancer, and then challenged the scientific community to analyze these data with the aim of determining specific ion signal differences among the resulting spectra. The most statistically significant ion peak identified by the various analysis algorithms that differentiated the serum of patients with lung cancer from the serum of individuals without lung cancer was found at m/z 11,702.