Radioembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Comparison on Dual-phase Cone-beam CT, Contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) and Tc-macroaggregated albumin-SPECT/CT in predicting final distribution volumes and dosimetry of the post-embolization Y PET/CT.

Purpose: Personalized treatment schemes are being systematically applied to ensure best treatment outcome in oncologic patients. This is true also for personalized dosimetry in transarterial radioembolization (TARE) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Precise and detailed volumetric and functional data derived from radiological and nuclear imaging methods are essential for personalized dosimetry.

A Multimodal Protocol Combining Tc-Tilmanocept with Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Lympho-Angiography for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early-Stage Oral Cancer: A Case Series.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is currently considered as a viable alternative to elective neck dissection (END) for the management of cN0 oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC). However, some difficulties were detected in sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification in floor of mouth (FOM) and ventral tongue tumors because of the so-called "shine-through radioactivity" of the injection site, which may mask nodal hotspots in proximity. We assessed the feasibility and the potential strengths of combining Tc-Tilmanocept with indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence lympho-angiography in a dedicated multimodal protocol for SLNB in T1/T2N0 oral cancer to evaluate the synergistic role of each of these two tracers in providing the appropriate sensitivity and ease of learning, even in such a critical anatomical subsite.

Early regression index (ERI) on MR images as response predictor in esophageal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy: Interim analysis of the prospective ESCAPE trial.

Purpose: The early regression index (ERI) predicts treatment response in rectal cancer patients. Aim of current study was to prospectively assess tumor response to neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (nCRT) of locally advanced esophageal cancer using ERI, based on MRI.

Material And Methods: From January 2020 to May 2023, 30 patients with esophageal cancer were enrolled in a prospective study (ESCAPE).

Single-Center Retrospective Study Comparing Double Vein Embolization via a Trans-Jugular Approach with Liver Venous Deprivation via a Trans-Hepatic Approach.

Purpose: To compare safety, technical and clinical outcomes of double vein embolization (DVE) via a trans-jugular approach with liver venous deprivation (LVD) via a trans-hepatic approach.

Materials And Methods: A single-center retrospective analysis was conducted on patients undergoing simultaneous portal and hepatic veins embolization in view of a major hepatectomy (June 2019-November 2022). Hepatic vein embolization was performed either by transjugular plug (DVE) or by transhepatic plug followed by glue injection (LVD).

Comparing Liver Venous Deprivation and Portal Vein Embolization for Perihilar Cholangiocarcinoma: Is It Time to Shift the Focus to Hepatic Functional Reserve Rather than Hypertrophy?

: Among liver hypertrophy technics, liver venous deprivation (LVD) has been recently introduced as an effective procedure to combine simultaneous portal inflow and hepatic outflow abrogation, raising growing clinical interest. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of LVD for preoperative optimization of future liver remnant (FLR) in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHC), especially when compared with portal vein embolization (PVE). : Between January 2013 and July 2022, all patients diagnosed with PHC and scheduled for preoperative optimization of FTR, through radiological hypertrophy techniques, prior to liver resection, were included.

Chronic cholesterol administration to the brain supports complete and long-lasting cognitive and motor amelioration in Huntington's disease.

Evidence that Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by impaired cholesterol biosynthesis in the brain has led to strategies to increase its level in the brain of the rapidly progressing R6/2 mouse model, with a positive therapeutic outcome. Here we tested the long-term efficacy of chronic administration of cholesterol to the brain of the slowly progressing zQ175DN knock-in HD mice in preventing ("early treatment") or reversing ("late treatment") HD symptoms. To do this we used the most advanced formulation of cholesterol loaded brain-permeable nanoparticles (NPs), termed hybrid-g7-NPs-chol, which were injected intraperitoneally.

Somatostatin receptor activity assessed by Ga-DOTATOC PET can preoperatively predict DAXX/ATRX loss of expression in well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of Ga-DOTATOC PET parameters in predicting DAXX/ATRX loss of expression in patients with Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNET) candidate to surgery.

Methods: This retrospective study included 72 consecutive patients with PanNET (January 2018-March 2022) who underwent to Ga-DOTATOC PET for preoperative staging. Image analysis: qualitative assessment and extraction of SUVmax, SUV mean, somatostatin receptor density (SRD), and total lesion somatostatin receptor density (TLSRD) from primary PanNET.

Combining Laparoscopic Liver Partitioning and Simultaneous Portohepatic Venous Deprivation for Rapid Liver Hypertrophy.

Future liver remnant (FLR) volume is an important indicator of the risk of posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) and limits the feasibility of major hepatectomies. A case series of 5 patients treated with a novel approach is presented. Laparoscopic liver partitioning was combined with subsequent liver venous deprivation (embolization of both the portal and the hepatic veins).

Ga-DOTATOC PET/MR imaging and radiomic parameters in predicting histopathological prognostic factors in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine well-differentiated tumours.

Purpose: To explore the role of fully hybrid Ga-DOTATOC PET/MR imaging and radiomic parameters in predicting histopathological prognostic factors in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PanNETs) undergoing surgery.

Methods: One hundred eighty-seven consecutive Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI scans (March 2018-June 2020) performed for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumour were retrospectively evaluated; 16/187 patients met the eligibility criteria (Ga-DOTATOC PET/MRI for preoperative staging of PanNET and availability of histological data). PET/MR scans were qualitatively and quantitatively interpreted, and the following imaging parameters were derived: PET-derived SUVmax, SUVmean, somatostatin receptor density (SRD), total lesion somatostatin receptor density (TLSRD), and MRI-derived apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), arterial and late enhancement, necrosis, cystic degeneration, and maximum diameter.

PET/MRI for Staging the Axilla in Breast Cancer: Current Evidence and the Rationale for SNB vs. PET/MRI Trials.

Axillary surgery in breast cancer (BC) is no longer a therapeutic procedure but has become a purely staging procedure. The progressive improvement in imaging techniques has paved the way to the hypothesis that prognostic information on nodal status deriving from surgery could be obtained with an accurate diagnostic exam. Positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) is a relatively new imaging tool and its role in breast cancer patients is still under investigation.

High-risk early-stage oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma, when free margins are not enough: Critical review.

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) is a quite peculiar disease from an anatomical and biological standpoint. An increasing amount of literature highlights the existence of a small subset of T1-T2N0 OTSCC, properly resected on a margin-dependent basis, which conversely proved higher than expected rates of loco-regional/distant failure and disease-specific mortality. These specific high-risk tumors might not have a margin-dependent disease and could possibly benefit from a more aggressive upfront loco-regional treatment, especially addressing the so-called T-N tract.

Tailoring the radiotherapy approach in patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma based on inguinal sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Background And Objectives: The aim of our study was to analyze the results of selective inguinal node irradiation in patients with anal cancer, based on the biopsy of the inguinal sentinel lymph node (SLN), in terms of local control and prognosis.

Methods: Records of patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma from January 2001 to December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Tc99 lymphoscintigraphy was performed in all the clinically inguinal negative patients, followed by radio-guided surgical removal of the inguinal SLN.

Impact of sentinel lymph-node biopsy and FDG-PET in staging and radiation treatment of anal cancer patients.

To assess the role of sentinel lymph-node biopsy (SLNB) and FDG-PET in staging and radiation treatment (RT) of anal cancer patients. This retrospective study was performed on 80 patients (male: 32, female: 48) with a median age of 60 years (39-89 years) with anal squamous cell carcinoma who were treated from March 2008 to March 2018 at the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital. Patients without clinical evidence of inguinal LNs metastases and/or with discordance between clinical evidence and imaging features were considered for SLNB.

Prognostic value of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and inguinal sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with anal cancer.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the value of positron emission tomography (PET)/CT and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in staging inguinal lymph nodes in anal cancer patients and to determine if the results of the two methods could be of prognostic value.

Method: Sixty-three patients with anal cancer and clinically negative inguinal lymph nodes underwent lymphoscintigraphy and inguinal SLN biopsy and/or fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT scan. All patients were treated with radiotherapy combined with 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin-C.

Prognostic Value of F-Fluorocholine PET Parameters in Metastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer Patients Treated with Docetaxel.

Background And Aim: The availability of new treatments for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients increases the need for reliable biomarkers to help clinicians to choose the better sequence strategy. The aim of the present retrospective and observational work is to investigate the prognostic value of F-fluorocholine (F-FCH) positron emission tomography (PET) parameters in mCRPC.

Materials And Methods: Between March 2013 and August 2016, 29 patients with mCRPC were included.

Sentinel node biopsy after primary systemic therapy in node positive breast cancer patients: Time trend, imaging staging power and nodal downstaging according to molecular subtype.

Background: The management of axilla after Primary Systemic Therapy (PST) for breast cancer is a highly debated field. Despite the proven axillary downstaging occurring after PST, there is still some degree of reluctance in applying sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in the neoadjuvant setting.

Patients And Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis on 181 PST patients with axillary positive nodes at presentation treated between 2005 and 2017 at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan.

Quantitative measurement of 18F-FDG PET/CT uptake reflects the expansion of circulating plasmablasts in IgG4-related disease.

Objective: [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT is increasingly used to assess organ involvement and response to treatment in IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), but clear correlations between 18F-FDG uptake and disease activity have not been established yet. We aimed to correlate the intensity and distribution of 18F-FDG uptake with validated clinical, serological and immunological parameters of IgG4-RD activity.

Methods: Twenty patients with active IgG4-RD underwent a baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Targeted radionuclide therapy: frontiers in theranostics.

The concept of targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) relies on the use of injected nuclear medicine as treating agents, targeted at the cellular or molecular level. The growth of the interest in TRT was stimulated by the advances in radionuclide production and labeling as well as by the improvement in the knowledge of appropriate and specific molecular targets. In recent years, different studies on TRT were focused on the evaluation of radionuclide compounds able to combine imaging of the disease with TRT, in a theranostic approach.

Biomarkers from in vivo molecular imaging of breast cancer: pretreatment F-FDG PET predicts patient prognosis, and pretreatment DWI-MR predicts response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Objective: Human cancers display intra-tumor phenotypic heterogeneity and recent research has focused on developing image processing methods extracting imaging descriptors to characterize this heterogeneity. This work assesses the role of pretreatment F-FDG PET and DWI-MR with respect to the prognosis and prediction of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) outcomes when image features are used to characterize primitive lesions from breast cancer (BC).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective protocol included 38 adult women with biopsy-proven BC.

Health Care Seeking Behavior of Persons with Acute Chagas Disease in Rural Argentina: A Qualitative View.

Chagas disease (CD) is a tropical parasitic disease largely underdiagnosed and mostly asymptomatic affecting marginalized rural populations. Argentina regularly reports acute cases of CD, mostly young individuals under 14 years old. There is a void of knowledge of health care seeking behavior in subjects experiencing a CD acute condition.

Prospective comparison of MR with diffusion-weighted imaging, endoscopic ultrasound, MDCT and positron emission tomography-CT in the pre-operative staging of oesophageal cancer: results from a pilot study.

Objective: To compare the diagnostic performance of MR and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), multidetector CT, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and F-FDG (fluorine-18 fludeoxyglucose) positron emission tomography CT (PET-CT) in the pre-operative locoregional staging of oesophageal cancer.

Methods: 18 patients with oesophageal or Siewert I tumour (9 directly treated with surgery and 9 addressed to chemo-/radiotherapy before) underwent 1.5-T MR and DWI, 64-channel multidetector CT, EUS and PET-CT before (n = 18) and also after neoadjuvant treatment (n = 9).

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody positivity in IgG4-related disease: A case report and review of the literature.

Background: IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a fibroinflammatory condition characterized by serum IgG4 elevation and tissue infiltration of IgG4-positive plasma cells. Substantial overlap between IgG4-RD and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) exists in terms of organ involvement and histopathological features. A positive ANCA assay is regarded as a highly specific finding in favor of an AAV, and generally influences away from a diagnosis of IgG4-RD.

Prone 18F-FDG PET/CT changes diagnostic and surgical intervention in a breast cancer patient: some considerations about PET/CT imaging acquisition protocol.

We report a case study demonstrating the value of prone positioning in positron emission tomography (PET) of a woman with diagnosed breast cancer (BC) addressed to lumpectomy. Surgeon required (18)F-fluorodeoxiglucose ((18)F-FDG) PET study for staging and assessment of lymphnode involvement/metastasis prior to lumpectomy: a whole-body supine study and a prone acquisition of breast. Supine study revealed one lesion, while prone study revealed two lesions.