Publications by authors named "Claudia G Berman"
A 53-year-old female with a history of metastatic left arm melanoma presented for F(18) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) which showed a moderately FDG avid focus at her port catheter tip near the cavoatrial junction. Although catheter tip related FDG avidity has previously been suggested to be bland thrombus or infection, melanoma can metastasize to unusual locations including the superior vena cava. In addition, the patient had an elevated risk of anticoagulation due to a history of hemorrhagic brain metastases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Metabolic activity, as defined by F-FDG uptake on PET, is a prognostic marker for multiple malignancies; however, no study has examined the prognostic value of imaging with FDG PET in stage I and II pancreatic cancer. We examined the value of PET FDG uptake in early-stage pancreatic cancer patients.
Methods: We identified patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer (I-II) who had FDG PET scan performed as part of their preoperative evaluation.
Purpose: Measurement variance affects the clinical effectiveness of PET-based measurement as a semiquantitative imaging biomarker for cancer response in individual patients and for planning clinical trials. In this study, we measured test-retest reproducibility of SUV measurements under clinical practice conditions and recorded recognized deviations from protocol compliance.
Methods: Instrument performance calibration, display, and analyses conformed to manufacture recommendations.
As more women put off pregnancy until their 30s and beyond, the possibility of pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) will rise. Treatment options for patients with PABC need to consider possible harm to the fetus. The goal of this study is to review our institution's experience with sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies in patients with PABC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Imaging the breast is a vital component not only for breast cancer screening, but also for diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up of patients with breast cancer.
Methods: The author reviews recent advances and also provides her personal experience in describing the status of digital mammography, computer-aided detection, dedicated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron-emission mammography for evaluating the breast.
Results: Full-field digital mammography is superior to standard mammography in women under 50 years of age and in those with dense breasts.
Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of a visually lossless, image-adaptive, wavelet-based compression method for achievement of high compression rates at mammography.
Materials And Methods: The study was approved by the institutional review board of the University of South Florida as a research study with existing medical records and was exempt from individual patient consent requirements. Patient identifiers were obliterated from all images.
Rationale And Objectives: The study was designed to evaluate a new digitizing device, the iView (Maxxvision, LLC, Gainesville, FL), which aims to replace the magnifying glass in mammography with real-time film digitization, display, and processing.
Materials And Methods: A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) experiment was performed with 5 certified mammographers and 114 mammograms that were read with and without the iView. A satisfaction survey was also conducted on the system's features and usefulness.
Objective: Our objective was the implementation and evaluation of a novel enhancement technique for improved interpretation of high-resolution digitized mammograms from computer monitors.
Materials And Methods: A wavelet algorithm was designed to attenuate the image spectral characteristics responsible for the long-range image correlation that often interferes with digital display. The algorithm was evaluated with a localization response operating characteristic (LROC) experiment with 500 negative, benign, and cancer cases with masses and calcification clusters.