A comparison of endoscopic ultrasound guided biopsy and positron emission tomography with integrated computed tomography in lung cancer staging.

Background And Study Aims: Exact staging of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is important to improve selection of resectable and curable patients for surgery. Positron emission tomography with integrated computed tomography (PET/CT) and endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA) are new and promising methods, but indications in lung cancer staging are controversial. Only few studies have compared the 2 methods.

Sentinel node biopsy for melanoma: a study of 241 patients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the sentinel node biopsy (SNB) technique for melanoma using both radiocolloid and blue dye in 241 clinically N0 patients with melanomas >1.0 mm, or thinner lesions exhibiting regression/ulceration. We showed that an increase in injected radioactivity increased both the number of visualized nodes at lymphoscintigraphy and the number of SNs removed surgically.

FDG-PET in the clinical management of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a molecular functional imaging technique that provides qualitative and quantitative information about the localization and activity of pathophysiological processes. The most commonly used tracer for oncological purposes is 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG). FDG-PET has within recent years become the most important nuclear medicine imaging modality in the management of lymphoma.

Gamma-camera 18F-FDG PET in diagnosis and staging of patients presenting with suspected lung cancer and comparison with dedicated PET.

Unlabelled: It is not clear whether high-quality coincidence gamma-PET (gPET) cameras can provide clinical data comparable with data obtained with dedicated PET (dPET) cameras in the primary diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected lung cancer. This study focuses on 2 main issues: direct comparison between foci resolved with the 2 different PET scanners and the diagnostic accuracy compared with final diagnosis determined by the combined information from all other investigations and clinical follow-up.

Methods: Eighty-six patients were recruited to this study through a routine diagnostic program.

Positron emission tomography of incidentally detected small pulmonary nodules.

The aim of this study was to assess the value of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) imaging of small pulmonary nodules incidentally detected by spiral computed tomography (CT) in a high-risk population. Ten patients (five females, five males, aged 54-72 years) were recruited from an ongoing 4-year placebo controlled intervention study of the effect of inhaled steroids in 300 smokers with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The participants received yearly CT scans of the chest.

Fever of unknown origin: prospective comparison of diagnostic value of 18F-FDG PET and 111In-granulocyte scintigraphy.

The diagnostic work-up in patients with fever of unknown origin (FUO) is often challenging and frequently includes nuclear medicine procedures. Whereas a role for leucocyte or granulocyte scintigraphy in FUO is generally accepted, a possible role of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in these patients remains to be established. To study this, we compared prospectively, on a head-to-head basis, the diagnostic value of FDG-PET and indium-111 granulocyte scintigraphy in patients with FUO.

[FDG-PET and CT in gastrointestinal stromal tumor treated with imatinib].

The combined imaging modality PET/CT is a possible superior tool for evaluation of gastro-intestinal stromal tumor treatment illustrated in a case of a 59-year-old woman responding to imatinib.

Whole-body FDG-PET in patients with stage I non-seminomatous germ cell tumours.

Relapse occurs in 30% of patients with stage I non-seminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCT) within 1 year after orchiectomy. Whole-body positron emission tomography with fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) may detect small metastases when standard staging with computed tomography (CT) and tumour markers is negative. In this study, 46 patients underwent FDG-PET after staging with normal CT and tumour markers.

Implication of 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography on management of carcinoma of unknown primary in the head and neck: a Danish cohort study.

Objectives: To demonstrate the efficacy of whole-body 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) in the detection of a carcinoma of unknown primary after conventional diagnostic workup in patients with a metastatic neck lesion and to demonstrate how the treatment policy of wide-field irradiation can be safely modified in relation to the findings from PET scanning.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study of consecutive patients.

Methods: Forty-two consecutive patients with squamous cell or undifferentiated metastatic disease in the neck from a carcinoma of unknown primary were enrolled after standard clinical workups.

[Sentinel node biopsy in head and neck cancer. Is there an indication for use of this new surgical technique in the treatment of head and neck cancer?].

Management of the clinically N0 neck in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma remains controversial. Since lymph node metastasis reduces the five-year survival by up till 50%, the need for an accurate diagnostic procedure is necessary. The sentinel node, being the initial lymph node to which the primary tumour drains, is believed to be invaded by early metastasis.

4. Preliminary Findings of a Prospective Study of FDG-PET in Patients with Possible Lung Cancer.

Purpose: To examine the value of PET in diagnosis and staging of suspected lung cancer.Methods: 20 (13 male; mean age: 56 yr., range: 22-83 yr.

Electrical admittance for filling of the heart during lower body negative pressure in humans.

To evaluate whether electrical admittance of intracellular water is applicable for monitoring filling of the heart, we determined the difference in intracellular water in the thorax (Thorax(ICW)), measured as the reciprocal value of the electrical impedance for the thorax at 1.5 and 100 kHz during lower body negative pressure (LBNP) in humans. Changes in Thorax(ICW) were compared with positron emission tomography-determined C(15)O-labeled erythrocytes over the heart.

Experience in qualitative and quantitative FDG PET in follow-up of patients with suspected recurrence from head and neck cancer.

We evaluated positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in the detection of recurrent head and neck cancer, and compared visual and quantitative interpretation of PET images for their accuracy in the identification of tumour recurrence. Sixty-two FDG PET studies were performed in 56 patients having a total of 81 lesions, which were clinically suspected for recurrent carcinoma of the head and neck. The PET images were interpreted visually, and tracer uptake was quantitated as the standardised uptake value adjusted to body weight (SUV).

Use of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the detection of silent metastases from malignant melanoma.

Correct staging is crucial for the management and prognosis of patients with malignant melanoma. The aim of this prospective study was to compare staging by whole-body positron emission tomography using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) with staging by conventional methods. Thirty-eight patients with malignant melanoma of clinical stage II (local recurrence, in-transit and regional lymph node metastases) or III (metastases to other sites than in stage II) were included in the study.

18F-FDG whole body positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with unknown primary tumours (UPT).

The management of patients with unknown primary tumours (UPT) often includes a large number of radiographical studies and invasive procedures, but the occult primary tumour is detected in less than 25%. In this prospective study we explored whether non-invasive whole body PET scans using FDG (18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose) are of clinical value in detection of UPT. Whole-body FDG-PET scans were performed in 20 patients following standard staging procedures according to histology.

[Sentinel node diagnostics in malignant melanoma].

New trial have shown that immediate regional lymph node dissection offers increased survival in patients with regional lymph node metastases only. Introduction of isotope technique to identify the first node, the sentinel node (SN), receiving lymph from a tumour area has made it possible to avoid node dissection in SN metastasis negative patients. The feasibility of the technique is illustrated by to examples.

[FDG-PET in the staging of malignant melanoma].

Positron emission tomography (PET scanning) is a useful tool in staging of malignant melanoma. A radiolabelled glucoseanalogue can demonstrate changes in metabolism and thus identify malignancy in macroscopic unchanged structures. It is a non-invasive, fast method to identify especially visceral, still symptomless metastases.

Nuclear 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine receptor binding in mononuclear blood cells from patients with malignant blood diseases and small cell carcinoma of the lung.

We have previously demonstrated enhanced daily turnover of thyroid hormones in patients with hypermetabolic symptoms due to malignant haematologic disorders or small cell carcinoma of the lung. We hypothesized that some of these symptoms might be due to enhanced peripheral effects of T3. We therefore studied the nuclear T3 receptor binding in circulating mononuclear blood cells in 5 patients with malignant haematologic disorders, 5 with untreated small cell carcinoma of the lung, and 11 healthy controls.