Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association HPB Ultrasound and Advanced Technology post-graduate course: Overview and review.

Background: Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA) established the Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) ultrasound (US) and Advanced Technology Post-Graduate Course in 2012 in response to a perceived gap in training and practice.

Methods: The HPB US and Advanced Technology Post-Graduate Course consists of both didactic and hands-on skills sessions. The didactic sessions are divided into foundational, organ-focused, and application content.

Serum micro-RNA Identifies Early Stage Colorectal Cancer in a Multi-Ethnic Population.

Objective: Certain microRNAs (miR) have been previously described to be dysregulated in cancers and can be detected in blood samples. Studies examining the utility of miRs for colon cancer screening have primarily been performed in ethnically homogeneous groups of patients, thus the performance of miRs in multiethnic populations is unknown.

Methods: Four miRs were selected that were shown to be aberrantly expressed in the blood or stool of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) of various ethnicities.

Segmentation of 3-D High-Frequency Ultrasound Images of Human Lymph Nodes Using Graph Cut With Energy Functional Adapted to Local Intensity Distribution.

Previous studies by our group have shown that 3-D high-frequency quantitative ultrasound (QUS) methods have the potential to differentiate metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) from cancer-free LNs dissected from human cancer patients. To successfully perform these methods inside the LN parenchyma (LNP), an automatic segmentation method is highly desired to exclude the surrounding thin layer of fat from QUS processing and accurately correct for ultrasound attenuation. In high-frequency ultrasound images of LNs, the intensity distribution of LNP and fat varies spatially because of acoustic attenuation and focusing effects.

Reliability and acceptability of six station multiple mini-interviews: past-behavioural versus situational questions in postgraduate medical admission.

Background: The multiple mini-interview (MMI) is increasingly used for postgraduate medical admissions and in undergraduate settings. MMIs use mostly Situational Questions (SQs) rather than Past-Behavioural Questions (PBQs). A previous study of MMIs in this setting, where PBQs and SQs were asked in the same order, reported that the reliability of PBQs was non-inferior to SQs and that SQs were more acceptable to candidates.

Local Transverse-Slice-Based Level-Set Method for Segmentation of 3-D High-Frequency Ultrasonic Backscatter From Dissected Human Lymph Nodes.

Objective: To detect metastases in freshly excised human lymph nodes (LNs) using three-dimensional (3-D), high-frequency, quantitative ultrasound (QUS) methods, the LN parenchyma (LNP) must be segmented to preclude QUS analysis of data in regions outside the LNP and to compensate ultrasound attenuation effects due to overlying layers of LNP and residual perinodal fat (PNF).

Methods: After restoring the saturated radio-frequency signals from PNF using an approach based on smoothing cubic splines, the three regions, i.e.

Past-behavioural versus situational questions in a postgraduate admissions multiple mini-interview: a reliability and acceptability comparison.

Background: The Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) mostly uses 'Situational' Questions (SQs) as an interview format within a station, rather than 'Past-Behavioural' Questions (PBQs), which are most frequently adopted in traditional single-station personal interviews (SSPIs) for non-medical and medical selection. This study investigated reliability and acceptability of the postgraduate admissions MMI with PBQ and SQ interview formats within MMI stations.

Methods: Twenty-six Japanese medical graduates, first completed the two-year national obligatory initial postgraduate clinical training programme and then applied to three specialty training programmes - internal medicine, general surgery, and emergency medicine - in a Japanese teaching hospital, where they underwent the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-competency-based MMI.

Modeling the envelope statistics of three-dimensional high-frequency ultrasound echo signals from dissected human lymph nodes.

This work investigates the statistics of the envelope of three-dimensional (3D) high-frequency ultrasound (HFU) data acquired from dissected human lymph nodes (LNs). Nine distributions were employed, and their parameters were estimated using the method of moments. The Kolmogorov Smirnov (KS) metric was used to quantitatively compare the fit of each candidate distribution to the experimental envelope distribution.

Intestinal anisakiasis as a rare cause of small bowel obstruction.

Anisakiasis, a parasitic infection by larvae of the nematode Anisakis found in raw or undercooked saltwater fish, mostly involves stomach but rarely small intestine. We report a rare case of a 61-year-old man who presented with abdominal pain and developed small bowel obstruction caused by intestinal anisakiasis. Abdominal computed tomography revealed segmental edema of the intestinal wall with proximal dilatation.

Three-dimensional quantitative ultrasound to guide pathologists towards metastatic foci in lymph nodes.

The detection of metastases in freshly-excised lymph nodes from cancer patients during lymphadenectomy is critically important for cancer staging, treatment, and optimal patient management. Currently, conventional histologic methods suffer a high rate of false-negative determinations because pathologists cannot evaluate each excised lymph nodes in its entirety. Therefore, lymph nodes are undersampled and and small but clinically relevant metastatic regions can be missed.

Three-dimensional quantitative ultrasound for detecting lymph node metastases.

Purpose: Detection of metastases in lymph nodes (LNs) is critical for cancer management. Conventional histological methods may miss metastatic foci. To date, no practical means of evaluating the entire LN volume exists.

Internal hernia due to mesenteric defect.

Internal hernia is one of the rare causes of small bowel obstruction. A congenital mesenteric defect is very rare, but can potentially cause internal hernia with consequent incarceration or strangulation of the small intestine. An 18-year-old woman was brought to our emergency department with sudden onset lower abdominal pain.

Entire-volume serial histological examination for detection of micrometastases in lymph nodes of colorectal cancers.

The purpose of this study was to accurately detect lymph-node micrometastases, i.e., metastatic cancer foci that have a size between 2.

Quantitative ultrasound in cancer imaging.

Ultrasound is a relatively inexpensive, portable, and versatile imaging modality that has a broad range of clinical uses. It incorporates many imaging modes, such as conventional gray-scale "B-mode" imaging to display echo amplitude in a scanned plane; M-mode imaging to track motion at a given fixed location over time; duplex, color, and power Doppler imaging to display motion in a scanned plane; harmonic imaging to display nonlinear responses to incident ultrasound; elastographic imaging to display relative tissue stiffness; and contrast-agent imaging with simple contrast agents to display blood-filled spaces or with targeted agents to display specific agent-binding tissue types. These imaging modes have been well described in the scientific, engineering, and clinical literature.

Three-dimensional high-frequency backscatter and envelope quantification of cancerous human lymph nodes.

Quantitative imaging methods using high-frequency ultrasound (HFU) offer a means of characterizing biological tissue at the microscopic level. Previously, high-frequency, 3-D quantitative ultrasound (QUS) methods were developed to characterize 46 freshly-dissected lymph nodes of colorectal-cancer patients. 3-D ultrasound radiofrequency data were acquired using a 25.

Improvement of long-term survival of colorectal cancer in Japanese-Americans of Hawaii from 1990 to 2001.

Background: To compare the long-term survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) during two 6-year periods using patients with similar characteristics of the same ethnicity in Hawaii.

Methods: A retrospective review of Japanese-American patients in Hawaii with CRC surgically resected and followed more than 5 years in a single institution. Patients were divided into two groups by date that patients had surgery: Group 1; 1990-1995, and Group 2; 1996-2001 (introduction of newer chemotherapy, aggressive surgery for liver metastases including radiofrequency thermal ablation).

Three-dimensional high-frequency characterization of cancerous lymph nodes.

High-frequency ultrasound (HFU) offers a means of investigating biologic tissue at the microscopic level. High-frequency, three-dimensional (3-D) quantitative-ultrasound (QUS) methods were developed to characterize freshly-dissected lymph nodes of cancer patients. Three-dimensional ultrasound data were acquired from lymph nodes using a 25.

The routine use of laparoscopic ultrasound decreases bile duct injury: a multicenter study.

Objective: Laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) has been used for over 15 years to screen the bile duct (BD) for stones and to delineate anatomy during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). LUS as a modality to prevent BD injury has not been investigated in a large series. This study evaluated the routine use of LUS to determine its effect on preventing BD injury.

A multicentre controlled study of the InLine radiofrequency ablation device for liver transection.

Background: Surgical resection is the most effective therapy for liver cancer. Intraoperative blood loss during liver resection remains a major concern due to association with higher postoperative complications. The InLine radiofrequency ablation device (ILRFA) has achieved promising results in liver surgery with minimal blood loss and no increase of postoperative complications.

Radiofrequency ablation versus surgical resection for single nodule hepatocellular carcinoma: long-term outcomes.

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been increasingly utilized for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Long-term results of RFA, especially in comparison to surgical resection, have not been well described.

Methods: Eighty-seven patients with single nodule HCC underwent surgical resection (N=47) or RFA (N=40) during a 9-year period.

Long-term outcome of radiofrequency ablation for unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer: evaluation of prognostic factors and effectiveness in first- and second-line management.

Purpose: Long-term follow-up data of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for patients with unresectable metastatic liver tumors from colorectal cancer have rarely been reported. This study was undertaken to evaluate long-term outcome of RFA in relation to its timing opposite chemotherapy, and to identify prognostic factors associated with survival.

Patients And Methods: Patients undergoing RFA from 1997 to 2003 were monitored.

Comparison of characteristics and survival of colorectal cancer between Japanese-Americans in Hawaii and native Japanese in Japan.

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate whether characteristics, prognostic risk factors, and survival of colorectal cancer of Japanese-Americans in Hawaii are different from those of native Japanese in Japan.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients with colorectal cancer surgically resected in single institutions in Hawaii and Japan from 1996 to 2002.

Results: A total of 410 Japanese-American patients (218 males; median age, 73 years) and 621 native Japanese patients (382 males; median age, 65 years) were included.

Long-term follow-up outcome of patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

The long-term outcome of radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been reported. This study was performed to evaluate the long-term survival of patients with unresectable HCC after RFA and to identify possible factors that might affect survival. In this prospective study, 65 patients with unresectable HCC who underwent RFA were followed.