The utility of FDG-PET for managing patients with malignant lymphoma: analysis of data from a single cancer center.

Objective: (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET) has been widely applied to malignant lymphoma both for initial staging and response evaluation. The objective is to compare the efficacy of the less common, but more easily implemented modality, CT, with that of FDG.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients diagnosed with malignant lymphoma in our hospital between October 2002 and March 2006, and compared the efficacy of FDG-PET and CT.

Usefulness of 99mTc-Technegas and 133Xe dynamic SPECT in ventilatory impairment.

Aim: To assess the usefulness of SPECT images using (99m)Tc-Technegas (Technegas) and (133)Xe dynamic single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (Xe gas) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), as compared with pathological assessment in the detection of small-airway disease including pulmonary emphysema.

Methods: Seventeen patients with lung cancer were studied. All patients who had undergone both Technegas and Xe gas and CT prior to surgery were examined.

Usefulness of FDG-PET imaging for the radiotherapy treatment planning of pyothorax-associated lymphoma.

Pyothorax-associated lymphoma (PAL) is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma developing in the pleural cavity after a long-standing history of chronic pyothorax (CP). F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging is a useful modality for determination of disease extent of various malignant tumors, including malignant lymphoma, but there have been no reports describing the usefulness of FDG-PET imaging in PAL. Here we report a case of PAL that relapsed after chemotherapy and was successfully treated by radiotherapy.

Contribution of whole body FDG-PET to the detection of distant metastasis in pancreatic cancer.

Objective: Accurate baseline staging is necessary to appropriately treat pancreatic cancer. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical contribution of whole body FDG-PET to the detection of distant metastasis in pancreatic cancer.

Methods: A total of consecutive 42 patients with previously untreated pancreatic cancer were examined.

Virtual endoscopic images by 3D FASE cisternography for neurovascular compression.

Three-dimensional fast asymmetric spin echo (3D FASE) cisternography provides high spatial resolution and excellent contrast as a water image acquisition technique. It is also useful for the evaluation of various anatomical regions. This study investigated the usefulness and limitations of virtual endoscopic images obtained by 3D FASE MR cisternography in the preoperative evaluation of patients with neurovascular compression.

[Hyperfractionated radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy for advanced esophageal cancer].

The clinical efficacy and safety of hyperfractionated radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy were studied retrospectively in patients with primary advanced esophageal cancer. The subjects were 31 patients who were treated with hyperfractionated radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy in our institution between 1990 and 2001. The chemoradiotherapy consisted of cisplatin 70-80 mg/m2 on day one, and continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil 700-800 mg/m2/24 hours on days 1 to 3, with concurrent hyperfractionated radiotherapy (57.

Unknown primary carcinoma, diagnosed as inflammatory breast cancer,and successfully treated with trastuzumab and vinorelbine.

Occult breast cancer presenting with axillary lymph node metastases is uncommon, and inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), as a subtype, is quite rare. Here we describe a case of IBC, which arose as an unknown primary carcinoma; the patient presented with axillary lymph node metastasis, and was successfully treated with trastuzumab and vinorelbine. Specifically, a 55-year-old woman presented with right axillary lymphadenopathy.

FDG PET as a procedure for detecting simultaneous tumours in head and neck cancer patients.

Aim: The presence of simultaneous primary tumours in other regions affects the prognosis and management decisions of head and neck cancer patients. Therefore, early detection of these tumours is necessary. Recent improvements in positron emission tomography (PET) have made it possible to examine the patient's whole body.

Superimposed dual-isotope SPECT using 99mTc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate and 201Tl-chloride to assess cartilage invasion in laryngohypopharyngeal cancer.

Objective: Cartilage invasion in laryngohypopharyngeal cancer has a significant impact on the choice of treatment modality and outcome of the disease. We examined invasion of cartilage in laryngohypopharyngeal cancer by simultaneous bone and tumor dual-isotope SPECT using 99mTc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate and 201Tl-chloride.

Methods: Early and delayed simultaneous bone and tumor dual-isotope SPECT were performed on 19 patients with laryngohypopharyngeal cancer.

A comparative study of 201Tl scintigraphy and three-phase bone scintigraphy following therapy in patients with bone and soft-tissue tumors.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of 201Tl scintigraphy in comparison with three-phase bone scintigraphy in the differentiation of residual/recurrent tumors from post-therapeutic changes, in patients previously treated for bone and soft-tissue tumors.

Methods: Thirty-five 201Tl and three-phase bone scintigraphy scans were obtained for 30 patients with a history of bone or soft-tissue tumor who had undergone chemotherapy, radiation therapy, tumor resection, or a combination of these treatments. The planar 201Tl images were acquired 10 mins (early) and 2 hrs (delayed) after the intravenous injection of 111 MBq 201Tl-chloride.

Diagnosis of thyroid lymphoma and follow-up evaluation using Ga-67 scintigraphy.

A strong association between malignant lymphoma and Hashimoto's thyroiditis has frequently been reported. However, it is difficult to detect the lymphomatous transformation of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the early stage. The purpose of the present study was to examine the usefulness of 67Ga scintigraphy in the diagnosis and evaluation of the therapeutic effects during follow-up, in patients with a suspected diagnosis of primary thyroid lymphoma.