Pulmonary vascular density: comparison of findings on computed tomography imaging with histology.

Background: Exposure to cigarette smoke has been shown to lead to vascular remodelling. Computed tomography (CT) imaging measures of vascular pruning have been associated with pulmonary vascular disease, an important morbidity associated with smoking. In this study we compare CT-based measures of distal vessel loss to histological vascular and parenchymal changes.

Prognostic role of the histological subtype of melanoma on the hands and feet in Caucasians.

Acral melanoma (AM) is associated with a poor prognosis in part because of delayed diagnosis, but probably also because of other intrinsic characteristics of location. The aim of this study was to review the specific characteristics and outcome of AM in Caucasians. This was a cross-sectional retrospective clinical-pathological study of 274 patients identified with AM in the database of a referral unit in Europe from 1986 to 2010.

Performance of diagnostic tests in an intensive follow-up protocol for patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage IIB, IIC, and III localized primary melanoma: A prospective cohort study.

Background: There is no international consensus on optimal follow-up schedules and which supplementary tests should be used after resection of a primary melanoma.

Objective: We sought to analyze the performance of the follow-up components and identify procedures that detect melanoma metastasis earlier.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort from 290 consecutive patients given a diagnosis of stage IIB, IIC, and III melanoma.

Safety and Tolerability of Alveolar Type II Cell Transplantation in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal lung disease with limited response to currently available therapies. Alveolar type II (ATII) cells act as progenitor cells in the adult lung, contributing to alveolar repair during pulmonary injury. However, in IPF, ATII cells die and are replaced by fibroblasts and myofibroblasts.

Dual time-point (18)F-FDG PET/CT to assess response to radiofrequency ablation of lung metastases.

Aim: To establish the usefulness of dual time-point PET/CT imaging in determining the response to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of solitary lung metastases from gastrointestinal cancer.

Materials And Methods: This prospective study included 18 cases (3 female, 15 male, mean age 71±15 yrs) with solitary lung metastases from malignant digestive tract tumors candidates for RFA. PET/CT images 1h after injection of 4.