Impact of Helicobacter pylori on Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multicenter Study.

Introduction: Immunomodulating effects of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) have been shown to inhibit antitumor immunity. Resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapies is common among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

A minimally invasive animal model of atherosclerosis and neointimal hyperplasia for translational research.

Background: A variety of animal models has been developed for research on atherosclerosis and neointimal hyperplasia. While small animal models contain limits for translational research, we aimed to develop an atherosclerosis model with lumen-narrowing plaques to foster basic research in vascular biology, the development of new angioplasty devices, and vessel wall imaging approaches.

Methods: Endothelial denudation was performed via a minimally invasive approach through the auricular artery, followed by stent-retriever mediated endothelial injury in New Zealand White rabbits (n = 10).

Impact of reactive sclerosis on outcome of MR-HIFU for osteoid osteomas.

Objectives: To evaluate the influence of clinical and procedural factors, particularly the thickness of reactive sclerosis, on clinical outcome of MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MR-HIFU) for the treatment of symptomatic osteoid osteomas (OO) of the extremities.

Materials And Methods: 18 consecutive patients (median age 19.5y) with symptomatic OO of the extremities eligible for MR-HIFU were enrolled in this ongoing prospective study (German Clinical Trials Register; nr.

Predicting liver ablation volumes with real-time MRI thermometry.

Background & Aims: MRI guidance offers better lesion targeting for microwave ablation of liver lesions with higher soft-tissue contrast, as well as the possibility of real-time thermometry. This study aims to evaluate the correlation of real-time MR thermometry-predicted lesion volume with the ablation zone in postprocedural first-day images.

Methods: This single-center retrospective analysis evaluated prospectively included patients who underwent MRI-guided microwave ablation with real-time thermometry between December 2020 and July 2023.

Mild autonomous cortisol secretion leads to reduced volumetric BMD at lumbar spine in patients with primary aldosteronism.

Objectives: Glucocorticoid cosecretion is more common in primary aldosteronism (PA) than previously thought. Chronic subtle cortisol excess in patients with mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) negatively affects bone health. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of MACS on bone density and turnover markers in PA patients.

Microvascular Plug Embolization of Anterior Spinal Artery Bearing Segmental Arteries Prior Aortic Stenting: Technique and Safety.

Purpose: This study aims to present our experience with superselective embolization of the anterior spinal artery-bearing segmental artery (ASAbSA) using a microvascular plug (MVP) during the minimally invasive segmental artery coil embolization (MISACE) procedure prior endovascular repair of the thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated all MISACE procedures performed between May 2018 and July 2023, where MVP was deployed into an angiographically confirmed ASAbSA. Data were analyzed regarding interventional details, technical aspects, and safety protocols.

Evaluation of a deformable image registration algorithm for image-guided thermal ablation of liver tumors on clinically acquired MR-temperature maps.

Background: Quantitative real-time MRI-based temperature mapping techniques are hampered by abdominal motion. Intrascan motion can be reduced by rapid acquisition sequences such as 2D echo planar imaging (EPI), and inter-scan organ displacement can be compensated by image processing such as optical flow (OF) algorithms. However, motion field estimation can be seriously affected by local variation of signal intensity on magnitude images inherent to tissue heating, potentially leading to erroneous temperature estimates.

Impact of IL-8 on survival after TARE in HCC: a comprehensive investigation and external validation from the SORAMIC trial.

Purpose: In the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with transarterial radioembolization (TARE), identifying reliable biomarkers for predicting survival outcomes remains a critical challenge. We aimed to address this gap by investigating the significance of serum cytokines associated with inflammation as potential biomarkers for the selection of patients for TARE.

Methods: Our retrospective study involved 161 patients diagnosed with HCC who underwent Y90 radioembolization at our medical center between 2010 and 2020.

Accuracy of 3D real-time MRI temperature mapping in gel phantoms during microwave heating.

Background: Interventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide a comprehensive setting for microwave ablation of tumors with real-time monitoring of the energy delivery using MRI-based temperature mapping. The purpose of this study was to quantify the accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) real-time MRI temperature mapping during microwave heating in vitro by comparing MRI thermometry data to reference data measured by fiber-optical thermometry.

Methods: Nine phantom experiments were evaluated in agar-based gel phantoms using an in-room MR-conditional microwave system and MRI thermometry.

Immune Modulation in Untreated, Contralateral Hepatic Metastases after Yttrium-90 Radioembolization of Microsatellite Stable Colorectal Cancer.

Purpose: To assess immunogenic effects in unembolized contralateral tumor after single lobar yttrium-90 transarterial radioembolization (Y-TARE) of colorectal liver metastases (CRLMs).

Material And Methods: The analysis comprised 10 patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) CRLM scheduled for staged treatment in the prospective AROMA trial. Eligibility criteria included bilobar metastatic disease with >5 lesions without any treatment within 3 weeks.

Skeletal muscle quality predicts overall survival in advanced liver hepatocellular carcinoma treated with SIRT and sorafenib: A subanalysis of the SORAMIC trial.

Background And Aims: Our purpose was to assess the impact of muscle quality on overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced HCC.

Methods: This is a subanalysis of the SORAMIC trial. Overall, 363 patients were included.

Efficacy and Safety of Local Liver Radioablation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Lesions within and beyond Limits of Thermal Ablation.

Introduction: CT-guided interstitial brachytherapy (iBT) radiotherapy has been established in the treatment of liver tumors. With iBT, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions can be treated beyond the limits of thermal ablation (i.e.

Multiparametric MRI for characterization of the tumour microenvironment.

Our understanding of tumour biology has evolved over the past decades and cancer is now viewed as a complex ecosystem with interactions between various cellular and non-cellular components within the tumour microenvironment (TME) at multiple scales. However, morphological imaging remains the mainstay of tumour staging and assessment of response to therapy, and the characterization of the TME with non-invasive imaging has not yet entered routine clinical practice. By combining multiple MRI sequences, each providing different but complementary information about the TME, multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) enables non-invasive assessment of molecular and cellular features within the TME, including their spatial and temporal heterogeneity.

Outcome of bleomycin electrosclerotherapy of slow-flow malformations in adults and children.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and clinical outcome of bleomycin electrosclerotherapy (BEST) for treating extracranial slow-flow malformations.

Methods: In this retrospective investigation of a multicenter cohort presenting symptomatic slow-flow malformations, patient records were analyzed with respect to procedural details and complications. A treatment-specific, patient-reported questionnaire was additionally evaluated, obtained 3-12 months after the last treatment, to assess the subjective outcomes, including mobility, aesthetic aspects, and pain, as well as the occurrence of postprocedural skin hyperpigmentation.

Unresectable biliary tract cancer: Current and future systemic therapy.

For decades, treatment of advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) was confined to the use of chemotherapy. In recent years however, the number of therapeutic options available for patients with unresectable BTC have drastically increased, with immunotherapy and targeted treatment gradually joining the ranks of guideline-recommended treatment regimens. The aim of the present review is to summarise the current knowledge on unresectable BTC focusing on epidemiology, anatomical distribution and current strategies for systemic treatment.

Extracranial Vascular Anomalies Driven by RAS/MAPK Variants: Spectrum and Genotype-Phenotype Correlations.

Background: We aimed to correlate alterations in the rat sarcoma virus (RAS)/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in vascular anomalies to the clinical phenotype for improved patient and treatment stratification.

Methods And Results: This retrospective multicenter cohort study included 29 patients with extracranial vascular anomalies containing mosaic pathogenic variants (PVs) in genes of the RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Tissue samples were collected during invasive treatment or clinically indicated biopsies.

In vivo evaluation of tumor uptake and bio-distribution of 99mTc-labeled 1-thio-β-D-glucose and 5-thio-D-glucose in mice model.

Background: To investigate the capacity of Tc-labeled 1-thio-β-D-glucose (1-TG) and 5-thio-D-glucose (5-TG) to act as a marker for glucose consumption in tumor cells in vivo as well as to evaluate the biodistribution of 1-TG and 5-TG. We investigated the biodistribution, including tumor uptake, of 1-TG and 5-TG at various time points after injection (0.5, 2 and 4 h) in human colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) and human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) xenograft bearing nude mice (N = 4 per tracer and time point).

Predictive value of platelet-to-lymphocyte and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in HCC treated with sorafenib and radioembolization.

Background & Aims: Herein we used data derived from the SORAMIC trial to explore the predictive value of systemic inflammatory markers (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio [NLR] and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio [PLR]) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with sorafenib monotherapy or the combination of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT)/sorafenib.

Methods: Patients randomized to sorafenib monotherapy or SIRT/sorafenib within the per-protocol population of the SORAMIC trial were evaluated in this exploratory analysis. The median baseline values of NLR and PLR were used as cut-off values to describe subgroups.

Functional maturation and longitudinal imaging of intraportal neonatal porcine islet grafts in genetically diabetic pigs.

Allogeneic intraportal islet transplantation (ITx) has become an established treatment for patients with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. However, the loss of viable beta-cell mass after transplantation remains a major challenge. Therefore, noninvasive imaging methods for long-term monitoring of the transplant fate are required.

Role of diffusion-weighted imaging in response prediction and evaluation after high dose rate brachytherapy in patients with colorectal liver metastases.

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to evaluate treatment response in patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective, observational cohort study, we included 19 patients with 18 responding metastases (R-Mets; follow-up at least one year) and 11 non-responding metastases (NR-Mets; local tumor recurrence within one year) who were treated with high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) and underwent pre- and post-interventional MRI. DWI (qualitatively, mean apparent diffusion coefficient [ADCmean], ADCmin, intraindividual change of ADCmean and ADCmin) were evaluated and compared between pre-interventional MRI, first follow-up after 3 months and second follow-up at the time of the local tumor recurrence (in NR-Mets, mean: 284 ± 122 d) or after 12 months (in R-Mets, mean: 387+/-64 d).

Clinical benefits of MRI-guided freehand biopsy of small focal liver lesions in comparison to CT guidance.

Objectives: To compare clinical success, procedure time, and complication rates between MRI-guided and CT-guided real-time biopsies of small focal liver lesions (FLL) < 20 mm.

Methods: A comparison of a prospectively collected MRI-guided cohort (n = 30) to a retrospectively collected CT-guided cohort (n = 147) was performed, in which patients underwent real-time biopsies of small FLL < 20 mm in a freehand technique. In both groups, clinical and periprocedural data, including clinical success, procedure time, and complication rates (classified according to CIRSE guidelines), were analyzed.

Assessing regional hepatic function changes after hypertrophy induction by radioembolisation: comparison of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI and Tc-mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy.

Background: To compare Gd-ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Tc-labelled mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) as imaging-based liver function tests after unilateral radioembolisation (RE) in patients with primary or secondary liver malignancies.

Methods: Twenty-three patients with primary or secondary liver malignancies who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI within a prospective study (REVoluTion) were evaluated. REVoluTion was a prospective open-label, non-randomised, therapy-optimising study of patients undergoing right-sided or sequential RE for contralateral liver hypertrophy at a single centre in Germany.