The Association between the Body Mass Index, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and SUV of the Non-Tumorous Lung in the Pretreatment [F]FDG-PET/CT of Patients with Lung Cancer.

: A debate persists on the prognostic value of the pre-therapeutic standardized uptake value (SUV) of non-tumorous lung tissue for the risk assessment of therapy-related pneumonitis, with most studies lacking significant correlation. However, the influence of patient comorbidities on the pre-therapeutic lung SUV has not yet been systematically evaluated. Thus, we aimed to elucidate the association between comorbidities, biological variables and lung SUVs in pre-therapeutic [F]FDG-PET/CT.

High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy Combined with PD-1 Blockade as a Treatment for Metastatic Adrenocortical Carcinoma - A Single Center Case Series.

The response rate of advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) to standard chemotherapy with mitotane and etoposide/doxorubicin/cisplatin (EDP-M) is unsatisfactory, and benefit is frequently short lived. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) have been examined in patient's refractory to EDP-M, but objective response rates are only approximately 15%. High-dose rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) is a catheter-based internal radiotherapy and expected to favorably combine with immunotherapies.

[Special diagnostics in pediatric urology-Nuclear medicine diagnostics, advanced diagnostics for bladder voiding disorders and imaging diagnostics in the operating room : Tips for the practice part 2].

The diagnostics and treatment of pediatric urology patients in the clinical routine can be extremely challenging. In contrast to adult patients, the main concerns in the diagnostics of congenital diseases are time consuming examinations and limited options in addition to the expectations of the parents. The exact knowledge of the diagnostic possibilities in association with the correct interpretation of the indications is essential.

[Special diagnostics in pediatric urology-Ultrasound, VCUG, CT and MRI : Part 1: tips for the practice].

The diagnostics and treatment of pediatric urology patients in the clinical routine can be extremely challenging. In comparison to adult patients, congenital diseases, more time consuming examinations and limited options in addition to the parents' expectations must be taken into account in the diagnostic work up. In this first of two parts we will delve into ultrasound diagnostics as the cornerstone in the diagnostic pathway of children with hydronephrosis ans take a closer look on contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).

Validation of Convolutional Neural Networks for Fast Determination of Whole-Body Metabolic Tumor Burden in Pediatric Lymphoma.

F-FDG PET/CT quantification of whole-body tumor burden in lymphoma is not routinely performed because of the lack of fast methods. Although the semiautomatic method is fast, it is not fast enough to quantify tumor burden in daily clinical practice. Our purpose was to evaluate the performance of convolutional neural network (CNN) software in localizing neoplastic lesions in whole-body F-FDG PET/CT images of pediatric lymphoma patients.

F-FDG PET/CT for Response Assessment in Pediatric Sebaceous Carcinoma of the Parotid Gland.

A 16-year-old male patient underwent F-FDG PET/CT staging after multiple surgical resections and radiotherapy of an uncommon metastatic pediatric sebaceous carcinoma of the parotid gland. Initial PET/CT imaging exhibited a recurrent paravertebral metastasis (C4) as well as a metabolically active tumor tissue at the primary site. Follow-up PET/CT after radiotherapy of the cervical spine (C4) and four cycles of chemotherapy with cisplatin and palbociclib revealed complete functional remission in the cervical spine and partial remission at the primary site.

Predicitve Value of FDG Uptake in the Remaining Adrenal Gland Following Adrenalectomy for Adrenocortical Cancer.

Following initial surgery, patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) are commonly treated with the adrenolytic substance mitotane in an adjuvant or therapeutic setting. Treatment responses, however, are variable. The objective of the study was to investigate a possible correlation between FDG-PET activity of the remaining adrenal gland and therapeutic response of mitotane treatment.

What and how should we measure in paediatric oncology FDG-PET/CT? Comparison of commonly used SUV metrics for differentiation between paediatric tumours.

Background: In clinical routine, SUV and SUV are most often used to determine the glucose metabolism in tumours by F-FDG PET/CT. Both metrics can be further normalised to SUVs in reference regions resulting in a SUV ratio (SUV). The aim of the study was to directly compare several widely used SUVs/SUV with regard to differentiation between common tumours in paediatric patients; a special focus was put on characteristics of reference region SUVs.

Is True Whole-Body F-FDG PET/CT Required in Pediatric Lymphoma? An IAEA Multicenter Prospective Study.

Guidelines recommend true whole-body F-FDG PET/CT scans from vertex to toes in pediatric lymphoma patients, although this suggestion has not been validated in large clinical trials. The objective of the study was to evaluate the incidence and clinical impact of lesions outside the "eyes to thighs" regular field of view (R-FOV) in F-FDG PET/CT staging (sPET) and interim (iPET) scans in pediatric lymphoma patients. True whole-body sPET and iPET scans were prospectively obtained in pediatric lymphoma patients (11 worldwide centers).

Guidelines on nuclear medicine imaging in neuroblastoma.

Nuclear medicine has a central role in the diagnosis, staging, response assessment and long-term follow-up of neuroblastoma, the most common solid extracranial tumour in children. These EANM guidelines include updated information on I-mIBG, the most common study in nuclear medicine for the evaluation of neuroblastoma, and on PET/CT imaging with F-FDG, F-DOPA and Ga-DOTA peptides. These PET/CT studies are increasingly employed in clinical practice.

Neuroblastoma: MIBG Imaging and New Tracers.

Neuroblastoma is an embryonic tumor of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, and is metastatic or otherwise high risk for relapse in nearly 50% of cases, with a long-term survival of <40%. Therefore, exact staging with radiological and nuclear medicine imaging methods is crucial for finding the adequate therapeutic choice. The tumor cells express the norepinephrine transporter, which makes metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG), an analogue of norepinephrine, an ideal tumor-specific agent for imaging.

Combined Scintigraphy and Tumor Marker Analysis Predicts Unfavorable Histopathology of Neuroblastic Tumors with High Accuracy.

Objectives: Our aim was to improve the prediction of unfavorable histopathology (UH) in neuroblastic tumors through combined imaging and biochemical parameters.

Methods: 123I-MIBG SPECT and MRI was performed before surgical resection or biopsy in 47 consecutive pediatric patients with neuroblastic tumor. Semi-quantitative tumor-to-liver count-rate ratio (TLCRR), MRI tumor size and margins, urine catecholamine and NSE blood levels of neuron specific enolase (NSE) were recorded.

Successful Combination of Sequential Gene Therapy and Rescue Allo-HSCT in Two Children with X-CGD - Importance of Timing.

We report on a series of sequential events leading to long-term survival and cure of pediatric X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD) patients after gamma-retroviral gene therapy (GT) and rescue HSCT. Due to therapyrefractory life-threatening infections requiring hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) but absence of HLAidentical donors, we treated 2 boys with X-CGD by GT. Following GT both children completely resolved invasive Aspergillus nidulans infections.

High-resolution (e, 2e + ion) study of electron-impact ionization and fragmentation of methane.

The ionization and fragmentation of methane induced by low-energy (E0 = 66 eV) electron-impact is investigated using a reaction microscope. The momentum vectors of all three charged final state particles, two outgoing electrons, and one fragment ion, are detected in coincidence. Compared to the earlier study [Xu et al.

An (e, 2e + ion) study of low-energy electron-impact ionization and fragmentation of tetrahydrofuran with high mass and energy resolutions.

We study the low-energy (E0 = 26 eV) electron-impact induced ionization and fragmentation of tetrahydrofuran using a reaction microscope. All three final-state charged particles, i.e.

Combined PET/MR: Where are we now? Summary report of the second international workshop on PET/MR imaging April 8-12, 2013, Tubingen, Germany.

This workshop was held a year after the initial positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) workshop in Tübingen, which was recently reported in this journal. The discussions at the 2013 workshop, however, differed substantially from those of the initial workshop, attesting to the progress of combined PET/MR as an innovative imaging modality. Discussions were focused on the search for truly novel, unique clinical and research applications as well as technical issues such as reliable and accurate approaches for attenuation and scatter correction of PET emission data.

High ¹²³I-MIBG uptake in neuroblastic tumours indicates unfavourable histopathology.

Purpose: Scintigraphy using (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-MIBG) is widely used for the detection of neuroblastic tumours. The aim of this study was to identify a possible correlation between the uptake intensity on (123)I-MIBG SPECT and histopathology of neuroblastic tumours.

Methods: (123)I-MIBG SPECT examinations were performed in 55 paediatric patients with neuroblastic tumour and compared to histopathology after surgical resection or biopsy at a mean of 2 weeks after SPECT.

Electron-impact ionization of neon at low projectile energy: an internormalized experiment and theory for a complex target.

As a fundamental test for state-of-the-art theoretical approaches, we have studied the single ionization (2p) of neon at a projectile energy of 100 eV. The experimental data were acquired using an advanced reaction microscope that benefits from high efficiency and a large solid-angle acceptance of almost 4π. We put special emphasis on the ability to measure internormalized triple-differential cross sections over a large part of the phase space.