Tc-MAG diuresis renography in differentiating renal obstruction: Using statistical parameters as new quantifiable indices.

Objective: The aim of this study was to research, develop and assess the feasibility of using basic statistical parameters derived from renogram, "mean count value (MeanCV) and "median count value (MedianCV)", as novel indices in the diagnosis of renal obstruction through diuresis renography.

Subjects And Methods: First, we re-digitalized and normalized 132 renograms from 74 patients in order to derive the MeanCV and MedianCV. To improve the performance of the parameters, we extrapolated renograms by a two-compartmental modeling.

Dual-phase (18)F-fluorocholine PET/CT to detect locoregional recurrence of prostate cancer: comparison between each time point of imaging and a summation scan.

Objectives: Prostate carcinoma is a major health problem, and routine imaging shows only modest results in detecting and restaging clinically localized prostate cancer recurrence. Recent studies have shown promise of radiolabeled analogues of choline for positron emission tomography (PET) scans in patients of biochemical recurrence and that sequentially incremental Fluorocholine (FCH) uptake is associated with malignancy, whereas decreasing tracer activity suggests a benign aetiology. However, this pattern of tracer uptake has not been fully validated, and no standardized (18)F-Fluorocholine ((18)F-FCH) scan protocol is in place yet.

Quantitative means for differentiating renal obstruction by analysing renography by compartmental modelling of renal fluid flow rate.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of using a newly developed index, the ratio of urine outflow to renal pelvis volume U/V2 (1/s), in evaluating renal obstruction and determining the severity of obstruction.

Patients And Methods: A total of 42 patients' renograms (80 kidneys) were studied. Compartmental modelling was used to model the behaviour of tracers flowing through the kidney.

Risk stratification on the basis of Deauville score on PET-CT and the presence of Epstein-Barr virus DNA after completion of primary treatment for extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type: a multicentre, retrospective analysis.

Background: Assessment of tumour viability after treatment is essential for prediction of treatment failure in patients with extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL). We aimed to assess the use of the post-treatment Deauville score on PET-CT and Epstein-Barr virus DNA as a predictor of residual tumour, to establish the risk of treatment failure in patients with newly diagnosed ENKTL.

Methods: In a retrospective analysis of patient data we assessed the prognostic relevance of the Deauville score (five-point scale) on PET-CT and circulating Epstein-Barr virus DNA after completion of treatment in consecutive patients with ENKTL who met eligibility criteria (newly diagnosed and received non-anthracycline-based chemotherapy, concurrent chemoradiotherapy, or both together) diagnosed at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea.

A rare presentation of myocardial plasmacytoma assessed by FDG PET/CT.

We describe a rare case of myocardial plasmacytoma staged and followed up with FDG PET/CT. A 72-year-old man was incidentally identified with a right ventricular apical mass, which was pathologically confirmed to be a plasmacytoma. A pre-treatment FDG PET/CT scan subsequently showed lesions not only in the right ventricle but also in the bones and mediastinal lymph nodes, which led to the change in treatment plan.

Imaging quality of F-18-FDG PET/CT in the inpatient versus outpatient setting.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate potential differences in the image quality of inpatient versus outpatient F-18-FDG PET/CT to provide evidence for appropriate policies and procedures to be promulgated on inpatient referrals.

Methods: 100 consecutive inpatient and 100 outpatient F-18-FDG PET/CT scans were compared from the same time period and PET/CT scanner. Each study was evaluated for a subjective overall rating (optimal vs.

Antitumor mechanism of recombinant murine interleukin-12 vaccine.

This study was designed to establish an interleukin-12 (IL-12)-expressing murine Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cell vaccine (LLC/murine IL-12 [mIL-12]) and assess its antitumor efficacy and mechanism in vivo. The recombinant IL-12 plasmid was transfected into LLC cells and screened by G418, and positive clones were obtained. C57BL/6 tumor-bearing mouse model was established and tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into three groups (n = 20), that is, treated with an intratumoral injection of phosphate-buffered solution, blank plasmid, or LLC/mIL-12 vaccine, respectively, at days 0, 7, and 14.

Synergistic antitumor effects of 131I-LC-1 IgM and IL-12 vaccine on Lewis lung carcinoma.

This study was designed to determine the antitumor effects of iodine-131 labeled monoclonal antibody LC-1 ((131)I-LC-1), interleukin-12 (IL-12) vaccine, or the combination of both on C57BL/6 mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumors. Tumor-bearing mice models were randomly divided into 4 groups that were respectively injected intratumorally with phosphate buffered solution (PBS), IL-12 vaccine gene therapy (GT), (131)I-LC-1 radioimmuno-therapy (RIT), or GT+RIT. Tumor volumes were measured before and after treatment.

Loss of integrin alpha1beta1 ameliorates Kras-induced lung cancer.

The collagen IV binding receptor integrin alpha1beta1 has been shown to regulate lung cancer due to its proangiogenic properties; however, it is unclear whether this receptor also plays a direct role in promoting primary lung tumors. To investigate this possibility, integrin alpha1-null mice were crossed with KrasLA2 mice that carry an oncogenic mutation of the Kras gene (G12D) and develop spontaneous primary tumors with features of non-small cell lung cancer. We provide evidence that KrasLA2/alpha1-null mice have a decreased incidence of primary lung tumors and longer survival compared with KrasLA2/alpha1 wild-type controls.

Overexpression of heat shock factor 1 inhibits butyrate-induced differentiation in colon cancer cells.

Produced by dietary fiber, butyrate is a potential chemopreventive agent against colon cancer. It stimulates proliferation of normal colonic epithelial cells but induces growth inhibition, differentiation, apoptosis, or a combination of effects in colon carcinoma cells. In this study, we used cDNA membrane arrays and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to identify stress genes that were differentially regulated by sodium butyrate (NaB) in HT 29 human colon carcinoma cells.

Smad3-ATF3 signaling mediates TGF-beta suppression of genes encoding Phase II detoxifying proteins.

This study provides evidence that in mammary epithelial cells the pluripotent cytokine TGF-beta1 repressed expression of multiple genes involved in Phase II detoxification. GCLC, the gene that encodes the catalytic subunit of the enzyme glutamate cysteine ligase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of glutathione, was used as a molecular surrogate for investigating the mechanisms by which TGF-beta suppressed Phase II gene expression. TGF-beta was found to suppress luciferase reporter activity mediated by the human GCLC proximal promoter, as well as reporter activity mediated by the GCLC antioxidant response element, ARE4.

Colon carcinoma cell growth is associated with prostaglandin E2/EP4 receptor-evoked ERK activation.

Cyclooxygenase (COX) and its prostanoid metabolites have been implicated in the control of cell survival; however, their role as mitogens remains undefined. To better understand the role of prostanoids on cell growth, we used mouse colon adenocarcinoma (CT26) cells to investigate the role of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) in cell proliferation. CT26 cells express both COX1 and COX2 and metabolize arachidonic acid to PGE(2.