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Objective: To investigate the role of TWIK-related acid-sensitive potassium channels TASK-1 and TASK-3 in the mechanism of asthma combined with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in mice., Method: C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group (NS-RA), asthma group (OVA-RA), OSA group (NS-IH), and asthma combined with OSA group (OVA-IH). After monitoring lung function in each group, the expression levels of TASK-1 and TASK-3 mRNA and protein in lung tissues were measured, and the correlation between the changes of both and lung function was analyzed., Results: A total of 64 male mice were studied. Penh, serum IgE concentrations, and the percentage of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were higher in OVA-RA and OVA-IH mice compared with NS-RA (P < 0.05),while the above indexes were slightly elevated in NS-IH mice compared with NS-RA (P > 0.05), where the Penh and the percentage of eosinophils in BALF was higher in OVA-IH mice than NS-IH (P < 0.05).Increased TASK-3 mRNA expression (P < 0.05) as well as TASK-1 and TASK-3 protein expression (P > 0.05) in lung tissues of OVA-RA and NS-IH mice compared with NS-RA, and TASK-3 mRNA expression was slightly more in the OVA-IH group compared with NS-RA (P > 0.05), but less compared with OVA-RA (P < 0.05) or NS-IH (P > 0.05), while TASK-1 and TASK-3 protein expression was increased in the OVA-IH group compared with the remaining three groups, and TASK-3 protein expression was associated with lung function impairment was positively correlated with the degree of lung function impairment (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Task-1 and Task-3 may be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma with OSA by affecting lung function., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Purpose: Delayed images may not be acquired due to severe pain, drowsiness, or worsening vital signs while waiting after blood pool imaging in three-phase bone scintigraphy. If the hyperemia in the blood pool image contains information from which increased uptake on the delayed images can be inferred, the generative adversarial network (GAN) can generate the increased uptake from the hyperemia. We attempted to apply pix2pix, a type of conditional GAN, to transform hyperemia into increased bone uptake., Methods: We enrolled 1464 patients who underwent three-phase bone scintigraphy for inflammatory arthritis, osteomyelitis, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), cellulitis, and recent bone injury. Blood pool images were acquired 10 min after intravenous injection of Tc-99 m hydroxymethylene diphosphonate, and delayed bone images were obtained after 3 h. The model was based on the open-source code of the pix2pix model with perceptual loss. Increased uptake in the delayed images generated by the model was evaluated using lesion-based analysis by a nuclear radiologist in areas consistent with hyperemia in the blood pool images., Results: The model showed sensitivities of 77.8% and 87.5% for inflammatory arthritis and CRPS, respectively. In osteomyelitis and cellulitis, their sensitivities of about 44% were observed. However, in cases of recent bone injury, the sensitivity was only 6.3% in areas consistent with focal hyperemia., Conclusion: The model based on pix2pix generated increased uptake in delayed images matching the hyperemia in the blood pool image in inflammatory arthritis and CRPS., Competing Interests: Competing InterestsKi Seong Park, Jang Bae Moon, Sang-Geon Cho, Jahae Kim, and Ho-Chun Song declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Purpose: We investigated whether response classification after total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy could be affected by serum levels of recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH)-stimulated thyroglobulin (Tg) measured at different time points in a follow-up of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC)., Methods: A total of 147 PTC patients underwent serum Tg measurement for response assessment 6 to 24 months after the first RAI therapy. Serum Tg levels were measured at 24 h (D1Tg) and 48-72 h (D2-3Tg) after the 2 nd injection of rhTSH. Responses were classified into three categories based on serum Tg corresponding to the excellent response (ER-Tg), indeterminate response (IR-Tg), and biochemical incomplete response (BIR-Tg). The distribution pattern of response classification based on serum Tg at different time points (D1Tg vs. D2-3Tg) was compared., Results: Serum D2-3Tg level was higher than D1Tg level (0.339 ng/mL vs. 0.239 ng/mL, P  < 0.001). The distribution of response categories was not significantly different between D1Tg-based and D2-3Tg-based classification. However, 8 of 103 (7.8%) patients and 3 of 40 (7.5%) patients initially categorized as ER-Tg and IR-Tg based on D1Tg, respectively, were reclassified to IR-Tg and BIR-Tg based on D2-3Tg, respectively. The optimal cutoff values of D1Tg for the change of response categories were 0.557 ng/mL (from ER-Tg to IR-Tg) and 6.845 ng/mL (from IR-Tg to BIR-Tg)., Conclusion: D1Tg measurement was sufficient to assess the therapeutic response in most patients with low level of D1Tg. Nevertheless, D2-3Tg measurement was still necessary in the patients with D1Tg higher than a certain level as response classification based on D2-3Tg could change., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestJang Bae Moon, Subin Jeon, Ki Seong Park, Su Woong Yoo, Sae-Ryung Kang, Sang-Geon Cho, Jahae Kim, Changho Lee, Ho-Chun Song, Jung-Joon Min, Hee-Seung Bom, Seong Young Kwon declare no conflict of interest., (© Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine 2021.)

Purpose: According to the guidelines of International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) and National Wilms Tumor Study (NWTS), Wilms tumor with preoperative rupture should be classified as at least stage III. Few clinical reports can be found about preoperative Wilms tumor rupture. The purpose of this study was to investigate our experience on the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of preoperative Wilms tumor rupture., Methods: Patients with Wilms tumor who underwent treatment according to the NWTS or SIOP protocol from January 2008 to September 2017 in Beijing Children's Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical signs of preoperative tumor rupture were acute abdominal pain, and/or fall of hemoglobin. The radiologic signs of preoperative tumor rupture are as follows: (1) retroperitoneal and/or intraperitoneal effusion; (2) acute hemorrhage located in the sub-capsular and/or perirenal space; (3) tumor fracture communicating with peritoneal effusion; (4) bloody ascites. Patients with clinical and radiologic signs of preoperative tumor rupture were selected. Patients having radiologic signs without clinical symptoms were also selected. The clinical data, treatments and outcomes were analyzed. Meanwhile, patients without preoperative Wilms tumor rupture during the same period were collected and analyzed., Results: 565 Patients with Wilms tumor were registered in our hospital. Of these patients, 45 patients were diagnosed with preoperative ruptured Wilms tumor. All preoperative rupture were confirmed at surgery. Spontaneous tumor rupture occurred in 41 patients, the other 4 patients had traumatic history. Of the 45 patients, 41 were classified as stage III, 3 patients with pulmonary metastases were classified as stage IV, and one patient with bilateral tumors were classified as stage V. Of these patients with preoperative tumor rupture at stage III, 30 patients had clinical and radiologic signs of tumor rupture, the other 11 patients had radiologic signs without clinical symptoms. Among the 41 patients at stage III, 13 patients had immediate surgery without preoperative chemotherapy (immediate group), and 28 patients had delayed surgery after preoperative chemotherapy (delayed group). In immediate group, 12 patients had localized rupture, 1 patient underwent emergency surgery because of continuous bleeding. In delayed group, 4 had inferior vena cava tumor embolus (1 thrombus extended to inferior vena cava behind the liver, three thrombi got to the right atrium), 4 crossed the midline with large tumors, 20 had extensive rupture without localization. In immediate group, tumor recurrence and metastasis developed in 2 patients, and no death occurred. In the delayed group, tumor recurrence and metastasis developed in 8 patients, and 7 patients died. During the same period, 41 patients were classified as stage III without preoperative rupture. In the non-ruptured group, tumor recurrence and metastasis developed in 3 patients, and 4 patients died. The median survival time in the ruptured group (both immediate group and delayed group) and non-ruptured group were (85.1 ± 7.5) and (110.3 ± 5.6) months, and the 3-year cumulative survival rates were 75.1% and 89.6%, respectively. The overall survival rate between the ruptured and non-ruptured groups showed no statistic difference (P = 0.256). However, there was significant difference in recurrence or metastasis rate between the ruptured and non-ruptured groups (24.4% vs 7.3%; P = 0.031)., Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography (US) are of major value in the diagnosis of preoperative tumor rupture, and immediate surgery or delayed surgery are available therapeutic methods. The treatment plan was based on patients' general conditions, tumor size, position and impairment degree of tumor rupture, extent of invasion and experience of a multidisciplinary team (including surgeon and anesthesiologists). In our experience, for ruptured preoperative tumor diagnosed with stage III, the criteria for immediate surgery are as follows: tumor not acrossing the midline, tumor without inferior vena cava thrombus, localized rupture, being capable of complete resection. Selection criteria for delayed surgery after preoperative chemotherapy are as follows: large tumors, long inferior vena cava tumor thrombus, tumors infiltrating to surrounding organs, unlocalized rupture, tumors can not being resected completely. Additionally, patients with preoperative Wilms tumor rupture had an increased risk of postoperative recurrence or metastasis.

Purpose: We investigated the clinical role of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) in the identification of the primary site and the selection of the optimal biopsy site in patients with suspected bone metastasis of unknown primary site., Methods: The patients with suspected bone metastasis who underwent PET-CT for evaluation of primary site were enrolled in this study. The primary sites were identified by the histopathologic or imaging studies and were classified according to the FDG uptake positivity of the primary site. To evaluate the guiding capability of PET-CT in biopsy site selection, we statistically analyzed whether the biopsy site could be affected according to the presence of extra-skeletal FDG uptake., Results: Among 74 enrolled patients, 51 patients had a metastatic bone disease. The primary site was identified in 48 of 51 patients (94.1%). Forty-six patients were eligible to test the association of clinical choice of biopsy site with PET positivity of extra-skeletal lesion. The extra-skeletal biopsies were done in 42 out of 43 patients with positive extra-skeletal uptake lesions. Bone biopsies were inevitably performed in the other three patients without extra-skeletal uptake lesions. The association came out to be significant (Fisher's exact test, P  < 0.001)., Conclusion: F-18 FDG PET-CT significantly contributed not only to identify the primary site but also to suggest optimal biopsy sites in patients with suspected bone metastasis., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestSu Woong Yoo, Md. Sunny Anam Chowdhury, Subin Jeon, Sae-Ryung Kang, Changho Lee, Zeenat Jabin, Jahae Kim, Sang-Geon Cho, Ho-Chun Song, Hee-Seung Bom, Jung-Joon Min, and Seong Young Kwon declare that they have no conflict of interest. This research was supported by a grant from KOICA, Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2019M3E5D1A02067958), the National Research Foundation Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2018R1D1A1B07050011)., (© Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine 2020.)

Recent clinical trials have demonstrated the values of cardiac computed tomography (CT) in the initial evaluation of stable chest pain which led to drastic changes in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines in 2016. According to the updated NICE guidelines, cardiac CT should be performed as the initial cardiac testing in stable chest pain regardless of pre-test probability (PTP) of coronary artery disease (CAD). As a result, cardiac CT is now considered as a validated gatekeeper for assessing stable chest pain, which precedes all the functional studies including nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Nuclear MPI, in contrast, has been assigned as one of the second-line studies, which is inevitably dependent on the results of cardiac CT. However, nuclear MPI has genuine values in the diagnosis, treatment decision, and prognostic stratification of stable chest pain, which cannot be replaced by cardiac CT. In this review, the updated NICE guidelines and related cardiac CT trials will be critically reviewed from the view of nuclear physicians and the exceptional values of nuclear MPI will be described along with the future perspectives., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestAuthor Ho-Chun Song has received a research grant from KIRAMS, as stated above. Authors Sang-Geon Cho and Jahae Kim declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine 2019.)

Purpose: There is substantial need for optimizing radiation protection in nuclear medicine imaging studies. However, the diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) have not yet been established for nuclear medicine imaging studies in Korea., Materials and Methods: The data of administered activity in 32 nuclear medicine imaging studies were collected from the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine (KSNM) dose survey database from 2013 and 2014. Through the expert discussions and statistical analyses, the 75th quartile value (Q3) was suggested as the preliminary DRL values. Preliminary DRLs were subjected to approval process by the KSNM Board of Directors and KSNM Council, followed by clinical applications and performance rating by domestic institutes., Results: DRLs were determined through 32 nuclear medicine imaging studies. The Q3 value was considered as appropriate selection as it was generally consistent with the most commonly administered activity. In the present study, the final version of initial DRL values for nuclear medicine imaging in Korean adults is described including various protocols of the brain and myocardial perfusion imaging., Conclusion: The first DRLs for nuclear medicine imaging in Korean adults were confirmed. The DRLs will enable optimized radiation protection in the field of nuclear medicine imaging in Korea., Competing Interests: Ho-Chun Song has received research grants from the Nuclear Safety Research Program through the Korea Radiation Safety Foundation (KORSAFe) and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), Republic of Korea (Grant No. 1305033). Myung Hwan Na, Jahae Kim, Sang-Geon Cho, Jin Kyung Park, Keon-Wook Kang, and the other members of the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine Diagnostic Reference Level Task Force declare that they have no conflict of interest.This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.The requirement to obtain informed consent was waived in this non-human-subject study.

Purpose: Thyroglobulin (Tg) may be released from damaged residual thyroid tissues after radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). We investigated whether altered levels of serum Tg after recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH)-aided RAI therapy could be a prognostic marker in patients with DTC., Methods: We evaluated 68 patients who underwent RAI therapy after total thyroidectomy. Serum Tg levels were measured just before RAI administration (D0Tg) and 7 days after RAI therapy (D7Tg). Patients with a D0Tg level greater than 2.0 ng/mL were excluded to more precisely evaluate the injury effect of RAI in small remnant tissues. The ratioTg was defined as the D7Tg level divided by that on D0Tg. The therapeutic responses were classified as acceptable or non-acceptable. Finally, we investigated which clinicopathologic parameters were associated with therapeutic response., Results: At the follow-up examination, an acceptable response was observed in 50 patients (73.5%). Univariate analysis revealed significant differences in N stage ( P  = 0.003) and ratioTg (acceptable vs. non-acceptable responses, 21.9 ± 33.6 vs. 3.8 ± 6.5; P  = 0.006). In multivariate analysis, only ratioTg significantly predicted an acceptable response (odds ratio 1.104; 95% confidence interval 1.005-1.213; P  = 0.040). A ratioTg above 3.5 predicted an acceptable response with a sensitivity of 66.0%, specificity of 83.3%, and accuracy of 70.6% (area under the curve = 0.718; P  = 0.006)., Conclusions: Altered levels of serum Tg after RAI therapy, calculated as the ratioTg (D7Tg/D0Tg), significantly predicted an acceptable response in patients with DTC., Competing Interests: Compliance with Ethical StandardsAuthors Minchul Song, Subin Jeon, Sae-Ryung Kang, Zeenat Jabin, Su Woong Yoo, Jung-Joon Min, Hee-Seung Bom, Sang-Geon Cho, Jahae Kim, Ho-Chun Song, and Seong Young Kwon declare that they have no conflict of interest.All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.The institutional review board of our institute approved this retrospective study, and the requirement to obtain informed consent was waived.

Whether hyperuricemia is an independent risk factor for hypertension in adults is still under debate. To determine the association between serum uric acid and risk of hypertension in the Chinese population, we conducted a prospective study using the "Kailuan Corporation cohort." A total of 39,233 adult subjects with available data on serum uric acid were enrolled from 2006 to 2007. Subjects with established hypertension were excluded and were then grouped based on the gender and baseline quartile serum uric acid into F1-4 for women and M1-4 for men with F1 and M1 being the lowest quartiles. Incidence of newly described primary hypertension was reevaluated in 2010-2011. The median (interquantile range) baseline uric acid (UA) was 290 (243-344) μmol/L in men and 230 (194-274) μmol/L in women. During a 4-year follow-up period, 12,844 subjects (31.31 %) were newly diagnosed with hypertension. The incidence of hypertension was 14.36, 16.57, 19.06, and 22.35 % in F1 to F4 and 33.64, 33.97, 36.54, and 40.74 % in M1 to M4, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the odds ratios (ORs) of incident hypertension were 1.17 [95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.37, P = 0.055], 1.24 (95 % CI 1.06-1.45, P = 0.009), and 1.20 (95 % CI 1.02-1.41, P = 0.027) in F2 to F4 compared to the F1 and 0.98 (95 % CI 0.91-1.05, P = 0.534), 1.05 (95 % CI 0.98-1.13, P = 0.190), and 1.13 (95 % CI 1.05-1.22, P = 0.002) in M2 to M4 compared to the M1. Elevated level of serum uric acid is associated with an increased risk of hypertension in adults.

Since the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, radiation safety has become an important issue in nuclear medicine. Many structured guidelines or recommendations of various academic societies or international campaigns demonstrate important issues of radiation safety in nuclear medicine procedures. There are ongoing efforts to fulfill the basic principles of radiation protection in daily nuclear medicine practice. This article reviews important principles of radiation protection in nuclear medicine procedures. Useful references, important issues, future perspectives of the optimization of nuclear medicine procedures, and diagnostic reference level are also discussed.

Purpose: Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) level is frequently elevated shortly after radioactive iodine (RAI) ablation therapy. The authors studied the relationship between the elevation of serum Tg after RAI therapy and iodine uptake pattern on post-ablation whole body scans (RxWBSs) in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC)., Materials and Methods: The study subjects were patients with PTC that had undergone first RAI therapy with thyroid hormone withdrawal after total thyroidectomy. Patients with a high level of serum anti-Tg antibody (TgAb, ≥ 60 U/mL), possible regional or distant metastasis as determined by pre-ablation or post-ablation studies, and negative iodine uptake of the anterior neck on RxWBS were excluded. Serum Tg was checked twice, that is, 7 days after (post-ablation Tg) and on the day of RAI therapy (pre-ablation Tg). Ratio of pre-ablation Tg to post-ablation Tg (Tg ratio) was used to assess changes in serum Tg levels after RAI therapy. Patients were classified into two groups according to the presence of midline uptake above the thyroidectomy bed on RxWBS (negative (group 1) or positive (group 2) midline uptake). Variables were subjected to analysis to identify differences between the two groups., Results: Two hundred and fifty patients were enrolled in this study; 101 in group 1 and 149 in group 2. Based on univariate analysis, post-ablation Tg (8.12 ± 11.05 vs. 34.12 ± 54.31; P  < 0.001) and Tg ratio (7.81 ± 8.98 vs. 20.01 ± 19.84; P  < 0.001) were significantly higher in group 2. On the other hand, gender, tumor (T) stage, lymph node (N) stage, size, multiplicity or bilaterality of primary tumor, dose of 131 I, serum TgAb and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level (before or after RAI therapy) were not significantly different in the two groups. Variables with P values of < 0.25 by univariate analysis were subjected to multivariate analysis, which showed post-ablation Tg (OR 1.060, 95 % CI = 1.028-1.092; P  < 0.001) and Tg ratio (OR 1.059, 95 % CI = 1.028-1.092; P  = 0.001) were significantly higher in group 2., Conclusion: Serum Tg level after RAI therapy was significantly higher in patients with midline uptake on RxWBS, compared with patients without midline uptake on RxWBS. Further investigations are needed to reveal the correlation between serum Tg elevation and clinical outcome according to the presence of midline uptake., Competing Interests: Geum-Cheol Jeong, Minchul Song, Hee Jeong Park, Jung-Joon Min, Hee-Seung Bom, Ki Seong Park, Sang-Geon Cho, Sae-Ryung Kang, Jahae Kim, Ho-Chun Song and Seong Young Kwon have no conflict of interest to declare. Ethics Statement The protocol of this study was approved by the ethics committee in our hospital, and the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Ethics committee waived the need to obtain informed consent. The manuscript has not been published before or is not under consideration for publication anywhere else and has been approved by all co-authors.

Giant cell tumor (GCT) is a generally benign bone tumor accounting for approximately 5 % of all primary bone neoplasms. Cystic components in GCTs that indicate secondary aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) are reported in 14 % of GCTs. Although both of them have been described separately in previous reports that may show considerable fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake despite their benign nature, the findings of GCT with secondary ABC on 18 F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) have not been well-known. We report a case of GCT with secondary ABC in a 26-year-old woman. 18 F-FDG PET/CT revealed a heterogeneous hypermetabolic lesion in the left proximal femur with the maximum standardized uptake value of 4.7. The solid components of the tumor showed higher FDG uptake than the cystic components. These observations suggest that the ABC components in GCTs show heterogeneous metabolic patterns on 18 F-FDG PET/CT., Competing Interests: Hee Jeong Park, Seong Young Kwon, Sang-Geon Cho, Jahae Kim, Sung Sun Kim, Yeon Hong Yoon, and Jin Gyoon Park declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ho-Chun Song has received research grants from the Nuclear Safety Research Program through the Korea Radiation Safety Foundation (KORSAFe) and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), Republic of Korea (Grant No. 1305033). Ethical Statement All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from the patient for being included in the study. Additional informed consent was obtained from the patient for whom identifying information is included in this article.

Purpose: Closed-mouth bone scintigraphy (CM scan) and closed-mouth single-photon emission computed tomography (CM SPECT) are used for conventional evaluation of osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). However, the adequacy of open-mouth bone scintigraphy (OM scan) has not yet been evaluated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of CM scan, CM SPECT, and OM scan., Methods: Thirty-six patients with suspicion of an abnormality of the TMJ and who underwent a (99m)Tc-HDP CM scan, CM SPECT, and an OM scan were enrolled. The scans were assessed visually for the presence of positive focal uptake in the TMJ. Osteoarthritis was defined as arthralgia plus crepitus or radiologic signs of arthrosis., Results: Of 72 TMJs, 21 (29.2 %) were diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 90.5 %, 49.0 %, 42.2 %, 92.6 % and 61.1 % for the CM scan, 81.0 %, 58.8 %, 44.7 %, 88.2 % and 65.3 % for CM SPECT, and 81.0 %, 82.4 %, 65.4 %, 91.3 % and 81.9 % for the OM scan, respectively. The accuracy of the OM scan was higher than that of CM SPECT and the CM scans (p = 0.004 and p < 0.001, respectively)., Conclusions: The OM scan was more accurate than the conventional CM scan and even CM SPECT for diagnosing TMJ osteoarthritis.

Purpose: To evaluate the perfusion decrease in donor myocardium by collateral circulation and its correlation with angina pectoris in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) using myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (MPS)., Materials and Methods: Thirty-six patients with single-vessel CTO without any other stenosis were included. All patients underwent MPS and coronary angiography (CAG) within 2 months. Total 72 donor arteries were evaluated for the grades of collaterals to the CTO artery using the Rentrop grading system on CAG. Perfusion defects and perfusion scores in donor and CTO territories were analyzed on MPS. Myocardial perfusion of donor and CTO territories were evaluated according to the presence of angina pectoris and the grades of collateral circulation., Results: When the CTO territory was ischemic, symptomatic patients showed higher summed difference scores in the CTO territory compared to asymptomatic patients (3.5 ± 2.4 vs. 1.5 ± 0.8 for symptomatic and asymptomatic groups respectively; p = 0.034). However, when the CTO territory was nonischemic, symptomatic patients showed higher summed stress scores (SSS, 4.3 ± 2.9 vs. 1.6 ± 1.2; p = 0.032) and summed rest scores (SRS, 4.2 ± 2.5 vs. 1.5 ± 1.1; p = 0.003) in the donor territories. On the per-vessel analysis, perfusion defects in donor territories were more frequent (0 % vs. 53 % vs. 86 % for Rentrop 0, Rentrop 1-2 and Rentrop 3, respectively; p < 0.001) and showed higher SSS (0.0 ± 0.0, 1.3 ± 1.6 and 2.1 ± 1.1 for Rentrop 0, Rentrop 1-2 and Rentrop 3, respectively; p = 0.001) and SRS (0.0 ± 0.0, 1.0 ± 1.4 and 1.7 ± 1.2; p = 0.003) at higher Rentrop grades, but their patterns were variable., Conclusion: Angina pectoris was related to either ischemia of the myocardium beyond CTO or a perfusion decrease in the donor myocardium. The perfusion decrease in donor myocardium positively correlated with the collateral grades.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical importance of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels just before high-dose I-131 ablation therapy (preablation Tg) for predicting therapeutic failure in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC)., Methods: Patients with PTC (n = 132) undergoing total thyroidectomy followed by the first high-dose I-131 ablation therapy (HI-Rx) were included in this retrospective review. Just before HI-Rx, preablation Tg, anti-Tg antibody, and TSH were measured. The patients were followed up for a mean period of 7 months (range 6-23 months) by I-123 whole-body scans (f/u IWBS) and stimulated Tg (f/u Tg). Therapeutic failure was defined by positive f/u IWBS or f/u Tg >2 ng/ml. We classified patients into three groups according to the value of preablation Tg (group 1, <1 ng/ml; group 2, ≥1 and <10 ng/ml; group 3, ≥10 ng/ml) and compared clinical variables to therapeutic response., Results: Therapeutic failure was noted in 39 patients (29.5 %). On univariate analysis, T stage, tumor size, and preablation Tg were the statistically significant factors that could predict therapeutic failure. After multivariate analysis, preablation Tg was the only independent predictor of therapeutic failure (P < 0.001). The therapeutic failure rate was significantly increased as the preablation Tg level increased (11.3 %, 33.3 %, and 87.5 % in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively; P < 0.001). Individuals with preablation Tg levels ≥10 ng/ml had 25.5 times greater chance of therapeutic failure than those with levels <10 ng/ml (95 % CI = 5.43-119.60; P < 0.001)., Conclusions: A high preablation Tg level is the most significant predictor of therapeutic failure at the time of first HI-Rx in patients with PTC.

Purpose: We evaluated the value of variable (18)F-FDG PET/CT parameters for the prediction of disease progression after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with inoperable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., Methods: One hundred sixteen pretreatment FDG PET/CT scans of inoperable stage III NSCLC were retrospectively reviewed (stage IIIA: 51; stage IIIB: 65). The volume of interest was automatically drawn for each primary lung tumor, and PET parameters were assessed as follows: maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) using the boundaries presenting SUV intensity exceeding 3.0, and the area under the curve of the cumulative SUV-volume histograms (AUC-CSH), which is known to reflect the tumor heterogeneity. Progression-free survival (PFS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were compared with each PET and clinical parameters by univariate and multivariate survival analysis., Results: In the ROC analysis, the optimal cutoff values of SUVmax, MTV (cm(3)), and AUC-CSH for prediction of PFS were determined as 21.5, 27.7, and 4,800, respectively. In univariate analysis, PFS was statistically significantly reduced in those with AUC-CSH < 4,800 (p = 0.004). In multivariate analysis, AUC-CSH and SUVmax were statistically significant independent prognostic factors (HR 3.35, 95 % CI 1.79-6.28, p < 0.001; HR 0.25, 95 % CI 0.09-0.70, p = 0.008, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that AUC-CSH was the most significant independent prognostic factor for LRFS and DMFS (HR 3.27, 95 % CI 1.54-6.94, p = 0.002; HR 2.79, 95 % CI 1.42-5.50, p = 0.003)., Conclusions: Intratumoral metabolic heterogeneity of primary lung tumor in (18)F-FDG PET/CT can predict disease progression after CCRT in inoperable stage III NSCLC.

An 18-year-old woman reported that after exposure to cold temperatures her fingers appeared blue and her hands and feet felt cold. Secondary Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) associated with peripheral vascular disease was suspected. Technetium (Tc)-99m-labeled RBC hand scintigraphy after cold change showed decreased blood pool activity in her fingers. The patient's symptoms improved after she received sarpogrelate HCL (200 mg/day) and nifedifine (40 mg/day). Follow-up scintigraphy performed 7 months after the patient started treatment showed paradoxically increased blood pool activity in her fingers after cold challenge. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient with secondary RP showing paradoxical change on scintigraphy after she received medication that improved her symptoms.

Purpose: We investigated whether PET indices measured by (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) can predict prognosis in patients with operable primary breast cancer., Methods: We reviewed 53 patients with operable primary breast cancer who underwent pretreatment FDG PET/CT. PET indices, maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) and metabolic tumor volume (MTV), were measured in the primary breast tumor (P), metastatic lymph nodes (N) and total tumor (T). The Cox proportional hazards model was used with age, tumor size, clinical lymph node status, method of surgery, presence or absence of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, histological type, histological grade, hormone receptors and HER2 status to predict disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS)., Results: Median follow-up period was 50 months (range, 17-73 months), during which 17 patients had recurrent disease and nine of whom died. The univariate analysis showed that high SUV of N (NSUV, P = 0.011), MTV of N (NMTV, P = 0.011) and MTV of T (TMTV, P = 0.045) as well as high histological grade (P = 0.008), negative estrogen (P = 0.045) and negative progesterone (P = 0.029) receptor status were associated with shorter DFS. High NSUV (P = 0.035), NMTV (P = 0.035) and TMTV (P = 0.035) as well as high histological grade (P = 0.012) and negative estrogen receptor status (P = 0.009) were associated with shorter OS. NSUV, NMTV and TMTV were found to be significantly associated with high histological grade (P = 0.005). However, those failed to be statistically significant prognostic factors on multivariate analysis., Conclusions: PET indices seem to be useful in the preoperative evaluation of prognosis in patients with operable primary breast cancer. NSUV, NMTV and TMTV might be considerable factors associated with patient outcome in operable breast cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to further stratify prognostic factors in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by measuring their metabolic tumor volume (MTV) using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT)., Materials and Methods: The subjects of this retrospective study were 57 patients with stage IV NSCLC. MTV, total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) were measured on F-18 FDG PET/CT in both the primary lung lesion as well as metastatic lesions in torso. Optimal cutoff values of PET parameters were measured by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used for evaluation of progression-free survival (PFS). The univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to select the significant prognostic factors., Results: Univariate analysis showed that both MTV and TLG of primary lung lesion (MTV-lung and TLG-lung) were significant factors for prediction of PFS (P < 0.001, P = 0.038, respectively). Patients showing lower values of MTV-lung and TLG-lung than the cutoff values had significantly longer mean PFS than those with higher values. Hazard ratios (95 % confidence interval) of MTV-lung and TLG-lung measured by univariate analysis were 6.4 (2.5-16.3) and 2.4 (1.0-5.5), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that MTV-lung was the only significant factor for prediction of prognosis. Hazard ratio was 13.5 (1.6-111.1, P = 0.016)., Conclusion: Patients with stage IV NSCLC could be further stratified into subgroups of significantly better and worse prognosis by MTV of primary lung lesion.

Purpose: Individuals with systemic autoimmune disease have an increased susceptibility to both inflammation and malignancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in patients with systemic autoimmune disease., Methods: Forty patients diagnosed with systemic autoimmune disease were enrolled. Diagnostic accuracy of FDG PET/CT for detecting malignancy was assessed. FDG PET/CT findings, including maximum standardized uptake (SUVmax) of lymphadenopathy (LAP), liver, bone marrow, spleen, joint and muscles, were considered for the characterization of LAPs., Results: FDG PET/CT could detect metabolically activated lesions in 36 out of 40 patients (90%) including inflammatory lesions in 28 out of 32 patients (88%). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of FDG PET/CT for the detection of malignancy were 100, 67, 70, 25, and 100%, respectively. Multiple LAPs were found in 25 of 40 patients (63%), and comprised three malignancies, four cases of tuberculosis, and 18 reactive changes. A SUVmax ratio of bone marrow to liver below 0.78 could distinguish malignancy from tuberculosis + reactive change (AUC = 1.000, sensitivity: 100%, specificity: 100%). The SUVmax ratio of spleen to liver in the reactive group was also significantly higher than that in the malignancy group (P = 0.014). SUVmax of LAP in the TB group was significantly higher than that in the reactive group (P = 0.040)., Conclusions: PET/CT is useful in detecting and differentiating inflammation and malignancy in patients with systemic autoimmune disease. Frequent false-positive interpretations can be minimized by consideration of FDG uptake in bone marrow and spleen.

Purpose: Although (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT has improved the accuracy of evaluating lymph node (LN) staging in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), false-positive results remain a problem. The reason why benign LNs show high FDG uptake is still unclear. The aim of this study was to identify molecular and pathological characteristics of benign LNs showing high FDG uptake., Materials and Methods: We studied 108 mediastinal LNs of pathologically benign nature obtained from 43 patients with NSCLC who underwent FDG PET/CT and surgery. We measured the following parameters in each LN: maximum standardized uptake value (maxSUV), short diameter, maximum Hounsfield unit (maxHU) value, occupied proportions of lymphoid follicles, histiocytes in extrafollicular space and the degree of glucose transporter 1 (Glut1) expression. We compared the parameters between two LN groups according to maxSUV., Results: There were 74 LNs showing maxSUV≥3.0 (group 1) and 34 LNs with maxSUV<3.0 (group 2). The size of LN (p < 0.001) and maxHU (p = 0.003) in group 1 was higher than that in group 2. Histologically, the occupied proportions of lymphoid follicles (p = 0.031) or histiocytes (p = 0.004) were higher in group 1. The Glut1 expression of lymphoid follicles (p = 0.035) or histiocytes (p = 0.005) was also higher in group 1., Conclusion: Lymphoid follicular hyperplasia and histiocyte infiltration associated with Glut1 overexpression are important molecular and pathological mechanisms for false-positive FDG uptake in benign mediastinal LNs in patients with NSCLC.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare post-therapy third day and seventh day I-131 whole body scans (3DWBS and 7DWBS) in detecting lung or bone metastasis from well-differentiated thyroid cancer., Materials and Methods: We enrolled 52 patients with lung or bone metastasis out of 1,152 patients who were treated with high-dose I-131 therapy from January 2008 to June 2009. All patients underwent 3DWBS and 7DWBS. I-131 avidity was classified into three grades: no uptake, suspicious for uptake, and definite uptake. We compared the presence and grades of metastatic lesions on each scan. We categorized all cases into three groups based on I-131 uptake on each scan and compared several clinical parameters including FDG uptake and thyroglobulin (Tg) level among the groups., Results: Sixty metastatic cases from 52 patients (45 lung and 15 bone metastases) were included. In 35 cases, I-131-avid metastatic lesions were detected by both 3DWBS and 7DWBS (group A). In 15 cases, metastatic lesions were missed on 3DWBS but detected on 7DWBS (group B). In 10 cases, I-131 uptake was not detected on either 3DWBS or 7DWBS (group C). Ten of 45 cases (22.2%) of lung metastasis that were negative on 3DWBS were detected on 7DWBS (p = 0.002). Five of 15 cases (33.3%) of bone metastasis that were negative on 3DWBS were detected on 7DWBS (p = 0.0625). The serum Tg level (TSH stimulated) was significantly different among groups A, B, and C (p = 0.0030). However, after exclusion of cases without a history of I-131 therapy, there was no significant difference in serum Tg level among the groups (p = 0.2330). The number of cases with a prior history of metastasis was higher in group A than in group B (p = 0.0069). However, there was no significant difference in prior history of metastasis between groups A and C (p = 0.8107)., Conclusion: 7DWBS showed more lung or bone metastatic lesions than 3DWBS. After high-dose I-131 therapy, 7DWBS should be considered regardless of the results of the 3DWBS for the diagnosis of lung or bone metastasis from well-differentiated thyroid cancer.

Background: Plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has been reported as a predictor for ischemic stroke in general population. However, predictive value of plasma NT-proBNP for acute ischemic stroke in patients on chronic hemodialysis has not been well established. The aim of this study was to determine whether NT-proBNP could predict acute ischemic stroke in patients on chronic hemodialysis., Methods: This study was designed prospectively. Clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic variables were assessed in 72 patients on chronic hemodialysis. The plasma levels of NT-proBNP were measured by immunoassay., Results: During the follow-up period of 45 months, 11 patients had an acute ischemic stroke. The Kaplan-Meier plot showed an increased frequency of acute ischemic stroke in patients with plasma levels of NT-proBNP above the median values compared to patients with lower concentrations (P = 0.028). The multivariate Cox proportional hazard models showed that the NT-proBNP was a significant independent predictor of acute ischemic stroke after adjustment for age, sex, mean blood pressure, diabetes, serum cholesterol levels, left ventricular mass index, and left ventricular fractional shortening (HR 6.66, 95% CI, 1.22-36.48, P = 0.029)., Conclusions: Our data suggest that plasma NT-proBNP levels predict the risk of acute ischemic stroke in patients on chronic hemodialysis.