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Background: Prognosis of esophageal cancer patients can be significantly improved by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). Given the aggressive nature of esophageal tumors, it is conceivable that in a significant portion of patients treated with nCRT, dissemination already becomes manifest during the period of nCRT. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the value and diagnostic accuracy of PET-CT after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy to identify patients with metastases preoperatively in order to prevent non-curative surgery. Methods: From January 2011 until February 2013 esophageal cancer patients deemed eligible for a curative approach with nCRT and surgical resection underwent a PET-CT after completion of nCRT. If abnormalities on PET-CT were suspected metastases, histological proof was acquired. A clinical decision model was designed to assess the cost-effectiveness of this diagnostic strategy. Results: 156 patients underwent a PET-CT after nCRT. In 31 patients (19.9%) PET-CT showed abnormalities suspicious for dissemination, resulting in 17 cases of proven metastases (10.9%). Of the patients without proven metastases 133 patients were operated. In 6 of these 133 cases distant metastases were detected intraoperatively, corresponding to 4.5% false-negative results. The standard introduction of a post-neoadjuvant therapy PET-CT led to a reduction of overall health care costs per patient compared to a scenario without restaging with PET-CT ($34,088 vs. $36,490). Conclusion: In 10.9% of esophageal cancer patients distant metastases were detected by standard PET-CT after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. To avoid non-curative resections we advocate post-neoadjuvant therapy PET-CT as a cost-effective step in the standard work-up of candidates for surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Celiac trunk metastases are an independent factor for inferior survival in patients with esophageal cancer. Detecting these metastases before esophagostomy would aid clinical decision making. The aim of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of integrated PET and CT (PET-CT) using 18F-FDG in detecting these metastases in patients with esophageal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRTx) followed by esophagectomy. Methods All patients with a carcinoma of the mid-to-distal esophagus or the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) who underwent esophageal resection with curative intent following nCRTx between January 2011 and January 2017 were included. The PET-CT scans after nCRTx were reviewed by nuclear radiologists and lymph nodes within a margin of 2 cm around the celiac trunk were expressed in SUVmax. Lymph nodes with SUVmax > 2.0 were deemed positive. The truncal nodes were extracted during esophagectomy and reviewed by different pathologists using standard pathology protocol. To assess the accuracy of the PET-CT in detecting lymph node metastases near the celiac trunk the sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive value were calculated. Results A total of 448 patients were included. There were 24 patients (5.4%) with positive truncal nodes on the PET-CT versus 424 patients (90.6%) with negative truncal nodes on the PET-CT. Out of these 24 patients 20 (83.3%) had truncal node metastases confirmed in the resection specimen (positive predictive value of 83.3%). In the other 424 patients 40 (9.4%) had truncal node metastases confirmed in the resection specimen (negative predictive value of 90.6%). This results in a sensitivity of 33.3% and a specificity of 99.0%. Conclusion The sensitivity and specificity of the PET-CT in detecting lymph node metastases near the celiac trunk in patients with esophageal cancer who underwent nCRTx were respectively 33.3% and 99.0% This shows that the PET-CT is accurate in detecting truncal lymph node metastases in this patient group. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Detection of residual oesophageal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is important to guide treatment decisions regarding standard oesophagectomy or active surveillance. The aim was to validate previously developed 18 F-FDG PET-based radiomic models to detect residual local tumour and to repeat model development (i.e. 'model extension') in case of poor generalisability., Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study in patients collected from a prospective multicentre study in four Dutch institutes. Patients underwent nCRT followed by oesophagectomy between 2013 and 2019. Outcome was tumour regression grade (TRG) 1 (0% tumour) versus TRG 2-3-4 (≥1% tumour). Scans were acquired according to standardised protocols. Discrimination and calibration were assessed for the published models with optimism-corrected AUCs >0.77. For model extension, the development and external validation cohorts were combined., Results: Baseline characteristics of the 189 patients included [median age 66 years (interquartile range 60-71), 158/189 male (84%), 40/189 TRG 1 (21%) and 149/189 (79%) TRG 2-3-4] were comparable to the development cohort. The model including cT stage plus the feature 'sum entropy' had best discriminative performance in external validation (AUC 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.55-0.73), with a calibration slope and intercept of 0.16 and 0.48 respectively. An extended bootstrapped LASSO model yielded an AUC of 0.65 for TRG 2-3-4 detection., Conclusion: The high predictive performance of the published radiomic models could not be replicated. The extended model had moderate discriminative ability. The investigated radiomic models appeared inaccurate to detect local residual oesophageal tumour and cannot be used as an adjunct tool for clinical decision-making in patients., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Introduction: The microvascular events following portal vein embolization (PVE) are poorly understood despite the pivotal role of the microcirculation in liver regeneration and tumor progression. We aimed to assess the changes in hepatic microvascular perfusion and neo-angiogenesis after experimental PVE., Methods: PVE of the cranial liver lobes was performed in 12 New Zealand White rabbits divided into 2 groups of permanent (P-PVE) and reversible PVE (R-PVE), respectively. Hepatobiliary scintigraphy and CT were used to evaluate hepatic function and volume. Hepatic microcirculation was assessed using a handheld vital microscope (Cytocam) to measure microvascular density (total vessel density; TVD) before PVE, right after PVE, and 20 min after PVE, as well as at 14 days (D14 post-PVE) and 35 days (D35 post-PVE). Additionally, on D35, microvascular PO2 and liver parenchymal VEGF were assessed., Results: Eleven rabbits were included after PVE (R-PVE, n = 5; P-PVE, n = 6). TVD in the nonembo-lized (hypertrophic) lobes was higher than in the embolized (atrophic) lobes of the P-PVE group at D35 post-PVE (36.7 ± 7.2 vs. 23.4 ± 4.9 mm/mm2; p < 0.05). In the R-PVE group, TVD in the nonembolized lobes was not increased at D35. Function and volume were increased in the nonembolized lobes of the P-PVE group compared to the embolized lobes, but not in the R-PVE group. Likewise, the mmicrovascular PO2 and VEGF staining rate were higher in the nonembolized lobes of the P-PVE group at D35 post-PVE., Discussion/conclusion: Successful volumetric and functional hypertrophy of the nonembolized lobe was accompanied by microvascular alterations featuring increased neo-angiogenesis, microvascular density, and microvascular oxygen pressure following P-PVE., (© 2021 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Purpose: Adult granulosa cell tumors (AGCTs) of the ovary represent a rare malignancy in which timing and choice of treatment is a clinical challenge. This study investigates the value of FDG-PET/CT and FES-PET/CT in monitoring recurrent AGCTs and assessing eligibility for anti-hormonal treatment., Materials and Methods: We evaluated 22 PET/CTs from recurrent AGCT patients to determine tumor FDG ( n = 16) and FES ( n = 6) uptake by qualitative and quantitative analysis. We included all consecutive patients from two tertiary hospitals between 2003-2020. Expression of ERα and ERβ and mitoses per 2 mm 2 were determined by immunohistochemistry and compared to FES and FDG uptake, respectively., Results: Qualitative assessment showed low-to-moderate FDG uptake in most patients (14/16), and intense uptake in 2/16. One patient with intense tumor FDG uptake had a high mitotic rate (18 per 2 mm 2 ) Two out of six patients showed FES uptake on PET/CT at qualitative analysis. Lesion-based quantitative assessment showed a mean SUV max of 2.4 (± 0.9) on FDG-PET/CT and mean SUV max of 1.7 (± 0.5) on FES-PET/CT. Within patients, expression of ERα and ERβ varied and did not seem to correspond with FES uptake. In one FES positive patient, tumor locations with FES uptake remained stable or decreased in size during anti-hormonal treatment, while all FES negative locations progressed., Conclusions: This study shows that in AGCTs, FDG uptake is limited and therefore FDG-PET/CT is not advised. FES-PET/CT may be useful to non-invasively capture the estrogen receptor expression of separate tumor lesions and thus assess the potential eligibility for hormone treatment in AGCT patients., Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright: © 2021 Roze et al.)

Our purpose was to prospectively investigate optimal evaluation of qualitative and quantitative 18 F-FDG PET/CT in response evaluations 12-14 wk after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in esophageal cancer patients. Methods: This was a side study of the prospective diagnostic pre-SANO trial. 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans at baseline and at 12-14 wk after nCRT were qualitatively assessed for the presence of tumor. Maximum SUVs normalized for lean body mass (SUL max ) were measured in all scans. The primary endpoint was the proportion of false-negative patients with tumor regression grade (TRG) 3-4 (>10% vital residual tumor) in qualitative and quantitative analyses. Receiver-operating-characteristic curve analysis for TRG1 versus TRG3-4 using SUL max , SUL max tumor-to-esophagus ratio, and Δ%SUL max was performed to define optimal cutoffs. Secondary endpoints were sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value for TRG1 versus TRG2-4. Results: In total, 129 of 219 patients were analyzed. Qualitative 18 F-FDG PET/CT was unable to detect TRG3-4 in 15% of patients. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value in qualitative analysis for detecting TRG1 versus TRG2-4 was 80%, 37%, 42%, and 77%, respectively. In 18 of 190 patients (10%) with follow-up scans after nCRT, 18 F-FDG PET/CT identified new interval metastases. Quantitative parameters did not detect TRG3-4 tumor in 27%-61% of patients. The optimal cutoff for detecting TRG1 versus TRG2-4 was a post-nCRT SUL max of 2.93 (area under receiver-operating-characteristic curve, 0.70). Conclusion: Qualitative and quantitative analyses of 18 F-FDG PET/CT are unable to accurately detect TRG3-4 and to discriminate substantial residual disease from benign inflammation-induced 18 F-FDG uptake after nCRT. However, 18 F-FDG PET/CT is useful for the detection of interval metastases and might become useful in an active surveillance strategy with serial 18 F-FDG PET/CT scanning., (© 2019 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

Background & Aims: Postoperative ileus is characterized by delayed gastrointestinal (GI) transit and is a major determinant of recovery after colorectal surgery. Both laparoscopic surgery and fast-track multimodal perioperative care have been reported to improve clinical recovery. However, objective measures supporting faster GI recovery are lacking. Therefore, GI transit was measured following open and laparoscopic colorectal surgery with or without fast-track care., Methods: Patients (n = 93) requiring elective colonic surgery were randomized to laparoscopic or conventional surgery with fast-track multimodal management or standard care, resulting in 4 treatment arms. Gastric emptying and colonic transit were scintigraphically assessed from days 1 to 3 in 78 patients and compared with clinical parameters such as time to tolerance of solid food and/or bowel movement and time until (ready for) discharge., Results: A total of 71 patients without mechanical bowel obstructions or surgical complications requiring intervention were available for analysis. No differences in gastric emptying 24 hours after surgery between the different groups were observed (P = .61). However, the median colonic transit of patients undergoing laparoscopic/fast-track care was significantly faster compared with the laparoscopic/standard, open/fast-track, and open/standard care groups. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that both laparoscopic surgery and fast-track care were significant independent predictive factors of improved colonic transit. Both were associated with significantly faster clinical recovery and shorter time until tolerance of solid food and first bowel movement., Conclusions: Colonic transit recovers significantly faster after laparoscopic surgery and the fast-track program; laparoscopy and fast-track care lead to faster recovery of GI motility and improve clinical recovery., (Copyright © 2011 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

It has been suggested that 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) might serve as a tool for the often difficult diagnosis of infective endocarditis. The case is described of a patient with a Bartonella henselae endocarditis with a negative FDG-PET. This case report demonstrates that negative FDG-PET findings do not rule out the presence of endocarditis.