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The article presents a case study of a 31-year-old female patient that presented postpartum abdominal pain with fever and was diagnosed with hepatic adenoma. Topics discussed include brief details about the medical history and pregnancy of the patient prior to hospital admission, the results of the physical and laboratory examinations performed such as blood tests and urinalysis, and the patient outcomes recorded following treatment.

The article presents a case study of a 41-year-old woman who had undergone renal transplantation was admitted to this hospital because of bloody stools and thrombocytopenia. Topics include the patient had been in her usual state of health until 3 weeks before this admission, the episodes of diarrhea occurred several times a day and were not associated with fever, chills, abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting, and the abdominal and rectal examinations were normal.

Purpose: The role of positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) in evaluating the local extent of rectal cancer remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the possible role of PET/MR versus magnetic resonance (MR) in clinically staging rectal cancer. Methods: This retrospective two-center cohort study of 62 patients with untreated rectal cancer investigated the possible role of baseline staging PET/MR versus stand-alone MR in determination of clinical stage. Two readers reviewed T and N stage, mesorectal fascia involvement, tumor length, distance from the anal verge, sphincter involvement, and extramural vascular invasion (EMVI). Sigmoidoscopy, digital rectal examination, and follow-up imaging, along with surgery when available, served as the reference standard. Results: PET/MR outperformed MR in evaluating tumor size (42.5 ± 21.03 mm per the reference standard, 54 ± 20.45 mm by stand-alone MR, and 44 ± 20 mm by PET/MR, P = 0.004), and in identifying N status (correct by MR in 36/62 patients [58%] and by PET/MR in 49/62 cases [79%]; P = 0.02) and external sphincter infiltration (correct by MR in 6/10 and by PET/MR in 9/10; P = 0.003). No statistically significant differences were observed in relation to any other features. Conclusion: PET/MR provides a more precise assessment of the local extent of rectal cancers in evaluating cancer length, N status, and external sphincter involvement. PET/MR offers the opportunity to improve clinical decision-making, especially when evaluating low rectal tumors with possible external sphincter involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MRI has emerged as the most comprehensive non-invasive diagnostic tool for liver diseases. In recent years, the value of MRI in hepatology has been significantly enhanced by a wide range of contrast agents, both clinically available and under development, that add functional information to anatomically detailed morphological images, or increase the distinction between normal and pathological tissues by targeting molecular and cellular events. Several classes of contrast agents are available for contrast-enhanced hepatic MRI, including i) conventional non-specific extracellular fluid contrast agents for assessing tissue perfusion; ii) hepatobiliary-specific contrast agents that are taken up by functioning hepatocytes and excreted through the biliary system for evaluating hepatobiliary function; iii) superparamagnetic iron oxide particles that accumulate in Kupffer cells; and iv) novel molecular contrast agents that are biochemically targeted to specific molecular/cellular processes for staging liver diseases or detecting treatment responses. The use of different functional and molecular MRI methods enables the non-invasive assessment of disease burden, progression, and treatment response in a variety of liver diseases. A high diagnostic performance can be achieved with MRI by combining imaging biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the clinical performance of upper abdominal PET/DCE-MRI with and without concurrent respiratory motion correction (MoCo).Methods: MoCo PET/DCE-MRI of the upper abdomen was acquired in 44 consecutive oncologic patients and compared with non-MoCo PET/MRI. SUVmax and MTV of FDG-avid upper abdominal malignant lesions were assessed on MoCo and non-MoCo PET images. Image quality was compared between MoCo DCE-MRI and non-MoCo CE-MRI, and between fused MoCo PET/MRI and fused non-MoCo PET/MRI images.Results: MoCo PET resulted in higher SUVmax (10.8 ± 5.45) than non-MoCo PET (9.62 ± 5.42) and lower MTV (35.55 ± 141.95 cm3) than non-MoCo PET (38.11 ± 198.14 cm3; p < 0.005 for both). The quality of MoCo DCE-MRI images (4.73 ± 0.5) was higher than that of non-MoCo CE-MRI images (4.53±0.71; p = 0.037). The quality of fused MoCo-PET/MRI images (4.96 ± 0.16) was higher than that of fused non-MoCo PET/MRI images (4.39 ± 0.66; p < 0.005).Conclusion: MoCo PET/MRI provided qualitatively better images than non-MoCo PET/MRI, and upper abdominal malignant lesions demonstrated higher SUVmax and lower MTV on MoCo PET/MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Correct staging is imperative for colorectal cancer (CRC) since it influences both prognosis and management. Several imaging methods are used for this purpose, with variable performance. Positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance (PET/MR) is an innovative imaging technique recently employed for clinical application. The present study was undertaken to compare the staging accuracy of whole-body positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) with whole-body PET/MR in patients with both newly diagnosed and treated colorectal cancer. Methods: Twenty-six patients, who underwent same day whole-body (WB) PET/CT and WB-PET/MR, were evaluated. PET/CT and PET/MR studies were interpreted by consensus by a radiologist and a nuclear medicine physician. Correlations with prior imaging and follow-up studies were used as the reference standard. Correct staging was compared between methods using McNemar's Chi square test. Results: The two methods were in agreement and correct for 18/26 (69%) patients, and in agreement and incorrect for one patient (3.8%). PET/MR and PET/CT stages for the remaining 7/26 patients (27%) were discordant, with PET/MR staging being correct in all seven cases. PET/MR significantly outperformed PET/CT overall for accurate staging ( P = 0.02). Conclusion: PET/MR outperformed PET/CT in CRC staging. PET/MR might allow accurate local and distant staging of CRC patients during both at the time of diagnosis and during follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Differences in genetics and receptor expression (phenotypes) of invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC) impact on prognosis and treatment response. Immunohistochemistry (IHC), the most used technique for IDC phenotyping, has some limitations including its invasiveness. We explored the possibility of contrast-enhanced positron emission tomography magnetic resonance (CE-FDG PET/MR) to discriminate IDC phenotypes.Methods: 21 IDC patients with IHC assessment of oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER2), and antigen Ki-67 (Ki67) underwent CE-FDG PET/MR. Magnetic resonance-perfusion biomarkers, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and standard uptake value (SUV) were compared with IHC markers and phenotypes, using a Student's t-test and one-way ANOVA.Results: ER/PR- tumours demonstrated higher Kepmean and SUVmax than ER or PR+ tumours. HER2- tumours displayed higher ADCmean, Kepmean, and SUVmax than HER2+tumours. Only ADCmean discriminated Ki67⩽14% tumours (lower ADCmean) from Ki67>14% tumours. PET/MR biomarkers correlated with IHC phenotype in 13 out of 21 patients (62%; P=0.001).Conclusions: Positron emission tomography magnetic resonance might non-invasively help discriminate IDC phenotypes, helping to optimise individual therapy options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid PET/MR scanners are innovative imaging devices that simultaneously or sequentially acquire and fuse anatomical and functional data from magnetic resonance (MR) with metabolic information from positron emission tomography (PET) (Delso et al. in J Nucl Med 52:1914-1922, 2011; Zaidi et al. in Phys Med Biol 56:3091-3106, 2011). Hybrid PET/MR scanners have the potential to greatly impact not only on medical research but also, and more importantly, on patient management. Although their clinical applications are still under investigation, the increased worldwide availability of PET/MR scanners, and the growing published literature are important determinants in their rising utilization for primarily clinical applications. In this manuscript, we provide a summary of the physical features of PET/MR, including its limitations, which are most relevant to clinical PET/MR implementation and to interpretation. Thereafter, we discuss the most important current and emergent clinical applications of such hybrid technology in the abdomen and pelvis, both in the field of oncologic and non-oncologic imaging, and we provide, when possible, a comparison with clinically consolidated imaging techniques, like for example PET/CT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) techniques that utilize three-dimensional (3D) acquisition and the role of functional MRCP. It outlines the indications and role of secretin stimulated MRCP in clinical settings. The role of MRCP involves the detection of biliary obstruction and identification of a potential cause. It concludes that the combination of conventional and functional MRCP provides a method for the assessment of biliary and pancreatic diseases and their effect on morphology.

Imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of women with uterine cervical and endometrial cancers. Quantitative imaging, through MRI, PET/CT, and hybrid PET/MRI, allows for characterization of primary tumors beyond anatomic and qualitative descriptors. MRI diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) yields an apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), which can be applied in both the pre-and post-treatment assessment of uterine tumors. PET/CT assesses metabolic activity, and measurement of tumor standardized uptake value (SUV) is a useful metric in the staging of uterine malignancies. Hybrid PET/MRI is an emerging modality that combines the soft tissue contrast of MRI with the molecular imaging capability of PET. This review provides an overview of these quantitative imaging modalities, and their current and potential roles in the assessment of uterine cervical and cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To externally validate an algorithm for non-invasive differentiation of hepatic mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN) from benign hepatic cysts (BHC), which differ in management. Methods: Patients with cystic liver lesions pathologically confirmed as MCN or BHC between January 2005 and March 2022 from multiple institutions were retrospectively included. Five readers (2 radiologists, 3 non-radiologist physicians) independently reviewed contrast-enhanced CT or MRI examinations before tissue sampling and applied the 3-feature classification algorithm described by Hardie et al. to differentiate between MCN and BHC, which had a reported accuracy of 93.5%. The classification was then compared to the pathology results. Interreader agreement between readers across different levels of experience was evaluated with Fleiss' Kappa. Results: The final cohort included 159 patients, median age of 62 years (IQR [52.0, 70.0]), 66.7% female (106). Of all patients, 89.3% (142) had BHC, and the remaining 10.7% (17) had MCN on pathology. Agreement for class designation between the radiologists was almost perfect (Fleiss' Kappa 0.840, p < 0.001). The algorithm had an accuracy of 98.1% (95% CI [94.6%, 99.6%]), a positive predictive value of 100.0% (95% CI [76.8%, 100.0%]), a negative predictive value of 97.9% (95% CI [94.1%, 99.6%]), and an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.911 (95% CI [0.818, 1.000]). Conclusion: The evaluated algorithm showed similarly high diagnostic accuracy in our external, multi-institutional validation cohort. This 3-feature algorithm is easily and rapidly applied and its features are reproducible among radiologists, showing promise as a clinical decision support tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: New generation of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (RTKIs) have shown to improve survival in many solid tumors. However, an imaging biomarker is needed for patient selection and prediction of treatment response. This study evaluates the use of quantitative changes of HER3 on 68 Ga-NOTA-HER3P1 PET/MRI for prediction of early response to pan-RTKIs in gastric cancer (GCa).Procedures: GCa cell lines were evaluated for expression of RTKs, and downstream signaling pathways (AKT and MAPK). Cell viability was assessed following 24-72 h of treatment with 0.01-1 µmol/L of afatinib, a pan-RTKI. HER3-expressing afatinib-sensitive (NCI-N87) and resistant cells (SNU16) were selected for evaluation of changes in RTKs expression and downstream pathways, with 24-72 h of 0.1 µmol/L afatinib treatment. 68 Ga-NOTA-HER3P1 PET/MRI was performed in subcutaneous NCI-N87 and SNU16 xenografts (nu:nu, n = 12/group) at baseline and 4 days after afatinib treatment (10 mg/kg, PO, daily). Temporal changes in PET measures were correlated to HER3 expression in tumors, tumor growth rate, and treatment response.Results: With afatinib therapy, NCI-N87 cells showed increased total HER3 expression, and reduction of other RTKs and downstream nodes within 72 h, while SNU16 cells showed no significant change in total HER3 and downstream nodes. 68 Ga-HER3P1 PET/MRI showed increased uptake in NCI-N87 and no significant change in SNU16 tumors (day 4 vs. baseline SUVmean: 3.8 ± 0.7 vs. 1.6 ± 0.6, p < 0.05 in NCI-N87, and 1.5 ± 0.7 vs. 1.7 ± 0.7, p > 0.05 in SNU16). These findings were in concordance with HER3 expression in histopathological analyses and tumor growth over 3 weeks of treatment (mean tumor volume in treated vs. control: 11 ± 17 mm3 vs. 293 ± 79 mm3, p < 0.001 in NCI-N87, and 238 ± 91 mm3 vs. 282 ± 35 mm3, p > 0.05 in SNU16).Conclusions: Quantitative changes in HER3 PET could be used to predict response to pan-RTKI within few days after initiation of treatment and can help with personalizing GCa management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare standard (STD-DWI) single-shot echo-planar imaging DWI and simultaneous multislice (SMS) DWI during whole-body positron emission tomography (PET)/MRI regarding acquisition time, image quality, and lesion detection. Methods: Eighty-three adults (47 females, 57%), median age of 64 years (IQR 52–71), were prospectively enrolled from August 2018 to March 2020. Inclusion criteria were (a) abdominal or pelvic tumors and (b) PET/MRI referral from a clinician. Patients were excluded if whole-body acquisition of STD-DWI and SMS-DWI sequences was not completed. The evaluated sequences were axial STD-DWI at b-values 50–400–800 s/mm2 and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and axial SMS-DWI at b-values 50–300–800 s/mm2 and ADC, acquired with a 3-T PET/MRI scanner. Three radiologists rated each sequence's quality on a five-point scale. Lesion detection was quantified using the anatomic MRI sequences and PET as the reference standard. Regression models were constructed to quantify the association between all imaging outcomes/scores and sequence type. Results: The median whole-body STD-DWI acquisition time was 14.8 min (IQR 14.1–16.0) versus 7.0 min (IQR 6.7–7.2) for whole-body SMS-DWI, p < 0.001. SMS-DWI image quality scores were higher than STD-DWI in the abdomen (OR 5.31, 95% CI 2.76–10.22, p < 0.001), but lower in the cervicothoracic junction (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.10–0.43, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the chest, mediastinum, pelvis, and rectum. STD-DWI detected 276/352 (78%) lesions while SMS-DWI located 296/352 (84%, OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.02–2.07, p = 0.038). Conclusions: In cancer staging and restaging, SMS-DWI abbreviates acquisition while maintaining or improving the diagnostic yield in most anatomic regions. Key Points: • Simultaneous multislice diffusion-weighted imaging enables faster whole-body image acquisition. • Simultaneous multislice diffusion-weighted imaging maintains or improves image quality when compared to single-shot echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging in most anatomical regions. • Simultaneous multislice diffusion-weighted imaging leads to superior lesion detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To implement a new daily peer learning (PL) conference which incorporates faculty and trainees within the abdominal imaging division of a large academic medical center, and to determine participants' level of satisfaction and preference over the pre-existing peer review (PR) model. We replaced our pre-existing PR-based tool with a daily hour-long case-based PL teaching conference over a 3-month pilot period. Faculty and trainees were surveyed about their experience at the end of the pilot period. A total of 711 cases were logged during the pilot period (median 9 cases per day). We received 30 survey responses from a total of 48 eligible participants. Survey responses from both faculty and trainees on the new PL conference were overwhelmingly favorable, including unanimous support for permanently replacing the existing PR tool with the new PL conference. Our successful pilot of a daily PL conference replacing an existing PR tool adds to the growing body of evidence of radiologists strongly supporting PL based processes over PR. Our paradigm of actively involving trainees within the process can serve as a model for other institutions. • Peer learning is rapidly increasing in popularity as an alternative to traditional peer review. • Surveyed radiologists unanimously preferred participating in peer learning rather than peer review. • Trainees enjoyed participating in peer learning conferences and found the experience to be educational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Prior case reports have noted an increase in renal size and perinephric stranding accompanying immunotherapy-related renal toxicity due to checkpoint-inhibitor therapy. The purpose of this investigation was to systematically evaluate if immunotherapy-related renal toxicity affects renal size and possible associated imaging findings. Methods: This retrospective multi-hospital study included 25 patients (13 men), mean age 67 years (range 46–83) who received immune-checkpoint inhibitors for cancer treatment, developed biopsy-proven immunotherapy-related nephritis, and who also had abdominal imaging before, during, and after nephritis was diagnosed. Long axis renal diameter, renal corticomedullary differentiation/enhancement and perinephric stranding were evaluated by two readers at three timepoints: (1) prior to checkpoint inhibitor therapy (baseline), (2) after biopsy-proven immunotherapy-related nephritis (post-treatment), and (3) following renal function recovery (follow-up). Intraclass correlation coefficient and Cohen's Kappa were calculated to quantify agreement. Logistic regression analysis was implemented to measure the association between each timepoint and imaging features. Results: Reader agreement on kidney measurements was excellent (ICC = 0.87). There was an increase in renal size between baseline and post-treatment (p = 0.001), followed by a decrease between post-treatment to follow-up (p < 0.001). Agreement was perfect for abnormal renal corticomedullary differentiation/enhancement (Kappa = 1, p < 0.001) and almost perfect for perinephric stranding (Kappa = 0.97, p < 0.001). Neither post-treatment nor follow-up imaging findings were significantly associated with these findings compared to the baseline (p = 0.2–0.6). Conclusion: Immunotherapy-related renal toxicity was associated with an increase in renal size coincident with acute renal dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate if radiomics with machine learning can differentiate between F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-avid breast cancer metastatic lymphadenopathy and FDG-avid COVID-19 mRNA vaccine–related axillary lymphadenopathy. Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed FDG-positive, pathology-proven, metastatic axillary lymph nodes in 53 breast cancer patients who had PET/CT for follow-up or staging, and FDG-positive axillary lymph nodes in 46 patients who were vaccinated with the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. Radiomics features (110 features classified into 7 groups) were extracted from all segmented lymph nodes. Analysis was performed on PET, CT, and combined PET/CT inputs. Lymph nodes were randomly assigned to a training (n = 132) and validation cohort (n = 33) by 5-fold cross-validation. K-nearest neighbors (KNN) and random forest (RF) machine learning models were used. Performance was evaluated using an area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) score. Results: Axillary lymph nodes from breast cancer patients (n = 85) and COVID-19-vaccinated individuals (n = 80) were analyzed. Analysis of first-order features showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in all combined PET/CT features, most PET features, and half of the CT features. The KNN model showed the best performance score for combined PET/CT and PET input with 0.98 (± 0.03) and 0.88 (± 0.07) validation AUC, and 96% (± 4%) and 85% (± 9%) validation accuracy, respectively. The RF model showed the best result for CT input with 0.96 (± 0.04) validation AUC and 90% (± 6%) validation accuracy. Conclusion: Radiomics features can differentiate between FDG-avid breast cancer metastatic and FDG-avid COVID-19 vaccine–related axillary lymphadenopathy. Such a model may have a role in differentiating benign nodes from malignant ones. Key Points: • Patients who were vaccinated with the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine have shown FDG-avid reactive axillary lymph nodes in PET-CT scans. • We evaluated if radiomics and machine learning can distinguish between FDG-avid metastatic axillary lymphadenopathy in breast cancer patients and FDG-avid reactive axillary lymph nodes. • Combined PET and CT radiomics data showed good test AUC (0.98) for distinguishing between metastatic axillary lymphadenopathy and post-COVID-19 vaccine–associated axillary lymphadenopathy. Therefore, the use of radiomics may have a role in differentiating between benign from malignant FDG-avid nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of DECT techniques, acquisition workflows, and post-processing methods. By doing so, we aim to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of DECT compared to conventional single-energy CT imaging.A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE/EMBASE for DECT studies in liver imaging published between 1980 and 2024. Information regarding study design and endpoints, patient characteristics, DECT technical parameters, radiation dose, iodinated contrast agent (ICA) administration and postprocessing methods were extracted. Technical parameters, including DECT phase, field of view, pitch, collimation, rotation time, arterial phase timing (from injection), and venous timing (from injection) from the included studies were reported, along with formal narrative synthesis of main DECT applications for liver imaging.Out of the initially identified 234 articles, 153 met the inclusion criteria. Extensive variability in acquisition parameters was observed, except for tube voltage (80/140 kVp combination reported in 50% of articles) and ICA administration (1.5 mL/kg at 3–4 mL/s, reported in 91% of articles). Radiation dose information was provided in only 40% of articles (range: 6–80 mGy), and virtual non-contrast imaging (VNC) emerged as a common strategy to reduce the radiation dose. The primary application of DECT post-processed images was in detecting focal liver lesions (47% of articles), with predominance of study focusing on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (27%). Furthermore, a significant proportion of the articles (16%) focused on enhancing DECT protocols, while 15% explored metastasis detection.Our review recommends using 80/140 kVp tube voltage with 1.5 mL/kg ICA at 3–4 mL/s flow rate. Post-processing should include low keV-VMI for enhanced lesion detection, IMs for tumor iodine content evaluation, and VNC for dose reduction. However, heterogeneous literature hinders protocol standardization.Methods: This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of DECT techniques, acquisition workflows, and post-processing methods. By doing so, we aim to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of DECT compared to conventional single-energy CT imaging.A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE/EMBASE for DECT studies in liver imaging published between 1980 and 2024. Information regarding study design and endpoints, patient characteristics, DECT technical parameters, radiation dose, iodinated contrast agent (ICA) administration and postprocessing methods were extracted. Technical parameters, including DECT phase, field of view, pitch, collimation, rotation time, arterial phase timing (from injection), and venous timing (from injection) from the included studies were reported, along with formal narrative synthesis of main DECT applications for liver imaging.Out of the initially identified 234 articles, 153 met the inclusion criteria. Extensive variability in acquisition parameters was observed, except for tube voltage (80/140 kVp combination reported in 50% of articles) and ICA administration (1.5 mL/kg at 3–4 mL/s, reported in 91% of articles). Radiation dose information was provided in only 40% of articles (range: 6–80 mGy), and virtual non-contrast imaging (VNC) emerged as a common strategy to reduce the radiation dose. The primary application of DECT post-processed images was in detecting focal liver lesions (47% of articles), with predominance of study focusing on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (27%). Furthermore, a significant proportion of the articles (16%) focused on enhancing DECT protocols, while 15% explored metastasis detection.Our review recommends using 80/140 kVp tube voltage with 1.5 mL/kg ICA at 3–4 mL/s flow rate. Post-processing should include low keV-VMI for enhanced lesion detection, IMs for tumor iodine content evaluation, and VNC for dose reduction. However, heterogeneous literature hinders protocol standardization.Results: This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of DECT techniques, acquisition workflows, and post-processing methods. By doing so, we aim to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of DECT compared to conventional single-energy CT imaging.A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE/EMBASE for DECT studies in liver imaging published between 1980 and 2024. Information regarding study design and endpoints, patient characteristics, DECT technical parameters, radiation dose, iodinated contrast agent (ICA) administration and postprocessing methods were extracted. Technical parameters, including DECT phase, field of view, pitch, collimation, rotation time, arterial phase timing (from injection), and venous timing (from injection) from the included studies were reported, along with formal narrative synthesis of main DECT applications for liver imaging.Out of the initially identified 234 articles, 153 met the inclusion criteria. Extensive variability in acquisition parameters was observed, except for tube voltage (80/140 kVp combination reported in 50% of articles) and ICA administration (1.5 mL/kg at 3–4 mL/s, reported in 91% of articles). Radiation dose information was provided in only 40% of articles (range: 6–80 mGy), and virtual non-contrast imaging (VNC) emerged as a common strategy to reduce the radiation dose. The primary application of DECT post-processed images was in detecting focal liver lesions (47% of articles), with predominance of study focusing on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (27%). Furthermore, a significant proportion of the articles (16%) focused on enhancing DECT protocols, while 15% explored metastasis detection.Our review recommends using 80/140 kVp tube voltage with 1.5 mL/kg ICA at 3–4 mL/s flow rate. Post-processing should include low keV-VMI for enhanced lesion detection, IMs for tumor iodine content evaluation, and VNC for dose reduction. However, heterogeneous literature hinders protocol standardization.Conclusion: This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of DECT techniques, acquisition workflows, and post-processing methods. By doing so, we aim to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of DECT compared to conventional single-energy CT imaging.A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE/EMBASE for DECT studies in liver imaging published between 1980 and 2024. Information regarding study design and endpoints, patient characteristics, DECT technical parameters, radiation dose, iodinated contrast agent (ICA) administration and postprocessing methods were extracted. Technical parameters, including DECT phase, field of view, pitch, collimation, rotation time, arterial phase timing (from injection), and venous timing (from injection) from the included studies were reported, along with formal narrative synthesis of main DECT applications for liver imaging.Out of the initially identified 234 articles, 153 met the inclusion criteria. Extensive variability in acquisition parameters was observed, except for tube voltage (80/140 kVp combination reported in 50% of articles) and ICA administration (1.5 mL/kg at 3–4 mL/s, reported in 91% of articles). Radiation dose information was provided in only 40% of articles (range: 6–80 mGy), and virtual non-contrast imaging (VNC) emerged as a common strategy to reduce the radiation dose. The primary application of DECT post-processed images was in detecting focal liver lesions (47% of articles), with predominance of study focusing on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (27%). Furthermore, a significant proportion of the articles (16%) focused on enhancing DECT protocols, while 15% explored metastasis detection.Our review recommends using 80/140 kVp tube voltage with 1.5 mL/kg ICA at 3–4 mL/s flow rate. Post-processing should include low keV-VMI for enhanced lesion detection, IMs for tumor iodine content evaluation, and VNC for dose reduction. However, heterogeneous literature hinders protocol standardization.Graphical abstract: This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of DECT techniques, acquisition workflows, and post-processing methods. By doing so, we aim to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of DECT compared to conventional single-energy CT imaging.A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE/EMBASE for DECT studies in liver imaging published between 1980 and 2024. Information regarding study design and endpoints, patient characteristics, DECT technical parameters, radiation dose, iodinated contrast agent (ICA) administration and postprocessing methods were extracted. Technical parameters, including DECT phase, field of view, pitch, collimation, rotation time, arterial phase timing (from injection), and venous timing (from injection) from the included studies were reported, along with formal narrative synthesis of main DECT applications for liver imaging.Out of the initially identified 234 articles, 153 met the inclusion criteria. Extensive variability in acquisition parameters was observed, except for tube voltage (80/140 kVp combination reported in 50% of articles) and ICA administration (1.5 mL/kg at 3–4 mL/s, reported in 91% of articles). Radiation dose information was provided in only 40% of articles (range: 6–80 mGy), and virtual non-contrast imaging (VNC) emerged as a common strategy to reduce the radiation dose. The primary application of DECT post-processed images was in detecting focal liver lesions (47% of articles), with predominance of study focusing on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (27%). Furthermore, a significant proportion of the articles (16%) focused on enhancing DECT protocols, while 15% explored metastasis detection.Our review recommends using 80/140 kVp tube voltage with 1.5 mL/kg ICA at 3–4 mL/s flow rate. Post-processing should include low keV-VMI for enhanced lesion detection, IMs for tumor iodine content evaluation, and VNC for dose reduction. However, heterogeneous literature hinders protocol standardization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The clinical value of FDG-PET/CT for staging and monitoring treatment response in patients with aggressive lymphoma is well established. Conversely, its role in the assessment and management of marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is less conclusive. We aimed to assess clinical, laboratory, and pathological predictors for FDG uptake in these patients, in an attempt to identify MZL patients whose management will benefit from this imaging modality. Methods: In this single-center, retrospective cohort study, we included all adult patients diagnosed with MZL at the Rabin Medical Center between January 2006 and December 2020 who underwent FDG-PET/CT at the time of diagnosis. Primary outcomes were FDG avidity (defined as a visual assessment of at least moderate intensity), SUVmax, and SUVliver. Variables such as advanced clinical stage, primary disease site, hemoglobin level (Hb), platelet count (Plt), serum albumin, LDH level, β-2 microglobulin, and Ki 67 index were evaluated univariate and multivariate analysis using logistic and linear regression models. Association between FDG avidity and progression-free and overall survival was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox regression analysis. Results: A total of 207 MZL patients were included in this study, 76 of whom (36.7%) had FDG-avid disease. Baseline patients' characteristics such as age, gender, and comorbid conditions were similar between patients with and without significant FDG uptake. In a multivariate logistic regression model, non-gastric MALT (OR 4.2, 95% CI 1.78–10), Ki 67 index ≥ 15% (OR 3.64, 95% CI 1.36–9.76), and elevated LDH level (OR 8.6, 95% CI 3.2–22.8) were all associated with positive FDG avidity. In a multivariate linear regression model, a combination of advanced clinical stage, specific disease subtypes, LDH level, and Ki 67 index predicted the value of SUVmax (P value < 0.001; adjusted R2 = 33.8%) and SUVmax/SUVliver (P value < 0.001; adjusted R2 = 27%). Baseline FDG avidity was associated to PFS and OS only in univariate analyses. Conclusions: In this retrospective cohort study, we present prediction models for positive FDG uptake and SUVmax in MZL patients. These models aim to help clinicians choose patients suitable for incorporation of FDG-PET/CT for staging and monitoring disease and reduce the costs of redundant tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In breast cancer, the leading cancer type and the main cause of cancer death in women, achieving pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to be associated with prolonged overall survival. Hence, the correct assessment and the potential prediction of therapy response have recently become the focus of research. In this study, we predicted pathological complete response prior to neoadjuvant system therapy using 18F-FDG PET/MRI radiomics analysis of the breast. Hence, simultaneous 18F-FDG PET/MRI may enable a more individualized and targeted approach to treatment as well as pretherapeutic patient stratification. Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether multiparametric 18F-FDG PET/MRI-based radiomics analysis is able to predict pathological complete response in breast cancer patients and hence potentially enhance pretherapeutic patient stratification. Methods: A total of 73 female patients (mean age 49 years; range 27–77 years) with newly diagnosed, therapy-naive breast cancer underwent simultaneous 18F-FDG PET/MRI and were included in this retrospective study. All PET/MRI datasets were imported to dedicated software (ITK-SNAP v. 3.6.0) for lesion annotation using a semi-automated method. Pretreatment biopsy specimens were used to determine tumor histology, tumor and nuclear grades, and immunohistochemical status. Histopathological results from surgical tumor specimens were used as the reference standard to distinguish between complete pathological response (pCR) and noncomplete pathological response. An elastic net was employed to select the most important radiomic features prior to model development. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were calculated for each model. Results: The best results in terms of AUCs and NPV for predicting complete pathological response in the entire cohort were obtained by the combination of all MR sequences and PET (0.8 and 79.5%, respectively), and no significant differences from the other models were observed. In further subgroup analyses, combining all MR and PET data, the best AUC (0.94) for predicting complete pathologic response was obtained in the HR+/HER2− group. No difference between results with/without the inclusion of PET characteristics was observed in the TN/HER2+ group, each leading to an AUC of 0.92 for all MR and all MR + PET datasets. Conclusion: 18F-FDG PET/MRI enables comprehensive high-quality radiomics analysis for the prediction of pCR in breast cancer patients, especially in those with HR+/HER2− receptor status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose : To evaluate the correlation of radiomic features in pelvic [2-deoxy-2-18F]fluoro-d-glucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography ([18F]FDG PET/MRI and [18F]FDG PET/CT) in patients with primary cervical cancer (CCa). Procedures: Nineteen patients with histologically confirmed primary squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix underwent same-day [18F]FDG PET/MRI and PET/CT. Two nuclear medicine physicians performed a consensus reading in random order. Free-hand regions of interest covering the primary cervical tumors were drawn on PET, contrast-enhanced pelvic CT, and pelvic MR (T2 weighted and ADC) images. Several basic imaging features, standard uptake values (SUVmean, SUVmax, and SUVpeak), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and more advanced texture analysis features were calculated. Pearson's correlation test was used to assess the correlation between each pair of features. Features were compared between local and metastatic tumors, and their role in predicting metastasis was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: For a total of 101 extracted features, 1104/5050 pairs of features showed a significant correlation (ρ ≥ 0.70, p < 0.05). There was a strong correlation between 190/484 PET pairs of features from PET/MRI and PET/CT, 91/418 pairs of CT and PET from PET/CT, 79/418 pairs of T2 and PET from PET/MRI, and 50/418 pairs of ADC and PET from PET/MRI. Significant difference was seen between eight features in local and metastatic tumors including MTV, TLG, and entropy on PET from PET/CT; MTV and TLG on PET from PET/MRI; compactness and entropy on T2; and entropy on ADC images. Conclusions: We demonstrated strong correlation of many extracted radiomic features between PET/MRI and PET/CT. Eight radiomic features calculated on PET/CT and PET/MRI were significantly different between local and metastatic CCa. This study paves the way for future studies to evaluate the diagnostic and predictive potential of radiomics that could guide clinicians toward personalized patients care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of CA15-3 for the diagnostic integration of molecular imaging findings performed with hybrid positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PETCT) technology. Methods We retrospectively selected 45 patients with a median age of 60 years (range 39-85 years) and a previous history of breast cancer (BC) who had already been treated with surgery and other treatments. Three measurements of CA15-3 were collected within 1 year before PETCT examination, at 6-9 months 3-6 months and 0-3 months before PETCT. The prolonged clinical outcome or imaging follow-up was used to define disease relapse. An increase in tumor marker value was compared with PETCT findings and disease relapse. Sensitivity and specificity for both tests were calculated with respect to clinical outcome. Results Disease relapse was detected in 16 out of 45 BC patients. CA15-3 and PETCT showed 75% sensitivity with a specificity percentage of 76% for CA15-3 and 79% for PETCT. Serum CA15-3 expression levels were significantly higher in BC patients with multiple metastatic sites with hepatic involvement. Analysis of serial CA15-3 serum levels showed an increase in CA15-3 3-6 months before PETCT could identify BC patients at risk for relapse (AUC = 0.81). Moreover, patients receiving anti-hormonal or chemotherapy medications with negative PETCT and positive CA15-3 relapsed after a median time of 158 days compared to patients who were negative for both tests and who were free from disease for at least 1 year. Conclusions Our results showed that serial increases in CA15-3 can be used to predict positive PETCT results in BC patients during follow-up. Increased levels of CA15-3 may be considered an early warning sign in patients needing accurate molecular imaging investigations, as they are at higher risk of recurrence. In cases of elevated levels, multiple lesions or liver involvement may exist. Also, patients receiving chemotherapeutic or anti-hormonal treatment who have negative PETCT scans and increased CA15-3 serum levels should be considered at risk for relapse, because the CA15-3-linked biochemical signal of the presence of a tumor can predict positive metabolic imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of CA15-3 for the diagnostic integration of molecular imaging findings performed with hybrid positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PETCT) technology. Methods: We retrospectively selected 45 patients with a median age of 60 years (range 39-85 years) and a previous history of breast cancer (BC) who had already been treated with surgery and other treatments. Three measurements of CA15-3 were collected within 1 year before PETCT examination, at 6-9 months 3-6 months and 0-3 months before PETCT. The prolonged clinical outcome or imaging follow-up was used to define disease relapse. An increase in tumor marker value was compared with PETCT findings and disease relapse. Sensitivity and specificity for both tests were calculated with respect to clinical outcome. Results: Disease relapse was detected in 16 out of 45 BC patients. CA15-3 and PETCT showed 75% sensitivity with a specificity percentage of 76% for CA15-3 and 79% for PETCT. Serum CA15-3 expression levels were significantly higher in BC patients with multiple metastatic sites with hepatic involvement. Analysis of serial CA15-3 serum levels showed an increase in CA15-3 3-6 months before PETCT could identify BC patients at risk for relapse (AUC = 0.81). Moreover, patients receiving anti-hormonal or chemotherapy medications with negative PETCT and positive CA15-3 relapsed after a median time of 158 days compared to patients who were negative for both tests and who were free from disease for at least 1 year. Conclusions: Our results showed that serial increases in CA15-3 can be used to predict positive PETCT results in BC patients during follow-up. Increased levels of CA15-3 may be considered an early warning sign in patients needing accurate molecular imaging investigations, as they are at higher risk of recurrence. In cases of elevated levels, multiple lesions or liver involvement may exist. Also, patients receiving chemotherapeutic or anti-hormonal treatment who have negative PETCT scans and increased CA15-3 serum levels should be considered at risk for relapse, because the CA15-3-linked biochemical signal of the presence of a tumor can predict positive metabolic imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dynamic survival data based on time already survived are lacking for resected borderline resectable/locally advanced (BR/LA) pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients who received total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) with FOLFIRINOX followed by chemoradiation. Conditional survival, i.e., the probability of surviving an additional length of time after having already survived an amount of time, offers such information. We aimed to determine actuarial and conditional overall (OS, COS) and disease-free survival (DFS, CDFS) among this cohort. Methods: Clinicopathologic data were retrospectively collected for resected BR/LA PDAC patients who received TNT (2011–2019). COS and CDFS rates were calculated for patients being event (death/recurrence)-free at multiple intervals and by recurrence status. Results: After a median follow-up of 32.1 months, the 183 patients had a median OS and DFS of 39.1 months and 16.8 months, respectively. COS and CDFS increased as a function of time already survived. The probability of surviving an additional 24 months if a patient survived 2 years post-operatively was 70%, whereas the 4-year actuarial OS was 47%. Similarly, the probability of surviving disease-free an additional 24 months after 2 years was 66%, while actuarial 48-month DFS was 27%. COS for disease-free patients increased further over time. For patients remaining disease-free 12 months post-operatively, BR vs. LA status at diagnosis, tumor ≤ 4 cm at diagnosis, and R0 resection were independent predictors of favorable additional OS and DFS. Conclusions: For resected TNT-treated BR/LA PDAC patients, the probability of surviving an additional length of time increases as a function of survival already accrued. Dynamic survival estimates may allow personalized follow-up and counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the West, with a poor overall 5-year survival rate of only 4%. Late clinical presentation with an advanced disease results in a low rate of surgical intervention. Tumor serum marker CA 19-9 is sensitive, although not specific for the diagnosis of adenocarcinomas of the pancreas. The treatment approach is based on whether the tumor is resectable or non-resectable at presentation. Therefore, imaging plays a crucial role in the management of this disease. Many modalities are available to image the pancreas. They include non-invasive techniques, like ultrasound, contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and integrated positron emission tomography/computed tomography, and invasive techniques, like endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic ultrasound. Each of these modalities has its peculiar strengths and weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the incidence of erroneous diagnosis of pneumatosis (pseudo-pneumatosis) in patients who underwent an emergency abdominal CT and to verify the performance of imaging features, supported by artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, to reduce this misinterpretation. Methods: We selected 71 radiological reports where the presence of pneumatosis was considered definitive or suspected. Surgical findings, clinical outcomes, and reevaluation of the CT scans were used to assess the correct diagnosis of pneumatosis. We identified four imaging signs from literature, to differentiate pneumatosis from pseudo-pneumatosis: gas location, dissecting gas in the bowel wall, a circumferential gas pattern, and intramural gas beyond a gas-fluid/faecal level. Two radiologists reevaluated in consensus all the CT scans, assessing the four above-mentioned variables. Variable discriminative importance was assessed using the Fisher exact test. Accurate and statistically significant variables (p-value < 0.05, accuracy > 75%) were pooled using boosted Random Forests (RFs) executed using a Leave-One-Out cross-validation (LOO cv) strategy to obtain unbiased estimates of individual variable importance by permutation analysis. After the LOO cv, the comparison of the variable importance distribution was validated by one-sided Wilcoxon test. Results: Twenty-seven patients proved to have pseudo-pneumatosis (error: 38%). The most significant features to diagnose pneumatosis were presence of dissecting gas in the bowel wall (accuracy: 94%), presence of intramural gas beyond a gas-fluid/faecal level (accuracy: 86%), and a circumferential gas pattern (accuracy: 78%). Conclusion: The incidence of pseudo-pneumatosis can be high. The use of a checklist which includes three imaging signs can be useful to reduce this overestimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oligometastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) is potentially curable and demands individualised strategies. Methods: This single-centre retrospective study investigated if positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MR) had a clinical impact on oligometastatic CRC relative to the standard of care imaging (SCI). Adult patients with oligometastatic CRC on SCI who also underwent PET/MR between 3/2016 and 3/2019 were included. The exclusion criterion was lack of confirmatory standard of reference, either surgical pathology, intraoperative gross confirmation or imaging follow-up. SCI consisted of contrast-enhanced (CE) computed tomography (CT) of the chest/abdomen/pelvis, abdominal/pelvic CE-MR, and/or CE whole-body PET/CT with diagnostic quality (i.e. standard radiation dose) CT. Follow-up was evaluated until 3/2020. Results: Thirty-one patients constituted the cohort, 16 (52%) male, median patient age was 53 years (interquartile range: 49–65 years). PET/MR and SCI results were divergent in 19% (95% CI 9–37%) of the cases, with PET/MR leading to management changes in all of them. The diagnostic accuracy of PET/MR was 90 ± 5%, versus 71 ± 8% for SCI. In a pairwise analysis, PET/MR outperformed SCI when compared to the reference standard (p = 0.0412). Conclusions: These findings suggest the potential usefulness of PET/MR in the management of oligometastatic CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oligometastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) is potentially curable and demands individualised strategies.Methods: This single-centre retrospective study investigated if positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MR) had a clinical impact on oligometastatic CRC relative to the standard of care imaging (SCI). Adult patients with oligometastatic CRC on SCI who also underwent PET/MR between 3/2016 and 3/2019 were included. The exclusion criterion was lack of confirmatory standard of reference, either surgical pathology, intraoperative gross confirmation or imaging follow-up. SCI consisted of contrast-enhanced (CE) computed tomography (CT) of the chest/abdomen/pelvis, abdominal/pelvic CE-MR, and/or CE whole-body PET/CT with diagnostic quality (i.e. standard radiation dose) CT. Follow-up was evaluated until 3/2020.Results: Thirty-one patients constituted the cohort, 16 (52%) male, median patient age was 53 years (interquartile range: 49-65 years). PET/MR and SCI results were divergent in 19% (95% CI 9-37%) of the cases, with PET/MR leading to management changes in all of them. The diagnostic accuracy of PET/MR was 90 ± 5%, versus 71 ± 8% for SCI. In a pairwise analysis, PET/MR outperformed SCI when compared to the reference standard (p = 0.0412).Conclusions: These findings suggest the potential usefulness of PET/MR in the management of oligometastatic CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Radiation therapy (RT) is an effective treatment for unresectable cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Accurate tumor volume delineation is critical in achieving high rates of local control while minimizing treatment-related toxicity. This study compares 18F-FDG PET/MR to MR and CT for target volume delineation for RT planning. Methods: We retrospectively included 22 patients with newly diagnosed unresectable primary CC who underwent 18F-FDG PET/MR for initial staging. Gross tumor volume (GTV) of the primary mass (GTVM) and lymph nodes (GTVLN) were contoured on CT images, MR images, and PET/MR fused images and compared among modalities. The dice similarity coefficient (DSC) was calculated to assess spatial coverage between different modalities. Results: GTVMPET/MR (median: 94 ml, range 16–655 ml) was significantly greater than GTVMMR (69 ml, 11–635 ml) (p = 0.0001) and GTVMCT (96 ml, 4–564 ml) (p = 0.035). There was no significant difference between GTVMCT and GTVMMR (p = 0.078). Subgroup analysis of intrahepatic and extrahepatic tumors showed that the median GTVMPET/MR was significantly greater than GTVMMR in both groups (117.5 ml, 22–655 ml vs. 102.5 ml, 22–635 ml, p = 0.004 and 37 ml, 16–303 ml vs. 34 ml, 11–207 ml, p = 0.042, respectively). The GTVLNPET/MR (8.5 ml, 1–27 ml) was significantly higher than GTVLNCT (5 ml, 4–16 ml) (p = 0.026). GTVPET/MR had the highest similarity to the GTVMR, i.e., DSCPET/MR-MR (0.82, 0.25–1.00), compared to DSC PET/MR-CT of 0.58 (0.22–0.87) and DSCMR-CT of 0.58 (0.03–0.83). Conclusion: 18F-FDG PET/MR-based CC delineation yields greater GTVs and detected a higher number of positive lymph nodes compared to CT or MR, potentially improving RT planning by reducing the risk of geographic misses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine if CT and MRI features can accurately differentiate mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) from simple liver cysts and to compare accuracy of CT and MRI in detecting these features. Eighty-four surgically treated lesions with pre-operative CT or MRI were evaluated by two abdominal radiologists for upstream biliary dilatation, perfusional change, internal hemorrhage, thin septations, thick septations/nodularity, lobar location, and number of coexistent liver cysts. Odds ratios, sensitivities, specificities, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated for association of each feature with MCNs. Of 84 liver lesions, 13 (15%) were MCNs, all in women, and 71 (85%) were simple cysts, in 59 women and 12 men. Thick septations/nodularity, upstream biliary dilation, thin septations, internal hemorrhage, perfusional change, and fewer than 3 coexistent liver cysts were more frequent in MCNs than in simple cysts. The combination of thick septations/nodularity and at least one additional associated feature showed high specificity for MCNs (94–98%). MRI detected significant associations of biliary dilation, thin septations, and hemorrhage/debris with MCNs which CT did not. Surgically treated MCNs of the liver with preoperative imaging occurred at our institution only in women. Thick septations or nodularity, biliary dilation, thin septations, internal hemorrhage or debris, perfusional change, and fewer than 3 coexistent liver cysts are features that help differentiate MCNs from simple cysts. MRI has advantages over CT in detecting these features. • Mucinous cystic neoplasms of the liver and bile ducts are rare. • Imaging can differentiate mucinous cystic neoplasms from simple liver cysts. • MRI has advantages over CT in detecting differentiating features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The survival benefit of negative margins for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been demonstrated. However, there is no consensus regarding the optimal resection margin width. We assessed the impact of hepatic resection margin width for solitary HCC on overall (OS), recurrence-free (RFS), and liver-specific recurrence-free survival (LSRFS). Methods: Clinicopathologic data were retrospectively collected for solitary HCC patients who underwent a negative margin hepatectomy (1992–2015). Margin width was categorized in tertiles as "narrow" (≤ 0.3 cm), "intermediate" (0.31–1.0 cm), or "wide" (> 1.0 cm). Survival was compared among groups. Results: Of the 178 included patients, most were male (76%); median age, MELD score, and tumor size were 63 years, 8, and 5.2 cm, respectively; 93% were Child-Pugh class A. Median margin width was 0.5 cm. Median follow-up and OS were 47.8 months and 76.7 months, respectively. There was no significant survival difference among narrow, intermediate, and wide margin groups with a median OS of 53 months (IQR 21–not reached [NR]), 74 months (IQR 14–138), and 97 months (IQR 37–142) (p = 0.87), respectively. Median RFS was 33.0 months; again, there was no difference among narrow, intermediate, and wide margin groups with a median of 31 months (IQR 18–NR), 45 months (IQR 14–NR), and 27 months (IQR 11–NR), respectively (p = 0.66). Median LSRFS was 63.0 months (IQR 14–NR) with no difference among groups (p = 0.87). In multivariate analyses, margin width was not associated with OS (p = 0.77), RFS (p = 0.74), or LSRFS (p = 0.92). Findings were similar in all subgroups analyzed (≤ 5 cm, > 5 cm, microvascular invasion, T1, T2/T3, anatomical or non-anatomical resection, major or minor hepatectomy). Conclusions: Narrow margins appear to be oncologically safe and the feasibility of achieving wide margins should not determine resectability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate PET/MR lung nodule detection compared to PET/CT or CT, to determine growth of nodules missed by PET/MR, and to investigate the impact of missed nodules on clinical management in primary abdominal malignancies. Methods: This retrospective IRB-approved study included [18F]-FDG PET/MR in 126 patients. All had standard of care chest imaging (SCI) with diagnostic chest CT or PET/CT within 6 weeks of PET/MR that served as standard of reference. Two radiologists assessed lung nodules (size, location, consistency, position, and [18F]-FDG avidity) on SCI and PET/MR. A side-by-side analysis of nodules on SCI and PET/MR was performed. The nodules missed on PET/MR were assessed on follow-up SCI to ascertain their growth (≥ 2 mm); their impact on management was also investigated. Results: A total of 505 nodules (mean 4 mm, range 1–23 mm) were detected by SCI in 89/126 patients (66M:60F, mean age 60 years). PET/MR detected 61 nodules for a sensitivity of 28.1% for patient and 12.1% for nodule, with higher sensitivity for > 7 mm nodules (< 30% and > 70% respectively, p < 0.05). 75/337 (22.3%) of the nodules missed on PET/MR (follow-up mean 736 days) demonstrated growth. In patients positive for nodules at SCI and negative at PET/MR, missed nodules did not influence patients' management. Conclusions: Sensitivity of lung nodule detection on PET/MR is affected by nodule size and is lower than SCI. 22.3% of missed nodules increased on follow-up likely representing metastases. Although this did not impact clinical management in study group with primary abdominal malignancy, largely composed of extra-thoracic advanced stage cancers, with possible different implications in patients without extra-thoracic spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Imaging is central to the diagnosis and management of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This study evaluated if positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) elicited treatment modifications in PDAC when compared to standard of care imaging (SCI). Procedures: This retrospective study included consecutive patients with PDAC who underwent 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose ([18F]F-FDG) PET/MRI and SCI from May 2017 to January 2019. SCI included abdominal computed tomography (CT), MRI, and/or PET/CT. For patients who had more than one pair of PET/MRI and SCI, each management decision was independently evaluated. Treatment strategies based on each modality were extracted from electronic medical records. Follow-up was evaluated until January 2020. Results: Twenty-five patients underwent 37 PET/MRI's, mean age was 65 ± 9 years and 13 (13/25, 52 %) were men. 49 % (18/37, 95 % CI 33–64 %) of the PET/MRI scans changed clinical management. Whether the SCI included a PET/CT or not did not significantly modify the probability of management change (OR = 0.9, 95 % CI 0.2–4, p = 1). One hundred percent (33/33) of the available follow-up data confirmed PET/MRI findings. Conclusions: PET/MRI significantly changed PDAC management, consistently across the different SCI modalities it was compared to. These findings suggest a role for PET/MRI in the management of PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positron emission tomography (PET) using fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MR) is an emerging hybrid modality that has shown utility in evaluating abdominal and pelvic disease entities. Together, the high soft tissue contrast and metabolic/functional imaging capabilities make this modality ideal for oncologic imaging in many organ systems. Its clinical utility continues to evolve and future research will help solidify its role in oncologic imaging. In this manuscript, we aim to (1) provide an overview of the various PET/MR systems, describing the strengths and weaknesses of each system, and (2) review the oncologic applications for 18F-FDG PET/MR in the abdomen and pelvis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore possible correlations among different imaging features from 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-Glucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in rectal cancer (RC). Procedures: RC patients who underwent PET/MRI were enrolled. A region of interest (ROI) was drawn around each primary RC on PET/MRI images (PET, pelvic axial T2w, and apparent diffusion coefficient maps (ADC)). Multiple imaging features were assessed, and Pearson's correlation was used to explore possible correlations among them. Results: A total of 13 patients were included, mean age 56.1 years old, 6 females. A strong inverse correlation was observed between SUVpeak and ADCmean values, MTV and T2 sphericity, MTV and ADC sphericity, MTV and T2 entropy, and TLG and ADC sphericity. There was also strong direct correlation between PET entropy and ADC sphericity. Conclusions: In conclusion, several clinically relevant correlations were observed between PET and MRI imaging features. These findings show how the use of both modalities provides complementary information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare PET/MR enterography with ileocolonoscopy regarding patients' acceptance and their future preference. Between October 2014 and February 2018 one-hundred-eleven patients underwent PET/MR enterography and ileocolonoscopy within 2 weeks. Overall acceptance of each modality was rated using a 10-point Likert scale with higher score indicating worse experience. Wilcoxon test was used to assess difference. Patients' acceptance of bowel cleansing and oral intake of contrast agent was analyzed in the same way. Furthermore, to find out if diagnosis, gender and age might influence patients' acceptance and future preference, Mann-Whitney U test for ordinal and Chi-squared test for categorical parameters were applied. 77 patients (47 females) with a mean age of 44.5 years and diagnosed ulcerative colitis (UC; n = 46) and Crohn's disease (CD; n = 31), were included in the analysis. Overall, ileocolonoscopy was significantly better rated than PET/MR enterography (p < 0.001). Bowel cleansing was worse tolerated than oral intake of liquid (p < 0.001). Patients with CD preferred PET/MR enterography as future screening method, while UC patients favored ileocolonoscopy (p = 0.012). PET/MR enterography tended to be better accepted by CD patients (p = 0.08). Females tolerated both bowel cleansing and oral contrast agent worse than males (p = 0.05 and 0.047). No significant difference between different age groups was found. Ileocolonoscopy was rated as better tolerable than PET/MR and the overall rate for future preference was very similar. Optimization of both modalities might enhance patients' acceptance. • Ileocolonoscopy was rated as better tolerable than PET/MR enterography in patients with inflammatory disease. • Patients with CD favored PET/MR enterography, whereas patients with UC preferred ileocolonoscopy as future screening method. • Females tolerated both ileocolonoscopy and PET/MR enterography worse than males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: 18F-Fluciclovine is indicated for evaluation of suspected prostate cancer (PCa) biochemical recurrence. There are few studies investigating fluciclovine with PET/MR and none evaluated osseous metastases. Our aim was to assess the performance of 18F-fluciclovine PET/MR (fluciclovine-PET/MR) for detecting osseous metastases in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). We also investigated possible correlations between SUVmax and ADCmean. Methods: We evaluated 8 patients with CRPC metastatic to bones, some before and some after radium therapy, who underwent 13 fluciclovine-PET/MR studies. We analyzed the performance of radionuclide bone scan (RBS), MR alone, fluciclovine-PET alone, and fluciclovine-PET/MR in detecting osseous metastases. Lesion size, characteristics (early sclerotic, late sclerotic, mixed, lytic), SUVmax, and ADCmean were assessed. The reference standard was a combination of clinical information and correlation with both prior and follow-up imaging. Results: Of 347 metastatic bony lesions in 13 studies, 238/347 (68%) were detected by fluciclovine-PET alone, 286/347 (82%) by RBS, 344/347 (99%) by MR alone, and 347/347 (100%) by fluciclovine-PET/MR. Fluciclovine-PET/MR and MR had the best performance (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between fluciclovine-PET/MR and MR alone (p = 0.25). Fluciclovine-PET had a lower detection rate especially with late sclerotic lesions (p < 0.001). There was a moderate inverse correlation between lesion SUVmax and ADCmean (r = − 0.49; p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study suggests that fluciclovine-PET/MR and MR have high sensitivity for detecting osseous metastases in CRPC. Fluciclovine-PET alone underperformed in detecting late sclerotic lesions. The inverse correlation between SUVmax and ADCmean suggests a possible relationship between tumor metabolism and cellularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Despite the advantages of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-PET/MR over PSMA-PET/CT, its relatively long scanning time and suboptimal PET attenuation correction necessitate careful assessment of the most appropriate setting for this type of study. We assessed lesion agreement between PSMA-PET/MR and PSMA-PET/CT in patients undergoing initial evaluation of prostate cancer.Methods: This was a prospective study of consecutive patients with histological biopsy-proven prostate cancer who underwent pelvic PSMA-PET/MR followed by whole-body PSMA-PET/CT. All conspicuous PSMA-avid foci were counted on PSMA-PET/CT and PSMA-PET/MR with CT or MR correlation. Analysis was performed for intra-prostatic lesions, capsular invasion, seminal vesicle involvement and lymph node and bone involvement. Incidental and significant findings seen on PSMA-PET/CT outside the PSMA-PET/MR field of view were also analysed. Agreements between PSMA-PET/CT and PSMA-PET/MR findings were performed using Cohen's kappa test.Results: Image analysis was performed on 140 patients (mean age, 67.3 ± 8.2 years). Agreement between PSMA PET/CT and PSMA-PET/MR was very good for intra-prostatic PSMA-avid foci (K = 0.85) and pelvic lymph nodes (K = 0.98), good for PSMA-avid bone metastases (K = 0.76) and fair for prostatic capsular invasion (K = 0.25) and seminal vesicle involvement (K = 0.31). Twelve patients (8.5%) had incidental findings and two patients (1.4%) had clinically significant findings.Conclusion: Limited pelvic PSMA-PET/MR has very good agreement with PET/CT regarding PSMA-avid prostatic, regional lymph nodes and bone lesions, and is superior to PET/CT with regard to capsular invasion and seminal vesicle involvement.Key Points: • Limited pelvic PSMA-PET/MR is superior to whole-body PSMA-PET/CT in detecting extensions of localised disease, mainly due to the high soft tissue resolution of MR. • Limited pelvic PSMA-PET/MR may be useful for initial evaluation of histological biopsy-proven prostate cancer. • Further studies are warranted to evaluate limited pelvic PSMA-PET/MR for screening and active surveillance in selected populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate if PET/MR induced management changes versus standard of care imaging (SCI) in treated colorectal cancer patients. The secondary aim was to assess the staging performance of PET/MR and of SCI versus the final oncologic stage. Methods: Treated CRC patients who underwent PET/MR with 18F-FDG and SCI between January 2016 and October 2018 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Their medical records were evaluated to ascertain if PET/MR had impacted on their clinical management versus SCI. The final oncologic stage, as reported in the electronic medical record, was considered the true stage of disease. Results: A total of 39 patients who underwent 42 PET/MR studies were included, mean age 56.7 years (range 39–75 years), 26 males, and 13 females. PET/MR changed clinical management 15/42 times (35.7%, standard error ± 7.4%); these 15 changes in management were due to upstaging in 9/42 (21.5%) and downstaging in 6/42 (14.2%). The differences in management prompted by SCI versus PET/MR were statistically significant, and PET/MR outperformed SCI (P value < 0.001; odds ratio = 2.8). In relation to the secondary outcome, PET/MR outperformed the SCI in accuracy of oncologic staging (P value = 0.016; odds ratio = 4.6). Conclusions: PET/MR is a promising imaging tool in the evaluation of treated CRC and might change the management in these patients. However, multicenter prospective studies with larger patient samples are required in order to confirm these preliminary results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic value of a one-step to a two-step staging algorithm utilizing 18F-FDG PET/MRI in breast cancer patients.Methods: A total of 38 patients (37 females and one male, mean age 57 ± 10 years; range 31-78 years) with newly diagnosed, histopathologically proven breast cancer were prospectively enrolled in this trial. All PET/MRI examinations were assessed for local tumor burden and metastatic spread in two separate reading sessions: (1) One-step algorithm comprising supine whole-body 18F-FDG PET/MRI, and (2) Two-step algorithm comprising a dedicated prone 18F-FDG breast PET/MRI and supine whole-body 18F-FDG PET/MRI.Results: On a patient based analysis the two-step algorithm correctly identified 37 out of 38 patients with breast carcinoma (97%), while five patients were missed by the one-step 18F-FDG PET/MRI algorithm (33/38; 87% correct identification). On a lesion-based analysis 56 breast cancer lesions were detected in the two-step algorithm and 44 breast cancer lesions could be correctly identified in the one-step 18F-FDG PET/MRI (79%), resulting in statistically significant differences between the two algorithms (p = 0.0015). For axillary lymph node evaluation sensitivity, specificity and accuracy was 93%, 95 and 94%, respectively. Furthermore, distant metastases could be detected in seven patients in both algorithms.Conclusion: The results demonstrate the necessity and superiority of a two-step 18F-FDG PET/MRI algorithm, comprising dedicated prone breast imaging and supine whole-body imaging, when compared to the one-step algorithm for local and whole-body staging in breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine if functional parameters extracted from the hybrid positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) correlate with the immunohistochemical markers of breast cancer (BC) lesions, to assess their ability to predict BC subtype.Methods: This prospective study was approved by the institution’s Ethics Committee, and all patients provided written informed consent. A total of 50 BC patients at diagnosis underwent PET/MRI before pharmacological and surgical treatment. For each primary lesion, the following data were extracted: morphological data including tumour-node-metastasis stage and lesion size; apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC); perfusion data including forward volume transfer constant (Ktrans), reverse efflux volume transfer constant (Kep) and extravascular extracellular space volume (Ve); and metabolic data including standardized uptake value (SUV), lean body mass (SUL), metabolic tumour volume and total lesion glycolysis. Immunohistochemical reports were used to determine receptor status (oestrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), cellular differentiation status (grade), and proliferation index (Ki67) of the tumour lesions. Correlation studies (Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman’s test), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and multivariate analysis were performed.Results: Association studies were performed to assess the correlations between imaging and histological prognostic markers of BC. Imaging biomarkers, which significantly correlated with biological markers, were selected to perform ROC curve analysis to determine their ability to discriminate among BC subtypes. SUVmax, SUVmean and SUL were able to discriminate between luminal A and luminal B subtypes (AUCSUVmean = 0.799; AUCSUVmax = 0.833; AUCSUL = 0.813) and between luminal A and nonluminal subtypes (AUCSUVmean = 0.926; AUCSUVmax = 0.917; AUCSUL = 0.945), and the lowest SUV and SUL values were associated with the luminal A subtype. Kepmax was able to discriminate between luminal A and luminal B subtypes (AUC = 0.779), and its highest values were associated with the luminal B subtype. Ktransmax (AUC = 0.881) was able to discriminate between luminal A and nonluminal subtypes, and the highest perfusion values were associated with the nonluminal subtype. In addition, ADC (AUC = 0.877) was able to discriminate between luminal B and nonluminal subtypes, and the lowest ADCmean values were associated with the luminal B subtype. Multivariate analysis was performed to develop a prognostic model, and the best predictive model included Ktransmax and SUVmax parameters.Conclusion: Using multivariate analysis of both PET and MRI parameters, a prognostic model including Ktransmax and SUVmax was able to predict the tumour subtype in 38 of 49 patients (77.6%, p < 0.001), with higher accuracy for the luminal B subtype (86.2%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hybrid PET/MR imaging may be superior to conventional MR or PET/CT imaging in visualizing disease activity in inflammatory bowel diseases. • Standardization of technical aspects of imaging is of paramount importance in ensuring the reproducibility of imaging outputs. • PET/MR imaging could contribute to follow up of patients with IBD, with determining probability of response to treatment and providing prognostication about long term clinical outcome. Positron emission tomography (PET) magnetic resonance (MR) enterography is a novel hybrid imaging technique that is gaining popularity in the study of complex inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal system, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This imaging technique combines the metabolic information of PET imaging with the spatial resolution and soft tissue contrast of MR imaging. Several studies have suggested potential roles for PET/MR imaging in determining the activity status of IBD, evaluating treatment response, stratifying risk, and predicting long-term clinical outcomes. However, there are challenges in generalizing findings due to limited studies, technical aspects of hybrid MR/PET imaging, and clinical indications of this imaging modality. This review aims to further elucidate the possible role of PET/MR in IBD, highlight important technical aspects of imaging, and address potential pitfalls and prospects of this modality in IBDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The goal of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of simultaneous FDG-PET/MR including diffusion compared to FDG-PET/CT in patients with lymphoma. Methods: Eighteen patients with a confirmed diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's (NHL) or Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) underwent an IRB-approved, single-injection/dual-imaging protocol consisting of a clinical FDG-PET/CT and subsequent FDG-PET/MR scan. PET images from both modalities were reconstructed iteratively. Attenuation correction was performed using low-dose CT data for PET/CT and Dixon-MR sequences for PET/MR. Diffusion-weighted imaging was performed. SUV was measured and compared between modalities and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) using ROI analysis by an experienced radiologist using OsiriX. Strength of correlation between variables was measured using the Pearson correlation coefficient ( r). Results: Of the 18 patients included in this study, 5 had HL and 13 had NHL. The median age was 51 ± 14.8 years. Sixty-five FDG-avid lesions were identified. All FDG-avid lesions were visible with comparable contrast, and therefore initial and follow-up staging was identical between both examinations. SUV from FDG-PET/MR [(mean ± sem) (21.3 ± 2.07)] vs. FDG-PET/CT (mean 23.2 ± 2.8) demonstrated a strongly positive correlation [ r = 0.95 (0.94, 0.99); p < 0.0001]. There was no correlation found between ADC and SUV from FDG-PET/MR [ r = 0.17(−0.07, 0.66); p = 0.09]. Conclusion: FDG-PET/MR offers an equivalent whole-body staging examination as compared with PET/CT with an improved radiation safety profile in lymphoma patients. Correlation of ADC to SUV was weak, understating their lack of equivalence, but not undermining their potential synergy and differing importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous data collection for positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR) is now a reality. While the full benefits of concurrently acquiring PET and MR data and the potential added clinical value are still being evaluated, initial studies have identified several important potential pitfalls in the interpretation of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/MRI in oncologic whole-body imaging, the majority of which being related to the errors in the attenuation maps created from the MR data. The purpose of this article was to present such pitfalls and artifacts using case examples, describe their etiology, and discuss strategies to overcome them. Using a case-based approach, we will illustrate artifacts related to (1) Inaccurate bone tissue segmentation; (2) Inaccurate air cavities segmentation; (3) Motion-induced misregistration; (4) RF coils in the PET field of view; (5) B0 field inhomogeneity; (6) B1 field inhomogeneity; (7) Metallic implants; (8) MR contrast agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Publisher Correction to: PET/MRI and PET/CT Radiomics in Primary Cervical Cancer: A Pilot Study on the Correlation of Pelvic PET, MRI, and CT Derived Image Features B Correction to: Molecular Imaging and Biology b https://doi.org/10.1007/s11307-021-01658-1 This article was updated to include the statement "Shadi A. Esfahani and Angel Torrado-Carvajal contributed equally to this manuscript." Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of CA15-3 for the diagnostic integration of molecular imaging findings performed with hybrid positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PETCT) technology.Methods: We retrospectively selected 45 patients with a median age of 60 years (range 39-85 years) and a previous history of breast cancer (BC) who had already been treated with surgery and other treatments. Three measurements of CA15-3 were collected within 1 year before PETCT examination, at 6-9 months 3-6 months and 0-3 months before PETCT. The prolonged clinical outcome or imaging follow-up was used to define disease relapse. An increase in tumor marker value was compared with PETCT findings and disease relapse. Sensitivity and specificity for both tests were calculated with respect to clinical outcome.Results: Disease relapse was detected in 16 out of 45 BC patients. CA15-3 and PETCT showed 75% sensitivity with a specificity percentage of 76% for CA15-3 and 79% for PETCT. Serum CA15-3 expression levels were significantly higher in BC patients with multiple metastatic sites with hepatic involvement. Analysis of serial CA15-3 serum levels showed an increase in CA15-3 3-6 months before PETCT could identify BC patients at risk for relapse (AUC = 0.81). Moreover, patients receiving anti-hormonal or chemotherapy medications with negative PETCT and positive CA15-3 relapsed after a median time of 158 days compared to patients who were negative for both tests and who were free from disease for at least 1 year.Conclusions: Our results showed that serial increases in CA15-3 can be used to predict positive PETCT results in BC patients during follow-up. Increased levels of CA15-3 may be considered an early warning sign in patients needing accurate molecular imaging investigations, as they are at higher risk of recurrence. In cases of elevated levels, multiple lesions or liver involvement may exist. Also, patients receiving chemotherapeutic or anti-hormonal treatment who have negative PETCT scans and increased CA15-3 serum levels should be considered at risk for relapse, because the CA15-3-linked biochemical signal of the presence of a tumor can predict positive metabolic imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: To compare the performance of PET/MRI imaging using MR attenuation correction (MRAC) (DIXON-based 4-segment -map) in breast cancer patients with that of PET/CT using CT-based attenuation correction and to compare the quantification accuracy in lesions and in normal organ tissues. Methods: A total of 36 patients underwent a whole-body PET/CT scan 1h after injection and an average of 62min later a second scan using a hybrid PET/MRI system. PET/MRI and PET/CT were compared visually by rating anatomic allocation and image contrast. Regional tracer uptake in lesions was quantified using volumes of interest, and maximal and mean standardized uptake values (SUVmax and SUVmean, respectively) were calculated. Metabolic tumor volume (MTV) of each lesion was computed on PET/MRI and PET/CT. Tracer uptake in normal organ tissue was assessed as SUVmax and SUVmean in liver, spleen, left ventricular myocardium, lung, and muscle. Results: Overall 74 FDG positive lesions were visualized by both PET/CT and PET/MRI. No significant differences in anatomic allocation scores were found between PET/CT and PERT/MRI, while contrast score of lesions on PET/MRI was significantly higher. Both SUVmax and SUVmean of lesions were significantly higher on PET/MRI than on PET/CT, with strong correlations between PET/MRI and PET/CT data (ρ =0.71–0.88). MTVs of all lesions were 4% lower on PET/MRI than on PET/CT, but no statistically significant difference was observed, and an excellent correlation between measurements of MTV with PET/MRI and PET/CT was found (ρ =0.95–0.97; p <0.0001). Both SUVmax and SUVmean were significantly lower by PET/MRI than by PET/CT for lung, liver and muscle, no significant difference was observed for spleen, while either SUVmax and SUVmean of myocardium were significantly higher by PET/MRI. High correlations were found between PET/MRI and PET/CT for both SUVmax and SUVmean of the left ventricular myocardium (ρ =0.91; p <0.0001), while moderate correlations were found for the other normal organ tissues (ρ =0.36–0.61; p <0.05). Conclusions: PET/MRI showed equivalent performance in terms of qualitative lesion detection to PET/CT. Despite significant differences in tracer uptake quantification, due to either methodological and biological factors, PET/MRI and PET/CT measurements in lesions and normal organ tissues correlated well. This study demonstrates that integrated whole-body PET/MRI is feasible in a clinical setting with high quality and in a short examination time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: To investigate the hypothesis that MRI derived diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and perfusion (MRP) parameters are sensitive image biomarkers for monitoring early antiangiogenic effects and predicting progression free survival (PFS) in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: In this phase II clinical trial, 23 of 34 patients were included in the imaging and circulating biomarker study. DWI and MRP were performed at the baseline and at 2-weeks after initiation of sunitinib. The imaging protocol included an axial DWI sequence using b values of 50, 400 and 800 sec/mm², and MRP using a series of coronal 3D-VIBE following 20 ml of Gd-DTPA at 2 ml/sec. These parameters were compared with clinical outcome and PFS at 6-months. Correlation between changes in MRI parameters and plasma biomarkers was also evaluated. Results: After 2-week of sunitinib, substantial Ktrans changes in HCC were observed from median baseline value 2.15 min-1 to 0.94 min-1 (P = 0.0001) with increases in median apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) from 0.88 × 10-3 mm²/s to 0.98 × 10-3 mm²/s (P = 0.0001). Tumor size remained unchanged by RECIST and mRECIST (both P > 0.05). Patients who showed larger drop in Ktrans and Kep at 2 weeks correlated with favorable clinical outcome, and higher baseline Ktrans and larger drop in EVF correlated with longer PFS (all P < 0.05). There was a significant association between a decrease in sVEGFR2 and the drop in Ktrans and Kep (P = 0.044, P = 0.030), and a significant and borderline association between decrease in TNF-α and the drop in Ktrans and Kep, respectively (P = 0.051, P= 0.035). Conclusion: In HCC, MRP may be a more sensitive biomarker in predicting early response and PFS following sunitinib than RECIST and mRECIST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Over the past few years, radiomics-based tissue characterization has demonstrated its potential for non-invasive prediction of the genetic profile and grading in cerebral gliomas using multiparametric MRI. The aim of our study was to investigate the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of a fully automated radiomics analysis based on a simplified MR protocol derived from various scanner systems to prospectively ease the transition of radiomics-based non-invasive tissue sampling into clinical practice. Using an MRI with non-contrast and post-contrast T1-weighted sequences and FLAIR, our workflow automatically predicts the IDH1/2 mutation, the ATRX expression loss, the 1p19q co-deletion and the MGMT methylation status. It also effectively differentiates low-grade from high-grade gliomas. In summary, the present study demonstrated that a fully automated prediction of grading and the genetic profile of cerebral gliomas could be performed with our proposed method using a simplified MRI protocol that is robust to variations in scanner systems, imaging parameters and field strength. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of a radiomics analysis based on a fully automated segmentation and a simplified and robust MR imaging protocol to provide a comprehensive analysis of the genetic profile and grading of cerebral gliomas for everyday clinical use. Methods: MRI examinations of 217 therapy-naïve patients with cerebral gliomas, each comprising a non-contrast T1-weighted, FLAIR and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted sequence, were included in the study. In addition, clinical and laboratory parameters were incorporated into the analysis. The BraTS 2019 pretrained DeepMedic network was used for automated segmentation. The segmentations generated by DeepMedic were evaluated with 200 manual segmentations with a DICE score of 0.8082 ± 0.1321. Subsequently, the radiomics signatures were utilized to predict the genetic profile of ATRX, IDH1/2, MGMT and 1p19q co-deletion, as well as differentiating low-grade glioma from high-grade glioma. Results: The network provided an AUC (validation/test) for the differentiation between low-grade gliomas vs. high-grade gliomas of 0.981 ± 0.015/0.885 ± 0.02. The best results were achieved for the prediction of the ATRX expression loss with AUCs of 0.979 ± 0.028/0.923 ± 0.045, followed by 0.929 ± 0.042/0.861 ± 0.023 for the prediction of IDH1/2. The prediction of 1p19q and MGMT achieved moderate results, with AUCs of 0.999 ± 0.005/0.711 ± 0.128 for 1p19q and 0.854 ± 0.046/0.742 ± 0.050 for MGMT. Conclusion: This fully automated approach utilizing simplified MR protocols to predict the genetic profile and grading of cerebral gliomas provides an easy and efficient method for non-invasive tumor decoding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) has reached very high standards both in terms of diagnostic performance and radiation dose reduction. This commentary follows a report on CTCA using less than 0.1 mSv in selected patients. This is an extraordinary accomplishment, both for technology and for medicine. The difficult task is now to implement this tool in clinical practice so it can play the best possible role. CTCA can improve diagnostic pathways, can save money for healthcare systems and could even improve pharmacological therapy. All of this may happen, but it will require the combined effort of all the experienced operators in this field, including the referring clinicians. In times of financial constraint, CTCA may also help to restrict ineffective medical expenses. Key Points • CT coronary angiography provides high diagnostic standards in non-invasive cardiovascular medicine. • It should therefore replace other less effective diagnostic tools. • Inappropriate catheter angiography is costly to healthcare systems. • CTCA could help reduce costs of cardiac investigations by around 33 %. • Low radiation doses in CTCA lead to risk-free individualised pharmacological treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare Magnetic Resonance (MR) and Computed Tomography (CT) for the assessment of left (LV) and right (RV) ventricular functional parameters. Methods: Seventy nine patients underwent both Cardiac CT and Cardiac MR. Images were acquired using short axis (SAX) reconstructions for CT and 2D cine b-SSFP (balanced-steady state free precession) SAX sequence for MR, and evaluated using dedicated software. Results: CT and MR images showed good agreement: LV EF (Ejection Fraction) (52 ± 14% for CT vs. 52 ± 14% for MR; r = 0.73; p > 0.05); RV EF (47 ± 12% for CT vs. 47 ± 12% for MR; r = 0.74; p > 0.05); LV EDV (End Diastolic Volume) (74 ± 21 ml/m² for CT vs. 76 ± 25 ml/m² for MR; r = 0.59; p > 0.05); RV EDV (84 ± 25 ml/m² for CT vs. 80 ± 23 ml/m² for MR; r = 0.58; p > 0.05); LV ESV (End Systolic Volume)(37 ± 19 ml/m² for CT vs. 38 ± 23 ml/m² for MR; r = 0.76; p > 0.05); RV ESV (46 ± 21 ml/m² for CT vs. 43 ± 18 ml/m² for MR; r = 0.70; p > 0.05). Intra- and inter-observer variability were good, and the performance of CT was maintained for different EF subgroups. Conclusions: Cardiac CT provides accurate and reproducible LV and RV volume parameters compared with MR, and can be considered as a reliable alternative for patients who are not suitable to undergo MR. Key Points: • Cardiac-CT is able to provide Left and Right Ventricular function. • Cardiac-CT is accurate as MR for LV and RV volume assessment. • Cardiac-CT can provide accurate evaluation of coronary arteries and LV and RV function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]