Emerging role of ~(18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography for guiding management of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is one of major causes of cancer mortality worldwide. For decades, ~(18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose(FDG) positron emission tomography(PET) has been widely used for staging, predicting prognosis, and detecting cancer recurrence in various types of malignant diseases. Due to low sensitivity of FDG PET for detecting intrahepatic HCC lesions, the clinical value of FDG PET in HCC patients has been limited. However, recent studies with diverse analytic methods have shown that FDG PET has promising role in aiding management of HCC patients. In this review, we will discuss the clinical role of FDG PET for staging, predicting prognosis, and evaluating treatment response in HCC. Further, we will focus on recent clinical studies regarding implication of volumetric FDG PET parameters, the significance of FDG uptake in HCC for selecting treatment and predicting treatment response, and the use of radiomics of FDG PET in HCC.     

Imaging biomarkers for the treatment of esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is known as one of the malignant cancers with poor prognosis.To improve the outcome,combined multimodality treatment is attempted.On the other hand,advances in genomics and other“omic”technologies are paving way to the patient-oriented treatment called“personalized”or“precision”medicine.Recent advancements of imaging techniques such as functional imaging make it possible to use imaging features as biomarker for diagnosis,treatment response,and prognosis in cancer treatment.In this review,we will discuss how we can use imaging derived tumor features as biomarker for the treatment of esophageal cancer.     

Colorectal cancer: Parametric evaluation of morphological,functional and molecular tomographic imaging

Colorectal cancer(CRC) represents one of the leading causes of tumor-related deaths worldwide. Among the various tools at physicians' disposal for the diagnostic management of the disease, tomographic imaging(e.g., CT, MRI, and hybrid PET imaging) is considered essential. The qualitative and subjective evaluation of tomographic images is the main approach used to obtain valuable clinical information, although this strategy suffers from both intrinsic and operator-dependent limitations. More recently, advanced imaging techniques have been developed with the aim of overcoming these issues. Such techniques,such as diffusion-weighted MRI and perfusion imaging, were designed for the"in vivo" evaluation of specific biological tissue features in order to describe them in terms of quantitative parameters, which could answer questions difficult to address with conventional imaging alone(e.g., questions related to tissue characterization and prognosis). Furthermore, it has been observed that a large amount of numerical and statistical information is buried inside tomographic images, resulting in their invisibility during conventional assessment. This information can be extracted and represented in terms of quantitative parameters through different processes(e.g., texture analysis). Numerous researchers have focused their work on the significance of these quantitative imaging parameters for the management of CRC patients. In this review, we aimed to focus on evidence reported in the academic literature regarding the application of parametric imaging to the diagnosis, staging and prognosis of CRC while discussing future perspectives and present limitations. While the transition frompurely anatomical to quantitative tomographic imaging appears achievable for CRC diagnostics, some essential milestones, such as scanning and analysis standardization and the definition of robust cut-off values, must be achieved before quantitative tomographic imaging can be incorporated into daily clinical practice.     

Predictive factors related to shoulder joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with biologics: A prospective study

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors for shoulder joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with biologics.

Methods: Thirty shoulders of 29 patients with RA were assessed using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before starting biologics and 6 months later. The mean age (range) was 54 (18–72) years, and the mean disease duration was 7 (0.8–30) years. The radiographic findings were assessed at baseline and 3 years later. The inflammation markers and RA disease activity were also assessed. These parameters were compared between the progression of joint destruction group and the no progression group.

Results: The SUVmax on PET, the rate of synovitis, and the rate of rotator cuff tear on MRI before biologic treatment were significantly higher in the progression of joint destruction group. SUVmax and synovitis on MRI after 6 months were also significantly higher in the progression of joint destruction group. On logistic regression analysis, the SUV at baseline of the shoulder joint was the main risk factor for joint destruction.

Conclusion: The detection of synovitis by imaging was more important than disease activity and inflammation markers for assessing the progression of shoulder joint destruction.     

Contribution of transcranial magnetic stimulation to assessment of brain connectivity and networks

The goal of this review is to show how transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) techniques can make a contribution to the study of brain networks. Brain networks are fundamental in understanding how the brain operates. Effects on remote areas can be directly observed or identified after a period of stimulation, and each section of this review will discuss one method. EEG analyzed following TMS is called TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs). A conditioning TMS can influence the effect of a test TMS given over the motor cortex. A disynaptic connection can be tested also by assessing the effect of a pre-conditioning stimulus on the conditioning-test pair. Basal ganglia-cortical relationships can be assessed using electrodes placed in the process of deep brain stimulation therapy. Cerebellar-cortical relationships can be determined using TMS over the cerebellum. Remote effects of TMS on the brain can be found as well using neuroimaging, including both positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The methods complement each other since they give different views of brain networks, and it is often valuable to use more than one technique to achieve converging evidence. The final product of this type of work is to show how information is processed and transmitted in the brain.     

Patient and caregiver reactions to clinical amyloid imaging

Introduction

Amyloid imaging is a tool that has recently become available to dementia specialists evaluating patients with possible Alzheimer's disease. Studies have assessed the impact of amyloid imaging on diagnostic and treatment decisions, but patient and family perspectives have received less attention.

PET/MRI在肿瘤研究中的新进展

PET/MRI成像整合了PET提供的人体生理代谢、分子信息和MRI提供的功能、解剖形态信息,在肿瘤诊断、评估肿瘤生物学行为(包括分期、分级、浸润深度、远处转移)、评价治疗疗效及预后方面具有较高的准确性、敏感性、特异性,实现了PET及MR成像设备的优势互补。就PET/MRI在肿瘤中的应用现状及其发展前景进行回顾和展望。     

术前影像检查在预测肝癌微血管侵犯中的研究进展

微血管侵犯(MVI)是肝癌术后复发及转移独立预测因子之一,目前只能经病理学确诊,但随着影像技术的发展,超声、CT、MRI、PET-CT/MRI等技术逐渐用于肝癌MVI的预测,即通过对一些能够反映肿瘤内部微环境、细胞功能与物质成分以及血流动力学等方面的定量参数的测量得到实现。就术前影像检查预测肝癌MVI的研究进展进行综述。     

PET/CT功能影像引导非小细胞肺癌精确放疗研究进展

发射型正电子断层显像-计算机断层扫描技术(PET/CT)在非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)的诊断、分期和治疗过程中发挥着重要作用。随着我国PET/CT技术的逐步推广,其在NSCLC诊治中的应用经验也越来越丰富。同时,国内外PET/CT应用于NSCLC精确放疗计划的研究及临床经验不断更新。本文以我们在这方面的工作经验为基础,结合国际相关研究进展,就PET/CT功能影像引导NSCLC精确放疗的若干问题做一综述。     

Reduced serotonin transporter binding in the insular cortex in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder: A [C]DASB PET study

The serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and other markers of the serotonergic system have been of interest in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Previous studies using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with [¹²³I]β-CIT or positron emission tomography (PET) with [¹¹C]McN5652 have not shown consistent findings about 5-HTT in OCD patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate 5-HTT binding using [¹¹C]DASB, which has higher selectivity or specific binding-to-nonspecific binding ratios for 5-HTT compared to the aforementioned radioligands. Four drug-naive and 6 drug-free patients with OCD who were free of comorbid depression and 18 gender and age-matched healthy subjects underwent PET scans with [¹¹C]DASB. The severity of OCD was assessed by Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) (mean ± SD: 22 ± 7.6, range: 7–32). The binding potential (BP_ND) of [¹¹C]DASB was calculated using a two-parameter multilinear reference tissue model (MRTM2). The parametric images of BP_ND were analyzed using a statistical parametric mapping system. Significant reductions of BP_ND were observed in the right posterior and left anterior insular cortices in patients with OCD compared to controls. Region-of-interest analysis has also confirmed significant reduction of BP_ND in the insular cortex. Although significantly reduced BP_ND in the orbitofrontal cortex was also observed in patients with OCD compared to controls, this finding should be considered with caution because of the very low 5-HTT binding in the region. On the other hand, no significant correlation was observed between the Y-BOCS score and BP_ND. The change in [¹¹C]DASB binding in the insular cortex suggests that dysfunction of the serotonergic system in the limbic area might be involved in the pathophysiology of OCD.