(18)F-DG PET/CT in detection of recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer

AIM To evaluate the value of 18F-DG PET/CT in detecting recurrence and/or metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC).METHODS Combined visual analysis with semiquantitative analysis, the 18F-DG PET/CT wholebody imaging results and the corresponding clinical data of 68 postoperative CRC patients including 48 male and 20 female with average age of 58.1 were analyzed retrospectively.RESULTS Recurrence and/or metastasis were confirmed in 56 patients in the clinical follow-up after the PET/CT imaging. The sensitivity of PET/CT diagnosis of CRC recurrence and/or metastasis was 94.6%, and the specificity was 83.3%. The positive predictive value (PPV)was 96.4% and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 76.9%. PET/CT imaging detected one or more occult malignant lesions in 8 cases where abdominal/pelvic CT and/or ultrasonography showed negative findings, and also detected more lesions than CT or ultrasonography did in 30.4% (17/56) cases. Recurrence and/or metastasis was detected in 91.7% (22/24) cases with elevated serum CEA levels by 18F-DG PET/CT imaging.CONCLUSION 18F-DG PET/CT could detect the recurrence and/or metastasis of CRC with high sensitivity and specificity.     

FDG-PET in diagnosis,staging and prognosis of pancreatic carcinoma: A meta-analysis

AIM: To investigate the potential role of positron emission tomography (PET) in the diagnosis, staging and prognosis predicting of pancreatic carcinoma (PC). METHODS: A systematic review of relevant literatures in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library was performed. The sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic and staging studies, and HRs for prognosis predicting studies were pooled. The bivariate model was used for diagnostic studies and the random-effect model for prognostic studies. Heterogeneity between included studies was tested using χ 2 test, and subgroup analysis was performed to explain the heterogeneities. All of the calculations were performed using Stata version 11.0.RESULTS: A total of 39 studies were included. The pooled sensitivity of PET in diagnosing PC (30 studies, 1582 patients), evaluating N stating (4 studies, 101 patients) and liver metastasis (7 studies, 316 patients) were 0.91 (95%CI: 0.88-0.93), 0.64 (95%CI: 0.50-0.76), and 0.67 (95%CI: 0.52-0.79), respectively; and the corresponding specificity was 0.81 (95%CI: 0.75-0.85), 0.81 (95%CI: 0.25-0.85), and 0.96 (95%CI: 0.89-0.98), respectively. In prognosis analysis (6 studies, 198 patients), significant difference of overall survival was observed between high and low standardized uptake value groups (HR = 2.39, 95%CI: 1.57-3.63). Subgroup analysis showed that PET/CT was more sensitive than PET alone in evaluating liver metastasis of PC, 0.82 (95%CI: 0.48-0.98) and 0.67 (95%CI: 0.52-0.79), respectively. CONCLUSION: PET can be used as a valuable diagnostic and predictive tool for PC, but its effect in the staging of PC remains indeterminate.     

Utility of fusion CT-PET in the diagnosis of small pancreatic carcinoma

Pancreatic carcinoma has a poor prognosis and early detection is essential for potentially curative resection. Despite the wide array of diagnostic tools, preoperative detection of small pancreatic carcinomas remains difficult. We report a case of small pancreatic carcinoma of the head of pancreas with indeterminate findings on US, ERCP, MRI and EUS which was successfully diagnosed via fusion CT-PET. This case illustrates the utility of CT-PET in the diagnosis of patients with small pancreatic carcinoma with equivocal findings on conventional diagnostic modalities.     

F-FDG PET/CT诊断胆管细胞癌分期价值研究

目的 探讨采用¹⁸F-氟代脱氧葡糖糖(¹⁸F-FDG)正电子发射计算机断层扫描(PET/CT)诊断肝内胆管细胞癌(ICC)分期的效能。方法 2017年1月～2020年1月我院收治的107例ICC患者和同期107名体检且身体健康的志愿者,接受¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT检查,行TNM分期评估,勾画感兴趣区域,计算最大标准摄取值(SUV_max)。所有患者接受手术治疗,术后行组织病理学检查。结果 Ⅰ期ICC组SUV_max值为(4.1±1.1)、Ⅱ期为(7.2±1.5)、Ⅲ期为(9.3±1.8),均显著高于健康组的【(2.0±0.9),P＜0.05】;¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT检查显示在107例ICC患者中,TNM分期Ⅰ期为35例,Ⅱ期为47例,Ⅲ期为25例,术后组织病理学检查显示Ⅰ期、Ⅱ期和Ⅲ期分别为34例、48例和24例;经一致性分析,¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT诊断ICC患者TNM Ⅰ期的灵敏度为0.968,特异度为0.500,准确率为0.914,阳性预测值为0.938,阴性预测值为0.667,诊断Ⅱ期的灵敏度为0.976,特异度为0.667,准确率为0.956,阳性预测值为0.976,阴性预测值为0.667,诊断Ⅲ期的灵敏度为0.955,特异度为0.667,准确率为0.920,阳性预测值为0.955,阴性预测值为0.667。结论 ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT检查能够帮助诊断ICC,并协助TNM分期的评估,具有较高的临床应用价值。     

Characteristics of FDG-PET findings in the diagnosis of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Objective: To examine and delineate inflammatory focus in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), ¹⁸F-Fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) (¹⁸F-FDG-PET) was applied to patients with JIA, and the images of these patients were compared.

Methods: Sixty-eight children (59 with systemic JIA (s-JIA) and 9 with polyarticular JIA) were included. The diagnosis of JIA was done to meet the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) criteria. After 6-h fasting, whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) scans were acquired 60 min after intravenous injection of 3–5 MBq/kg ¹⁸F-FDG. The interpretation of ¹⁸F-FDG uptake was based on visual characteristics.

Results: Two types of PET images were outstanding in s-JIA; one was ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in red bone marrow, such as the spine, pelvis, and long bones as well as spleen (12 cases), and other type was the uptake in the major joints, such as hips, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles (8 cases). The former findings were correlated with elevated levels of inflammatory markers, while the latter were with significantly increased levels of MMP-3 (p?<?0.05).

Conclusion: There was a noticeable accumulation of ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in bone marrow of s-JIA patients which may indicate the inflammatory focus of this disease and play an important role in the pathogenic basis of arthritis and systemic inflammation of s-JIA.     

Unexpected FDG-PET uptake in the gastrointestinal tract:Endoscopic and histopathological correlations

AIM:To investigate the nature and significance of unexpected positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose(FDG-PET)uptake within the gastrointestinal tract(GIT).METHODS:Patients with unexpected FDG-PET findings in the GIT were evaluated.All patients had a previous confirmed malignancy,either solid or lymphoproliferative.The radiologic reports were performed by experienced radiologists with an exclusive PET expertise.Endoscopy,i.e.,esophagogastroduodenoscopy(EGD)and colonoscopy,and histopathological evaluation of all findings was performed in all patients in accordance to the FDG-PET results.The findings from each of these modalities were compared to each other.Both clinically significant and insignificant findings were assessed.RESULTS:Seventy-two patients were endoscopically evaluated.Twenty-seven patients(37.5%)had primarily a lymphoproliferative tumor and 45(62.5%)had solid tumors.In 50 patients(69.4%)the endoscopic examination revealed lesions in the same anatomical areas as the FDG-PET findings.Among these 50 patients,malignant and premalignant lesions i.e.,adenomatous polyps were found in 16(32%)and 9(18%)patients,respectively.Inflammation was noted in an additional20 patients(40%).Compared to primary solid tumors,a background of primary lymphoproliferative malignancy was more likely to reveal an additional primary malignancy(15.6%vs 33.3%,respectively,P<0.01).EGD compared to colonoscopy,revealed altogether 11(25.6%)new malignancies compared to 5(17.2%),respectively,P=0.12.No GIT clinically significant findings were overseen by the FDG-PET.CONCLUSION:Unexpected FDG uptake in the GIT is commonly encountered and may contain significant findings.Endoscopy evaluation is justified in order to detect these additional findings.     

Positron emission tomography/computer tomography： Challenge to conventional imaging modalities in evaluating primary and metastatic liver malignancies

Computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),as conventional imaging modalities,are the preferred methodology for tumor,nodal and systemic metastasis (TNM) staging. However,all the noninvasive techniques in current use are not sufficiently able to identify primary tumors and even unable to define the extent of metastatic spread. In addition,relying exclusively on macromorphological characteristics to make a conclusion runs the risk of misdiagnosis due mainly to the intrinsic limitations of the imaging modalities themselves. Solely based on the macromorphological characteristics of cancer,one cannot give an appropriate assessment of the biological characteristics of tumors. Currently,positron emission tomography/computer tomography (PET/CT) are more and more widely available and their application with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) in oncology has become one of the standard imaging modalities in diagnosing and staging of tumors,and monitoring the therapeutic efficacy in hepatic malignancies. Recently,investigators have measured glucose utilization in liver tumors using 18F-FDG,PET and PET/CT in order to establish diagnosis of tumors,assess their biologic characteristics and predict therapeutic effects on hepatic malignancies. PET/ CT with 18F-FDG as a radiotracer may further enhance the hepatic malignancy diagnostic algorithm by accurate diagnosis,staging,restaging and evaluating its biological characteristics,which can benefit the patients suffering from hepatic metastases,hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma.     

Endoscopic laser surgery in the colon and rectum

The first applications of laser energy in the gastrointestinal tract occurred barely a decade ago. Since then, endoscopic laser therapy has become widespread in the management of colonic and rectal disease. Applications have been developed for the palliative therapy of obstructing or bleeding malignancies, for the management of some benign and premalignant mucosal diseases and for certain anatomic problems such as anastomotic strictures. Recurrent bleeding from mucosal vascular lesions can be controlled with laser therapy. Methods for treating anorectal disorders also are evolving. The continuing development of new wavelengths of laser energy, of innovative transmission systems, and of new endoscopic systems for increasing ease of access to the gastrointestinal tract all point to ever-increasing applications for laser therapy in colonic and rectal surgery.     

18F-FDG PET/CT显像判断乳腺癌复发及转移的价值

目的探讨^18F-FDG PET/CT显像判断乳腺癌复发和转移的临床价值.方法28例手术治疗后临床疑有肿瘤复发或转移的乳腺癌患者均进行^18F-FDG PET/CT全身显像,应用目测法和半定量分析法判断结果（标准摄取值,SUV）.结果病理、活检、细胞学检查等证实17例有局部复发和（或）转移,^18F-FDG PET/CT显像正确诊断16例,检测灵敏度、特异性（94.12%,90.91%）明显高于传统影像学方法;在62个肿瘤复发和（或）转移灶中,PET/CT及常规影像学检查检出率分别为91.94%（57/62）、72.58%（45/62）,P＜0.05.结论^18F-FDG PET/CT显像是早期诊断乳腺癌复发和（或）转移良好的、无创性方法.     

PET/CT Colonography for the Preoperative Evaluation of the Colon Proximal to the Obstructive Colorectal Cancer

Purpose  This study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) colonography in preoperative diagnosis of the tumors proximal to obstructive colorectal cancers, which were defined as cancers that cannot be traversed colonoscopically. Methods  A whole-body PET/CT protocol for tumor staging and a protocol for CT colonography were integrated into one examination. No cathartic bowel preparation was used before this examination. Thirteen prospective patients with obstructive cancer were examined. We compared the detection rates for obstructive colorectal cancers and tumors proximal to the obstruction using air-inflated PET/CT colonography to intraoperative examinations, histopathologic outcome, and follow-up colonoscopy. Results  PET/CT colonography correctly identified all 13 primary obstructive colorectal cancers and all 2 synchronous colon cancers proximal to the obstruction. The two synchronous colon cancers detected at PET/CT colonography were confirmed and removed at single-stage surgical procedures. PET/CT colonography was able to localize all colorectal cancers precisely. There were no false-negative or false-positive proximal colorectal cancers by PET/CT colonography. Other preoperative examinations missed the synchronous colon cancers. Conclusions  In patients with obstructive colorectal cancers, preoperative PET/CT colonography provided valuable anatomic and functional information of the entire colon to properly address surgery of colorectal cancer.     

Clinical role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in post-operative follow up of gastric cancer： Initial results

AIM： To evaluate the clinical role of 18F-fluorodeo-xyglucose positron emission and computed tomography （18F-FDG PET/CT） in detection of gastric cancer recurrence after initial surgical resection. METHODS： In the period from January 2007 to May 2008, 23 patients who had previous surgical resection of histopathologically diagnosed gastric cancer underwent a total of 25 18F-FDG PET/CT scans as follow-up visits in our center. The standard of reference for tumor recurrence consisted of histopathologic confirmation or clinical follow-up information for at least 5 mo after PET/CT examinations. RESULTS： PET/CT was positive in 14 patients （61%） and negative in 9 （39%）. When correlated with final diagnosis, which was confirmed by histopathologic evidence of tumor recurrence in 8 of the 23 patients （35%） and by clinical follow-up in 15 （65%）, PET/CT was true positive in 12 patients, false positive in 2, true negative in 8 and false negative in 2. Overall, the accuracy of PET/CT was 82.6%, the negative predictive value （NPV） was 77.7%, and the positive predictive value （PPV） was 85.7%. The 2 false positive PET/CT findings were actually chronic inflammatory tissue lesions. For the two patients with false negativePET/CT, the f inal diagnosis was recurrence of mucinous adenocarcinoma in the anastomosis in one patient and abdominal wall metastasis in the other. Importantly, PET/CT revealed true-positive findings in 11 （47.8%） patients who had negative or no definite findings by CT. PET/CT revealed extra-abdominal metastases in 7 patients and additional esophageal carcinoma in one patient. Clinical treatment decisions were changed in 7 （30.4%） patients after introducing PET/CT into their conventional post-operative follow-up program. CONCLUSION： Whole body 18F-FDG PET/CT was highly effective in discriminating true recurrence in post-operative patients with gastric cancer and had important impacts on clinical decisions in a considerable portion of patients.     

PET/CT and Histopathologic Response to Preoperative Chemoradiation Therapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

Purpose

The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of using positron emission tomography/computer tomography to predict the histopathologic response in locally advanced rectal cancer treated with preoperative chemoradiation.

Methods

The study included 30 patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma treated with a combination of radiotherapy and concurrent Uftoral® (uracil, tegafur) and leucovorine. All patients were evaluated by positron emission tomography/computer tomography scan seven weeks after end of chemoradiation, and the results were compared to histopathologic tumor regression as the “standard.” The pathologic response was quantified by tumor regression grade.

Results

Positron emission tomography/computer tomography correctly identified six of eight patients (specificity 75 percent) with complete pathologic response. However, the sensitivity of positron emission tomography/computer tomography was only 45 percent and the accuracy 53 percent. The positive and negative predictive values were 83 and 33 percent, respectively.

Conclusions

We conclude that positron emission tomography/computer tomography performed seven weeks after the end of chemoradiation is not able to predict the histopathologic response in locally advanced rectal cancer. There is an obvious need for other complementary methods especially with respect to the low sensitivity of positron emission tomography/computer tomography.

     

Evolution in the treatment of metastatic colorectal carcinoma of the liver

Metastatic colorectal cancer to the liver is associated with a uniform poor prognosis without treatment. Advances in therapy over the past decades have now allowed surgical resections of the liver to occur with a low morbidity and mortality. Improvements in chemotherapy regimes have paralleled technical improvements and now allow a new group of patients to become eligible for surgical resection. This chapter will review the recent advances in surgical and chemotherapeutic regimes in metastatic colorectal cancer to the liver.     

18F-fluoromisonidazole positron emission tomography may be applicable in the evaluation of colorectal cancer liver metastasis

BackgroundPositron emission tomography (PET) imaging is a non-invasive functional imaging method used to reflect tumor spatial information, and to provide biological characteristics of tumor progression. The aim of this study was to focus on the application of ¹⁸F-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) PET quantitative parameter of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) ratio to detect the liver metastatic potential of human colorectal cancer (CRC) in mice.MethodsColorectal liver metastases (CRLM) xenograft models were established by injecting tumor cells (LoVo, HT29 and HCT116) into spleen of mice, tumor-bearing xenograft models were established by subcutaneously injecting tumor cells in the right left flank of mice. Wound healing assays were performed to examine the ability of cell migration in vitro. ¹⁸F-FMISO uptake in CRC cell lines was measured by cellular uptake assay. ¹⁸F-FMISO-based micro-PET imaging of CRLM and tumor-bearing mice was performed and quantified by tumor-to-liver SUVmax ratio. The correlation between the ¹⁸F-FMISO SUVmax ratio, liver metastases number, hypoxia-induced factor 1α (HIF-1α) and serum starvation-induced glucose transporter 1 (GLUT-1) was evaluated using Pearson correlation analysis.ResultsCompared with HT29 and HCT116, LoVo-CRLM mice had significantly higher liver metastases ratio and shorter median survival time. LoVo cells exhibited stronger migration capacity and higher radiotracer uptake compared with HT29 and HCT116 in in vitro. Moreover, ¹⁸F-FMISO SUVmax ratio was significantly higher in both LoVo-CRLM model and LoVo-bearing tumor model compared to models established using HT29 and HCT116. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between ¹⁸F-FMISO SUVmax ratio of CRLM mice and number of liver metastases larger than 0.5 cm, as well as between ¹⁸F-FMISO SUVmax ratio and HIF-1α or GLUT-1 expression in tumor-bearing tissues.Conclusions¹⁸F-FMISO parameter of SUVmax ratio may provide useful tumor biological information in mice with CRLM, thus allowing for better prediction of CRLM and yielding useful radioactive markers for predicting liver metastasis potential in CRC.     

Endoscopic alternatives in managing anastomotic strictures of the colon and rectum

Background The development of anastomotic strictures following colorectal surgery is a frequent problem, but commonly used treatments (e.g. dilatation or revisional surgery) are often ineffective. This study assessed the efficacy of self–expanding metallic stents (SEMS) and endoscopic transanal resection of strictures (ETARS) in managing high–grade benign colorectal anastomotic strictures after the failure of first–line therapies. Methods All patients with biopsy–proven benign anastomotic strictures (luminal diameter <7 mm) following colorectal surgery, seen in the period April 1995–October 2004, were treated with either SEMS or ETARS. Results In the study period, we treated 10 patients (7 men) of median age 71 years. Ten ETARS procedures were performed in six patients, with a mean operating time of 42 minutes and a median hospital stay of 1 day. Early complications of ETARS included: re– operation for bleeding, asymptomatic anastomotic perforation and technical failure in an acutely angulated stricture. SEMS were successfully inserted into five patients (including two with failed ETARS) without any early complications. Overall, nine patients have had satisfactory longterm outcomes (median follow–up, 29 months; range, 3–75 months). Conclusions SEMS and ETARS are simple, safe and effective methods in treating high–grade anastomotic strictures.     

FOLFOX和FOLFIRI方案用于大肠黏液腺癌辅助化疗的比较

目的探讨FOLFOX及FOLFIRI方案在大肠黏液腺癌术后辅助化疗中的疗效差异。 方法将40例术后病理证实为大肠黏液腺癌患者随机分为2组,实验组应用FOLFIRI方案化疗,对照组应用FOLFOX方案化疗。比较两组的无进展生存时间（progression free survival,PFS）,并应用Kaplan-Meier法进行生存率统计分析。 结果FOLFOX组的中位PFS为13个月,FOLFIRI组的中位PFS为18个月。FOLFIRI方案组PFS比FOLFOX方案组PFS长5个月,差异有统计学意义（χ²=4.294,P=0.038）。 结论对于大肠黏液腺癌,术后应用FOLFIRI方案化疗比FOLFOX方案可延长PFS。     

正电子发射体层成像在肺癌诊治中的作用

目的探讨正电子发射体层成像（PET）在肺癌诊治中的作用。方法收集1998年9月1日至2000年3月1日期间就诊的肺癌或拟诊为肺癌的患者,均行PET及胸腹部CT、骨显像检查。结果共收集88例患者,其中肺癌患者68例(77.3%),良性疾病者20例(22.7%)。CT与PET共发现125个肺内病灶,其中恶性病灶80个（64.0%）,良性病灶45个（36.0%）,恶性病灶的标准摄取比（SUR）值明显高于良性病灶。PET诊断肺癌的敏感性、特异性与病灶是否经过放化疗无关,但与病灶大小相关。对肺内病灶PET所见及SUR值诊断的特异性及准确性均高于CT,其中PET诊断的敏感性、特异性和准确性分别为95.0%、95.6%及95.2%;SUR值诊断分别为65.0%、91.1%及74.4%。SUR值诊断直径≥1.5cm的肺内病灶的准确性高于直径＜1.5cm的病灶。在诊断肺癌肺门淋巴结、纵隔淋巴结、远处淋巴结转移中,PET敏感性及准确性均显著高于CT。SUR值与细胞分化程度无关;小细胞肺癌经过放化疗后SUR值显著下降。结论PET在判断肺内病灶的良恶性程度上有优势,且能准确判断肺癌淋巴结转移情况。对直径<1.5cm的病灶及放化疗后的病灶,PET诊断的准确性高。     

Factors influencing survival in patients with hepatic metastases from adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum

The median survival of all patients with hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer referred to the Sidney Farber Cancer Institute during a five-year period was 12.5 months. Two major factors influenced survival. The first was extent of disease at presentation. The second was the histologic grade of the cancer. The median survival of patients presenting with the least disease, characterized by less than four liver nodules visible on liver scan (n=38), normal liver size on physical examination (n=60), normal liver function test results (n=30), and normal performance status (n=91), was between 18 and 24 months, regardless of treatment. The median survival of those few patients (n=13) who had objective responses to a variety of treatments, most of whom also had minimal disease at presentation, was also 24 months. Patients whose tumors were poorly differentiated or who had abnormal performance status or weight loss of greater than 10 per cent at presentation survived only six months (median). Those with four or more liver nodules, hepatomegaly (greater than 16-cm vertical span on physical examination), or abnormal liver function test results, survived ten, eight, and 12 months (median), respectively. It is concluded that a significant group of patients survived longer than would have been predicted by earlier literature surveys after the diagnosis of colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver. It is suggested that future therapeutic trials, using survival as a measure of response of patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer, must be prospectively controlled before selection factors can be differentiated from significant therapy effect. Supported by the Brigham Surgical Group, Inc., and National Cancer Institute grant CA 04486.