Could ultrasonic elastography help the diagnosis of small (≤2 cm) breast cancer with the usage of sonographic BI-RADS classification?

Objectives

To evaluate the additive value of ultrasound strain elastography (USE) to BI-RADS for the differentiation of benign and malignant breast small lesions.

Methods

Breast masses (≤2 cm) with histological diagnosis examined by ultrasonography and USE in our department from April 2004 to December 2009 were reviewed. Conventional B-mode ultrasound findings were classified according to the BI-RADS classification. USE findings were classified according to the 5-point scale. Histological diagnosis was used as the reference standard.

Results

401 (246 benign (61.3%), 155 malignant (38.7%)) from 370 consecutive patients were included in the study. Sensitivity and specificity were 90.3%, 68.3% for BI-RADS; 72.3%, 91.9% for USE. The sensitivity of BI-RADS was better than that of USE (P < 0.05), while the specificity of USE was better than that of BI-RADS (P < 0.05). A revised BI-RADS combined with USE results was proposed in this study. Sensitivity and specificity were 83.9% and 87.8% for revised BI-RADS. The diagnostic performance of revised BI-RADS was better than BI-RADS (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

USE could give BI-RADS some help in the differentiation of benign and malignant breast small lesions. The addition of elastography to BI-RADS could improve the diagnostic performance in <2 cm lesions.     

Biliary atresia recent insight

Biliary atresia (BA) is a rare disease characterized by ascending obstruction of bile ducts that exclusively affects newborn infants. The etiology of the disease is not known. BA is considered to be a phenotype resulting from several pathogenic processes leading to obstruction of the biliary tree. It usually presents shortly after birth, characterized by persistent jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, clay-colored stool, and dark urine. It affects both the extra-hepatic biliary ducts (EHBDs) and the intra-hepatic biliary system (IHBDs), but the former is more severely affected. Diagnosis of BA is a great challenge and must be achieved as early as possible to delay progression to cirrhosis. Laboratory tests reveal direct hyperbilirubinemia and, variable levels of transaminases, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), which overlap significantly with other causes of neonatal cholestasis. The intraoperative cholangiogram is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of BA and is performed routinely in many institutions. BA can be divided into correctable and non-correctable types; the former accounts for (10–15%) of cases, in which the proximal common hepatic duct is patent, allowing primary anastomosis of the EHBDs to the bowel. All patients are subjected to identical surgical and medical treatments; consisting of Kasai portoenterostomy (KPE), which entails removal of the atretic extra-hepatic tissue and a Roux-en-Y jejunal loop anastomosed to the hepatic hilum. Kasai portoenterstomy is considered a transition to liver transplantation, as the pathology may be still ongoing. BA is the most frequent indication for liver transplantation in infants, which is the only treatment that can definitively arrest the natural disease course. In conclusion: BA is a serious liver disease that needs to be further studied, and awareness of BA should be increased among the public and health care workers to prevent the complications of this disease.     

The performance of three oncogeriatric screening tools - G8, optimised G8 and CARG - in predicting chemotherapy-related toxicity in older patients with cancer. A prospective clinical study

BackgroundOlder patients are vulnerable to chemotherapy-related toxicity (CRT). Therefore we evaluated screening tools in their power to predict CRT.MethodsPatients with cancer aged ≥65 years completed three screening questionnaires (G8, optimised G8 and Cancer and Ageing Research Group (CARG). Additionally, Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) for verification of supportive care needs was undertaken on patients with impaired G8 scores. During chemotherapy treatment patients were assessed, capturing grade 0–5 CRT as defined by NCI CTCAE 4.Results104 patients with non-haematological cancers were included at three study sites. Median age was 73 years (range 65–85). Onco-geriatric screening detected 74% as impaired using G8 and optimised G8 questionnaires and 86% using CARG screening. Grade 3–5 toxicity affected 64.4% of all patients. G8 (OR 0.3 95% CI [0.1;1.0]) and optimised G8 (OR 0.4 95% CI [0.1; 1.5]) did not reliably predict CRT, whereas screening with CARG demonstrated a strong prediction of severe CRT: OR 4.2, 95% CI [1.1, 15.9]. CGA was undertaken on 66 patients, revealing deficiencies in nutritional (83%) and functional-status (54%) and occurrence of relevant comorbidity (53%).ConclusionThe CARG tool could be useful for predicting CRT. CGA showed clinically relevant supportive care needs in patients with a positive G8 screening.