Inter-Rater Agreement for Diagnosing Adenomyosis Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Transvaginal Ultrasonography.

Our aim was to compare the inter-rater agreement about transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with regard to diagnosing adenomyosis and for assessing various predefined imaging features of adenomyosis, in the same set of women. The study cohort included 51 women, prospectively, consecutively recruited based on a clinical suspicion of adenomyosis. MRIs and TVS videoclips and 3D volumes were retrospectively assessed by four experienced radiologists and five experienced sonographers, respectively. Each rater subjectively evaluated the presence or absence of adenomyosis, as well as imaging features suggestive of adenomyosis. Fleiss kappa (κ) was used to reflect inter-rater agreement for categorical data, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to reflect the reliability of quantitative data. Agreement between raters for diagnosing adenomyosis was higher for TVS than for MRI (κ = 0.42 vs. 0.28). MRI had a higher inter-rater agreement in assessing wall asymmetry, irregular junctional zone (JZ), and the presence of myometrial cysts, while TVU had a better agreement for assessing globular shape. MRI showed a moderate to good reliability for measuring the JZ (ICC = 0.57-0.82). For TVS, the JZ was unmeasurable in >50% of cases, and the remaining cases had low reliability (ICC = -0.31-0.08). We found that inter-rater agreement for diagnosing adenomyosis was higher for TVS than for MRI, despite the fact that MRI showed a higher inter-rater agreement in most specific features. Measurements of JZ in the coronal plane with 3D TVS were unreliable and thus unlikely to be useful for diagnosing adenomyosis.

Is intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasia a new entity in the spectrum of familial pancreatic cancer syndrome?

We report on a 78-year old male with a positive family history for pancreatic cancer, who underwent total pancreatectomy for a suspected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm with extensive involvement of the main pancreatic duct and multiple branch ducts. The post operative course was uneventful. Macroscopic examination of the specimen revealed multiple solid non-mucinous tumour nodules throughout the main pancreatic duct and within multiple branch ducts. The microscopic appearance of the tumour, in particular its tubulopapillary growth pattern and immunohistochemical mucin profile (MUC1, MUC6 positive; MUC2, MUC5AC negative) were consistent with intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasia (ITPN) showing high-grade dysplasia. No evidence of stromal invasion was identified. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on ITPN in a high-risk patient based on a history of familial pancreatic cancer (FPC). The potential association between this entity and the spectrum of neoplastic lesions in FPC should be investigated with particular consideration of the lower biological aggressiveness of ITPN.

Small liver lesions in oncologic patients: characterization with CT, MRI and contrast-enhanced US.

Focal liver lesions (FLLs) are frequently discovered during ultrasound examinations either in healthy subjects without a clinical history of cancer or during staging or follow-up procedures in oncologic patients or in routine surveillance of hepatopathic patients. In oncologic patients, the liver is the most common target of metastatic disease and accurate detection and characterisation of FLLs is prognostically fundamental during the initial staging as well as before and after pre-operative chemotherapy, as it can help to identify patients who are most likely to benefit from liver surgery. Moreover, early detection of primary or secondary liver malignancies increases the possibility of curative surgical resection or successful percutaneous ablation. As many FLLs in these patients are benign, a precise and preferably non-invasive method of differentiation from malignant metastatic nodules is needed. Moreover, the continuous follow-up of cancer patients requires an easily available, reliable and cost-effective diagnostic tool for the detection and characterization of FLLs.