Seven cases of hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia-like hepatic vascular abnormalities associated with EPHB4 pathogenic variants.

BACKGROUND: EPHB4 loss of function is associated with type 2 capillary malformation-arteriovenous malformation syndrome, an autosomal dominant vascular disorder. The phenotype partially overlaps with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) due to epistaxis, telangiectases and cerebral arteriovenous malformations, but a similar liver involvement has never been described. METHODS: Members of the French HHT network reported their cases of EPHB4 mutation identified after an initial suspicion of HHT. Clinical, radiological and genetic characteristics were analysed. RESULTS: Among 21 patients with EPHB4, 15 had a liver imaging, including 7 with HHT-like abnormalities (2 female patients and 5 male patients, ages 43-69 years). Atypical epistaxis and telangiectases were noted in two cases each. They were significantly older than the eight patients with normal imaging (median: 51 vs 20 years, p<0.0006).The main hepatic artery was dilated in all the cases (diameter: 8-11 mm). Six patients had hepatic telangiectases. All kind of shunts were described (arteriosystemic: five patients, arterioportal: two patients, portosystemic: three patients). The overall liver appearance was considered as typical of HHT in six cases.Six EPHB4 variants were classified as pathogenic and one as likely pathogenic, with no specific hot spot. CONCLUSION: EPHB4 loss-of-function variants can be associated with HHT-like hepatic abnormalities and should be tested for atypical HHT presentations.

Polycystic liver: automatic segmentation using deep learning on CT is faster and as accurate compared to manual segmentation.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and investigate the performance of a deep learning model based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) for the automatic segmentation of polycystic livers at CT imaging. METHOD: This retrospective study used CT images of polycystic livers. To develop the CNN, supervised training and validation phases were performed using 190 CT series. To assess performance, the test phase was performed using 41 CT series. Manual segmentation by an expert radiologist (Rad1a) served as reference for all comparisons. Intra-observer variability was determined by the same reader after 12 weeks (Rad1b), and inter-observer variability by a second reader (Rad2). The Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) evaluated overlap between segmentations. CNN performance was assessed using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and the two-by-two difference between the CCCs; their confidence interval was estimated with bootstrap and Bland-Altman analyses. Liver segmentation time was automatically recorded for each method. RESULTS: A total of 231 series from 129 CT examinations on 88 consecutive patients were collected. For the CNN, the DSC was 0.95 ± 0.03 and volume analyses yielded a CCC of 0.995 compared with reference. No statistical difference was observed in the CCC between CNN automatic segmentation and manual segmentations performed to evaluate inter-observer and intra-observer variability. While manual segmentation required 22.4 ± 10.4 min, central and graphics processing units took an average of 5.0 ± 2.1 s and 2.0 ± 1.4 s, respectively. CONCLUSION: Compared with manual segmentation, automated segmentation of polycystic livers using a deep learning method achieved much faster segmentation with similar performance. KEY POINTS: • Automatic volumetry of polycystic livers using artificial intelligence method allows much faster segmentation than expert manual segmentation with similar performance. • No statistical difference was observed between automatic segmentation, inter-observer variability, or intra-observer variability.

Management and Prognosis of Localized Duodenal Neuroendocrine Neoplasms.

INTRODUCTION: The characteristics, prognostic factors, and management of duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms (dNEN) are ill-defined, given their rarity. Whether nonsurgical management might be appropriate for patients with nonmetastatic dNEN and a good prognosis, as is the case for pancreatic NEN (pNEN), is unknown. We aimed to describe the management and prognosis of nonmetastatic dNEN patients. METHODS: All consecutive patients with nonmetastatic dNEN managed between 1981 and 2018 in 2 expert centers were included. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and factors associated with recurrence were estimated. RESULTS: A total of 145 patients with dNEN were included. Twenty-eight patients with sporadic, nonfunctioning, small (median 7 mm) dNEN underwent endoscopic resection, with a 5-year RFS rate of 89.4%. Local recurrence occurred in 2 patients, who underwent surgery with no new events. The 5-year RFS rate was 87.9% in patients who underwent surgery. Upon univariate analysis, age, size, Ki67 index, and lymph node involvement (LN+) were significantly associated with worse RFS for all dNEN treated (endoscopy/surgery); multivariate analysis found that age, size, and LN+ were associated with worse RFS. CONCLUSION: Selected nonmetastatic dNEN had a favorable outcome, and a less invasive therapeutic strategy appeared more suitable than oncological surgery.

Diffuse Versus Localized Caroli Disease: A Comparative MRCP Study.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this multicenter retrospective study was to assess the MRCP features of Caroli disease (CD). MATERIALS AND METHODS. Sixty-six patients were identified from 2000 to 2019. The inclusion criteria were diagnosis of diffuse or localized CD mentioned in an imaging report, presence of intrahepatic bile duct (IHBD) dilatation, and having undergone an MRCP examination. The exclusion criteria included presence of obstructive proximal biliary stricture and having undergone hepatobiliary surgery other than cholecystectomy. Histopathology records were available for 53 of the 66 (80%) patients. Diffuse and localized diseases were compared by chi-square and t tests and Kaplan-Meier model. RESULTS. Forty-five patients had diffuse bilobar CD ((five pediatric patients [three girls and two boys] with a mean [± SD] age of 8 ± 5 years [range, 1-15 years] and 40 adult patients [26 men and 14 women] with a mean age of 35 ± 11 years [range, 20-62 years]) and 21 patients had localized disease (12 men and 9 women; mean age, 54 ± 14 years). Congenital hepatic fibrosis was found only in patients with diffuse CD (35/45 [78%]), as was a "central dot" sign (15/35 [43%]). IHBD dilatation with both saccular and fusiform features was found in 43 (96%) and the peripheral "funnel-shaped" sign in 41 (91%) of the 45 patients with diffuse CD but in none of the patients with localized disease (p < .001). Intrahepatic biliary calculi were found in all patients with localized disease but in only 16 of the 45 (36%) patients with diffuse CD (p < .001). Left liver atrophy was found in 18 of the 21 (86%) patients with localized disease and in none of the patients with diffuse CD (p < .001). The overall survival rate among patients with diffuse CD was significantly lower than that among patients with localized disease (p = .03). CONCLUSION. Diffuse IHBD dilatation with both saccular and fusiform features associated with the peripheral funnel-shaped sign can be used for the diagnosis of CD on MRCP. Localized IHBD dilatation seems to be mainly related to primary intrahepatic lithiasis.

Recurrence of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia After Liver Transplantation: Clinical Implications and Physiopathological Insights.

Liver transplantation (LT) has been proposed as a curative treatment in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) with severe hepatic involvement. We provide a long-term evaluation of graft status after LT for HHT, with a focus on the risk of recurrence. The present study included all patients prospectively followed up after LT for HHT in the Lyon Liver Transplant Unit from 1993 to 2010, with a survival of more than 1 year. Protocol clinical, radiological, and histological examinations were performed at regular intervals. Fourteen patients were included (13 women and one man). Median age at LT was 52.5 years (range: 33.1-66.7). In eight patients (seven female), disease recurrence was diagnosed by abnormal radiological features, suggestive of microcirculatory disturbances. Typical vascular lesions, including telangiectasia, were demonstrated by liver biopsy in five of these patients. The median interval between LT and diagnosis of recurrence was 127 months (range: 74-184). The risk of recurrence increased over time; estimated cumulative risk was 47.9% at 15 years. Liver tissue analysis found the coexistence of an angiogenic process combined with endothelial microchimerism, as shown by the presence of vascular lining cells of recipient origin. Conclusion: The present data show that disease recurrence occurs, usually after a long delay, in a significant number of patients treated by LT for liver complications of HHT. This strongly supports the necessity of a lifelong follow-up and suggests that therapeutic strategy needs discussion and evaluation, especially of the role of potential adjuvant treatments to LT, such as antiangiogenic medications, when recurrent disease appears.

Idarubicin-loaded Beads for Chemoembolization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The IDASPHERE II Single-Arm Phase II Trial.

Background A prior in vitro study showed that idarubicin was the most cytotoxic agent for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines. Idarubicin-loaded beads for transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) were previously evaluated for the appropriate dose in a phase I dose-escalation study. Purpose To evaluate objective response rate (ORR), safety, and survival after TACE by using idarubicin-loaded beads for unresectable HCC. Materials and Methods This prospective single-arm phase II study was conducted between January 2015 and January 2017. Participants with unresectable HCC were included in the trial and underwent TACE with idarubicin-eluting beads. The primary end point was 6-month ORR assessed with independent central review by using modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Secondary end points were best ORR during the first 6 months, overall survival, progression-free survival, time to progression, and safety. A two-stage Fleming statistical design was used. Results Forty-six study participants (mean age, 71.2 years ± 10.2; six women and 40 men) were included; 44 participants underwent at least one TACE session. The 6-month ORR was 52% (23 of 44). The best ORR achieved was 68% (30 of 44). Fourteen of 44 (32%) participants underwent a curative treatment after TACE. Median progression-free survival, time to progression, and overall survival were 6.6 months, 9.5 months, and 18.6 months, respectively. TACE was discontinued for toxicity in four of 44 (9%) participants. The most frequent grade 3-4 adverse events were elevated aspartate aminotransferase (14 of 44, 32%), elevated γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (eight of 44, 18%), hyperbilirubinemia (seven of 44, 16%), elevated alanine aminotransferase (seven of 44, 16%), and pain (seven of 44, 16%). Conclusion Idarubicin-eluting beads showed a good safety profile and promising objective response rate and time to progression when used as part of a transarterial chemoembolization regimen for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. © RSNA, 2019 See also the editorial by Padia in this issue.

3D Chemical Shift-Encoded MRI for Volume and Composition Quantification of Abdominal Adipose Tissue During an Overfeeding Protocol in Healthy Volunteers.

BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity are major worldwide health concerns characterized by an abnormal accumulation of fat in adipose tissue (AT) and liver. PURPOSE: To evaluate the volume and the fatty acid (FA) composition of the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and the fat content in the liver from 3D chemical-shift-encoded (CSE)-MRI acquisition, before and after a 31-day overfeeding protocol. STUDY TYPE: Prospective and longitudinal study. SUBJECTS: Twenty-one nonobese healthy male volunteers. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: A 3D spoiled-gradient multiple echo sequence and STEAM sequence were performed at 3T. ASSESSMENT: AT volume was automatically segmented on CSE-MRI between L2 to L4 lumbar vertebrae and compared to the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) measurement. CSE-MRI and MR spectroscopy (MRS) data were analyzed to assess the proton density fat fraction (PDFF) in the liver and the FA composition in SAT and VAT. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses were performed on 13 SAT samples as a FA composition countermeasure. STATISTICAL TESTS: Paired t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and Bland-Altman plots were used to compare measurements. RESULTS: SAT and VAT volumes significantly increased (P < 0.001). CSE-MRI and DEXA measurements were strongly correlated (r = 0.98, P < 0.001). PDFF significantly increased in the liver (+1.35, P = 0.002 for CSE-MRI, + 1.74, P = 0.002 for MRS). FA composition of SAT and VAT appeared to be consistent between localized-MRS and CSE-MRI (on whole segmented volume) measurements. A significant difference between SAT and VAT FA composition was found (P < 0.001 for CSE-MRI, P = 0.001 for MRS). MRS and CSE-MRI measurements of the FA composition were correlated with the GC-MS results (for ndb: rMRS/GC-MS = 0.83 P < 0.001, rCSE-MRI/GC-MS = 0.84, P = 0.001; for nmidb: rMRS/GC-MS = 0.74, P = 0.006, rCSE-MRI/GC-MS = 0.66, P = 0.020) DATA CONCLUSION: The follow-up of liver PDFF, volume, and FA composition of AT during an overfeeding diet was demonstrated through different methods. The CSE-MRI sequence associated with a dedicated postprocessing was found reliable for such quantification. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:1587-1599.

Colon capsule versus computed tomography colonography for colorectal cancer screening in patients with positive fecal occult blood test who refuse colonoscopy: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: Some patients (10 % - 32 %) with a positive guaiac fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) do not undergo the recommended colonoscopy. The aim of this study was to compare video capsule endoscopy (VCE) and computed tomography colonography (CTC) in terms of participation rate and detection outcomes when offered to patients with a positive gFOBT who did not undergo the recommended colonoscopy. METHODS: An invitation letter offering CTC or VCE was sent to selected patients after randomization. Acceptance of the proposed (or alternative) procedure and procedure results were recorded. Sample size was evaluated according to the hypothesis of a 13 % increase of participation with VCE. RESULTS: A total of 756 patients were targeted. Following the invitation letter, 5.0 % (19/378) of patients underwent the proposed VCE and 7.4 % (28/378) underwent CTC, (P = 0.18). Following the letter, 9.8 % (37/378) of patients in the VCE group underwent a diagnostic procedure (19 VCE, 1 CTC, 17 colonoscopy) vs. 10.8 % in the CTC group (41/378: 28 CTC, 13 colonoscopy; P = 0.55). There were more potentially neoplastic lesions diagnosed in the VCE group than in the CTC group (12/20 [60.0 %] vs. 8/28 [28.6 %]; P = 0.04). Thus, 15/20 noninvasive procedures in the VCE group (19 VCE, 1 CTC; 75.0 %) vs. 10/28 in the CTC group (35.7 %; P = 0.01) resulted in a recommendation of further colonoscopy, but only 10/25 patients actually underwent this proposed colonoscopy. CONCLUSION: Patients with a positive gFOBT result who do not undergo the recommended colonoscopy are difficult to recruit to the screening program and simply proposing an additional, less-invasive procedure, such as VCE or CTC, is not an effective strategy.ClinicalTrials.govNCT02558881TRIAL REGISTRATION: Randomized, controlled trial NCT02558881 at clinicaltrials.gov.

Preoperative nutritional risk assessment in patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for colorectal carcinomatosis.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is associated with increased postoperative morbidity in colorectal surgery. This study aimed to determine if preoperative nutritional markers could predict postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) for peritoneal metastasis (PM) of colorectal origin. METHODS: All patients who underwent a complete CRS-HIPEC for colorectal PM between January 2009 and December 2014 were evaluated. Preoperative clinical and biological nutritional factors, including Body Mass Index (BMI), preoperative albumin and prealbumin levels were analysed. Preoperative computed tomography was used to measure the cross-sectional surface of the visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, at the third lumbar vertebrae, to assess the abdominal fat composition. Skeletal muscle mass was measured to assess for sarcopenia. RESULTS: Among 214 patients, 14 (6.5%) had a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2, 90 (42%) were sarcopenic, 19 (9%) presented albumin <35 g/L and 2 (1%) had pre-albumin <20 mg/dL. Median values for visceral and subcutaneous fat surfaces were 99.2 cm2 and 198 cm2, respectively. Hypoalbuminemia was associated with worse overall survival (23 vs. 59 months, p = 0.015). The other nutritional factors did not impact overall or progression free survival after CRS-HIPEC for colorectal PM. In multivariate analysis, major post-operative complication and hypoalbuminemia were independently associated with decreased overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoalbuminemia appears as a strong predictive factor for decreased overall survival in patients presenting PM of colorectal origin undergoing CRS-HIPEC.

Preliminary Report of Percutaneous Cholecystostomy as Diagnosis and Treatment of Biliary Tract Trauma.

BACKGROUND: Biliary leak following severe blunt liver injuries is a complex problem becoming more frequent with improvements in non-operative management. Standard treatment requires main bile duct drainage usually performed by endoscopic sphincterotomy and stent placement. We report our experience with cholecystostomy as a first minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic approach. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with post-traumatic biliary leak between 2006 and 2015. In the first period (2006-2010), biliary fistula was managed using perihepatic drainage and endoscopic, percutaneous or surgical main bile duct drainage. After 2010, cholecystostomy as an initial minimally invasive approach was performed. RESULTS: Of 341 patients with blunt liver injury, 18 had a post-traumatic biliary leak. Ten patients received standard treatment and eight patients underwent cholecystostomy. The cholecystostomy (62.5%) and the standard treatment (80%) groups presented similar success rates as the first biliary drainage procedure (p = 0.41). Cholecystostomy presented no severe complications and resulted, when successful, in a bile flow rate inversion between the perihepatic drains and the gallbladder drain within a median [IQR] 4 days [1-7]. The median time for bile leak resolution was 26 days in the cholecystostomy group and 39 days in the standard treatment group (p = 0.09). No significant difference was found considering median duration of hospital stay (54 and 74 days, respectively, p = 0.37) or resuscitation stay (17.5 and 19.5 days, p = 0.59). CONCLUSION: Cholecystostomy in non-operative management of biliary fistula after blunt liver injury could be an effective, simple and safe first-line procedure in the diagnostic and therapeutic approach of post-traumatic biliary tract injuries.

EASL-EASD-EASO clinical practice guidelines for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in severely obese people: do they lead to over-referral?

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to assess the application of the recent European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)-European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)-European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) clinical practice guidelines for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in severely obese individuals in routine clinical practice. METHODS: We performed a single-centre retrospective observational study of 385 patients referred for severe obesity (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) to our Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition department, between 1 November 2014 and 31 December 2015. The recent EASL-EASD-EASO clinical practice guidelines for the management of NAFLD were retrospectively applied to the cohort using, successively, the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) and a combination of the NFS and transient elastography (TE) measurement in a subgroup of individuals. RESULTS: We identified 313 (81.3%) individuals with NAFLD in the cohort. The application of the EASL-EASD-EASO guidelines using NFS would lead to referral to a specialist for up to 289 individuals (75.1%) in the cohort. The combination of NFS and TE measurement reclassified 28 (25%) individuals from the medium/high risk group to low risk and would lead to the referral of 261 (67.7%) individuals to a specialist. These proportions appear to be excessive given the expected prevalence of advanced fibrosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) of around 10% and 30%, respectively, in the severely obese population. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: This is the first study to assess the strategy proposed by the EASL-EASD-EASO clinical practice guidelines for the management of NAFLD in severely obese individuals. The retrospective application of the guidelines in a cohort representing the routine clinical practice in our department would lead to an excessive number of specialist referrals and would also lead to an unjustified increase in health costs. Biomarkers and specific strategy for the screening of NASH and advanced fibrosis in morbidly obese individuals are thus crucially needed and would help to improve the actual guidelines.

EVESOR, a model-based, multiparameter, Phase I trial to optimize the benefit/toxicity ratio of everolimus and sorafenib.

AIM: This novel multiparameter Phase I study aimed to optimize doses/dosing schedules of everolimus and sorafenib drug combination, based on modeling/simulation (NCT01932177). PATIENTS & METHODS: About 26 patients with solid tumors were treated in four different dosing schedules. Everolimus once daily + sorafenib twice daily were given continuously in arms A and B, and intermittently in arms C (alternating every other week) and D (everolimus continuous and sorafenib 3 days on/4 days off). RESULTS: Continuous schedules exhibited higher toxicity risks than intermittent schedules (64.1 vs 35.9%; p < 0.0001), and trends for lower disease control rates (80 vs 100%). No significant pharmacokinetic interaction was identified. CONCLUSION: Feasibility of EVESOR trial is demonstrated. Intermittent schedules might provide better tolerance and efficacy than continuous schedules.

Resectability of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis: Learnings from a Prospective Cohort of 533 Consecutive Patients Selected for Cytoreductive Surgery.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors and causes of unresectability in a large cohort of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) selected for cytoreductive surgery (CRS), and to assess the contribution of the different imaging modalities to the patient-selection process. METHODS: The pre- and intraoperative data of 533 consecutive patients with PC planned for CRS at a single institution were reviewed. All patients underwent computed tomography (CT) magnetic resonance imaging and/or positron emission tomography/CT within the 2 days prior to surgery. RESULTS: Among the 533 patients, 436 (82 %) underwent complete CRS, 86 (16 %) underwent exploratory laparotomy without CRS because of multiple small-bowel involvement (n = 31), invasion of different digestive segments (n = 15), an elevated PC index (n = 14), invasion of the mesenteric root (n = 12), or another cause (n = 14), and 11 (2 %) did not undergo laparotomy because of disease progression on preoperative imaging findings. On univariate analysis, elevated levels of tumor markers and a short delay between the last cycle of chemotherapy and the scheduled surgery were identified as predictors of unresectability for the colonic PC population, while a younger age was identified in patients with gastric PC. Multivariate analysis disclosed the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and a younger age as independent predictors of unresectability in the colonic PC population. CONCLUSIONS: The current modalities for the assessment of PC resectability, including functional imaging examinations, have a low impact on patient selection for CRS. New tools are needed to decrease the rate of open-close procedures.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection with the Nestis® jet injector system with a bifunctional catheter: first prospective clinical trial (NCT: 2012-A00272-41).

BACKGROUND: The Enki-2 water jet system (Nestis SAS®, Lyon, France) with dual injection and dissection capability significantly reduced ESD procedure time and perforation rates in animal studies. The study aim was to evaluate its efficacy and safety in patients with superficial neoplastic lesions. METHODS: A prospective study including 18 patients with esophageal, gastric and rectal superficial neoplasms treated by ESD using Enki-2 was designed. RESULTS: Eighteen lesions (6 esophageal, 3 gastric, 9 rectal, mean diameter 43.5 mm) in 17 patients (10 men, mean age 65.9) were included. The mean procedure time was 65.6 min. One patient needed clipping for an incomplete muscle tear during procedure; there were neither delayed bleedings nor perforation. The "en bloc" resection rate was 100 %, the R0 resection rate was 88.9 % (16/18 lesions), and the curative resection rate was 77.8 %. The 3-month disease-free rate was 92.3 % (12/13 patients, 13/14 lesions, 1 patient lost to follow-up). The 12-month disease-free rate was 69.2 % (9/13 patients, 10/14 lesions, 4 patients lost to follow-up). CONCLUSIONS: ESD with Enki-2 water jet system is effective and safe for superficial neoplastic digestive lesions.

Multiparameter Phase I trials: a tool for model-based development of targeted agent combinations--example of EVESOR trial.

Optimal development of targeted drug combinations is one of the future challenges to be addressed. Computerization and mathematical models able to describe biological phenomena and to simulate the effects of changes in experimental conditions may help find solutions to this issue. We propose the concept of 'multiparameter trials', where biological, radiological and clinical data required for modeling purpose are collected and illustrated by the ongoing academic EVESOR trial. The objective of the model-based work would be the determination of the optimized doses and dosing schedules of everolimus and sorafenib, offering the maximization of the predicted modeled benefit/toxicity ratio in patients with solid tumors. It may embody the 'proof of concept' of model-based drug development of anticancer agent combinations.

Bowel endometriosis: preoperative diagnostic accuracy of 3.0-T MR enterography--initial results.

PURPOSE: To prospectively determine the accuracy of 3.0-T magnetic resonance (MR) enterography in the preoperative assessment of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) lesions located in the bowel above the rectosigmoid junction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval for this study was obtained, and each patient gave written informed consent. Over 18 months, patients with known pelvic DIE who were scheduled for surgery were recruited. Consecutive patients suspected of having bowel endometriosis above the rectosigmoid junction underwent 3.0-T MR enterography. Two blinded readers independently performed a systematic analysis of nine bowel segments above the rectosigmoid junction. MR images were compared with surgical and pathologic findings. Efficacy parameters were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Interobserver agreement was assessed with κ statistics. RESULTS: Among the 43 patients enrolled in this study, 33 underwent surgery and were included in the final analyses. Sixteen (48%) patients had bowel DIE lesions located above the rectosigmoid junction at surgery and histopathologic examination. Twenty-six lesions were analyzed, including four ileal, two ileocecal, three cecal, three appendicular, and 14 sigmoid colon lesions. For the diagnosis of these lesions, MR imaging showed sensitivities of 92% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 81.7, 100) for reader 1 and 96% (95% CI: 87.1, 100) for reader 2 and specificities of 100% (95% CI: 98.8, 100) for both readers. The κ value was 0.97. CONCLUSION: These results show 3.0-T MR enterography is accurate in the preoperative diagnosis and mapping of bowel DIE lesions located above the rectosigmoid junction. Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Mammographic density is not a worthwhile examination to distinguish high cancer risk women in screening.

Numerous studies established high mammographic density (MD) as a significant breast cancer risk. By adopting both radiological and epidemiological perspectives, we analysed the capacity of this radiological parameter to express an individual level of risk and the methods for assessing the relationship between MD categories and risk. MD is unable to identify individual underlying anatomical and physiological components. Many factors affect accurate and reproducible measurements and consequently classifications of MD. Significant relative risks were found by comparing the MD categories in the tails of distribution (i.e. the group of women with the lowest MD to that with the highest MD), which represent <10 % of women in each group: the majority of the population was ignored. When a relevant threshold of MD was applied to compare another group and the entire population was included to compare the two groups, some studies showed no significant or only moderate relative risk (RR) between women with readings above and those below the threshold. Sensitivity and specificity remain unknown. MD cannot be considered a worthwhile test by which to categorically identify high-risk women in screening. Key points • Unknown individual anatomical and physiological components do not express the risk level.• The epidemiological conditions are not relevant to distinguish a high-risk category.• The most relevant studies show no or moderate risks.

Synthetic MR image generation of macrotrabecular-massive hepatocellular carcinoma using generative adversarial networks.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a method for generating synthetic MR images of macrotrabecular-massive hepatocellular carcinoma (MTM-HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A set of abdominal MR images including fat-saturated T1-weighted images obtained during the arterial and portal venous phases of enhancement and T2-weighted images of 91 patients with MTM-HCC, and another set of MR abdominal images from 67 other patients were used. Synthetic images were obtained using a 3-step pipeline that consisted in: (i), generating a synthetic MTM-HCC tumor on a neutral background; (ii), randomly selecting a background among the 67 patients and a position inside the liver; and (iii), merging the generated tumor in the background at the specified location. Synthetic images were qualitatively evaluated by three radiologists and quantitatively assessed using a mix of 1-nearest neighbor classifier metric and Fréchet inception distance. RESULTS: A set of 1000 triplets of synthetic MTM-HCC images with consistent contrasts were successfully generated. Evaluation of selected synthetic images by three radiologists showed that the method gave realistic, consistent and diversified images. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation led to an overall score of 0.64. CONCLUSION: This study shows the feasibility of generating realistic synthetic MR images with very few training data, by leveraging the wide availability of liver backgrounds. Further studies are needed to assess the added value of those synthetic images for automatic diagnosis of MTM-HCC.

New strategy for automatic tumor segmentation by adaptive thresholding on PET/CT images.

Tumor delineation is a critical aspect in radiotherapy treatment planning and is usually performed with the anatomical images of a computed tomography (CT) scan. For non-small cell lung cancer, it has been recommended to use functional positron emission tomography (PET) images to take into account the biological target characteristics. However, today, there is no satisfactory segmentation technique for PET images in clinical applications. In the present study, a solution to this problem is proposed. The development of the segmentation technique is based on the threshold's adjustment directly from patients, rather than from phantoms. To this end, two references were chosen: measurements performed on CT images of the selected lesions, and histological measurements of surgically removed tumors. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were chosen to produce references that are assumed to have measured tumor sizes equal to the true in vivo tumor sizes. In total, for the two references, 65 lung lesions of 54 patients referred for FDG-PET/CT exams were selected. For validation, measurements of segmented lesions on PET images using this technique were also compared to CT and histological measurements. For lesions greater than 20 mm, our segmentation technique showed a good estimation of histological measurements (mean difference between measured and calculated data equal to -0.8 ± 9.0%) and an acceptable estimation of CT measurements. For lesions smaller than or equal to 20 mm, the method showed disagreement with the measurements derived from histological or CT data. This novel segmentation technique shows high accuracy for the lesions with largest axes between 2 and 4.5 cm. However, it does not correctly evaluate smaller lesions, likely due to the partial volume effect and/or respiratory motions.