Guided tour of hidden tracts in the pelvis: exploring pelvic fistulas.

BACKGROUND: Fistulas are an abnormal connection between two or more epithelial surfaces. When fistulization between adjacent structures occurs in the pelvis, there is almost invariably significant associated morbidity and impact on a patient's quality of life. Imaging may aid in the diagnosis of pelvic fistulas and is essential to identify any associated pathology, define the course of the fistula, and aid in pre-surgical planning. PURPOSE: This article aims to review the wide array of clinical and imaging presentations of fistulas in the pelvis, with a focus on the radiologists' role in managing this challenging entity. METHODS: This article will review each classification type of fistula. RESULTS: Pelvic fistula is a devastating condition that causes significant morbidity and evaluation can be challenging. CONCLUSIONS: Imaging, and particularly MRI, plays a vital role in the diagnosis, characterizing the course of a fistula and demonstrating associated complications, which are essential to guide treatment decisions.

Electrically conductive catheter inhibits bacterial colonization.

PURPOSE: To design, prototype, and assess a custom vascular access catheter for its ability to inhibit bacterial colonization in vitro and to optimize electric parameters for efficacy and safe translation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A vascular access catheter with conductive elements was designed and custom fabricated with two electrodes at the tip, separated by a nonconductive segment. The catheter was colonized with Staphylococcus aureus and incubated at predetermined current levels (4-8 µA) and durations (4-24 h). Catheters were compared using bacterial counts and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). RESULTS: Bacteria colony-forming units were reduced significantly (P < .05) by > 90% (91.7%-100%) in all uninterrupted treatment arms that included electric current (4 µA or 8 µA) of at least 8 hours' duration. Qualitative analysis using SEM revealed that the treated catheter exposed to electric current had markedly less bacteria compared with the untreated catheter. CONCLUSIONS: This catheter with conductive elements inhibits bacterial colonization in vitro when very small electric current (4-8 µA) is applied across the tip for 8-24 hours. In vivo validation is requisite to future translation to the clinical setting.

Breast Cancer Among Transgender and Nonbinary Patients: Paradigms for Improving Data Collection and Inclusion in Breast Imaging Settings.

Breast cancer incidence among transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) individuals is not well characterized owing to the absence of robust data collection among this patient population. Consequently, breast cancer risks are largely unknown, and screening guidelines are not based on robust evidence. Additionally, TGNB patients experience barriers to access health care. A first step in improving data collection, research, and ultimately care of TGNB individuals is the identification of group members and demonstration to patients that our breast imaging centers are champions of LGBTQ+ health. At our institution, patients who present for breast imaging complete an iPad-administered breast imaging history and breast cancer risk assessment survey. Using the modified Tyrer-Cuzick model, the lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is estimated, and additional key history that may impact breast care and future breast imaging is collected. Under the previous clinic workflow, patients are identified as either "male" or "female" and complete a corresponding gender-specific survey. To improve care, we revised the survey using gender-inclusive language and developed four versions to allow patients to separately self-report their sex assigned at birth and gender identity. Relevant queries relating to hormone use and gender-affirming chest/breast surgery that are concordant with six gender-identity groups were added. Long-term collection of these inclusive data by imaging centers has the potential to enhance the data set available to improve breast care and better understand breast cancer risk and outcomes among TGNB populations.

Spontaneous Angiolipoma in Autologous Flap Reconstruction.

Breast cancer recurrence after autologous flap reconstruction is rare and typically occurs at the contact zone between the flap and the native tissue. When a new lesion is found in a reconstructed breast without the characteristic appearance of benign entities such as fat necrosis, definitive tissue diagnosis is often warranted to rule out recurrence or metastasis. Angiolipomas are rare, benign lipomatous tumors that have nonspecific imaging appearances and are thus frequently biopsied or excised for definitive diagnosis. Here, we report a case of a new breast mass found at the contact zone of a reconstructed breast in a patient with a history of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which was ultimately excised and proven to be an angiolipoma.

Gynecologic tumor board: a radiologist's guide to vulvar and vaginal malignancies.

Primary vulvar and vaginal cancers are rare female genital tract malignancies which are staged using the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging. These cancers account for approximately 2,700 deaths annually in the USA. The most common histologic subtype of both vulvar and vaginal cancers is squamous cell carcinoma, with an increasing role of the human papillomavirus (HPV) in a significant number of these tumors. Lymph node involvement is the hallmark of FIGO stage 3 vulvar cancer while pelvic sidewall involvement is the hallmark of FIGO stage 3 vaginal cancer. Imaging techniques include computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET)-CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and PET-MRI. MRI is the imaging modality of choice for preoperative clinical staging of nodal and metastatic involvement while PET-CT is helpful with assessing response to neoadjuvant treatment and for guiding patient management. Determining the pretreatment extent of disease has become more important due to modern tailored operative approaches and use of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy to reduce surgical morbidity. Moreover, imaging is used to determine the full extent of disease for radiation planning and for evaluating treatment response. Understanding the relevant anatomy of the vulva and vaginal regions and the associated lymphatic pathways is helpful to recognize the potential routes of spread and to correctly identify the appropriate FIGO stage. The purpose of this article is to review the clinical features, pathology, and current treatment strategies for vulvar and vaginal malignancies and to identify multimodality diagnostic imaging features of these gynecologic cancers, in conjunction with its respective 2009 FIGO staging system guidelines.

Imaging Features of Radiofrequency Ablation with Heat-Deployed Liposomal Doxorubicin in Hepatic Tumors.

INTRODUCTION: The imaging features of unresectable hepatic malignancies in patients who underwent radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in combination with lyso-thermosensitive liposomal doxorubicin (LTLD) were determined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A phase I dose escalation study combining RFA with LTLD was performed with peri- and post- procedural CT and MRI. Imaging features were analyzed and measured in terms of ablative zone size and surrounding penumbra size. The dynamic imaging appearance was described qualitatively immediately following the procedure and at 1-month follow-up. The control group receiving liver RFA without LTLD was compared to the study group in terms of imaging features and post-ablative zone size dynamics at follow-up. RESULTS: Post-treatment scans of hepatic lesions treated with RFA and LTLD have distinctive imaging characteristics when compared to those treated with RFA alone. The addition of LTLD resulted in a regular or smooth enhancing rim on T1W MRI which often correlated with increased attenuation on CT. The LTLD-treated ablation zones were stable or enlarged at follow-up four weeks later in 69% of study subjects as opposed to conventional RFA where the ablation zone underwent involution compared to imaging acquired immediately after the procedure. CONCLUSION: The imaging features following RFA with LTLD were different from those after standard RFA and can mimic residual or recurrent tumor. Knowledge of the subtle findings between the two groups can help avoid misinterpretation and proper identification of treatment failure in this setting. Increased size of the LTLD-treated ablation zone after RFA suggests the ongoing drug-induced biological effects.

Electronic brachytherapy for postsurgical adjuvant vaginal cuff irradiation therapy in endometrial and cervical cancer: a retrospective study.

PURPOSE: A new platform for brachytherapy called electronic brachytherapy (EBT) has been developed, which uses a miniature X-ray source to generate low-energy radiation. A retrospective study of adverse events and clinical outcomes in patients treated with EBT to the vaginal cuff, either as monotherapy or in combination with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), was conducted. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Medical records were reviewed from 16 patients treated with postoperative EBT for endometrial (n=13) or cervical cancer (n=3) between February 2009 and November 2010. Patients received either intracavitary vaginal EBT alone or EBT in combination with EBRT. The radiobiologic effectiveness of EBT was assumed to be one. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 20.5 months (range, 7-36 months). When EBT was used alone (n=5), the median dose per fraction, number of fractions, and total dose delivered were: 6Gy (range, 5.5-6.2Gy), 5 fractions (range, 5-6), and 30Gy (range, 30-34Gy), respectively. When EBT was combined with EBRT, the EBT component median dose per fraction, number of fractions, and total dose delivered were: 5Gy (range, 4.5-7Gy), 2 fractions (range, 2-4), and 14Gy (range, 9-20Gy), respectively. The median EBRT dose was 45Gy (range, 45-49.2Gy). Our local control rate, locoregional (pelvic) control rate, and overall survival rate were 94%, 94%, and 88%, respectively. Of the 16 patients, 4 patients reported Grade 2 or greater toxicity (25%); however, there were no Grade 4-5 adverse events. Gynecologic, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal adverse events accounted for 57% (n=4), 43% (n=3), and 0% (n=0) of all Grade 2 or greater side effects. No Grade 2 or higher toxicities were noted in patients treated with EBT alone. CONCLUSION: EBT is an acceptable means of delivering postoperative vaginal brachytherapy and appears comparable with other methods; as the sole method of treatment, the toxicity rates of EBT are low.

Activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT signaling confers resistance to trastuzumab but not lapatinib.

Trastuzumab and lapatinib provide clinical benefit to women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER)-positive breast cancer. However, not all patients whose tumors contain the HER2 alteration respond. Consequently, there is an urgent need to identify new predictive factors for these agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway activation in conferring resistance to trastuzumab and lapatinib. To address this question, we evaluated response to trastuzumab and lapatinib in a panel of 18 HER2-amplified cell lines, using both two- and three-dimensional culture. The SUM-225, HCC-1419, HCC-1954, UACC-893, HCC-1569, UACC-732, JIMT-1, and MDA-453 cell lines were found to be innately resistant to trastuzumab, whereas the MDA-361, MDA-453, HCC-1569, UACC-732, JIMT-1, HCC-202, and UACC-893 cells are innately lapatinib resistant. Lapatinib was active in de novo (SUM-225, HCC-1419, and HCC-1954) and in a BT-474 cell line with acquired resistance to trastuzumab. In these cells, trastuzumab had little effect on AKT phosphorylation, whereas lapatinib retained activity through the dephosphorylation of AKT. Increased phosphorylation of HER2, epidermal growth factor receptor, HER3, and insulin-like growth factor IR correlated with response to lapatinib but not trastuzumab. Loss of PTEN or the presence of activating mutations in PI3K marked resistance to trastuzumab, but lapatinib response was independent of these factors. Thus, increased activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway correlates with resistance to trastuzumab, which can be overcome by lapatinib. In conclusion, pharmacologic targeting of the PI3K/AKT pathway may provide benefit to HER2-positive breast cancer patients who are resistant to trastuzumab therapy.

WY 14,643 inhibits human aldose reductase activity.

Aldose reductase (AR) is implicated to play a critical role in diabetes and cardiovascular complications because of the reaction it catalyzes. Our data reveal that peroxisome proliferator WY 14,643, follows a pure non-competitive inhibition pattern in the aldehyde reduction activity as well as in the alcohol oxidation activity of AR. This finding communicates for the first time a novel feature of WY 14,643 in regulating AR activity. In addition, this observation indicates that AR, AR-like proteins and aldo-keto reductase (AKR) members may be involved in the WY 14,643 mechanism of action when it is administered as PPAR agonist.