Structured and shared CT radiological report of gastric cancer: a consensus proposal by the Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer (GIRCG) and the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology (SIRM).

OBJECTIVES: Written radiological report remains the most important means of communication between radiologist and referring medical/surgical doctor, even though CT reports are frequently just descriptive, unclear, and unstructured. The Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology (SIRM) and the Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer (GIRCG) promoted a critical shared discussion between 10 skilled radiologists and 10 surgical oncologists, by means of multi-round consensus-building Delphi survey, to develop a structured reporting template for CT of GC patients. METHODS: Twenty-four items were organized according to the broad categories of a structured report as suggested by the European Society of Radiology (clinical referral, technique, findings, conclusion, and advice) and grouped into three "CT report sections" depending on the diagnostic phase of the radiological assessment for the oncologic patient (staging, restaging, and follow-up). RESULTS: In the final round, 23 out of 24 items obtained agreement ( ≥ 8) and consensus ( ≤ 2) and 19 out 24 items obtained a good stability (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The structured report obtained, shared by surgical and medical oncologists and radiologists, allows an appropriate, clearer, and focused CT report essential to high-quality patient care in GC, avoiding the exclusion of key radiological information useful for multidisciplinary decision-making. KEY POINTS: • Imaging represents the cornerstone for tailored treatment in GC patients. • CT-structured radiology report in GC patients is useful for multidisciplinary decision making.

MR-enterography: role in the assessment of suspected anastomotic recurrence of Crohn disease after ileocolic resection.

PURPOSE: To determine the potential of magnetic resonance-enterography (MRE) in the assessment of the anastomotic status in patients with Crohn disease and prior ileocolic resection. METHODS: A total of 62 MRE examinations obtained in 52 patients with Crohn disease who had previously undergone ileocolic resection were retrospectively reviewed by two readers in consensus. MRE features (anastomotic wall thickening, wall stratification, wall enhancement pattern and degree, DWI signal intensity, ADC values, lymph nodes, comb sign and complications) were compared to clinical, endoscopic and histological findings that served as standard of reference. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRE were calculated. RESULTS: At univariate analysis, anastomotic wall thickening, anastomotic wall stratification, segmental wall enhancement, moderate wall enhancement, early and mucosal enhancement, and moderate/marked hyperintensity on diffusion-weighed imaging (DWI) were the most discriminative MRE features for differentiating between normal and abnormal anastomoses (p < 0.001 for all variables). Anastomotic wall thickening and segmental anastomotic wall enhancement were the two most sensitive and accurate MRE variables for the diagnosis of abnormal anastomosis with sensitivities of 82% (95% CI: 67-92%) and accuracies of 84% (95% CI: 72-92%). At univariate analysis, hyperintensity on DWI of the anastomotic site was the most sensitive finding for distinguishing between inflammatory recurrence and fibrostenosis (sensitivity, 89%; 95% CI: 67-99%). CONCLUSIONS: MRE provides objective and relatively specific morphological criteria that help detect abnormal ileocolic anastomosis, but performances are lower when differentiating between inflammatory recurrence and fibrostenosis. DWI may be useful in identifying pathologic anastomosis and, in particular, in distinguishing between inflammatory recurrence and fibrostenosis.

Hyperprogressive disease in advanced cancer patients treated with nivolumab: a case series study.

The aim of this retrospective study was to detail the main clinicopathological characteristics of advanced cancer patients exhibiting hyperprogressive disease (HPD) during immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) nivolumab as second- or third-line treatment. A cohort of patients starting second or third-line nivolumab for advanced cancer from 2016 to 2018 was identified from our institution IRB approved and prospectively collected registry. HPD was defined as at least two-fold increase in the tumor growth rate (TGR) during immunotherapy compared to TGR during the preimmunotherapy period. Overall, 47 patients were eligible for this analysis. HPD was observed in three patients (6%) with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma, metastatic urothelial transitional carcinoma, and metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma, respectively. These three patients showed a rapid clinical deterioration and survived less than 3.5 months from immunotherapy onset. Their chief preimmunotherapy characteristics were: age < 75 years, ≥2 metastatic sites, programmed death-ligand 1 < 50%, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio > 3, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase. The results of the current study seem to reinforce the hypothesis that in some cases immunotherapy promotes a dramatic increase of TGR and may suggest possible clinical predictors of HPD during nivolumab.

Dual-Energy CT for Locoregional Staging of Breast Cancer: Preliminary Results.

OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of dual-energy CT (DECT) for locoregional staging of breast cancer and differentiation of tumor histotypes. MATERIALS AND METHODS. From January 2016 to July 2017, a total of 31 patients (mean [± SD] age, 55.8 ± 14.8 years) with breast cancer diagnosed by needle biopsy who underwent preoperative contrast-enhanced DECT for staging purposes were selected from a retrospective review of institutional databases. Monochromatic images obtained at 40 and 70 keV were evaluated by two readers who determining the number of hypervascularized tumors present and the largest tumor diameter for each breast. The attenuation values and iodine concentration of tumors and normal breast tissue and the ratios of these findings in each tissue type were recorded. Cancers were classified as ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, and invasive lobular carcinoma. The reference standard was the final pathologic finding after surgery. RESULTS. A total of 64 tumor lesions were found at histopathologic analysis versus 67 on DECT for 34 breasts (three bilateral cancers were included). Nonparametric statistics were used. The largest lesion diameter observed DECT was 33.2 ± 20.5 mm versus 31.8 ± 20.5 mm on pathologic analysis, and cancer distribution was correctly classified for 31 of 34 (91%) cases. ROC curves derived from lesion iodine concentration showed that the optimal thresholds for distinguishing infiltrating carcinomas (invasive lobular and ductal carcinomas) and from other lesions were 1.70 mg/mL (sensitivity, 94.9%; specificity, 93.0%; AUC value, 0.968). ROC curves derived from the ratio of the iodine concentration in lesions to that in normal breast parenchyma showed that 6.13 was the optimal threshold to distinguish invasive ductal carcinoma from other lesions (sensitivity, 87.0%; specificity, 81.1%; AUC value, 0.914). CONCLUSION. DECT is feasible and seems to be a reliable tool for locoregional staging of breast cancer.

Non-occlusive Mesenteric Ischemia as a Fatal Complication in Acute Pancreatitis: A Brief Radiological Comment.

Non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI) is the result of the reduction of mesenteric blood supply, due to mesenteric arterial vasoconstriction secondary to hypotension in cases of shock, septicemia, dehydration, heart surgery, or major abdominal surgery. NOMI represents a complex and often misdiagnosed syndrome. Imaging, and in particular CT, has a remarkable importance in NOMI, and despite its complexity, it could allow an early diagnosis and an improved management resulting in life-threatening therapeutic approaches, much better than in the past, provided it is correctly performed and interpreted by experienced radiologists.

MRL as one-shot examination for patients suffering from lymphedema.

MR lymphangiography (MRL) is an emerging technique focalized on a noninvasive or minimally invasive imaging of lymphatics with the goal to treat and plan lymphedema. Doctor Cellina M. and colleagues clearly underlined the possible role of MRL with volume calculation as an objective mark also in evaluating response to treatment. In this Letter to the Editor, we would like to highlight the rising role of MRL, pointing out the advantages of both the non-contrast and contrast-enhanced approach, in lymphatic vessels study.

Six-year prospective evaluation of second-look US with volume navigation for MRI-detected additional breast lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to present a 6-year prospective evaluation of second-look ultrasound (US) using volume navigation (V Nav) for MRI-detected additional breast lesions. METHODS: After IRB approvals in both institutions, 1930 consecutive prone MRI breast examinations in 1437 patients were prospectively evaluated. All patients with an MRI-detected additional lesion underwent second-look US, and if occult, contrast-enhanced MRI in supine position was performed for US and MRI co-registration. For patients with breast hypertrophy, MRI-guided biopsy was performed directly. Pathologic examination was the standard of reference. One-way ANOVA and chi-square tests were used. RESULTS: In 490 MRI examinations (25.4%, 490/1930), at least one additional breast lesion was detected for a total of 722 only MRI-detected lesions. Second-look US identified 549 additional lesions (23 ± 8 mm); 362 (65.9%, 362/549) proved benign at pathology and 187 (34.1%, 187/549) malignant. Second-look US with V Nav identified 151 additional lesions (17 ± 9 mm, p = n.s.); 67 (44.4%, 67/151) proved benign at pathology and 84 (55.6%, 84/151) malignant. MRI-guided biopsy was performed on 22 additional breast lesions (22 ± 8 mm, p = n.s.); pathology revealed 20 (90.9%, 20/22) benign lesions and 2 (9.1%, 2/22) malignant ones. Mass lesions were significantly higher in the second-look US group (p < 0.001). No significant difference in lesion dimension was found between the three groups (p = 0.729). CONCLUSIONS: Second-look US with V Nav can be effective in detecting a large number of additional breast lesions occult at second-look US and to biopsy a significant number of malignant lesions safely and irrespective of distance from skin or lesion position. KEY POINTS: • Second-look US with volume navigation is effective in detecting occult additional lesions. • Permits safe biopsies irrespective of position and depth • Reduces the need for MRI-guided biopsy.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joints in SpA: with or without intravenous contrast media? A preliminary report.

OBJECT: Active sacroiliitis based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without intravenous (I.V.) contrast material injection is considered sufficient for the diagnosis of spondyloarthritis (SpA), according to the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) criteria. This work shows the added value of administering I.V. contrast material when evaluating the response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists therapy, on the extension of bone marrow oedema (BMO) and pathological enhancement (osteitis/synovitis) in the sacroiliac joints (SIJs) on MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-three patients (25 females and 18 males, mean age of 54 ± 16.60 years, range 22-75 years) with a clinical diagnosis of SpA and active sacroiliitis at MRI with I.V. contrast material, were considered for a follow-up MRI after 6 months of TNF antagonists therapy. Disease activity was monitored by a Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Student's t test and Cohen's kappa were used. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients were finally included in the study; 36 of them showed an improvement on clinical assessment after therapy. Score's difference (improvement) after treatment was calculated in the MRI sequences both with and without contrast agent (respectively, mean value and range 3.18, 0-12 with contrast and 1.63, 0-7 without contrast). This improvement was statistically significant in each group (P value of 7.097e-08 with contrast and 6.741e-06 without contrast), and there was a significant difference between the two group too (P-value of 8.598e-07). Cohen's kappa for dichotomous variables showed a better agreement between the post-contrast MRI findings and BASDAI (K = 0.53, agreement = 92.11%, P = 0.0001) than MRI without contrast and BASDAI (K = 0.11, agreement = 57.89%, P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of enhancement is a reliable tool for the assessment of the response to therapy in SIJs involvement in SpA, better than BMO; hence, it should be advised in the MRI of these patients.

High-resolution MR lymphangiography for planning lymphaticovenous anastomosis treatment: a single-centre experience.

PURPOSE: This article illustrates the feasibility of MR lymphangiography (MRL) for imaging lymphatic vessels in patients with lymphedema, its accuracy in distinguishing lymphatic vessels from veins, and its utility for planning Lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 30 patients (24 women, range 18-70, 17 cases of lower limb lymphedema, 6 cases of primary lymphedema). All the patients underwent MRL, using a 1.5T MR unit (Signa Twin Speed Hdxt; GE), after the subcutaneous injection of gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA) with a little dose of lidocaine into the interdigital webs of the dorsal foot or hand. Lymphatic vessels identified for the LVA at MRL were histologically confirmed after surgery. Enhancement of lymphatic vessels and veins at different times after injection of contrast medium and their diameters were measured. RESULTS: A total of 79 lymphatic vessels were clearly identified in 29 patients at MRL; their morphology was tortuous in 22 patients and rectilinear in 7, whereas, the adjacent veins were straight with focal bulging only at the level of venous valve; the enhancement kinetic of the two different structures were different (p < 0.05) but the mean diameter of affected lymphatic vessels was similar to the adjacent veins (p > 0.05). Thirty-four out of 38 specimens of presumed lymphatic vessels at MRL, collected during surgery, resulted positive at the immunoistochemical marker d2-40, with a significant association (Chi-square = 40.421, DF = 1, p < 0.05, contingency coefficent 0.644). One patient had an early complication 1 month after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: MRL is easy and safe to use and combines extensive information on the anatomy and functionality of lymphatic vessels and veins in a single process; therefore, it could be useful in LVA treatment planning and evaluating possible super-microsurgical treatment complications in patients with lymphedema.

Nonocclusive mesenteric ischaemia: think about it.

Nonocclusive mesenteric ischaemia (NOMI) is an acute mesenteric circulatory disorder that is not caused by an organic occlusion of blood vessels. It could involve all the abdominal parenchymas and viscera and the whole gastrointestinal tract (from the oesophagus to the rectum), insomuch that the involvement of the entire colon should be considered a distinctive tract in diagnosing this condition in respect of the occlusive forms of ischaemia. The aim of this article is to review the role of imaging in the diagnosis of NOMI and in particular its CT appearances. Recognition of the characteristic CT appearances and the variations associated with a reperfusion event may help in the accurate interpretation of CT in the diagnosis and management of NOMI.

Impressive activity of lenalidomide monotherapy in refractory angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma: report of a case with long-term follow-up.

Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is characterized by an aggressive clinical course and unfavourable prognosis. Refractory AITL patients have very few treatment options. Lenalidomide has previously been reported to have clinical efficacy in this setting; however, long-term reports are limited. A 59-year-old man was referred to the hospital with fatigue, skin rash, weight loss and generalized lymphadenopathy and was diagnosed with AITL; clinical stage was IV B with bone marrow involvement. The patient had an unsatisfactory response despite three lines of conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The patient received lenalidomide monotherapy (25 mg once daily) on days 1 to 21 of every 28-day cycle for six cycles, followed by maintenance therapy with six cycles of lenalidomide 15 mg once daily on days 1 to 21 of every 28-day cycle. A computed tomography scan was assessed before lenalidomide treatment, after the third cycle, at disease restaging 2 months after completion of the induction phase, every 3 months during the maintenance phase and every 6 months during the follow-up period. At the last evaluation, after a follow-up of 30 months, the patient maintained a clinical and radiological complete response. The treatment was well tolerated with manageable toxicity. Lenalidomide treatment demonstrated for the first time in the literature impressive and long-term clinical efficacy in a heavily pretreated chemorefractory AITL patient.

Accuracy of MDCT in the preoperative definition of Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer who underwent peritonectomy and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC).

PURPOSE: To evaluate the accuracy of MDCT in the preoperative definition of Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer who underwent a peritonectomy and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy to obtain a pre-surgery prognostic evaluation and a prediction of optimal cytoreduction surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pre-HIPEC CT examinations of 43 patients with advanced ovarian cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were analyzed by two radiologists. The PCI was scored according to the Sugarbaker classification, based on lesion size and distribution. The results were compared with macroscopic and histologic data after peritonectomy and HIPEC. To evaluate the accuracy of MDCT to detect and localize peritoneal carcinomatosis, both patient-level and regional-level analyses were conducted. A correlation between PCI CT and histologic values for each patient was searched according to the PCI grading. RESULTS: Considering the patient-level analysis, CT shows a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and an accuracy in detecting the peritoneal carcinomatosis of 100 %, 40 %, 93 % 100 %, and 93 %, respectively. Considering the regional level analysis, a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and diagnostic accuracy of 72 %, 80 %, 66 %, 84 %, and 77 %, respectively were obtained for the correlation between CT and histology. CONCLUSION: Our results encourage the use of MDCT as the only technique sufficient to select patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis for cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC on the condition that a CT examination will be performed using a dedicated protocol optimized to detect minimal peritoneal disease and CT images will be analyzed by an experienced reader.

Differences in perfusion CT parameter values with commercial software upgrades: a preliminary report about algorithm consistency and stability.

BACKGROUND: Computed tomographic perfusion (CTp) imaging is a promising technique that allows functional imaging, as an adjunct to a morphologic CT examination, that can be used as an aid to carefully evaluate the response to therapy in oncologic patients. Considering this statement, it could be desirable that the measurements obtained with the CT perfusion software, and their upgrades, are consistent and reproducible. PURPOSE: To determine how commercial software upgrades impact on algorithm consistency and stability among the three version upgrades of the same platform in a preliminary study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Blood volume (BV), blood flow (BF), mean transit time (MTT), and permeability surface area product (PS) were calculated with repeated measurements (n = 1119) while truncating the time density curve at different time values in six CT perfusion studies using CT perfusion software version 4D (CT Perfusion 4D), then repeated with the previous version (CT Perfusion 3.0 and CT Perfusion 4.0), using a fixed ROI both for arterial input and target lesion. The software upgrades were compared in pairs by applying a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to all the parameters measured. Stability and reliability of the three versions were verified through the variation of the truncated parameters. RESULTS: The three software versions provided different parent distributions for approximately 80% of the 72 parameters measured. A complete agreement was found only for one patient in version 3.0 vs. 4.0 and 3.0 vs. 4D. Perfusion 4.0 vs. 4D: a complete agreement was found only in two cases. Parameters obtained with Perfusion 4D always showed the lowest standard deviation in all temporal intervals and also for all individual parameters. CONCLUSION: The three versions of the same platform tested yield different perfusion measurements. Thus, our preliminary results show that Perfusion 4D version uses a stable deconvolution algorithm to provide more reliable measurements.

Gastro-pleuro-pericardial fistula following combined radiation and chemotherapy for lung metastases from renal cell carcinoma: report of a case.

Gastropleural and gastropericardial fistulas are abnormal communications between the stomach and the pleural cavity or pericardium. They are rare and life-threatening complications, which require prompt surgical intervention. We report the case of a gastro-pleuro-pericardial fistula that developed in a patient treated with radiotherapy and then Sunitinib (Sutent(®)), a novel tyrosine-kinase inhibitor, for lung metastases from renal cell carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a gastro-pleuro-pericardial fistula developing as a consequence of combined radiation and chemotherapy.

[Quantitative CT perfusion measurements in characterization of solitary pulmonary nodules: new insights and limitations]. / La perfusione con TC nella caratterizzazione del nodulo polmonare solitario: possibilità e limiti in uno studio preliminare.

Although computed tomography (CT) scans remain the basis of morphologic evaluation in the characterization of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs), perfusion CT can represent an additional feasible technique offering reproducible measurements, at least in SPNs with a diameter >10 mm. In particular, CT perfusion could reduce the number of SPNs, diagnosed as undetermined at morphologic CT, avoiding long term follow-up CT, FDG-PET studies, biopsy or unnecessary surgery with a significant reduction in healthcare costs. In order to reduce the radiation dose, an optimization of the CT perfusion protocol could be obtained using axial mode acquisition, using shorter acquisition time and adaptative statistical iterative reconstruction algorithm.

Washout-Computed Tomography Discriminates Pulmonary "Fat-poor" Hamartomas From Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: A Simple Method in the Radiomics Era.

PURPOSE: Pulmonary hamartomas (HAs) and neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are often impossible to discriminate using high-resolution computed tomography (CT) as they share morphologic features. This challenge makes differential diagnosis crucial as HAs are invariably benign, whereas NENs must be considered malignant, thus requiring them to be evaluated for surgical excision.Our aim was, therefore, to develop a simple method to discriminate between pulmonary "fat-poor" HAs and NENs using contrast-enhanced CT (CECT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between September 2015 and December 2021, 95 patients with a histologically proven diagnosis of lung NENs (74) and HAs (21) and who underwent a preoperative CECT scan were initially identified through a review of our pathologic and radiologic databases. Among these, 55 cases (18 HAs and 37 NENs), which have been studied with biphasic CECT, were ultimately selected and reviewed by 3 radiologists with different levels of experience, analyzing their morphologic and enhancement features.The enhancement analysis was performed by placing a region of interest within the lesion in noncontrast (NCp), postcontrast (PCp, 55 to 65 s after intravenous contrast injection), and delayed phases (Dp, 180 to 300 s). A subgroup of 35 patients who underwent 18FDG-PET/CT was evaluated in a secondary analysis. RESULTS: HU values were significantly different between NENs and HAs in the PCp ( P <0.001). NCp and Dp attenuation values did not show significant differences in the 2 groups. Differences in values of HUs in PCp and Dp allowed to discriminate between NENs and HAs. CONCLUSION: Wash-out analysis, ΔHU (PCp-Dp), can perfectly discriminate pulmonary "fat-poor" HAs from NENs.