Automated Breast Arterial Calcification Score Is Associated With Cardiovascular Outcomes and Mortality.

Background: Breast arterial calcification (BAC) on mammograms has emerged as a biomarker of women's cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, but there is a lack of quantification tools and clinical outcomes studies. Objectives: This study assessed the association of BAC (both presence and quantity) with CVD outcomes. Methods: This single-center, retrospective study included women with a screening mammogram from 2007 to 2016. BAC was quantified using an artificial intelligence-generated score, which was assessed as both a binary and continuous variable. Regression analyses evaluated the association between BAC and mortality and a composite of acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and mortality. Analyses were adjusted for age, race, diabetes, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, and history of CVD and chronic kidney disease. Results: A total of 18,092 women were included in this study (mean age 56.8 ± 11.0 years; diabetes [13%], hypertension [36%], hyperlipidemia [40%], and smoking [5%]). BAC was present in 4,223 (23%). Over a median follow-up of 6 years, death occurred in 7.8% and 2.3% of women with and without BAC, respectively. The composite occurred in 12.4% and 4.3% of women with and without BAC, respectively. Compared to those without, women with BAC had adjusted HRs of 1.49 (95% CI: 1.33-1.67) for mortality and 1.56 (95% CI: 1.41-1.72) for the composite. Each 10-point increase in the BAC score was associated with higher risk of mortality (HR: 1.08 [95% CI: 1.06-1.11]) and the composite (HR: 1.08 [95% CI: 1.06-1.10]). BAC was especially predictive of future events among younger women. Conclusions: BAC is independently associated with mortality and CVD, especially among younger women. Measurement of BAC beyond presence adds incremental risk stratification. Quantifying BAC using an artificial intelligence algorithm is feasible, clinically relevant, and may improve personalized CVD risk stratification.

Bart syndrome: A case report of neonatal disorder.

Bart Syndrome, characterized by congenital skin absence, blistering, and nail abnormalities, presents complex neonatal challenges. This rare condition demands a multidisciplinary approach for accurate diagnosis and comprehensive care.

NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis, Version 1.2023.

The NCCN Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis provide health care providers with a practical, consistent framework for screening and evaluating a spectrum of clinical presentations and breast lesions. The NCCN Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis Panel is composed of a multidisciplinary team of experts in the field, including representation from medical oncology, gynecologic oncology, surgical oncology, internal medicine, family practice, preventive medicine, pathology, diagnostic and interventional radiology, as well as patient advocacy. The NCCN Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis Panel meets at least annually to review emerging data and comments from reviewers within their institutions to guide updates to existing recommendations. These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize the panel's decision-making and discussion surrounding the most recent updates to the guideline's screening recommendations.

Expanding Horizons: The Realities of CAD, the Promise of Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning's Role in Breast Imaging beyond Screening Mammography.

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications in mammography have gained significant popular attention; however, AI has the potential to revolutionize other aspects of breast imaging beyond simple lesion detection. AI has the potential to enhance risk assessment by combining conventional factors with imaging and improve lesion detection through a comparison with prior studies and considerations of symmetry. It also holds promise in ultrasound analysis and automated whole breast ultrasound, areas marked by unique challenges. AI's potential utility also extends to administrative tasks such as MQSA compliance, scheduling, and protocoling, which can reduce the radiologists' workload. However, adoption in breast imaging faces limitations in terms of data quality and standardization, generalizability, benchmarking performance, and integration into clinical workflows. Developing methods for radiologists to interpret AI decisions, and understanding patient perspectives to build trust in AI results, will be key future endeavors, with the ultimate aim of fostering more efficient radiology practices and better patient care.

Correlation of Serum Ferritin Level with Heart T2 MRI in Transfusion Dependent Thalassemia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac complications in patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) are one of the major causes of mortality in these patients which annually impose economic burden on the endemic countries. Heart T2 MRI is a good modality for evaluating iron overload. Our aim was to investigate the pooled correlation between the serum ferritin level and heart iron overload in TDT patients and compare the effect size in different geographical areas. METHODS: PRISMA checklist was used to summarize the literature search. Three major databases were used for the papers and exported into endnote for screening. Data were extracted into an Excel spreadsheet. The data were analyzed using STATA software. CC was considered as the effect size, and the amount of heterogeneity was indicated by I-squared. Meta-regression was used for age. Also, sensitivity analysis was performed. RESULTS: The present study showed a statistically significant negative correlation of the serum ferritin level with heart T2 MRI: -0.30 (95% CI -0.34, -25). This correlation was not significantly affected by the patients' age (p-value: 0.874). Given different geographic area, most of the studies from different countries indicated that the correlation between the serum ferritin and heart T2 MRI was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The pooled analysis showed a significant negative moderate correlation between the serum ferritin level and heart T2 MRI in patients with TDT, regardless of their age. This issue underscores the importance of periodical evaluation of serum ferritin level in patients with TDT in developing countries with low financial supports and limited resources. Further studies are suggested to evaluate the pooled correlation of the serum ferritin level with iron concentration of other vital organs.

Risk Factors for the Occurrence of Asymptomatic Brain Lesions in Patients with ß-Thalassemia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several factors, including increased platelet aggregation, decreased platelet survival, decreased antithrombotic factors cause a hypercoagulable state in thalassemia patients. This is the first meta-analysis designed to summarize the association of age, splenectomy, gender, and serum ferritin and hemoglobin levels with the occurrence of asymptomatic brain lesions in thalassemia patients using MRI. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist. We searched four major databases and included eight articles for this review. The quality of the included studies was assessed based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale checklist. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA 13. Odds ratio (OR) and standardized mean difference (SMD) were considered as effect sizes for comparing the categorical and continuous variables, respectively. RESULTS: The pooled OR for splenectomy in patients with brain lesions compared to those without lesions was 2.25 (95% CI 1.22 - 4.17, p = 0.01). The pooled analysis for SMD of age between patients with/without brain lesions was statistically significant, 0.4 (95% CI 0.07 - 0.73, p = 0.017). The pooled OR for the occurrence of silent brain lesions was not statistically significant in males compared to females, 1.08 (95% CI 0.62 - 1.87, p = 0.784). The pooled SMD of Hb and serum ferritin in positive brain lesions compared to negatives were 0.01 (95% CI -0.28, 0.35, p = 0.939) and 0.03 (95% CI -0.28, 0.22, p = 0.817), respectively, which were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Older age and splenectomy are risk factors for developing asymptomatic brain lesions in ß-thalassemia patients. Physicians should consider a careful assessment of high-risk patients for starting prophylactic treatment.

Stretchable ultrasonic arrays for the three-dimensional mapping of the modulus of deep tissue.

Serial assessment of the biomechanical properties of tissues can be used to aid the early detection and management of pathophysiological conditions, to track the evolution of lesions and to evaluate the progress of rehabilitation. However, current methods are invasive, can be used only for short-term measurements, or have insufficient penetration depth or spatial resolution. Here we describe a stretchable ultrasonic array for performing serial non-invasive elastographic measurements of tissues up to 4 cm beneath the skin at a spatial resolution of 0.5 mm. The array conforms to human skin and acoustically couples with it, allowing for accurate elastographic imaging, which we validated via magnetic resonance elastography. We used the device to map three-dimensional distributions of the Young's modulus of tissues ex vivo, to detect microstructural damage in the muscles of volunteers before the onset of soreness and to monitor the dynamic recovery process of muscle injuries during physiotherapies. The technology may facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting tissue biomechanics.

Breast MRI during Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: Lack of Background Parenchymal Enhancement Suppression and Inferior Treatment Response.

Background Suppression of background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) is commonly observed after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) at contrast-enhanced breast MRI. It was hypothesized that nonsuppressed BPE may be associated with inferior response to NAC. Purpose To investigate the relationship between lack of BPE suppression and pathologic response. Materials and Methods A retrospective review was performed for women with menopausal status data who were treated for breast cancer by one of 10 drug arms (standard NAC with or without experimental agents) between May 2010 and November 2016 in the Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response with Imaging and Molecular Analysis 2, or I-SPY 2 TRIAL (NCT01042379). Patients underwent MRI at four points: before treatment (T0), early treatment (T1), interregimen (T2), and before surgery (T3). BPE was quantitatively measured by using automated fibroglandular tissue segmentation. To test the hypothesis effectively, a subset of examinations with BPE with high-quality segmentation was selected. BPE change from T0 was defined as suppressed or nonsuppressed for each point. The Fisher exact test and the Z tests of proportions with Yates continuity correction were used to examine the relationship between BPE suppression and pathologic complete response (pCR) in hormone receptor (HR)-positive and HR-negative cohorts. Results A total of 3528 MRI scans from 882 patients (mean age, 48 years ± 10 [standard deviation]) were reviewed and the subset of patients with high-quality BPE segmentation was determined (T1, 433 patients; T2, 396 patients; T3, 380 patients). In the HR-positive cohort, an association between lack of BPE suppression and lower pCR rate was detected at T2 (nonsuppressed vs suppressed, 11.8% [six of 51] vs 28.9% [50 of 173]; difference, 17.1% [95% CI: 4.7, 29.5]; P = .02) and T3 (nonsuppressed vs suppressed, 5.3% [two of 38] vs 27.4% [48 of 175]; difference, 22.2% [95% CI: 10.9, 33.5]; P = .003). In the HR-negative cohort, patients with nonsuppressed BPE had lower estimated pCR rate at all points, but the P values for the association were all greater than .05. Conclusions In hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, lack of background parenchymal enhancement suppression may indicate inferior treatment response. © RSNA, 2021 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Philpotts in this issue.

Current Status and Future of BI-RADS in Multimodality Imaging, From the AJR Special Series on Radiology Reporting and Data Systems.

BI-RADS is a communication and data tracking system that has evolved since its inception as a brief mammography lexicon and reporting guide into a robust structured reporting platform and comprehensive quality assurance tool for mammography, ultrasound, and MRI. Consistent and appropriate use of the BI-RADS lexicon terminology and assessment categories effectively communicates findings, estimates the risk of malignancy, and provides management recommendations to patients and referring clinicians. The impact of BI-RADS currently extends internationally through six language translations. A condensed version has been proposed to facilitate a phased implementation of BI-RADS in resource-constrained regions. The primary advance of the 5th edition of BI-RADS is harmonization of the lexicon terms across mammography, ultrasound, and MRI. Harmonization has also been achieved across these modalities for the reporting structure, assessment categories, management recommendations, and data tracking system. Areas for improvement relate to certain common findings that lack lexicon descriptors and a need for further clarification of proper use of category 3. BI-RADS is anticipated to continue to evolve for application to a range of emerging breast imaging modalities.

Resuming Breast Imaging Services in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Safety and Beyond.

As the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic begins to stabilize, different medical imaging facilities not directly involved in the COVID-19 epidemic face the dilemma of how to return to regular operation. We hereby discuss various fields of concern in resuming breast imaging services. We examine the concerns for resuming functions of breast imaging services in 2 broad categories, including safety aspects of operating a breast clinic and addressing potential modifications needed in managing common clinical scenarios in the COVID-19 aftermath. Using a stepwise approach in harmony with the relative states of the epidemic, health care system capacity, and the current state of performing breast surgeries (and in compliance with the recommended surgical guidelines) can ensure avoiding pointless procedures and ensure a smooth transition to a fully operational breast imaging facility.

Predicting breast cancer response to neoadjuvant treatment using multi-feature MRI: results from the I-SPY 2 TRIAL.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI provides both morphological and functional information regarding breast tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The purpose of this retrospective study is to test if prediction models combining multiple MRI features outperform models with single features. Four features were quantitatively calculated in each MRI exam: functional tumor volume, longest diameter, sphericity, and contralateral background parenchymal enhancement. Logistic regression analysis was used to study the relationship between MRI variables and pathologic complete response (pCR). Predictive performance was estimated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The full cohort was stratified by hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status (positive or negative). A total of 384 patients (median age: 49 y/o) were included. Results showed analysis with combined features achieved higher AUCs than analysis with any feature alone. AUCs estimated for the combined versus highest AUCs among single features were 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.76, 0.86) versus 0.79 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.85) in the full cohort, 0.83 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.92) versus 0.73 (95% CI: 0.61, 0.84) in HR-positive/HER2-negative, 0.88 (95% CI: 0.79, 0.97) versus 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.89) in HR-positive/HER2-positive, 0.83 (95% CI not available) versus 0.75 (95% CI: 0.46, 0.81) in HR-negative/HER2-positive, and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.91) versus 0.75 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.83) in triple negatives. Multi-feature MRI analysis improved pCR prediction over analysis of any individual feature that we examined. Additionally, the improvements in prediction were more notable when analysis was conducted according to cancer subtype.

Diffusion-weighted imaging is helpful in the accurate non-invasive diagnosis of breast abscess: correlation with necrotic breast cancer.

Clinical differentiation of atypical breast abscesses from necrotic tumour in premenopausal women is challenging and may delay appropriate therapy. In this case report, we present a 36-year-old woman with signs, symptoms and conventional imaging features of malignancy who underwent breast MRI. On diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), profoundly low apparent diffusion coefficient values were a distinguishing sign of breast abscess from necrotic breast cancer, and helped manage the patient conservatively. We present a companion case of necrotic breast tumour highlighting significant differences in DWI.

Focal Liver Lesions: Computer-aided Diagnosis by Using Contrast-enhanced US Cine Recordings.

Purpose To assess the performance of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems and to determine the dominant ultrasonographic (US) features when classifying benign versus malignant focal liver lesions (FLLs) by using contrast material-enhanced US cine clips. Materials and Methods One hundred six US data sets in all subjects enrolled by three centers from a multicenter trial that included 54 malignant, 51 benign, and one indeterminate FLL were retrospectively analyzed. The 105 benign or malignant lesions were confirmed at histologic examination, contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and/or 6 or more months of clinical follow-up. Data sets included 3-minute cine clips that were automatically corrected for in-plane motion and automatically filtered out frames acquired off plane. B-mode and contrast-specific features were automatically extracted on a pixel-by-pixel basis and analyzed by using an artificial neural network (ANN) and a support vector machine (SVM). Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) for CAD were compared with those for one experienced and one inexperienced blinded reader. A third observer graded cine quality to assess its effects on CAD performance. Results CAD, the inexperienced observer, and the experienced observer were able to analyze 95, 100, and 102 cine clips, respectively. The AUCs for the SVM, ANN, and experienced and inexperienced observers were 0.883 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.793, 0.940), 0.829 (95% CI: 0.724, 0.901), 0.843 (95% CI: 0.756, 0.903), and 0.702 (95% CI: 0.586, 0.782), respectively; only the difference between SVM and the inexperienced observer was statistically significant. Accuracy improved from 71.3% (67 of 94; 95% CI: 60.6%, 79.8%) to 87.7% (57 of 65; 95% CI: 78.5%, 93.8%) and from 80.9% (76 of 94; 95% CI: 72.3%, 88.3%) to 90.3% (65 of 72; 95% CI: 80.6%, 95.8%) when CAD was in agreement with the inexperienced reader and when it was in agreement with the experienced reader, respectively. B-mode heterogeneity and contrast material washout were the most discriminating features selected by CAD for all iterations. CAD selected time-based time-intensity curve (TIC) features 99.0% (207 of 209) of the time to classify FLLs, versus 1.0% (two of 209) of the time for intensity-based features. None of the 15 video-quality criteria had a statistically significant effect on CAD accuracy-all P values were greater than the Holm-Sidak α-level correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusion CAD systems classified benign and malignant FLLs with an accuracy similar to that of an expert reader. CAD improved the accuracy of both readers. Time-based features of TIC were more discriminating than intensity-based features. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Tomosynthesis in Breast Cancer Imaging: How Does It Fit into Preoperative Evaluation and Surveillance?

An important limitation of conventional two-dimensional mammography is the overlap of dense breast tissue obscuring masses. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has emerged as a mammographic technology that overcomes this limitation and is considered an overall better mammogram. DBT has been shown to detect significantly more breast cancer than conventional two-dimensional mammography, and to decrease the number of callbacks for diagnostic evaluation from screening mammography. Usually the callback evaluation is deemed to be overlap of tissue requiring no further management. DBT is used in the screening and diagnostic setting, and for guidance of wire localization or core biopsy, performing more accurately in the dense breast.

New tacrine-derived AChE/BuChE inhibitors: Synthesis and biological evaluation of 5-amino-2-phenyl-4H-pyrano[2,3-b]quinoline-3-carboxylates.

A series of poly-functionalized tacrine-derived compounds namely 5-amino-2-phenyl-4H-pyrano[2,3-b]quinoline-3-carboxylates were designed and synthesized as cholinesterases inhibitors. The in vitro inhibition assay against AChE and BuChE demonstrated that most of compounds had potent AChE inhibitory with reserving potential of BuChE inhibition. Among them, compound 6i bearing a 4-(3-bromophenyl) moiety showed the most potent activity against AChE/BuChE (IC50s values of 0.069 and 1.35 µM, respectively). The anti-AChE activity of 6i was five times more than that of tacrine. The SAR study revealed that chloro/bromo substituent at ortho or meta position of the 4-phenyl ring can improve the anticholinesterase activity.