Defining the optimal method for measuring baseline metabolic tumour volume in diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

PURPOSE: Metabolic tumour volume (MTV) is a promising prognostic indicator in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Optimal thresholds to divide patients into 'low' versus 'high' MTV groups depend on clinical characteristics and the measurement method. The aim of this study was to compare in consecutive unselected patients with DLBCL, different software algorithms and published methods of MTV measurement using FDG PET. METHOD: Pretreatment MTV was measured on 147 patients treated at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital. We compared 3 methods: SUV ≥2.5, SUV ≥41% of maximum SUV and SUV ≥ mean liver uptake (PERCIST) and compared 2 software programs for measuring SUV ≥2.5; in-house 'PETTRA' software and Hermes commercial software. RESULTS: There was strong correlation between MTV using the 4 methods, although derived thresholds were very different for the 41% method. Optimal cut-offs for predicting PFS ranged from 166-400cm3. All methods predicted survival with similar accuracy. 5y-PFS was 83-87% vs. 42-44% and 5y-OS was 85-89% vs. 55-58% for the low- and high-MTV groups, respectively. Interobserver variation in 50 patients showed excellent agreement, though variation was lowest using the SUV ≥ 2.5 method. The 41% method was the most complex and took the longest time. CONCLUSION: All methods predicted PFS and OS with similar accuracy, but the derived cut-off separating good from poor prognosis varied markedly depending on the method. The choice of the optimal method should rely primarily on prognostic value, but for clinical use needs to take account of ease of use and reproducibility. In this study, all methods predicted prognosis, but SUV ≥ 2.5 had the best inter-observer agreement and was easiest to apply.

Progeria syndrome with cardiac complications.

A case report of 6-year-old boy with progeria syndrome, with marked cardiac complications is presented. The boy had cardiorespiratory failure. Discoloured purpuric skin patches, alopecia, prominent forehead, protuberant eyes, flattened nasal cartilage, malformed mandible, hypodentition, and deformed rigid fingers and toes were observed on examination. The boy was unable to speak. A sclerotic systolic murmur was audible over the mitral and aortic areas. Chest x-rays showed cardiac enlargement and the electrocardiogram (ECG) showed giant peaked P waves (right atrial hypertrophy) and right ventricular hypertrophy. Atherosclerotic dilated ascending aorta, thickened sclerotic aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valves with increased echo texture, left and right atrial and right ventricular dilatation, reduced left ventricular cavity, and thickened speckled atrial and ventricular septa were observed on echocardiography.

Echomorphology of cardiomyopathy: review of 217 cases from 1999 to 2010.

OBJECTIVE: To study echocardiogram features of different types of cardiomyopathy presenting over a 12 year period at a single centre in Peshawar. METHODS: The series comprised a retrospective review of 13,788 consecutive echocardiograms carried out at the Muhammadi Hospital International Medical Research Centre, Hayatabad, Peshawar, from January 1999 to December 2010. Patients were split into two: Group I with paeditaric and adolescent cases (0-18 years) and Group II with adults (> 18 years). In the adult group, women with peripartum cardiomyopathy were subdivided into two groups of 18-30 years and 30 to 44 years. Standard Echo B and M modes and Doppler parameters were recorded to ascertain the diagnoses of common primary and secondary cardiomyopathies. Patients with myocarditis with chambers' dilatation and global dysfunction, and cardiopathy associated with major cardiovascular diseases were excluded. SPSS 14 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in 217 (1.57%) cases. There were 144 (66%) cases of dilated cardiomyopathy with a mean age of 13 +/- 14.8 years; 17 (8%) cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with a mean age of 12 +/- 11.5 years; and 7 (3%) cases of restrictve cardiomyopathy with a mean age of 31 +/- 7.8 years. Primary cardiac amyloidosis was confirmed in 9 (4%) cases, and peripartum cardiomyopahty in 25 (11%) females. Rare subtypes were found in 15 (7%) cases. CONCLUSION: DCM was the most frequently diagnosed subtype of cardiomyopathy followed by HCM in both the adult and paediatric age groups.

A tumor volume and performance status model to predict outcome before treatment in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Aggressive large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) has variable outcomes. Current prognostic tools use factors for risk stratification that inadequately identify patients at high risk of refractory disease or relapse before initial treatment. A model associating 2 risk factors, total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) >220 cm3 (determined by fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography coupled with computed tomography) and performance status (PS) ≥2, identified as prognostic in 301 older patients in the REMARC trial (#NCT01122472), was validated in 2174 patients of all ages treated in 2 clinical trials, PETAL (Positron Emission Tomography-Guided Therapy of Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas; N = 510) and GOYA (N = 1315), and in real-world clinics (N = 349) across Europe and the United States. Three risk categories, low (no factors), intermediate (1 risk factor), and high (2 risk factors), significantly discriminated outcome in most of the series. Patients with 2 risk factors had worse outcomes than patients with no risk factors in the PETAL, GOYA, and real-world series. Patients with intermediate risk also had significantly worse outcomes than patients with no risk factors. The TMTV/Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group-PS combination outperformed the International Prognostic Index with a positive C-index for progression-free survival and overall survival in most series. The combination of high TMTV > 220 cm3 and ECOG-PS ≥ 2 is a simple clinical model to identify aggressive LBCL risk categories before treatment. This combination addresses the unmet need to better predict before treatment initiation for aggressive LBCL the patients likely to benefit the most or not at all from therapy.