Shear wave elastography in varicocele patients: Prospective study to investigate correlation with semen parameters and histological findings.

AIMS: Shear wave elastosonography (SWE) is a non-invasive ultrasound imaging modality used to assess the mechanical properties of tissues such as rigidity and elasticity. In this prospective study, we investigated the effect of laparoscopic varicocelectomy on the elasticity, degree of fibrosis and function of the testes through SWE and we evaluated the correlation with semen parameters and histology findings. METHODS: Male patients with monolateral left varicocele and progressive alteration of the semen quality were enrolled prospectively. Patients were evaluated before varicocelectomy, 3 and 6 months after surgery with semen analysis, ecocolordoppler US and SWE. In all patients, a left testicular biopsy was performed at the time of varicocelectomy and it was repeated after 6 months in 55% of patients in order to investigate the histological findings and to correlate with SWE results. RESULTS: The study was conducted on 82 patients. SWE showed a statistically significant difference between left and right testicles. Three months after surgery the mean left testicular volume increased, mean left SWE features decreased, and sperm count increased (P values < .0001). The SWE parameters, testicular volume and semen analysis values showed a statistically significant positive correlation between the pre and postoperative results (P value < .0001). The histological alterations were significantly changed 6 months postoperative with a complete morphology recovery in accordance with SWE results. CONCLUSIONS: SWE showed a statistically significant positive correlation with testicular volume, semen analysis and histological findings. This study represents the first investigation that correlates the varicocele, the testis volume, the quality of the seminal fluid ant the histological findings with the ultrasound and SWE values.

Strain ratio ultrasound elastography increases the accuracy of colour-Doppler ultrasound in the evaluation of Thy-3 nodules. A bi-centre university experience.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether ultrasound elastography (USE) with strain ratio increases diagnostic accuracy of Doppler ultrasound in further characterisation of cytologically Thy3 thyroid nodules. METHODS: In two different university diagnostic centres, 315 patients with indeterminate cytology (Thy3) in thyroid nodules aspirates were prospectively evaluated with Doppler ultrasound and strain ratio USE before surgery. Ultrasonographic features were analysed separately and together as ultrasound score, to assess sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to identify optimal cut-off value of the strain ratio were also provided. Diagnosis on a surgical specimen was considered the standard of reference. RESULTS: Higher strain ratio values were found in malignant nodules, with an optimum strain ratio cut-off of 2.09 at ROC analysis. USE with strain ratio showed 90.6% sensitivity, 93% specificity, 82.8% PPV, 96.4% NPV, while US score yielded a sensitivity of 52.9%, specificity of 84.3%, PPV 55.6% and NPV 82.9%. The diagnostic gain with strain ratio was statistically significant as proved by ROC areas, which was 0.9182 for strain ratio and 0.6864 for US score. CONCLUSIONS: USE with strain ratio should be considered a useful additional tool to colour-Doppler US, since it improves characterisation of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology. KEY POINTS: • Strain ratio measurements improve differentiation of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology • Elastography with strain ratio is more reliable than ultrasound features and ultrasound score • Strain ratio may help to better select patients with Thy 3 nodules candidate for surgery.

Penile metastasis from primary cholangiocarcinoma: the first case report.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic penile carcinoma derived from cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) has not been previously reported in the literature. Common metastatic sites for CCA include the regional lymph nodes and adjacent organs. CCAs are not highly vascularised tumours, making hematogenous metastases uncommon. Hematogenous CCA metastases commonly occur at distant organs such as the lungs, adrenal glands, and bones. Median survival for patients with metastatic disease is generally less than 1 year. CASE PRESENTATION: A 74-year-old Caucasian man consulted us after having undergone penile ultrasonography for pain and increased thickness at the base of the penis after self-examination. The patient presented with a history of hepatitis C-related cirrhosis and intrahepatic CCA, diagnosed 3 years previously. A biopsy of the corpora cavernosa on both sides revealed a carcinoma harbouring the same histological and immunophenotypical features as the primary hepatic lesion. CONCLUSIONS: To date, there is no case of penile or urogenital system metastasis from CCA described in the literature. Therefore, this article represents the first case report of penile metastasis from CCA.

Malignant Insulinoma with Multiple Liver Metastases and Hypercalcitoninemia in a Patient with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Presenting as Recurrent Episodes of Diaphoresis due to Severe Hypoglycemia.

Insulinoma is an insulin-producing pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor that can be malignant in about 10% of cases. Locoregional invasion, lymph node metastases, or remote metastases are the main criteria of malignant insulinoma. Its incidence in patients with pre-existing diabetes mellitus (DM) is exceptionally rare. In this report, we describe a 66-year-old man with long-standing type 2 DM who presented with recurrent episodes of diaphoresis due to severe hypoglycemia despite the withdrawal of insulin therapy, hypercalcitoninemia, and biochemical and radiological findings suggestive of metastatic malignant insulinoma. Unfortunately, after few days of diazoxide treatment, edema, hypotension, oliguria, and water retention were observed, patient's clinical status deteriorated rapidly, and he died in our department from acute renal failure.

Correlation between semiquantitative sonoelastography and immunohistochemistry in the evaluation of testicular focal lesions.

BACKGROUND: Sonoelastography is a novel and promising imaging tool, which has been applied to breast, thyroid, and prostate tissues. The aim of this study was to evaluate focal lesions of the testes with diameters of <10 mm using sonoelastography, B-mode sonography (US), and colour Doppler ultrasonography (CDU). METHODS: Thirty patients who were referred to our outpatient clinics for varicocoeles, scrotal pain, scrotal enlargements, epididymitis, palpable testicular nodules, or infertility, were prospectively enrolled into this study. Ultrasound evaluations had revealed that 27 subjects had focal testicular lesions with diameters of <10 mm and 3 subjects had 10-mm spherical non-homogeneous testicular nodules. All lesions were evaluated using semiquantitative sonoelastography, and the patients underwent orchifunicolectomies. The testicular lesions were examined histopathologically. The vascularization of the lesions and the surrounding testicular parenchyma was evaluated by analysing the immunohistochemical distribution of the cluster of differentiation 31 and by calculating the vascular indices (VI). Potential associations between the strain ratios (stiffness of the lesions) and the VI were tested. RESULTS: Analyses of the strain fields obtained using semiquantitative sonoelastography yielded different values for the masses and the surrounding tissues, which led to significant increases in the strain ratios. Sonoelastography upheld all of the diagnoses that were suspected when the patients were physically examined, when the serum markers were analysed, and after the patients had undergone US and CDU. Histopathological examinations confirmed the neoplastic characteristics of these masses. A significant inverse correlation was determined between the sonoelastographic strain ratio and the VI (Pearson correlation coefficient, r, = - 0.93; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our investigation shows that semiquantitative sonoelastography may provide additional objective information to support the algorithm used to diagnose testicular lesions. This might be of crucial diagnostic importance for lesions with diameters of <10 mm, particularly if they are not palpable, are negative for serum tumour markers, and if the findings from ultrasonography and CDU are equivocal. The findings from semiquantitative sonoelastography might indicate the need for surgical exploration. Further investigations with larger numbers of patients are required to corroborate these data and to support the use of semiquantitative sonoelastography in the evaluation of testicular lesions.