Clinical impact of whole-body MRI in staging and surveillance of patients with myxoid liposarcoma: a 14-year single-centre retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical impact of regular whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WBMRI) surveillance in myxoid liposarcoma patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of myxoid liposarcoma patients who underwent at least one WBMRI at our institution between October 2006 and December 2020. The effect of WBMRI on clinical management, namely treatment modification or additional diagnostic investigations was studied. A standardised WBMRI surveillance protocol was instituted in 2015. We compared patient outcomes for the metastatic patients who had and had not received regular WBMRI surveillance and performed survival analysis for both subgroups. RESULTS: Of the 56 patients (60.7% male, median age: 48.1 years) who underwent 345 WBMRI, 17 (30.3%) had metastases, and 168 WBMRI were performed in this group. The median imaging follow-up for the entire cohort was 35 months; the metastatic group had a median follow-up of 42 months. WBMRI changed the clinical management in 13 (76.5%) metastatic patients, with 33 instances of treatment modification. Thirty-five lesions were labelled 'indeterminate,' 16 (45.7%) had additional investigations/interventions, and 4 (11.4%) were confirmed to be metastatic. Twenty-one metastatic lesions were missed initially on WBMRI and confirmed on subsequent WBMRI, of which 5 (23.8%) were clinically significant. The 5-year survival since the detection of metastasis was better in the regular surveillance subgroup (85.7% vs. 45%), but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.068). Five patients (8.9%) developed their first metastasis more than 5 years after diagnosing the primary lesion. CONCLUSION: Regular WBMRI surveillance of myxoid liposarcoma patients considerably impacts clinical management by frequently influencing treatment decisions. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: WBMRI has been recently recommended as an imaging option for the staging and surveillance of myxoid liposarcoma patients. Our study highlights the impact of regular WBMRI surveillance on the clinical management of these patients and how it affects their survival.

Usefulness of MRI-Based Local Surveillance After Surgical Treatment of Musculoskeletal Soft-Tissue Sarcomas: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND. The value of routine MRI follow-up after surgical treatment of musculoskeletal soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) is controversial. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of MRI-based surveillance for musculoskeletal STS represented by the proportion of local recurrences (LRs) discovered by MRI versus clinically, stratified by imaging surveillance intensity; the characteristics of LRs detected on imaging versus clinically; and the impact of imaging surveillance on survival. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION. Multiple electronic databases were searched systematically for articles published through November 28, 2022, about controlled trials and cohort studies on the usefulness of MRI-based surveillance for musculoskeletal STS. The risk of bias was assessed using an adapted Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Random-effects meta-analyses of the proportion of LRs discovered by MRI as opposed to clinically were conducted. The association of low- versus high-intensity surveillance with the proportion of LR detected on MRI was assessed with a chi-square test of subgroup differences; for this latter assessment, high intensity was defined as at least one local surveillance imaging examination for low-risk tumors and at least three imaging examinations for high-risk tumors during the first 2 posttreatment years. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS. A total of 4821 titles and abstracts were identified, and 19 studies were included. All studies were retrospective cohorts. There was substantial variability in follow-up approaches. The risk of bias was moderate in 32% and high in 68% of studies. The pooled proportion of LRs detected on MRI was 53% (95% CI, 36-71%) with high-intensity surveillance and 6% (95% CI, 3-9%) with low-intensity surveillance (p < .01). Comparison of LR characteristics (LR size, depth, grade, location, resection margins) detected on imaging versus clinically identified inconsistent results between studies. Trends toward better survival for imaging-detected LRs or more frequent imaging use were noted in four studies. CONCLUSION. When used at a high intensity, MRI-based surveillance can detect many clinically occult LRs, although the studies are small, occasionally yielded conflicting results, and are often of poor quality. A survival benefit could be associated with imaging use, but further research is needed to evaluate the causality of any observed survival differences. CLINICAL IMPACT. MRI-based surveillance after surgical treatment of musculoskeletal STS is useful to detect clinically occult LRs and could improve patient outcomes.

Intra-osseous migration in calcific rotator cuff tendinopathy- a novel depiction of temporal evolution on multimodality imaging.

We present a case of calcific tendinopathy of the rotator cuff with intraosseous migration of the calcification, treated with ultrasound-guided bursal steroid injection and followed up with multiple imaging modalities for a year following the initial presentation. The radiographs, ultrasound, CT, nuclear scintigraphy, and MRI images demonstrate the temporal evolution of the intraosseous migrated calcium and show how this pathology, in its acute phase, can mimic other pathologies like osteoid osteoma. The follow-up imaging also illustrates how the migrated intraosseous focus of calcification took a much longer time to heal compared to its intratendinous counterpart, possibly leading to the protracted course of recovery. This report also highlights a previously undescribed pattern of healing of the intraosseous migrated calcium on multiple imaging modalities.

Preoperative Staging of Differentiated Thyroid Carcinomas: Comparison of USG and CT with Intraoperative Findings and Histopathology.

To study the efficacy of USG and CECT in preoperative staging of differentiated thyroid carcinomas in comparison to the intraoperative and histopathological findings. A prospective, observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital over a period of one and a half years where USG and CECT of 23 subjects with histopathologically proven differentiated thyroid malignancy were analysed to study the characteristics of the primary tumour, lymphatic metastasis and evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the radiological investigations in comparison to the intra-operative and histopathological findings. When compared with intraoperative and histopathological T-staging, USG had an accuracy of 69.5% and 73.9% and CECT had an accuracy of 78.2% and 73.9% respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of USG and CECT in determining a malignant nodule was 71.4% and 33.3% and 52.4% and 66.7% respectively. The N-staging according to the histopathological examination findings was in agreement with that of USG in 65.2% and CECT in 65.2% patients. The sensitivity and specificity of USG was 94.4% and 41.7% and that of CECT was 92.2% and 44.4% respectively in detecting lymphatic metastasis. The sensitivity and specificity of USG was 94.4% and 44.4% and that of CECT was 92.2% and 27.3% respectively in detecting lateral compartment lymphatic metastasis. USG identifies the characteristics of the malignant nodules better and CECT has a higher identifying central compartment lymphatic metastasis. CECT should be used as an adjunct to ultrasound to determine the extent of lymphatic metastasis and staging of disease.

Accuracy of Whole-Body DWI for Metastases Screening in a Diverse Group of Malignancies: Comparison With Conventional Cross-Sectional Imaging and Nuclear Scintigraphy.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to assess the role of whole-body (WB) DWI as a screening modality for the detection of metastases and to compare it to conventional cross-sectional imaging modalities or nuclear scintigraphy in a population with various histopathologic malignancies. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: WB DWI and conventional imaging (CT, MRI, or scintigraphy) were performed for patients with known malignancies for metastatic workup, and these patients were followed up for a period of 1 year. Two radiologists assessed WB DW images separately, and conventional images were assessed by the senior radiologist. The metastatic lesions were classified into four regions: liver, lung, skeletal system, and lymph nodes. The reference standard was considered on the basis of histopathologic confirmation or clinical follow-up of the metastatic lesions. RESULTS: WB DWI was slightly inferior to conventional imaging modalities for the detection of hepatic metastases (sensitivity, 86.6% vs 93.3%; specificity, 91.6% vs 95.8%; and accuracy, 89.7% vs 94.8%) and skeletal metastases (sensitivity, 81.8% vs 89.4%; specificity, 86.4% vs 94.3%; and accuracy, 85.2% vs 93.0%); however, the differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.625 for hepatic metastases and p = 0.0953 for skeletal metastases, McNemar test). WB DWI was statistically significantly inferior to conventional imaging for the detection of lymph node metastases (sensitivity, 74.0% vs 81.5%; specificity, 87.9% vs 90.1%; accuracy, 81.4% vs 86.0%; p = 0.0389). WB DWI was statistically significantly inferior to conventional imaging for the detection of pulmonary metastases (sensitivity, 33.3% vs 100.0%; specificity, 90.9% vs 100.0%; accuracy, 60.8% vs 100.0%; p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: WB DWI can be used for screening hepatic and skeletal metastases, but its reliability as the sole imaging sequence for the detection of lymph nodal and pulmonary metastases is poor and, at present, it cannot replace conventional imaging modalities.

Efficacy of Perfusion Computed Tomography (PCT) in Differentiating High-Grade Gliomas from Low Grade Gliomas, Lymphomas, Metastases and Abscess.

INTRODUCTION: Tumoural angioneogenesis and its quantification are important in predicting the tumour grade and in the management with respect to the treatment available and to assess the response to treatment and the prognosis. It also plays major role in the growth and spread of tumours. Hence, a need arises for non-invasive in vivo methods to assess tumour angioneogenesis and tumour grade at the time of presentation and for monitoring the response during treatment and follow up. In this regard Perfusion Computed Tomography (PCT) can be easily added into routine CT studies to obtain such information on lesion physiology along with its morphology. AIM: Prospective evaluation of the efficacy of PCT in differentiating high grade gliomas from low grade glioma lymphomas, metastases and abscess. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Perfusion CT was performed in 68 patients (17 high-grade gliomas, 10 low-grade gliomas, 7 lymphomas, 27 metastases and 7 abscess). Perfusion parameters which include Cerebral Blood Volume (CBV), Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF), Mean Transit Time (MTT) and Time To Peak (TTP) were derived both from the lesion and the normal parenchyma and were Normalized (n) by obtaining the ratio. Statistical analysis for high grade versus low-grade gliomas, high grade gliomas versus lymphomas, metastases and abscess was performed. RESULTS: Difference in the mean nCBV and nCBF in high grade gliomas were statistically significant from low grade gliomas with cut off of > 3.07 for nCBV and > 2.08 for nCBF yielding good sensitivity and specificity. Difference in the mean nCBV and nMTT in the lymphomas were statistically significant from high grade gliomas (p<0.05) with cut off of <3.40 for nCBV and >1.83 for nMTT yielding good sensitivity and specificity. Difference in the mean nCBV and nMTT in the metastases were statistically significant from high grade gliomas (p<0.05) with cut off of >4.95 for nCBV and >1.88 for nMTT yielding a fair sensitivity and specificity. No statistical significant difference seen among the parameters in differentiating high grade gliomas and abscess. CONCLUSION: Cerebral PCT greatly adds to the diagnostic accuracy when the diagnosis of a common intra-axial lesion based on morphological characters becomes uncertain.