Advancements in hepatocellular carcinoma management: the role of 18F-FDG PET-CT in diagnosing portal vein tumor thrombosis.

Portal vein thrombosis, a relatively frequent complication associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis, is recognized as a significant global health concern. This is mainly due to these conditions' high prevalence and potentially severe outcomes. The aim of our study was to conduct a comprehensive literature review to evaluate the efficacy, accuracy, and clinical implications of 18F-FDG PET-CT in diagnosing and managing portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) in patients with HCC. HCC, which accounts for 80% of liver malignancies, ranks as the fourth most prevalent cancer globally and is a significant contributor to cancer-related mortality. The majority of HCC patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, leading to a deterioration in patient outcomes. Involvement of the portal vein is also a significant negative factor. This review analyzes the application of 18F-FDG PET-CT in the detection and management of PVTT in patients with HCC, with an emphasis on the importance of the maximum standardized uptake value as an essential diagnostic and prognostic marker. 18F-FDG PET-CT is invaluable for detecting recurrence and guiding management strategies, particularly in patients with high-grade HCC, and plays a pivotal role in differentiating malignant portal vein thrombi from their benign counterparts.

Awareness of Nuclear Medicine Physicians in Romania Regarding the Diagnostic of Cardiac Amyloidosis-A Survey-Based Study.

Amyloidosis is a heterogeneous group of diseases caused by the extracellular deposition of amyloid insoluble fibrils in multiple organs, resulting in various clinical manifestations. Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) occurs mainly in primary light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis and senile or wild-type transthyretin (ATTRwt) amyloidosis. Knowing that myocardial uptake at bone scintigraphy is an essential step in the ATTR-CA diagnostic algorithm, the level of awareness among nuclear medicine physicians (NMPs) using bone tracer scintigraphy is of great importance. The objective of the study was to evaluate NMPs' awareness of scintigraphy with bisphosphonates for the detection of CA. We conducted an online survey among NMPs from Romania to assess their current awareness and state of knowledge of nuclear techniques used in CA. Among the total 65 Romanian NMPs, 35 (53%) responded to this questionnaire. Approximately three-quarters of participants (74%) found a diffuse accumulation of bisphosphonates in the heart on scintigraphy performed for bone pathology as an incidental discovery. Detection of myocardial uptake of 99mTc-labeled bisphosphonates on scintigraphy suggests CA-AL for 3% of participants and for 9% of respondents, the appearance is of uncertain cardiac amyloidosis, while 5% of participants observed cardiac uptake but did not report it as CA. Even if more than half of those who responded to this survey (54%) found abnormal cardiac uptake and interpreted it as CA-ATTR, only 14% contacted the referring physician to draw attention to the incidental discovery to refer the patient to a specialist in rare genetic cardiomyopathy. Regarding the knowledge about the categories of bisphosphonates recommended in the diagnosis of CA-ATTR, 54% answered inadequately that methylene diphosphonate (MDP) could be used. Romanian nuclear physicians are partially familiar with CA diagnosis by scintigraphy, but its diagnostic potential and standardization, recommended radiotracers and acquisition times and interpretation algorithms are known in varying proportions. Therefore, there is a need to enhance knowledge through continuing medical education programs in order to standardize the protocols for the acquisition, processing and interpretation of bisphosphonate scintigraphy for the detection of cardiac ATTR amyloidosis.

Severe Aortic Stenosis and ATTRwt Amyloidosis - Beware in the Aging: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Degenerative aortic valve (AV) disease is the most frequent valvular heart disease slowly progressing to severe aortic stenosis (AS) which usually requires aortic valve replacement. Another frequent condition, especially among elderly people, is cardiac amyloidosis (CA), particularly the wild-type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTRwt). Since both of these diseases are considered a marker of ageing, there is a significant proportion of elderly patients who associate both severe AS and CA. Recent studies reported a high prevalence of both severe AS and CA (AS-CA) in elderly patients referred for TAVR of 13-16%, carrying a worse prognosis. The present case illustrates the diagnostic algorithm and the management of ATTRwt CA in an elderly patient with severe paradoxical low-flow low-gradient AS, accompanied by a review of the current literature about the red flags which help identifying CA in patients with severe AS, as well as the prognosis and management of these disease association.