Efficacy of fluorine-18-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography in detecting tumor recurrence after local ablative therapy for liver metastases: a prospective study.

PURPOSE: The aims of this prospective study were to investigate the potential role of fluorine-18-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in determining the efficacy of the local tumor ablative process and to determine the added value of FDG-PET in the detection of tumor recurrence during follow-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastases were followed up after local ablative therapy consisting of a standard protocol including FDG-PET scanning, computed tomography (CT) scanning, and carcinoembryonic antigen measurements. The mean follow-up period was 16 months (range, 10 to 21 months). RESULTS: Ninety-six lesions was treated, 56 by local ablative treatment. Within 3 weeks after local ablative treatment, 51 lesions became photopenic on FDG-PET, while five lesions (in five patients) showed persistent activity on FDG-PET. In four of five FDG-PET-positive lesions, a local recurrence developed during follow-up; one FDG-PET-positive lesion turned out to be an abscess. None of the FDG-PET-negative lesions developed a local recurrence during a mean follow-up period of 16 months. During follow-up, 11 patients showed recurrence in the liver outside of the treated area. In all cases, previously negative FDG-PET scans became positive. Extrahepatic recurrence was encountered in nine patients during follow-up; FDG-PET showed all nine cases of tumor recurrence. There was one false-positive FDG-PET caused by an intra-abdominal abscess. In all patients, the time point of detection of recurrence by FDG-PET was considerably earlier than the detection by CT. CONCLUSION: FDG-PET seems to have a significant impact in measuring treatment efficacy directly after local ablative therapy. Furthermore, FDG-PET has an added value in patient follow-up because it reveals recurrences earlier than conventional diagnostic modalities.

Immunoscintigraphy of ovarian cancer with indium-111-labeled OV-TL 3 F(ab')2 monoclonal antibody.

The safety and diagnostic accuracy of immunoscintigraphy with the indium-111-labeled monoclonal antibody OV-TL 3 F(ab')2(111In-OV-TL 3 F(ab')2) for diagnosis and follow-up of ovarian cancer was prospectively studied in 31 patients. Planar and SPECT scintigraphy were performed up to 4 days after i.v. injection of 140 MBq 111In-OV-TL 3 F(ab')2. Surgical evaluation was possible in 22 out of 31 patients. Imaging results were compared with X-ray computed tomography, ultrasound, and CA 125 serum level using the histologically confirmed surgical findings as a "gold standard." Apart from a transient rash observed in two patients, no other immediate or delayed adverse reactions were observed. Within the surgically evaluated group, ovarian cancer lesions were detected in 16 out of 17 patients (94%). Of 45 distinct tumor deposits found at operation, 67% were detected and localized with immunoscintigraphy while X-ray computed tomography and ultrasound visualized 53% and 23%, respectively.

Phase II trial of 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin and cisplatin (FAP) followed by radiation and 5-fluorouracil in locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

A total of 19 patients (7 men, 12 women) with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma were treated with six cycles of FAP (5-fluorouracil, 300 mg/m2 i.v. on days 1-5; Adriamycin, 50 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1; cisplatin, 20 mg/m2 i.v. on days 1-5). Each course was repeated every 28 days. After six cycles, the treatment was followed by irradiation amounting to 4,000 cGy (split course) in combination with 5-FU (500 mg/m2) on days 1-3 of the two irradiation periods. The median age of our patients was 55 years (range, 40-64 years). The median WHO performance status was 1, with a range of 0-2. Three (16%) complete (CR) and six (31%) partial responses (PR) were observed, as were six cases of stable disease (SD) and four of progressive disease (PD). The median duration of response was 11 months, with a range of 4-24 months, and the median survival was 14 months (range, 5-27 + months). FAP toxicity was tolerated fairly poorly. The dose-limiting toxic effect was myelosuppression, with a mean WBC nadir of WHO grade 1.6 (range, 0-3) and a mean platelet count of WHO grade 1.1 (range, 0-4). Nausea and vomiting were not dose-limiting. Complete alopecia was seen in 14/19 patients. Neuropathy was mild (WHO grade 1) in seven and moderate (grade 2) in four. Irradiation in combination with 5-FU was generally well tolerated. Due to several reasons, only ten patients could be treated with all six cycles of FAP. We conclude that in future combined modality studies, irradiation should be given after three cycles of chemotherapy, and that combined modality treatment for locally advanced pancreatic cancer is feasible and warrants further testing.

Lymphography and abdominal computed tomography in staging Hodgkin's disease.

Lymphography and abdominal CT were performed in 78 patients staged for Hodgkin's disease. In 82% of all patients, both examinations agreed on the presence or absence of lymph node involvement. In the group of 39 patients undergoing lymphography prior to CT, the agreement was 90%. In the group of 39 patients with lymphography following CT, the agreement was 74%. In 50% of the patients with discrepant findings, lymphography revealed abnormal nodes compared with CT. Lymphography was abnormal in 26% of patients with a normal CT scan as the first examination, and in 9% of patients with a normal CT scan as the second examination. It is concluded that lymphography is more reliable than CT in the examination of the abdomen. CT performed after a normal or an abnormal lymphogram adds little additional information. When CT is preferred as the initial investigation in staging Hodgkin's disease, lymphography only adds significant information if the CT scan is normal or equivocal.

[Gastro-intestinal bleeding and vascular calcification in pseudoxanthoma elasticum (author's transl)]. / Gastrointestinale Blutungen und Gefässwandverkalkungen bei Pseudoxanthoma elasticum.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum is an hereditary disease of elastic fibres affecting the skin, eyes and the cardio-vascular system. The radiologist should be familiar with this disease; the vascular changes can lead to bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, which can be elucidated angiographically. There may also be circulatory disturbances in the extremities associated with early and pronounced calcification of the media and intima.

[Roentgen diagnosis of malignant tumors in patients with kidney transplants]. / Röntgendiagnostik maligner Tumoren bei Patienten mit Nierentransplantation.

17 of 400 patients with a total of 537 renal transplantations developed a malignant tumour (4,2%). 3 patients had a tumour of the skin or lips, 5 a solid lymphoma, 2 a hepatocellular carcinoma and 7 each another tumour. The radiologic findings of the patients are described. The problems around the diagnostics of malignant tumours in patients with renal transplantations are discussed.

[Direct urological complications in Crohn's disease: enterovesical fistula and ureteral obstruction]. / Direkte urologische Komplikationen bei der Crohnschen Erkrankung: Enterovesikale Fisteln und Ureterobstruktion.

Crohn's disease has a tendency to form fistulae and abscesses, which may lead directly to urological complications. Three patients were seen who had entero-vesical fistulae; only one of these could be demonstrated radiologically. There were also seven patients with Crohn's disease who had ureteric obstruction.

Tumour detection and localization using 99Tcm-labelled OV-TL 3 Fab' in patients suspected of ovarian cancer.

Fab' fragments of the monoclonal antibody OV-TL 3, that recognizes an ovarian carcinoma-associated antigen (OA3), were labelled with 99Tcm using D-glucarate as a ligand. Twenty patients suspected of having primary or recurrent ovarian cancer received intravenously 1 mg of the Fab' labelled with 740 MBq 99Tcm. Both planar and single photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) scintigraphy were performed up to 30 h after intravenous infusion. In 19 out of 20 patients surgical and histopathological evaluation was performed between 2 and 6 days postinfusion. Imaging results were compared with X-ray computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography (US) and CA 125 serum level. Blood clearance was fast with median t1/2 beta of 9.5 h. Thirty-seven per cent of the injected dose (% ID) was excreted in the urine within the first 24 h, whereas 7% ID was excreted in the 24 h faeces. In one patient with an OA3 negative ovarian carcinoma, radioimmunoscintigraphy (RIS) did not visualize the tumour. In two other patients a benign ovarian cyst was found, also showing no elevated uptake. In 13 out of 17 patients ovarian cancer lesions were detected with RIS, whereas CT and US detected lesions in, respectively, 15 and 12 patients. Of 36 surgically defined tumour deposits larger than 1 cm in diameter, 53% were detected and localized with RIS, whereas CT and US detected 61 and 40%, respectively. Radioimmunoscintigraphy with 99Tcm-OV-TL 3 Fab' is less distressing for the patients but the overall imaging performance is not improved when compared with 111In-OV-TL 3 F(ab')2.

Subacute or De Quervain's thyroiditis and deep venous thrombosis 8 years after radio- and chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease.

The case history of a young female patient is described, in whom a typical subacute thyroiditis of De Quervain was complicated by the occurrence of bilateral thrombosis of the subclavian and axillary veins. This unusual coincidence seemed to be suggestive of an association of these features with previous treatment, as 8 yr earlier she had been treated with mantle field irradiation and polychemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease. She recovered fully and at the time of the events described no relapse of Hodgkin's disease could be established.

[A patient with biliary papillomatosis, a rare condition of the biliary system, with fatal outcome]. / Een patiënt met biliaire papillomatose, een zeldzame aandoening van de galwegen, met fatale afloop.

A 21-year-old man was admitted because of upper abdominal pain and cholestasis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was suggestive of primary sclerosing cholangitis. During follow-up the patient developed symptoms which were not compatible with primary sclerosing cholangitis, i.e. icterus and weight loss. Finally the patient died, almost three years after presentation, because of a metastatic adenocarcinoma which had arisen from biliary papillomatosis. Biliary papillomatosis is characterised by papillary adenomatous proliferation of the bile duct epithelium. It has a high chance of malignant degeneration. The only curative option would have been transplantation of the liver and biliary system, but this ought to have happened at an early stage before malignant degeneration had occurred.

[Prognostic significance of the histological classification and staging for patients with a malignant non-Hodgkin lymphoma]. / De prognostische betekenis van histologische classificatie en stadiëring voor patiënten met een maligne non-Hodgkin-lymfoom.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prognostic significance of histological classification, grade and stage with regard to overall survival in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: University Hospital St Radboud, Nijmegen. METHOD: All consecutive 346 patients with NHL diagnosed in the period January 1978-December 1990 were included in this one-centre study. Recorded data included histological type according to the Kiel classification, histological grading according to the International Working Formulation (IWF), Ann Arbor stage, age, sex, tumour mass, number of extranodal sites, serum LDH and ESR. Grading according to the IWF was assessed retrospectively for those patients whose primary disease had been diagnosed before 1982. The observation period ended September 1st, 1991. Overall survival was calculated according to Kaplan-Meier. The significance of the prognostic parameters was studied using both univariate and multivariate stepwise regression analysis. RESULTS: There were 209 men and 137 women with a median age of 56 years (range 15-85). No initial treatment was given to 8% of the patients. After a median follow-up of 52 months, 179 patients (52%) had died; the calculated median survival time was 49 months. Patients with low-grade NHL had a significantly better short-term prognosis than the remaining patients. Related to clinical stage, only patients with stage I disease had distinctly longer survival times than those with more advanced disease. Multivariate analysis revealed serum LDH, age, stage and histological classification to be the most important independent prognostic variables. CONCLUSION: Even in multivariate analysis, histological classification and Ann Arbor stage have prognostic significance with regard to overall survival in patients with NHL. However, serum LDH levels proved to be the most important prognostic parameter.

[The syndrome of the incarcerated left renal vein (nutcracker syndrome)]. / Het syndroom van de ingeklemde linker niervene (notenkrakersyndroom).

Gross hematuria with abdominal pain may be caused by entrapment of the left renal vein between the aorta and the superior mesenteric artery. In the urinary sediment the erythrocytes are normally shaped, making a renal parenchymatous cause unlikely. Ultrasonography shows a decrease of the diameter of the left renal vein of more than 50%, in every position of the patient. Cytoscopy à chaud reveals hematuria pouring out only from the left ureter. In this paper four patients with this syndrome are presented.

[Neonatal adrenal gland hemorrhage. The importance of echography in diagnosis and follow-up]. / Neonatale bijnierbloeding. Het belang van echografie bij diagnostiek en follow-up.

Neonatal Adrenal Haemorrhage (NAH) is a condition, which often presents with a palpable abdominal mass and prolonged jaundice. Supra-renal calcifications, seen on routine X-ray films, often result from adrenal haemorrhage in early life. Disturbed renal function at the ipsilateral side, as can be seen from excretory urography and renal scintigraphy, is a much less known condition in association with NAH. The case history of three patients is described. The presentation, diagnostical approach and course of NAH is discussed. Echography is the most important diagnostic tool. Echographic follow up discriminates NAH from other conditions presenting with a palpable abdominal mass and allows for a waiting attitude.