Contribution of preoperative ultrasound-guided implantation of a magnetic seed for optimal localization and resection of vulvar angiosarcoma: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Vulvar cancer is a rare cause of malignancy among women. It is key for surgeons to achieve negative resection margins, as it greatly impacts patient's prognosis. Unfortunately, additional surgical procedures are often performed due to the regional anatomical complexity. Based on non-palpable breast tumors, where image-guided preoperative localization tools have enhanced the complete resection rates, we aimed at evaluating the feasibility of magnetic seed technique for localizing perineal lesions. PRESENTATION OF THE CASE: We present the case of a 40-year-old female patient, who underwent iterative resections for a recurrent epithelioid angiosarcoma of the left labia major. Imaging revealed a suspicious regional involvement at 3 months of follow-up, for which another surgery was planned. We decided to target this non-palpable lesion with the Magnetic Seed technique to guide the intervention. A seed was inserted into the nodule under ultrasound guidance. Resection was then performed, with negative margins and no recurrence on last follow-up. DISCUSSION: Surgical procedures with minimal extension are recommended in vulvar cancer, to limit the aesthetic and functional complication. Unfortunately, recurrences and residual tumors remain frequent, even higher when surgical margin safety is not achieved. Many studies have suggested the benefit of image-guided localization tools in non-palpable breast tumors. By reducing the excising volume and focusing on the lesions, relapse and complications are rarer. We considered Magnetic Seed to be the most appropriated technique for perineal lesions. CONCLUSION: As for breast cancer, Magnetic Seed technique could be appropriate for non-palpable perineal lesions, optimizing resection margins with minimal procedures.

Prospective evaluation of MR-TRG (Tumor Regression Grade) in esophageal cancer after neo-adjuvant therapy: Preliminary results.

PURPOSE: To develop MRI-based criteria to assess tumor response to neoadjuvant therapies (NAT) of esophageal cancers (EC) and to evaluate its diagnostic performance in predicting the pathological Tumor Regression Grade (pTRG). METHOD: From 2018 to 2022, patients with newly diagnosed locally advanced EC underwent MRI examinations for initial staging and restaging after NAT. Magnetic Resonance TRG (MR-TRG), equivalent to the Mandard and Becker classifications, were developed and independently assessed by two radiologists, blinded to pTRG, using T2W and DW-MR Images. All patients underwent surgery and benefited from a blinded pTRG evaluation by two pathologists. The agreement between readers and between MR-TRG and pTRG were assessed with Cohen's Kappa. The correlation of MR-TRG and pTRG was determined using Spearman's correlation. RESULTS: 28 patients were included. Interrater agreement was substantial between radiologists, improved when grouping grade 1 and 2 (κ = 0.78 rose to 0,84 for Mandard and 0.68 to 0,78 for Becker score). Agreement between pTRG and MR-TRG was moderate with a percentaged agreement (p) = 87.5 %, kappa (κ) = 0.54 and p = 83.3 %, κ = 0.49 for Mandard and Becker, respectively. Agreement was improved to substantial when grouping grades 1-2 for Mandard and 1a-1b for Becker with p = 89.3 %, κ = 0.65 and p = 85.2 %, κ = 0.65 respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of MR-TRG in predicting pTRG were 88.2 % and 72.7 % for Mandard system (scores 1-2 versus 3-5), and 83.3 % and 80 % for Becker system (scores 1a-1b versus 2-3). CONCLUSION: A substantial agreement between MR-TRG and pTRG was achieved when grouping grade 1-2. Hence, MR-TRG could be used as a surrogate of complete and near-complete pTRG.

Esophageal cancer T-staging on MRI: A preliminary study using cine and static MR sequences.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the added value of cine MR in addition to static MRI for T-Staging assessment of esophageal cancer (EC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective monocentric study included 54 patients (mean age 66.3 ± 9.4 years, 46 men) with histologically proven EC. They underwent MRI on a 3 T-scanner in addition to the standard workup. Acquisitions included static and cine sequences (steady-state-free-precession and real-time True-FISP during water ingestion). Three radiologists independently assessed T-staging and diagnosis confidence by reviewing (1) static sequences (S-MRI) and (2) adding cine sequences (SC-MRI). Inter-reader agreement was performed. MRI T-staging was correlated to reference standard T-staging (histopathology or consensus on endoscopic ultrasonography and imaging findings) and to clinical outcome by log-rank test. RESULTS: Both S-MRI and SC-MRI T-staging showed a significant correlation with reference T-staging (rs = 0.667, P < 0.001). SC-MRI showed a slightly better performance in distinguishing T1-T3 from T4 with a sensitivity, specificity and AUC of 76.5% (95% CI: 50.1-93.2), 83.8% (68-93.8) and 0.801 (0.681-0.921) vs 70.6% (44-89.7), 83% (68-93.8) and 0.772 (0.645-0.899) for S-MRI. Compared to S-MRI, SC-MRI increased inter-reader agreement for T4a and T4b (κ = 0.403 and 0.498) and T-staging confidence. CONCLUSION: MRI is accurate for T-staging of EC. The addition of cine sequences allows better differentiation between T1-T3 and T4 tumors with increased diagnostic confidence and inter-reader agreement.

Imaging of Oligometastatic Disease.

Oligometastatic disease (OMD) is an emerging state of disease with limited metastatic tumor burden. It should be distinguished from polymetastatic disease due the potential curative therapeutic options of OMD. Imaging plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with OMD. The imaging tools needed in the case of OMD will differ according to different parameters, which include primary tumor type, timing between measurement and treatment, potential metastatic location and the patient's individual risk for metastasis. In this article, OMD is defined and the use of different imaging modalities in several oncologic situations are described in order to better understand OMD and its specific implication for radiologists.

Ossification of the acetabular rim: a highly prevalent finding in asymptomatic non-osteoarthritic hips of all ages.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of acetabular rim ossifications in the adult population with asymptomatic, morphologically normal hips at CT and to determine whether the presence of these ossifications is associated with patient- or hip-related parameters. METHODS: We prospectively included all patients undergoing thoracoabdominal CT over a 3-month period. After exclusion of patients with a clinical history of hip pathology and/or with signs of osteoarthritis on CT, we included a total of 150 hips from 75 patients. We analyzed the presence and the size of ossifications around the acetabular rim. The relationships between the size of acetabular rim ossifications and patient-related (sex, age, BMI) or hip-related parameters (joint space width, and cam- and pincer-type femoroacetabular impingement morphology) were tested using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of acetabular rim ossifications in this population of asymptomatic, non-osteoarthritic hips was 96% (95% CI = [80.1; 100.0]). The presence of ossifications and their size were correlated between the right and left hips (Spearman coefficient = 0.64 (95% CI = [0.46;0.79]), p < 0.05)). The size of acetabular rim ossifications was significantly associated with age (p < 0.0001) but not with BMI (p = 0.35), gender (p = 0.05), joint space width (p ≥ 0.53 for all locations), or any of the qualitative or quantitative parameters associated with femoroacetabular morphology (p ≥ 0.34). CONCLUSION: Acetabular rim ossifications are highly prevalent in asymptomatic, non-osteoarthritic adult hips at all ages. Their size is not correlated with any patient- or hip-related parameters except for age. These findings suggest that ossifications at the acetabular rim, when present in isolation, should not be considered a sign of osteoarthritis or femoroacetabular impingement morphology. KEY POINTS: • Acetabular rim ossifications are extremely common in asymptomatic, non-osteoarthritic adult hips. • Acetabular rim ossifications are present independently from other signs of osteoarthritis in adult hips at all ages and should not be interpreted as a pathological finding. • The diagnosis of osteoarthritis or femoroacetabular impingement morphology should not be made based on the sole presence of ossifications at the acetabular rim.