Visceral artery pseudoaneurysm: predictive factors for clinical success after transarterial embolization.

Background: Visceral artery pseudoaneurysm (VAPA) may result from trauma, operation, infection, inflammation, vasculitis, or malignancy. Factors associated with clinical success transarterial embolization (TAE) of VAPA have never been reported. The aim of this retrospective monocentric study was to describe clinical presentation and outcomes for patients treated for VAPA with TAE, and to identify factors associated with clinical success. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from all patients referred to the University Hospital of Saint-Etienne treated with TAE for VAPA between October 2012 and January 2023. Inclusion criteria included: all patients treated by TAE for VAPA arising from branches of the coeliac trunk, superior mesenteric artery, and renal artery. We considered pre- and per-procedure clinical data, biological data, outcomes, and complications. Post-operative data included early mortality (≤30 days), repeat embolization, and complications. Predictive factors associated with clinical success were evaluated. Results: Our sample included 89 patients (68 males). The median age was 65 [49-74] [median (Q1-Q3)] years, and the median hemoglobin level was 9 (7.6-11) g/dL. On pre-operative computed tomography (CT), active bleeding was detected in 31 (34.8%) patients. Coils were used in 58 (65.2%) procedures. Clinical success was achieved in 77 (86.5%) patients. There were 11 (12.4%) minor complications. Five (5.6%) patients died within the first 30 days. In univariate analysis, hemoglobin levels were associated with clinical success (P=0.027) and number of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions (P=0.007) and gastrointestinal bleedings (P=0.005) were associated with clinical failure. No factors were statistically significant in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Low hemoglobin levels, high numbers of RBC transfusions, and gastrointestinal bleedings were associated with clinical failure after TAE for VAPA. Multicentre studies are needed to investigate further.

Influence of Covariates on 18F-FDG PET/CT Diagnostic Accuracy for Liver Metastasis.

(1) Background: 18F-FDG PET/CT diagnostic accuracy for liver metastasis (LM) could be influenced by technical parameters, lesion size, and the patient's covariates. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate these covariates' impact on PET/CT sensitivity. (2) Methods: Consecutive patients with suspected LMs who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT scans were included. PET/CT scans were interpreted visually. The reference standard integrated histopathological and imaging follow-up. Logistic regression modeling and average marginal predictions were used to calculate per-lesion diagnostic performance measures with cluster robust 95% confidence intervals and to assess the covariates' impact on PET/CT sensitivity. (3) Results: We included 192 patients with 330 lesions. 18F-FDG PET/CT exhibited a per-lesion sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 86%, 79%, 91%, and 69%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, TOF PET/CT exhibited a higher sensitivity than non-TOF PET/CT (91% vs. 78%, p = 0.02). Sensitivity was reduced for lesions < 10 mm compared to larger lesions (56% vs. 93%, p < 0.001). A 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI led to an average 5% sensitivity reduction (p < 0.001). Age, sex, blood glucose level below 11 mmol/L, and liver density did not significantly impact sensitivity (p > 0.05). (4) Conclusions: 18F-FDG PET/CT sensitivity might be reduced with non-TOF PET, lesions < 10 mm, and higher BMI.

Pulmonary Recurrence of Colorectal Mucinous Adenocarcinoma and Sarcoidosis on 18 F-FDG PET/CT.

ABSTRACT: A 67-year-old woman, previously diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis and sigmoid colon mucinous adenocarcinoma with pulmonary metastasis, showed an enlarged pulmonary nodule in routine follow-up. Because of the absence of treatment for either condition over the past 3 years, the nodule raised concerns of cancer recurrence or sarcoidosis progression. Its distinctive 18 F-FDG PET/CT appearance, compared with other pulmonary lesions, suggested a mucinous histology. The diagnosis was confirmed by pathological examination. This emphasizes the importance of knowledge of the 18 F-FDG PET/CT phenotype of neoplastic histological variants to address challenging diagnostic scenarios.

Amino Acid Solutions for 177Lu-Oxodotreotide Premedication: A Tolerance Study.

Background: The co-infusion of amino acid solutions during peptide receptor radionuclide therapy reduces the tubular reabsorption of 177Lu-oxodotreotide, thus minimizing nephrotoxicity. In our nuclear medicine department, the patients received two different types of amino acid perfusion over time: a commercial solution (CS) containing 10% amino acids, and a 2.5% lysine−arginine (LysArg) hospital preparation, produced by a referral laboratory. The aim of the present study was to analyze the tolerance of the two amino acid solutions. Methods: The patient files were analyzed and double-checked. The study parameters comprised the gender, age, primary tumor site, type of amino acid perfusion, adverse events (AE) and WHO AE grades, antiemetic premedication, creatinine, and serum potassium level. Results: From February 2016 to February 2019, 76 patients were treated, for a total 235 cycles. AEs occurred in 71% of the CS cycles (n = 82/116), versus 18% (n = 21/119) in the LysArg group (p < 0.0001). In the CS group, the AEs were mostly WHO grade 4 (n = 24/82), and mostly grade 1 in the LysArg group (n = 13/21). Poisson regression showed a higher risk of AE overall and of grades 3 and 4 in the females and with CS. The mean creatinine clearance was identical before and after the PRRT cycles, whichever amino acid perfusion was used. Conclusions: The lysine−arginine preparation showed better tolerance than the commercial solution. The change to LysArg reduced the antiemetic premedication from four molecules to one.

Performance of quantitative measurements in [18F]fluorocholine positron emission tomography/computed tomography for parathyroid imaging (P2TH study).

Objective: [18F]Fluorocholine positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is used frequently in addition to [99mTc]Tc-Sestamibi scintigraphy and ultrasonography for the location of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of quantitative criteria in [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT for localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands. The secondary objective is to highlight a correlation between the detection rate of [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) level. Materials and methods: In two academic centers, we retrospectively included patients with biological hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and who had [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT. After a visual analysis, to measure the overall performance of [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT, a blind reading was carried out with standardized measurements of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), liver ratio, thyroid ratio, and size ratio. We analyzed the quantitative criteria of [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT compared to the histological results, in particular to identify differences between adenomas and hyperplasias. We compared the performance of each quantitative criterion to the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT. The detection rate of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands was calculated in subgroups of serum PTH level. Results: The quantitative criteria in [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT were measured for 120 patients (135 lesions). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve representing SUVmax and liver ratio were significantly increased. The optimal cut-off values represented by the maximum Youden index was >4.12 for SUVmax and >27.4 for liver ratio. Beyond certain threshold values of SUVmax (>4.12) or liver ratio (>38.1), all the lesions were histologically proven adenomas. SUVmax and liver ratio were significantly higher for adenomas than for hyperplasias and differential diagnosis (p = 0.0085 and p = 0.0002). The positivity of [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT was correlated with PTH level. Detection rates were 55.56, 75.56, and 87.5%, respectively, for serum PTH < 70, 70 to 120, and >120 ng/ml. Conclusion: Semi-quantitative measurements (SUVmax and liver ratio) should be considered as additional tools in interpretation of [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT. These quantitative parameters have lower overall performance but higher specificity than overall visual analysis in identifying an adenoma. Above certain threshold values, all lesions are adenomas. [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT confirms excellent performance for the detection of hyperfunctional parathyroids. For serum PTH levels < 70 ng/ml, the detection rate of [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT is strongly decreased.

Diplopia Related to a Pediatric Cervical Rhabdoid Tumor in 18 F-FDG PET.

ABSTRACT: Increased muscle uptake is commonly seen with 18 F-FDG PET/CT because of an important physiological muscle glucose metabolism. Muscle uptake can express a recent significant muscle activity. However, the absence of muscle uptake is almost never described or interpreted. We describe the case of an 8-year-old boy with extrarenal rhabdoid tumor in the right carotid space. An MRI and an 18 F-FDG PET/CT were performed for the diagnostic workup. There was no uptake in the lateral rectus oculomotor muscle unlike all other oculomotor muscles. The ophthalmological examination found a diplopia confirmed by the Lancaster test.

Outcome Prediction at Patient Level Derived from Pre-Treatment 18F-FDG PET Due to Machine Learning in Metastatic Melanoma Treated with Anti-PD1 Treatment.

(1) Background: As outcome of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with anti-PD1 immunotherapy can vary in success, predictors are needed. We aimed to predict at the patients' levels, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) after one year of immunotherapy, based on their pre-treatment 18F-FDG PET; (2) Methods: Fifty-six metastatic melanoma patients-without prior systemic treatment-were retrospectively included. Forty-five 18F-FDG PET-based radiomic features were computed and the top five features associated with the patient's outcome were selected. The analyzed machine learning classifiers were random forest (RF), neural network, naive Bayes, logistic regression and support vector machine. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare model performances, which were validated by cross-validation; (3) Results: The RF model obtained the best performance after validation to predict OS and PFS and presented AUC, sensitivities and specificities (IC95%) of 0.87 ± 0.1, 0.79 ± 0.11 and 0.95 ± 0.06 for OS and 0.9 ± 0.07, 0.88 ± 0.09 and 0.91 ± 0.08 for PFS, respectively. (4) Conclusion: A RF classifier, based on pretreatment 18F-FDG PET radiomic features may be useful for predicting the survival status for melanoma patients, after one year of a first line systemic treatment by immunotherapy.

Incidental Detection of a Small Cell Lung Cancer by 18F-Choline PET/CT Performed for Recurrent Hyperparathyroidism After Parathyroidectomy.

ABSTRACT: We report the case of a 64-year-old woman with musculoskeletal pain and elevated serum parathyroid hormone who had undergone parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism 4 years earlier. An 18F-choline PET/CT scan was performed and incidentally showed an intense uptake in a right upper lobe pulmonary nodule and in the right hilar, mediastinal, and cervical lymph nodes. Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of a small cell lung cancer. Clinical symptoms and recurrent hyperparathyroidism were therefore consistent with a paraneoplastic syndrome. A complete metabolic response was achieved on 18F-FDG PET/CT scan after chemotherapy.

Usual and Rare Abdominal Location of Giant Cell Arteritis Diagnosed and Follow-up With 18F-FDG PET/CT.

ABSTRACT: Giant cell arteritis is not an uncommon disease, and its extension is furthermore finely assessed with new-generation PET/CT system. 18F-FDG PET/CT is increasingly used in case of large-vessel vasculitis for optimal diagnosis, activity monitoring (even when treated with interleukin 6 receptor inhibitor), and evaluation damage progression. We reported the case of a 61-year-old woman with common giant cell arteritis pattern on 18F-FDG PET/CT (aorta and large arteries) and uptakes in all aorta branches, mainly impressive and uncommon in the abdomen. After 2 years of therapeutic optimization including IV tocilizumab and monitoring with 18F-FDG PET/CT, a complete metabolical response was assessed.

Incidental Finding of COVID-19 Lung Infection in 18F-FDG PET/CT: What Should We Do?

We report the case of an asymptomatic (no fever, no cough, no dyspnea) 80-year-old woman who had an F-FDG PET/CT scan for initial staging of Lieberkühnian adenocarcinoma located on anal canal. Chest analysis incidentally revealed bilateral diffuse patchy ground-glass opacity with mild increasing F-FDG uptake, consistent with incidental COVID-19 infection finding during the March 2020 pandemic. The infection was confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. It led us to improve patient flow and to undertake broader measures to avoid patient clinical issues and potential disease spreading.

Unusual and Diffuse Hypermetabolism in Routine 18F-FDG PET/CT of the Supra-aortic Vessels in Biopsy-Positive Giant Cell Arteritis.

F-FDG PET-CT used to lack of resolution to detect vasculitis in the superficial cranial and cervical arteries. Very few cases, for which some of these arteries were visualized, are published, and the images were acquired using a dedicated PET protocol. We present a case, acquired using a routine whole-body protocol, with increased tracer uptake detected in vertebral arteries, internal and external carotid arteries, superficial temporal arteries, occipital arteries, maxillary arteries, facial arteries, and lingual arteries. It underlines the potential for newer-generation PET-CT system to assess vasculitis. F-FDG PET-CT may have an important role to detect and follow vasculitis in the future.