Validation of the standardization framework SSTR-RADS 1.0 for neuroendocrine tumors using the novel SSTR­targeting peptide [18F]SiTATE.

OBJECTIVES: Somatostatin receptor positron emission tomography/computed tomography (SSTR-PET/CT) using [68Ga]-labeled tracers is a widely used imaging modality for neuroendocrine tumors (NET). Recently, [18F]SiTATE, a SiFAlin tagged [Tyr3]-octreotate (TATE) PET tracer, has shown great potential due to favorable clinical characteristics. We aimed to evaluate the reproducibility of Somatostatin Receptor-Reporting and Data System 1.0 (SSTR-RADS 1.0) for structured interpretation and treatment planning of NET using [18F]SiTATE. METHODS: Four readers assessed [18F]SiTATE-PET/CT of 95 patients according to the SSTR-RADS 1.0 criteria at two different time points. Each reader evaluated up to five target lesions per scan. The overall scan score and the decision on peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) were considered. Inter- and intra-reader agreement was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The ICC analysis on the inter-reader agreement using SSTR-RADS 1.0 for identical target lesions (ICC ≥ 85%), overall scan score (ICC ≥ 90%), and the decision to recommend PRRT (ICC ≥ 85%) showed excellent agreement. However, significant differences were observed in recommending PRRT among experienced readers (ER) (p = 0.020) and inexperienced readers (IR) (p = 0.004). Compartment-based analysis demonstrated good to excellent inter-reader agreement for most organs (ICC ≥ 74%), except for lymph nodes (ICC ≥ 53%). CONCLUSION: SSTR-RADS 1.0 represents a highly reproducible and consistent framework system for stratifying SSTR-targeted PET/CT scans, even using the novel SSTR-ligand [18F]SiTATE. Some inter-reader variability was observed regarding the evaluation of uptake intensity prior to PRRT as well as compartment scoring of lymph nodes, indicating that those categories require special attention during further clinical validation and might be refined in a future SSTR-RADS version 1.1. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: SSTR-RADS 1.0 is a consistent framework for categorizing somatostatin receptor-targeted PET/CT scans when using [18F]SiTATE. The framework serves as a valuable tool for facilitating and improving the management of patients with NET. KEY POINTS: SSTR-RADS 1.0 is a valuable tool for managing patients with NET. SSTR-RADS 1.0 categorizes patients with showing strong agreement across diverse reader expertise. As an alternative to [68Ga]-labeled PET/CT in neuroendocrine tumor imaging, SSTR-RADS 1.0 reliably classifies [18F]SiTATE-PET/CT.

Enhancing predictability of IDH mutation status in glioma patients at initial diagnosis: a comparative analysis of radiomics from MRI, [18F]FET PET, and TSPO PET.

PURPOSE: According to the World Health Organization classification for tumors of the central nervous system, mutation status of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) genes has become a major diagnostic discriminator for gliomas. Therefore, imaging-based prediction of IDH mutation status is of high interest for individual patient management. We compared and evaluated the diagnostic value of radiomics derived from dual positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data to predict the IDH mutation status non-invasively. METHODS: Eighty-seven glioma patients at initial diagnosis who underwent PET targeting the translocator protein (TSPO) using [18F]GE-180, dynamic amino acid PET using [18F]FET, and T1-/T2-weighted MRI scans were examined. In addition to calculating tumor-to-background ratio (TBR) images for all modalities, parametric images quantifying dynamic [18F]FET PET information were generated. Radiomic features were extracted from TBR and parametric images. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was employed to assess the performance of logistic regression (LR) classifiers. To report robust estimates, nested cross-validation with five folds and 50 repeats was applied. RESULTS: TBRGE-180 features extracted from TSPO-positive volumes had the highest predictive power among TBR images (AUC 0.88, with age as co-factor 0.94). Dynamic [18F]FET PET reached a similarly high performance (0.94, with age 0.96). The highest LR coefficients in multimodal analyses included TBRGE-180 features, parameters from kinetic and early static [18F]FET PET images, age, and the features from TBRT2 images such as the kurtosis (0.97). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that incorporating TBRGE-180 features along with kinetic information from dynamic [18F]FET PET, kurtosis from TBRT2, and age can yield very high predictability of IDH mutation status, thus potentially improving early patient management.

MRI-based contrast clearance analysis shows high differentiation accuracy between radiation-induced reactions and progressive disease after cranial radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Pseudoprogression (PsP) or radiation necrosis (RN) may frequently occur after cranial radiotherapy and show a similar imaging pattern compared with progressive disease (PD). We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging-based contrast clearance analysis (CCA) in this clinical setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with equivocal imaging findings after cranial radiotherapy were consecutively included into this monocentric prospective study. CCA was carried out by software-based automated subtraction of imaging features in late versus early T1-weighted sequences after contrast agent application. Two experienced neuroradiologists evaluated CCA with respect to PsP/RN and PD being blinded for histological findings. The radiological assessment was compared with the histopathological results, and its accuracy was calculated statistically. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients were included; 16 (48.5%) were treated because of a primary brain tumor (BT), and 17 (51.1%) because of a secondary BT. In one patient, CCA was technically infeasible. The accuracy of CCA in predicting the histological result was 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.67-0.95; one-sided P = 0.051; n = 32]. Sensitivity and specificity of CCA were 0.93 (95% CI 0.66-1.00) and 0.78 (95% CI 0.52-0.94), respectively. The accuracy in patients with secondary BTs was 0.94 (95% CI 0.71-1.00) and nonsignificantly higher compared with patients with primary BT with an accuracy of 0.73 (95% CI 0.45-0.92), P = 0.16. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, CCA was a highly accurate, easy, and helpful method for distinguishing PsP or RN from PD after cranial radiotherapy, especially in patients with secondary tumors after radiosurgical treatment.

Influence of migrant background on patient preference and expectations in breast and gynecological malignancies (NOGGO-expression V study): results of a prospective multicentre study in 606 patients in Germany.

BACKGROUND: An effective cross-cultural doctor-patient communication is vital for health literacy and patient compliance. Building a good relationship with medical staff is also relevant for the treatment decision-making process for cancer patients. Studies about the role of a specific migrant background regarding patient preferences and expectations are lacking. We therefore conducted a multicentre prospective survey to explore the needs and preferences of patients with a migrant background (PMB) suffering from gynecological malignancies and breast cancer to evaluate the quality of doctor-patient communication and cancer management compared to non-migrants (NM). METHODS: This multicentre survey recruited patients with primary or recurrence of breast, ovarian, peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer. The patients either filled out a paper form, participated via an online survey, or were interviewed by trained staff. A 58-item questionnaire was primarily developed in German and then translated into three different languages to reach non-German-speaking patients. RESULTS: A total of 606 patients were included in the study: 54.1% (328) were interviewed directly, 9.1% (55) participated via an online survey, and 36.8% (223) used the paper print version. More than one quarter, 27.4% (166) of the participants, had a migrant background. The majority of migrants and NM were highly satisfied with the communication with their doctors. First-generation migrants (FGM) and patients with breast cancer were less often informed about participation in clinical trials (p < 0.05) and 24.5% of them suggested the help of an interpreter to improve the medical consultation. Second and third-generation migrants (SGM and TGM) experienced more fatigue and nausea than expected. CONCLUSIONS: Our results allow the hypothesis that training medical staff in intercultural competence and using disease-related patient information in different languages can improve best supportive care management and quality of life in cancer patients with migrant status.

[Impact of ultrasonographic vascular mapping on constructing autogenous arteriovenous fistulas for permanent hemodialysis access?]. / Erleichtert die sonographische Planung die Anlage arteriovenöser Fisteln als Dialysezugang?

PURPOSE: We used high resolution ultrasonography to identify usable veins and arteries in the forearm for creation of autogenous arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) for permanent hemodialysis access. The effect of preoperative vascular mapping followed by intraoperative controls on the outcome of AVF should be reported. METHODS: study subjects were adults referred for primary permanent hemodialysis access between January 2001 and November 2002. In all patients sonographic assessment was performed before surgical evaluation. A feeding artery was considered adequate if the diameter was more than 1.5 mm, the vein more than 2.0 mm. All AVF were controlled by intraoperative sonographic measurements of PSV and diameter of the fistula-vein. RESULTS: AVF were placed in 94.1% of all patients. The early failure rate of AVF was 6.3%. Primary patency rate of AVF after 24 hours: 93.7%, after 30 days: 91.4%, after 3 months: 86.9%, preliminary patency rate after 1 year: 70.1%. No unsuccessful surgical explorations were performed. 85.5 % of AVF were constructed as forearm fistulas. Suboptimal vessels (artery < 2.0 mm, vein < 3.0 mm) were used in 31.3% of patients. Patency rates did not differ in this subgroup. In 2 patients synthetic grafts were placed because of non-maturation of AVF. In 15 patients the AVF had to be cannulated by experts for 3 to 6 months. 50.0% of all AVF were constructed in diabetic patients. Patency rates were equal to that of non-diabetic patients. No patient suffered on signs of steal-syndrome. CONCLUSION: the assessment of forearm vessels by high resolution sonographic vascular mapping helps to find the optimal location for constructing an arteriovenous wrist fistula in almost all patients needing a permanent hemodialysis access. The aggressive approach to the creation of autogenous fistulas could be realized without unsuccessful surgical explorations and with a minimal early failure rate, a high maturation rate including patients with diabetes mellitus and no signs of steal-syndrome

[Indications for appendectomy from the ultrasound-clinical viewpoint]. / Die Indikation zur Appendektomie aus sonographisch-klinischer Sicht.

From 1.1.1993 to 30.9.1997 1149 patients with right-sided abdominal pain were examined by an experienced sonographer. The specificity of the sonographic diagnosis of acute appendicitis was 98.7%, sensitivity 95.6%, PPV 96.5%, NPV 98.3%, OA 97.8%. The negative laparotomy rate in 1996 was 5.4% (appendix not inflamed by histological examination), perforation rate 11.5%. 25 wrong sonographic diagnoses were made. Out of 530 Patients examined 1995 and 1996 181 alternative diagnoses could be made by ultrasonography. Under not corresponding clinical and sonographic results patients were observed in hospital and clinical and sonographic examination were repeated within 6 hours. Under definite positive sonographic result and questional clinical result operation was preferred. Under recurrent attacks of abdominal pain diagnostic laparoscopy was recommended. Sonographic diagnosis of right sided abdominal pain helped to reduce the risk of restricted indication for diagnostic laparoscopy respectively appendectomy by reducing the number of unnecessary operations without relevant change of perforation rate.

Cancer of the rectum--palliative endoscopic treatment.

Three methods of palliative endoscopic treatment of malignant strictures of the rectum are presented: laser therapy and its combination with the implantation of either plastic prostheses, or self-expanding metal stents. The aim of all procedures is to avoid a colostomy at least in older patients with shorter life expectancy and incurable tumours. The additional application of a stent maintains the luminal patency and prevents the repetition of laser therapy. Since 1988 we have treated 60 patients with these techniques. First, two to six sessions of laser therapy were necessary for recanalization of the stenosis. In the time following this the patients returned two to eight times for regular laser therapy before they died from the carcinoma. In spite of laser therapy one patient developed an obstruction and another suffered from an iatrogenic perforation of the rectal cancer. In both cases a stoma was fashioned. To avoid repetitive laser sessions we successfully inserted a plastic endoprosthesis in seven cases. In another two cases the implantation failed because of perforation and the patients had to undergo surgery. For the next 10 cases we have used flexible self-expanding metal stents. Serious complications or signs of re-obstruction were not observed until the patients' death. The survival time ranged from 2 to 25 months.

[Reliability of ultrasound ileus diagnosis]. / Stellenwert der sonographischen Ileusdiagnostik.

We investigated in this study if we would be able to find the correct indication for laparotomy earlier by sonographical examination than by clinical and radiological findings. In 48 of 594 patients with unknown abdominal diseases we found an intestinal obstruction by laparotomy. The indication based on clinical and radiological findings in 37 patients (sensitivity: 77.1%). In comparison the indication for laparotomy was predetermined correctly only after sonographical examination in 45 patients (sensitivity: 89.6%). According to the number of sonographical findings the reliability of the indication for laparotomy increased. The examination by sonography is a valuable tool in the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction.

Monoclonal antibody 1F10 immunoreactivity in inflammatory bowel disease: a new marker specific only for continuous endothelial cells.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate in detail the immunohistochemical properties of the two endothelial-specific markers 1F10 (continuous endothelia) and MS-1 (discontinuous endothelia) in bowel tissues of patients suffering from chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHOD: Immunohistochemical techniques were employed to study the morphology and phenotypic expression of these two proteins in routinely processed bowel tissues from 27 patients with Crohn's disease, 18 patients with ulcerative colitis, and 20 normal controls. RESULTS: All patients with IBD and controls showed a low to moderate 1F10 immunohistochemical staining restricted to the lamina propria and submucosa. In contrast to ulcerative colitis patients and healthy controls, 1F10 immunoreactivity was strongly upregulated in the muscularis propria of the small and large bowel in Crohn's disease patients regardless of the histological severity of the inflammatory process. We did not observe immunoreactivity for MS-1 on endothelial surfaces in either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that endothelia in patients with IBD do not undergo metaplasia. The high immunoreactivity of 1F10 antigen in the muscularis propria in Crohn's disease indicates a state of tropical immunological activation and may be important in the maintenance of chronic inflammation by facilitating leukocyte migration into sites of Crohn's disease involvement. Further studies of the factors controlling endothelial cell differentiation in the bowel of Crohn's disease patients may help to explain the features observed in this study.