Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized Phase III Trial Evaluating the Impact of Lymphoscintigraphy as Part of Sentinel Node Biopsy in Early Breast Cancer: SenSzi (GBG80) Trial.

PURPOSE: The aim of the current work was to clarify whether a preoperative lymphoscintigraphy (LSG) enhances staging accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a prospective, multicenter, randomized phase III trial, patients with cN0 early breast cancer or extensive/high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ planned for standard radioactive-labeled colloid LSG with subsequent SLNB were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive SLNB either with knowledge of the LSG findings or without. As the false-negative rate of SLNB correlates with the number of resected sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs), our primary end point was the mean number of histologically detected SLNs per patient. One thousand one hundred two evaluable patients were necessary to demonstrate noninferiority of SLNB without LSG. Stratified one-sided 95% CI for the difference (without LSG - with LSG) in the mean number of histologically detected SLNs had to be greater than -0.27 (10% noninferiority margin). Stratification was performed according to tumor focality and trial site. Additional predefined secondary end points (rates of node-positive patients and of completion axillary lymph node dissection) were analyzed to rule out differences in the reliable detection of nodal metastases. RESULTS: Between May 2014 and October 2015, 1,198 patients were randomly assigned in 23 German and Swiss breast centers. Modified intention-to-treat analysis (n = 1,163) showed a mean number of histologically detected SLNs of 2.21 with LSG and 2.26 without LSG (difference 0.05; stratified 95% CI, -0.18 to infinity), thus establishing noninferiority of omitting preoperative LSG. Secondary end points displayed no statistically significant differences. CONCLUSION: We show that SLNB is equally effective irrespective of the surgeon's knowledge of preoperative LSG results. SLNB without LSG will speed up the preoperative workflow and reduce cost.

Brain Glucose Metabolism in Parry-Romberg Syndrome.

Parry-Romberg syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by a progressive facial hemiatrophy of the skin, subcutaneous tissue, musculature, bone, and cartilage. It is often associated with neurological symptoms such as trigeminal neuropathy, paresthesia of the face, migraine, and seizures and can be paired with ocular problems and ipsilateral progressive body atrophy. Here, we present a young woman with progressive facial hemiatrophy, who was referred for FDG-PET/CT. Hypometabolism was observed in the left cingulate and postcentral gyrus, left cerebellum, and right basal ganglia. Hypometabolism may be observed before anatomical changes and therefore facilitate early diagnosis.

Complete Remission of Metastatic Neuroendocrine Paragastric Carcinoma After "Neoadjuvant" Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy and Surgery.

A 48-year-old man presenting with upper abdominal pain was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumor after biopsy of a paragastric mass with multiple liver metastases. (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT showed intense uptake in the paragastric tumor and in multiple liver metastases not allowing primary surgery. Two cycles with cumulative 14.6 GBq (177)Lu-DOTATATE were given resulting in a considerable improvement. Subsequent surgery resulted in a complete remission as demonstrated by (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT. Usually, peptide receptor radionuclide (PRRT) therapy is considered a palliative treatment. Few patients demonstrate a very favorable response allowing resection of the primary tumor after downstaging metastatic disease burden.

(68)Ga-DotaTATE PET-CT followed by Peptide Receptor Radiotherapy in combination with capecitabine in two patients with Merkel Cell Carcinoma.

Herein, we report about two Caucasian patients with the histopathological diagnosis of Merkel cell carcinoma suffering from extensive lymph node metastases. The extent of the disease was diagnosed by Ga-68-DotaTATE-PET-CT. Both patients had rapid disease progression, one of them despite a three months course of sunitinibe followed by four chemotherapy cycles of cisplatin and etoposide. Both patients were sent for peptide receptor radiotherapy with 90Y-DotaTATE or 177Lu-DotaTATE in combination with capecitabine. Additional external beam radiotherapy of the cervical and inguinal lymph nodes was given to the patient with progressive disease despite chemotherapy. Temporary partial response in both patients was achieved. Despite extensive therapeutic efforts, fatal outcome could not be prevented 10 and 14 months after first clinical symptoms.