18F-FDG positron emission tomography for the assessment of histological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in osteosarcomas: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the predicting value of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with computed tomography (18F-FDG PET-CT) in the assessment of histological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with osteosarcomas. METHODS: A detailed search was made in MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Web of Knowledge for relevant original articles published in English; methodological quality of the included studies were also assessed. Two reviewers extracted data independently. Sufficient data was presented to construct a 2 × 2 contingency table. Pooled sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios were estimated. A summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) was constructed with the Moses' constant of linear model. A χ(2) test was performed to test for heterogeneity. RESULTS: Eight studies comprising 178 patients met the inclusion criteria. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for standardized uptake values (SUV) after chemotherapy (SUV2) ≤ 2.5 were 0.734 (95% CI, 0.537-0.867) and 0.864 (95% CI, 0.510-0.975), for the ratio of standardized uptake values after (SUV2) to before (SUV1) chemotherapy SUV 2:1 ≤ 0.5 were 0.690 (95% CI, 0.497-0.833) and 0.653 (95% CI, 0.492-0.786), the positive and negative likelihood ratio (LR+/LR-) for SUV2 ≤ 2.5 were 5.397 (95% CI, 1.169-24.920) and 0.308 (95% CI, 0.165-0.577), for SUV 2:1 ≤ 0.5 were 1.989 (95% CI, 1.145-3.457) and 0.475 (95% CI, 0.247-0.915). There was no significant difference between-study heterogeneity for either LR + or LR- in any of these analyses. The area under the SROC curve for SUV2 ≤ 2.5 and SUV 2:1 ≤ 0.5 were 0.81 and 0.72, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis showed that 18F-FDG PET-CT scan, as measured by the SUV before and after treatment, SUV2 ≤ 2.5 and SUV 2:1 ≤ 0.5 are valuable for predicting the histological response to chemotherapy. SUV2 ≤ 2.5 have better predicting performance than SUV 2:1 ≤ 0.5.

Transplantation of exogenous mesenchymal stem cells treats post-infarction ventricular remodeling in rats / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:This study was performed to investigate the feasibility and efficiency of exogenous mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) transplantation on post-infarction ventricular remodeling and heart function in rats and compare the effects between adult rat MSCs and neonate rat MSCs transplantation.METHODS:1-2 hours after left coronary artery ligation,MSCs cultured in ex vivo,marked with BrdU,were injected directly into the border of infarcts in exogenous rats.6 weeks after transplantation,rat' heart function,ventricular remodeling and pathological results were measured.RESULTS:MSCs transplantation decreased LV end-diastolic diameter and end-systolic diameter,limited LV chamber dilatation and reduced collagen content significantly.The numbers of blood vessels and cardiomyocytes were increased.BrdU-labelled MSCs with oval nucleus were widely distributed.There were no significant difference between adult rat MSCs and neonate rat MSCs transplanted groups.CONCLUSION:MSCs can survive and home in exogenous host infarct hearts without addition of any immunosuppressant.MSCs transplantation has benificial effects on remodeling processes and contributes to improvement of cardiac function,which may be related with the reduction of the amount of the collagen,promotion of myogenesis and angiogenesis.