Marine reserve benefits and recreational fishing yields: The winners and the losers.

Marine reserves constitute effective tools for preserving fish stocks and associated human benefits. However, not all reserves perform equally, and predicting the response of marine communities to management actions in the long run is challenging. Our decadal-scale survey of recreational fishing yields at France's 45-year old Cerbère-Banyuls marine reserve indicated significant protection benefits, with 40-50% higher fishing yields per unit effort in the partial-protection zone of the reserve (where fishing is permitted but at a lower level) than in surrounding non-reserve areas. Over the period 2005-2014, catch per unit effort (CPUE) declined both inside and outside the reserve, while weight per unit effort (WPUE) increased by 131% inside and decreased by 60% outside. Different CPUE and WPUE trajectories among fish families indicated changing catch assemblages, with yields increasing for the family most valued by fisheries, Sparidae (the ecological winners). However, reserve benefits were restricted to off-shore fishermen (the social winners), as on-shore yields were ~4 times lower and declining, even inside the reserve. Our study illustrates how surveys of recreational fishing yields can help evaluate the effectiveness of marine protected areas for key social and ecological protagonists. We show that, more than four decades after its establishment, fishing efficiencies at the historical Cerbère-Banyuls marine reserve are still changing, but benefits in terms of catch abundance, weight, and composition remain predominantly restricted to off-shore fishermen. Further regulations appear necessary to guarantee that conservation strategies equitably benefit societal groups.

Application of white blood cell SPECT/CT to predict remission after a 6 or 12 week course of antibiotic treatment for diabetic foot osteomyelitis.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Diabetic foot osteomyelitis is a major risk factor for amputation. Medical treatment allows remission in 53-82% of cases. However, the optimal duration of antibiotic therapy remains controversial as a validated marker of osteomyelitis remission is lacking. The aim of this cohort study was to assess prospectively the remission rate of diabetic foot osteomyelitis medically treated using white blood cell (WBC)-single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) as a predictive marker of remission. METHODS: Individuals with diabetic foot osteomyelitis that was non-surgically treated between April 2014 and December 2015 were included. All participants were treated with antibiotics alone. WBC-SPECT/CT was performed at 6 weeks and antibiotic treatment discontinued if the clinical signs of soft-tissue infection had resolved and there was no abnormal uptake of labelled WBCs. Treatment was otherwise continued for a total of 12 weeks and then discontinued. For these individuals, another WBC-SPECT/CT was performed at 12 weeks. Remission was defined as the absence of recurrence of osteomyelitis at the same location at 1 year. RESULTS: Forty-five individuals were included; overall remission rate was 84% at 1 year. A 6 week course of antibiotics was used in 23 participants, 22 of whom were in remission at 1 year (96%); a 12 week course was used for 22 participants, 16 of whom were in remission at 1 year (73%). Sensitivity of WBC-SPECT/CT at 12 weeks was 100%, specificity 56%, positive predictive value 46% and negative predictive value 100%. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The study suggests that WBC-SPECT/CT could predict remission at the end of antibiotic treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02927678.

Usual and unusual pitfalls of 18F-FDG-PET/CT in lymphoma after treatment: a pictorial review.

Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) is now a standard of care in initial staging and treatment evaluation of lymphomas. It is also used in the interim evaluation in diffuse large B cell lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. However, several pitfalls may occur during or after treatment, because of the nonspecificity of F-FDG for lymphoma disease and treatment as immunotherapy, thus possibly induces misinterpretation and wrong treatment decision. The aim of this pictorial review is to provide an illustrated tutorial of the most frequent pitfalls found on F-FDG-PET/CT during or after treatment.

The role of 18F-FDG-PET/ceCT in peritoneal mesothelioma.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess glucose metabolism of multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma and epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma by fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)-PET/contrast-enhanced computed tomography (ceCT) and to assess its prognostic impact. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-three (14 women) patients, without previous treatment, underwent F-FDG-PET/ceCT before peritoneal mesothelioma cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy. F-FDG-PET/ceCT was interpreted prospectively as positive or negative. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of each lesion was measured retrospectively on the basis of postsurgery data. At laparotomy, disease extension was estimated with the Peritoneal Cancer Index. The median follow-up was 27 months (95% confidence interval: 12.9-37.8); progression-free survival (PFS) was recorded. RESULTS: Nine patients were affected by multicystic and 14 were affected by epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma. PET showed mild focal uptake in one case of multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma, whereas in eight patients, no abnormal uptake was observed. PET was positive in 12/14 patients with epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were respectively 86, 89 and 87%; the qualitative assessment was statistically different (P=0.0020, χ). Multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma histology was significantly associated with lower SUVmaxlesion (P=0.0061), SUVmaxlesion/liver (P=0.0025), Peritoneal Cancer Index, younger age, and it was observed only in women.Recurrence was observed on nine patients affected by epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma, whereas no recurrences were observed among multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma patients. SUVmaxlesion (P=0.0278) and age (P=0.0241) were significantly associated with PFS in patients with epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma. CONCLUSION: F-FDG-PET/ceCT showed significant differences between multicystic and epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma, whereas SUVmaxlesion was associated with PFS in the latter. Although multicentre prospective studies are necessary, F-FDG-PET/ceCT appears to be a promising tool in patients affected by peritoneal mesothelioma.

Semi-quantitative analysis of salivary gland scintigraphy in Sjögren's syndrome diagnosis: a first-line tool.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was the assessment of semi-quantified salivary gland dynamic scintigraphy (SGdS) parameters independently and in an integrated way in order to predict primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-six consecutive patients (41 females; age 61 ± 11 years) with sicca syndrome were studied by SGdS after injection of 200 MBq of pertechnetate. In sixteen patients, pSS was diagnosed, according to American-European Consensus Group criteria (AECGc). Semi-quantitative parameters (uptake (UP) and excretion fraction (EF)) were obtained for each gland. ROC curves were used to determine the best cut-off value. The area under the curve (AUC) was used to estimate the accuracy of each semi-quantitative analysis. To assess the correlation between scintigraphic results and disease severity, semi-quantitative parameters were plotted versus Sjögren's syndrome disease activity index (ESSDAI). A nomogram was built to perform an integrated evaluation of all the scintigraphic semi-quantitative data. RESULTS: Both UP and EF of salivary glands were significantly lower in pSS patients compared to those in non-pSS (p < 0.001). ROC curve showed significantly large AUC for both the parameters (p < 0.05). Parotid UP and submandibular EF, assessed by univariated and multivariate logistic regression, showed a significant and independent correlation with pSS diagnosis (p value <0.05). No correlation was found between SGdS semi-quantitative parameters and ESSDAI. The proposed nomogram accuracy was 87%. CONCLUSION: SGdS is an accurate and reproducible tool for the diagnosis of pSS. ESSDAI was not shown to be correlated with SGdS data. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: SGdS should be the first-line imaging technique in patients with suspected pSS.

18F-FDG-PET/CT of peritoneal tumors: a pictorial essay.

Cancer imaging on the peritoneum is quite difficult on PET/CT because of the particular anatomical features of this membrane. The abdominal cavity can be the seat of very different primary or secondary tumoral lesions, with heterogeneous aggressiveness and variable fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptake and patterns. We aimed to depict a spectrum of appearances with abnormal fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptakes localized on the peritoneum in frequent conditions such as peritoneal carcinomatosis and in rarer disease such as desmoplastic round cell tumor.

Diffuse Subcutaneous Fat Involvement in a Marginal Zone Lymphoma.

Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is usually considered not avid for FDG. We report a case of a 57-year-old man with an MZL suspected for transformation. FDG-PET/CT showed a diffuse atypical involvement of subcutaneous fat, without sign suggestive for a transformation. No cutaneous involvement was clinically evident. A random subcutaneous biopsy was performed and showed the presence of MZL.

Cat-Scratch Disease: A Pitfall for Lymphoma Evaluation by FDG-PET/CT.

FDG-PET/CT is a standard of care in staging and response assessment of Hodgkin lymphoma. Hence, it is important to recognize pitfalls owing to the potential therapeutic impact. We report a case of a 29-year-old woman affected by stage III bulky Hodgkin lymphoma. The interim FDG-PET/CT showed a complete metabolic response. After three new cycles of chemotherapy, the patient showed fever and lymphadenopathy at clinic examination, PET/CT revealed several FDG uptakes at lymph nodes in inguinal and iliac region. Pathologic analyses, after biopsy and serologic examinations, led to the diagnosis of cat-scratch disease.

Diffusion-weighted MRI and 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging: competition or synergy as diagnostic methods to manage sarcoma of the uterus? A systematic review of the literature.

AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/computed tomography (F-FDG-PET/CT) and MRI with diffusion-weighted images (DWI) in uterine sarcomas (US). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A systematic review was performed on Medline, ISI web of knowledge, and Scopus databases for studies reporting the diagnostic performance of F-FDG-PET/CT and DWI-MRI in US published up to 15 February 2016. Exclusion criteria were articles with fewer than five cases of US, without DWI-MRI, and previous series of patients from the same researcher team. RESULTS: Seven studies were selected for DWI-MRI and 11 for F-FDG-PET/CT. DWI-MRI was used only to characterize uterine tumors, and showed a good sensitivity but a low specificity. The apparent diffusion coefficient value seems to be the most discriminant between benign and malignant lesion. No data were available on staging and restaging.F-FDG-PET/CT improved patients' management when used for characterization, staging, and restaging because of its quite good accuracy. To date, few data exist on the prognostic role of F-FDG-PET/CT. Well-designed multicenter prospective trials are needed to establish definitively the exact role of imaging in the management of US. CONCLUSION: Both DWI-MRI and F-FDG-PET/CT have their own advantages, and should be performed in a 'one stop shop' scan in the near future by PET/MRI engines.

Baseline Metabolic Tumor Volume Predicts Outcome in High-Tumor-Burden Follicular Lymphoma: A Pooled Analysis of Three Multicenter Studies.

PURPOSE: Identifying patients at high risk of progression and early death among those with high-tumor-burden follicular lymphoma (FL) is unsatisfactory with current prognostic models. This study aimed to determine the prognostic impact of the total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) measured at baseline with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose/positron emission tomography-computed tomography ([18F]FDG/PET-CT) scans and its added value to these models. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A pooled analysis was performed by using patient data and centrally reviewed baseline PET-CT scans for 185 patients with FL who were receiving immunochemotherapy within three prospective trials. TMTV was computed by using the 41% maximum standardized uptake value thresholding method, and the optimal cutoff for survival prediction was determined. RESULTS: Median age was 55 years, 92% of patients had stage III to IV disease, 37% had a Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score of 3 to 5, and 31% had a FLIPI2 score of 3 to 5. With a median follow-up of 64 months, overall 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 55% and overall survival (OS) was 92%. Median TMTV was 297 cm3 (quartile 1 through quartile 3, 135 to 567 cm3). The optimal cutoff identified was 510 cm3, with a markedly inferior survival in the 29% of patients with TMTV > 510 cm3. Five-year PFS was 33% versus 65% (hazard ratio [HR], 2.90; P < .001), and 5-year OS was 85% versus 95% (HR, 3.45; P = .010). On multivariable analysis, TMTV (HR, 2.3; P = .002) and FLIPI2 score (HR, 2.2; P = .002) were independent predictors of PFS. In combination, they identify three risk groups: high TMTV and intermediate-to-high FLIPI2 score with 5-year PFS of 20% (HR, 5.0; P < .001), high TMTV or intermediate-to-high FLIPI2 score with 5-year PFS of 46% (HR, 2.1; P = .007), and low TMTV and low FLIP2 with 5-year PFS of 69%. CONCLUSION: Baseline TMTV is a strong independent predictor of outcome in FL. In combination with FLIPI2 score, it identifies patients at high risk of early progression. It warrants further validation as a biomarker for development of first-line PET-adapted approaches in FL.

FDG-PET/ceCT is useful to predict recurrence of Pseudomyxoma peritonei.

PURPOSE: Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a rare peritoneal neoplasm originating from appendicular tumours. There is no consolidated data available in the literature about the precise role of [(18)F] fluorodesoxy-D-glucose Positron Emission Tomography / contrast enhanced Computed Tomography (FDG-PET/ceCT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between preoperative FDG-PET/ceCT (qualitative and semi-quantitative assessment) and progression free survival (PFS) of patients treated for PMP. METHODS: All patients scheduled for PMP treatment by cytoreductive unicentric surgery, intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), and who underwent a FDG-PET/ceCT between February 2008 and January 2014, were included. No previous treatment was performed (except biopsy or appendectomy). FDG-PET/ceCT was interpreted by two nuclear physicians in consensus. Positive FDG-PET/ceCT scans were further labelled in diffuse disease and poly/mono focal disease. SUVmax was measured based on post-operative reports. The Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI) and Completeness of CytoReduction Score (CCR) were assessed after surgery. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients were included in this study, with a mean age of 56-years-old and a mean follow-up of 29.3 months. SUVmax, with a cut-off at 2.02, was predictive for the PFS on multivariate analysis. No differences were observed between diffuse disease and focal disease on PFS for progression free survival, PCI, and SUVmax (p = 0.1). Post-operative CCR was not significantly correlated with SUVmax or FDG-PET/ceCT qualitative assessment. CONCLUSION: SUVmax on preoperative FDG-PET/ceCT was an independent predictive factor for PFS in PMP. Further studies are needed to explore if FDG-PET/ceCT could potentially predict post-operative CCR.

FDG PET/CT Findings in Abdominal Fat Necrosis After Treatment for Lymphoma.

FDG PET/CT is now validated in non-Hodgkin lymphoma for response assessment in interim and posttreatment lymphoma. We report the case of a 62-year-old man followed by FDG PET/CT for a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, with initial stage III. The interim FDG PET/CT examination concluded in complete metabolic and morphological response of subdiaphragmatic lymphadenopathy but a persistent abnormal subdiaphragmatic uptake (SUVmax at 9 and Deauville 5-point scale at 5). Therefore, an abdominal biopsy of the corresponding nodules was conducted with a final diagnosis of diffuse fat necrosis.

EANM practice guidelines for lymphoscintigraphy and sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma.

PURPOSE: Sentinel lymph node biopsy is an essential staging tool in patients with clinically localized melanoma. The harvesting of a sentinel lymph node entails a sequence of procedures with participation of specialists in nuclear medicine, radiology, surgery and pathology. The aim of this document is to provide guidelines for nuclear medicine physicians performing lymphoscintigraphy for sentinel lymph node detection in patients with melanoma. METHODS: These practice guidelines were written and have been approved by the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) to promote high-quality lymphoscintigraphy. The final result has been discussed by distinguished experts from the EANM Oncology Committee, national nuclear medicine societies, the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) and the European Association for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) melanoma group. The document has been endorsed by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). CONCLUSION: The present practice guidelines will help nuclear medicine practitioners play their essential role in providing high-quality lymphatic mapping for the care of melanoma patients.

Study of inter- and intra-observer reproducibility in the interpretation of [(18)F]choline PET/CT examinations in patients suffering from biochemically recurrent prostate cancer following curative treatment.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of intra- and inter-observer interpretation of [(18)F]choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography examinations in patients suffering from biochemically recurrent prostate cancer following curative treatment. METHODS: A total of 60 patients with biochemical recurrence after curative treatment were included in this bicentric study. The interpretations were based on a systematic analysis of several anatomic regions and all the four nuclear medicine physicians used identical result consoles. The examinations were interpreted with no knowledge of the patients' clinical context. Two months later, a second interpretation of all these examinations was performed using the same method, in random order. RESULTS: To evaluate local recurrences, when the prostate is in place, the results showed moderate inter- and intra-observer reproducibility: concordance of all 4 physicians has a Fleiss' kappa coefficient of 0.553 with a confidence interval of (0.425 to 0.693). For patients who had had a prostatectomy, there was excellent concordance for the negative examinations. For the lymphatic basin, inter- and intra-observer reproducibility was excellent with a Fleiss' kappa coefficient of 0.892 with a confidence interval of (0.788 to 0.975). The lymphatic sub-group analysis was also good. For the lymphatic groups in the right or left hemi-pelves, all Fleiss' kappa and Cohen's kappa coefficients are varying from 0.760 to 1 with narrow confidence intervals from (0.536 to 0.984) to (1 to 1) in favour of good/excellent inter-observer reproducibility. To evaluate bone metastasis, inter-observer reproducibility was good with a Fleiss' kappa coefficient of 0.703 and a confidence interval of (0.407 to 0.881). CONCLUSION: Our study is at time the only one on the reproducibility of interpretation of [(18)F]choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography examinations, which is a key examination for the treatment of patients suffering biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. Interpretation of the [(18)F]choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography examination is not so useful at prostate level in patients not previously treated with prostatectomy but has a great interest on patients treated by prostatectomy. It showed good concordance in the interpretation of sub-diaphragmatic lymphatic recurrences as well as in bone metastasis.

Two new disposable bioreactors for plant cell culture: The wave and undertow bioreactor and the slug bubble bioreactor.

The present article describes two novel flexible plastic-based disposable bioreactors. The first one, the WU bioreactor, is based on the principle of a wave and undertow mechanism that provides agitation while offering convenient mixing and aeration to the plant cell culture contained within the bioreactor. The second one is a high aspect ratio bubble column bioreactor, where agitation and aeration are achieved through the intermittent generation of large diameter bubbles, "Taylor-like" or "slug bubbles" (SB bioreactor). It allows an easy volume increase from a few liters to larger volumes up to several hundred liters with the use of multiple units. The cultivation of tobacco and soya cells producing isoflavones is described up to 70 and 100 L working volume for the SB bioreactor and WU bioreactor, respectively. The bioreactors being disposable and pre-sterilized before use, cleaning, sterilization, and maintenance operations are strongly reduced or eliminated. Both bioreactors represent efficient and low cost cell culture systems, applicable to various cell cultures at small and medium scale, complementary to traditional stainless-steel bioreactors.