MRI restaging of rectal cancer: The RAC (Response-Anal canal-CRM) analysis joint consensus guidelines of the GRERCAR and GRECCAR groups.

PURPOSE: To develop guidelines by international experts to standardize data acquisition, image interpretation, and reporting in rectal cancer restaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Evidence-based data and experts' opinions were combined using the RAND-UCLA Appropriateness Method to attain consensus guidelines. Experts provided recommendations for reporting template and protocol for data acquisition were collected; responses were analysed and classified as "RECOMMENDED" versus "NOT RECOMMENDED" (if ≥ 80% consensus among experts) or uncertain (if < 80% consensus among experts). RESULTS: Consensus regarding patient preparation, MRI sequences, staging and reporting was attained using the RAND-UCLA Appropriateness Method. A consensus was reached for each reporting template item among the experts. Tailored MRI protocol and standardized report were proposed. CONCLUSION: These consensus recommendations should be used as a guide for rectal cancer restaging with MRI.

Structured and shared MRI staging lexicon and report of rectal cancer: A consensus proposal by the French Radiology Group (GRERCAR) and Surgical Group (GRECCAR) for rectal cancer.

PURPOSE: To develop French guidelines by experts to standardize data acquisition, image interpretation, and reporting in rectal cancer staging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Evidence-based data and opinions of experts of GRERCAR (Groupe de REcherche en Radiologie sur le CAncer du Rectum [i.e., Rectal Cancer Imaging Research Group]) and GRECCAR (Groupe de REcherche en Chirurgie sur le CAncer du Rectum [i.e., Rectal Cancer Surgery Research Group]) were combined using the RAND-UCLA Appropriateness Method to attain consensus guidelines. Experts scoring of reporting template and protocol for data acquisition were collected; responses were analyzed and classified as "Recommended" versus "Not recommended" (when ≥ 80% consensus among experts) or uncertain (when < 80% consensus among experts). RESULTS: Consensus regarding patient preparation, MRI sequences, staging and reporting was attained using the RAND-UCLA Appropriateness Method. A consensus was reached for each reporting template item among the experts. Tailored MRI protocol and standardized report were proposed. CONCLUSION: These consensus recommendations should be used as a guide for rectal cancer staging with MRI.

Second primary cancers: a retrospective analysis of real world data using the enhanced medical research engine ConSoRe in a French comprehensive cancer center.

BACKGROUND: Second primary cancers (SPC) account for 18% of all cancers. We used the enhanced medical/health data mining tool ConSoRe to search aggregated data, analyze electronic patient records (EPR), and better characterize patients with SPC. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used ConSoRe to identify EPRs from patients with SPC referred to the regional cancer center Leon Bérard from 1993 to 2017, and examined characteristics of patients with SPC, frequencies of first primary cancer (FPC) localization in the global population of patients with SPC, and time to SPC. Data set was extracted on January 1, 2018. RESULTS: Among 296,530 EPRs, we identified 157,187 patients with FPC, including 13,002 (8%) patients with SPC. Between 2000 and 2010, the rate of SPC was 34%, and 52% of SPC were identified in the last years (2010-2017). In men, main cancers were head and neck cancer, lymphoma, and prostate carcinoma accounting for 15.6%, 12.8%, and 10.5% of FPC, while the three most common SPC were head and neck cancer (13.2%), lung cancer (11.8%) and lymphoma (9.2%). In women, breast cancers, lymphoma, and skin cancers accounted for 48.8%, 8%, and 5.1% of first cancers, and for 31.1%, 7% and 6% of SPC. CONCLUSION: The data mining tool ConSoRe contributes to access to real world data, and to better characterize patients with SPC. Expanding such approach to any comprehensive center will allow a global overview of the follow-up of patients with cancer, and help to improve long-term management and adapt surveillance.

Correction to: National dose reference levels in computed tomography-guided interventional procedures-a proposal.

The original version of this article, published on 02 May 2020, unfortunately contained a mistake.

High mortality rate in cancer patients with symptoms of COVID-19 with or without detectable SARS-COV-2 on RT-PCR.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients presenting with COVID-19 have a high risk of death. In this work, predictive factors for survival in cancer patients with suspected SARS-COV-2 infection were investigated. METHODS: PRE-COVID-19 is a retrospective study of all 302 cancer patients presenting to this institute with a suspicion of COVID-19 from March 1st to April 25th 2020. Data were collected using a web-based tool within electronic patient record approved by the Institutional Review Board. Patient characteristics symptoms and survival were collected and compared in SARS-COV-2 real-time or reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR)-positive and RT-PCR-negative patients. RESULTS: Fifty-five of the 302 (18.2%) patients with suspected COVID-19 had detectable SARS-COV-2 with RT-PCR in nasopharyngeal samples. RT-PCR-positive patients were older, had more frequently haematological malignancies, respiratory symptoms and suspected COVID-19 pneumonia of computed tomography (CT) scan. However, respectively, 38% and 20% of SARS-COV-2 RT-PCR-negative patients presented similar respiratory symptoms and CT scan images. Thirty of the 302 (9.9%) patients died during the observation period, including 24 (80%) with advanced disease. At the median follow-up of 25 days after the first symptoms, the death rate in RT-PCR-positive and RT-PCR-negative patients were 21% and 10%, respectively. In both groups, independent risk factors for death were male gender, Karnofsky performance status <60, cancer in relapse and respiratory symptoms. Detection of SARS-COV-2 on RT-PCR was not associated with an increased death rate (p = 0.10). None of the treatment given in the previous month (including cytotoxics, PD1 Ab, anti-CD20, VEGFR2…) correlated with survival. The survival of RT-PCR-positive and -negative patients with respiratory symptoms and/or COVID-19 type pneumonia on CT scan was similar with a 18.4% and 19.7% death rate at day 25. Most (22/30, 73%) cancer patients dying during this period were RT-PCR negative. CONCLUSION: The 30-day death rate of cancer patients with or without documented SARS-COV-2 infection is poor, but the majority of deaths occur in RT-PCR-negative patients.

National dose reference levels in computed tomography-guided interventional procedures-a proposal.

OBJECTIVES: To establish national reference levels (RLs) in interventional procedures under CT guidance as required by the 2013/59/Euratom European Directive. METHODS: Seventeen categories of interventional procedures in thoracic, abdominopelvic, and osteoarticular specialties (percutaneous infiltration, vertebroplasty, biopsy, drainage, tumor destruction) were analyzed. Total dose length product (DLP), number of helical acquisitions (NH), and total DLP for helical, sequential, or fluoroscopic acquisitions were recorded for 10 to 20 patients per procedure at each center. RLs were calculated as the 3rd quartiles of the distributions and target values for optimization process (TVOs) as the median. RLs and TVOs were compared with previously published studies. RESULTS: Results on 5001 procedures from 49 centers confirmed the great variability in patient dose for the same category of procedures. RLs were proposed for the DLPs and NHs in the seventeen categories. RLs in terms of DLP and NH were 375 mGy.cm and 2 NH for spinal or peri-spinal infiltration, 1630 mGy.cm and 3 NH for vertebroplasty, 845 mGy.cm and 4 NH for biopsy, 1950 mGy.cm and 8 NH for destruction of tumors, and 1090 mGy.cm and 5 NH for drainage. DLP and NH increased with the complexity of procedures. CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first nationwide multicentric survey to propose RLs for interventional procedures under CT guidance. Heterogeneity of practice in centers were found with different levels of patient doses for the same procedure. The proposed RLs will allow imaging departments to benchmark their practice with others and optimize their protocols. KEY POINTS: • National reference levels are proposed for 17 categories of interventional procedures under CT guidance. • Reference levels are useful for benchmarking practices and optimizing protocols. • Reference levels are proposed for dose length product and the number of helical acquisitions.

[Prediction of chemotherapy response in primary osteosarcoma using the machine learning technique on radiomic data]. / Prédiction de la réponse à la chimiothérapie des ostéosarcomes à partir des données radiomiques issues des IRM diagnostiques.

INTRODUCTION: Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor before 25 years of age. Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy determines continuation of treatment and is also a powerful prognostic factor. There are currently no reliable ways to evaluate it early. The aim is to develop a method to predict the chemotherapy response using radiomics from pre-treatment MRI. METHODS: Clinical characteristics and MRI of patients treated for local or metastatic osteosarcoma were collected retrospectively in the Rhône-Alpes region, from 2007 to 2016. On initial MRI exams, each tumor was segmented by expert radiologist and 87 radiomic features were extracted automatically. Univariate analysis was performed to assess each feature's association with histological response following neoadjuvante chemotherapy. To distinguish good histological responder from poor, we built predictive models based on support vector machines. Their classification performance was assessed with the area under operating characteristic curve receiver (AUROC) from test data. RESULTS: The analysis focused on the MRIs of 69 patients, 55.1% (38/69) of whom were good histological responders. The model obtained by support vector machines from initial MRI radiomic data had an AUROC of 0.98, a sensitivity of 100% (IC 95% [100%-100%]) and specificity of 86% (IC 95% [59.7%-111%]). DISCUSSION: Radiomic based on MRI data would predict the chemotherapy response before treatment initiation, in patients treated for osteosarcoma.

Musculoskeletal Metastases Management: The Interventional Radiologist's Toolbox.

The prevalence of patients with painful bone metastases is constantly increasing. This is related to the rising incidence of cancer and increasing life expectancy of patients with metastatic stage. Advances in imaging and development of percutaneous techniques have gradually allowed offering minimally invasive acts on these metastases: cementing, vertebral augmentation, osteosynthesis, percutaneous thermal ablation, neurolysis, embolization. The purpose of this article is to present the main tools available to date for the interventional radiologist so that each participant can understand their functioning, indications, and limits.

DNA breaks induced by iodine-containing contrast medium in radiodiagnostics: a problem of tungsten?

Iodine-containing contrast media (ICM) are extensively used to improve image quality and information content in x-ray-based examinations, particularly in computed tomography (CT). In parallel, there is increasing evidence that the use of ICM during CT sessions is associated with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) breaks that may influence the estimation of the risks linked to x-ray exposure. Why has iodine been preferred to any other heavy elements to enhance contrast in radiodiagnostics? How to understand such DNA breaks effect? We searched for the answers in the early times of x-ray medical use. It appeared that the maximal ratio between the relative iodine and water mass energy absorption coefficients is reached in the range of 40-60 keV, which defines the energy range in which the dose is preferentially absorbed by ICM. This range does not correspond to the K-edge of iodine but to that of tungsten, the major component of the x-ray tube anode of CT scanners. At such energy, radiolysis of the ICM produces sodium or potassium iodide that prevents a normal DNA breaks repair and influences the individual response to x-ray low-dose. Both contrast enhancement and DNA breaks effect may therefore be caused by tungsten of the anodes of x-ray tubes.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound after devascularisation of neuroendocrine liver metastases: functional and morphological evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate morphological and perfusion changes in liver metastases of neuroendocrine tumours by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) after transarterial embolisation with bead block (TAE) or trans-arterial chemoembolisation with doxorubicin-eluting beads (DEB-TACE). METHODS: In this retrospective study, seven patients underwent TAE, and ten underwent DEB-TACE using beads of the same size. At 1 day before embolisation, 2 days, 1 month and 3 months after the procedure, a destruction-replenishment study using CEUS was performed with a microbubble-enhancing contrast material on a reference tumour. Relative blood flow (rBF) and relative blood volume (rBV) were obtained from the ratio of values obtained in the tumour and in adjacent liver parenchyma. Morphological parameters such as the tumour's major diameter and the viable tumour's major diameter were also measured. A parameter combining functional and morphological data, the tumour vitality index (TVI), was studied. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Fisher's test were used to compare treatment groups. RESULTS: At 3 months rBF, rBV and TVI were significantly lower (P = 0.005, P = 0.04 and P = 0.03) for the group with doxorubicin. No difference in morphological parameters was found throughout the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: One parameter, TVI, could evaluate the morphological and functional response to treatments.

Recurrences after surgical resection of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas: a single-center study of recurrence predictive factors.

OBJECTIVE: The detection of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) has increased over the last decade, but still, management remains controversial. The main problems are their potential for malignancy and risk of recurrence. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive factors of recurrence after surgical resection. METHODS: All patients with IPMN who underwent pancreatectomy with curative intent were considered. Data were collected from a prospective base. RESULTS: From 1994 to 2009, 104 patients underwent pancreatectomy. Twenty-one (20%) had recurrence, 15 on remnant pancreas (none on pancreatic cut surface) and 6 with distant metastases. Twelve patients had total pancreatectomy (1 awaiting surgery). Thirteen (38.2%) of 34 patients with invasive IPMN and 20 (25.9%) of 77 with main duct involvement (including combined type) had recurrence. In univariate analysis, American Society of Anesthesiologist score and histological and duct type had a significant impact on recurrence rate. In multivariate analysis, histological type (invasiveness) was the only significant predictive factor for recurrence. CONCLUSION: The risk of recurrence of IPMN after resection depends on the histological type. According to surgical margin, invasiveness, and the type of duct involved, we identified a high-risk group with invasive main duct lesion and a low-risk group with noninvasive branch duct lesion.

Assessment of water enema computed tomography: an effective imaging technique for the diagnosis of colon cancer: Colon cancer: computed tomography using a water enema.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of water enema computed tomography (WECT) for the diagnosis of colon cancer. METHODS: A total of 191 patients referred for clinically suspected colon cancer were prospectively evaluated by WECT in a multicenter trial. Examination was contrast enhanced helical CT after colon filling through a rectal tube. For all the cases, final diagnosis was obtained by colonoscopy and/or surgery. CT data were interpreted both locally and at a centralized site by a specialized and general radiologist. RESULTS: Seventy-one patients were diagnosed with colon cancer. Overall, WECT sensitivity and specificity were 98.6 and 95.0%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 92.1 and 99.1%, respectively. In a subgroup of 33 patients with unclean bowel, the sensitivity and specificity of WECT were 95.0 and 92.3%, respectively. The correlation between local radiologists and the specialized radiologist was excellent (Kappa = 0.87) as was the correlation between the general radiologist and the specialist (Kappa = 0.92). CONCLUSION: This prospective analysis demonstrates that WECT is an effective, safe, and simple imaging technique for the diagnosis of colon cancer and can be proposed when a strong clinical suspicion of colon cancer is present, especially in frail patients.

Evaluation of previously nonscreened hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia patients shows frequent liver involvement and early cardiac consequences.

UNLABELLED: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a genetic disease characterized by cutaneous, mucosal, and sometimes visceral arteriovenous malformations. Severe hepatic manifestations have been characterized in a subgroup of patients, but few data are available in previously nonscreened patients. We prospectively evaluated liver involvement and its cardiac consequences in such patients. Between 2000 and 2005, we prospectively evaluated the clinical, biological, and hepatic Doppler sonography (DS) characteristics of 102 consecutive HHT patients (mean age, 52.5 years; range, 19-88; 80.4%) with an identified genetic mutation. Patients were segregated into three different severity groups according to DS values. Factors predictive of an abnormal DS, according to predetermined criteria, and of a high cardiac index were identified by logistic and linear regression analysis, respectively. Abnormal liver biology and clinical signs of hepatic involvement were present in 35.3% and 27.5% of cases, respectively. Abnormal DS (defined as at least enlargement of the main hepatic artery) was observed in 56 (54.9%) cases, and direct or indirect signs of significant fistulas were present in 26 (25.5%) cases. Abnormal liver biology and a mutation involving the ACVRL1 gene were predictive of hepatic ultrasound (US) abnormalities. The diameter of the main hepatic artery and the presence of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) were predictive of a higher cardiac index. CONCLUSION: This large prospective series of previously nonscreened HHT patients identified a subgroup at risk of liver involvement (patients with abnormal liver biology and ACVRL1 mutations) and a subgroup with a higher cardiac index: future studies will show whether such patients would benefit from systematic DS screening and long-term cardiac surveillance.