Long-term Results after CT-Guided Percutaneous Ethanol Ablation for the Treatment of Hyperfunctioning Adrenal Disorders.

OBJECTIVES:: To evaluate the safety and long-term efficacy of computed tomography-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation for benign primary and secondary hyperfunctioning adrenal disorders. METHOD:: We retrospectively evaluated the long-term results of nine patients treated with computed tomography-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation: eight subjects who presented with primary adrenal disorders, such as pheochromocytoma, primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia and aldosterone-producing adenoma, and one subject with Cushing disease refractory to conventional treatment. Eleven sessions were performed for the nine patients. The patient data were reviewed for the clinical outcome and procedure-related complications over ten years. RESULTS:: Patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma had clinical improvement: symptoms recurred in one case 96 months after ethanol ablation, and the other patient was still in remission 110 months later. All patients with pheochromocytoma had clinical improvement but were eventually submitted to surgery for complete remission. No significant clinical improvement was seen in patients with hypercortisolism due to primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia or Cushing disease. Major complications were seen in five of the eleven procedures and included cardiovascular instability and myocardial infarction. Minor complications attributed to sedation were seen in two patients. CONCLUSION:: Computed tomography-guided ethanol ablation does not appear to be suitable for the long-term treatment of hyperfunctioning adrenal disorders and is not without risks.

Long-term Results after CT-Guided Percutaneous Ethanol Ablation for the Treatment of Hyperfunctioning Adrenal Disorders

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and long-term efficacy of computed tomography-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation for benign primary and secondary hyperfunctioning adrenal disorders. METHOD: We retrospectively evaluated the long-term results of nine patients treated with computed tomography-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation: eight subjects who presented with primary adrenal disorders, such as pheochromocytoma, primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia and aldosterone-producing adenoma, and one subject with Cushing disease refractory to conventional treatment. Eleven sessions were performed for the nine patients. The patient data were reviewed for the clinical outcome and procedure-related complications over ten years. RESULTS: Patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma had clinical improvement: symptoms recurred in one case 96 months after ethanol ablation, and the other patient was still in remission 110 months later. All patients with pheochromocytoma had clinical improvement but were eventually submitted to surgery for complete remission. No significant clinical improvement was seen in patients with hypercortisolism due to primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia or Cushing disease. Major complications were seen in five of the eleven procedures and included cardiovascular instability and myocardial infarction. Minor complications attributed to sedation were seen in two patients. CONCLUSION: Computed tomography-guided ethanol ablation does not appear to be suitable for the long-term treatment of hyperfunctioning adrenal disorders and is not without risks.

Alterações da PET-FDG na avaliação pré-operatória de pacientes com nódulos tireoidianos e correlação com marcadores imuno-histoquímicos / FDG PET abnormalities in preoperative evaluation of patients with thyroid nodules and association with immunohistochemical biomarkers

INTRODUÇÃO: Cerca de 80% dos nódulos de tireóide com citologia indeterminada são benignos. É possível que a tomografia por emissão de pósitrons (PET) com 2-[18F]- fluoro-2-desoxi-D-glicose (FDG) ajude a identificar quais dessas lesões são malignas. A captação de FDG depende da expressão de GLUTs (transportadores de glicose transmembrana) e hexoquinases. Captação difusa de FDG no leito tireoidiano tem ainda sido associada à tireoidite autoimune crônica (TAC), embora haja evidências de que pacientes com parênquima tireoidiano aparentemente sadio possam ter essa alteração. OBJETIVOS: (1) Determinar a sensibilidade e especificidade da PET-FDG no diagnóstico pré-operatório de malignidade dos nódulos tireoidianos, especialmente daqueles com resultados citológicos indeterminados, e avaliar esse desempenho no subgrupo de pacientes com TAC. (2) Determinar a correlação entre o achado de captação difusa tireoidiana da FDG à PET com o diagnóstico histopatológico de TAC e compará-la às concentrações plasmáticas dos anticorpos antitireoidianos. (3) Determinar a correlação entre a expressão dos marcadores imuno-histoquímicos GLUT 1, GLUT 3, GLUT 12, hexoquinase 2 e hexoquinase 3 com o diagnóstico histopatológico dos nódulos e com a captação de FDG apresentada pelos mesmos. MÉTODOS: 56 pacientes com nódulo de tireóide (42 com citologia indeterminada, 10 compatíveis com carcinoma papilífero e 4 com citologia benigna) realizaram PET-FDG e foram submetidos à tireoidectomia. Os resultados da PET-FDG foram comparados com o diagnóstico histopatológico do nódulo, com o infiltrado linfocitário no parênquima tireoidiano, com o diagnóstico de TAC e com os resultados do estudo imuno-histoquímico de micromatriz tecidual de tecido correspondente ao nódulo tireoidiano puncionado e ao tecido tireoidiano não nodular. RESULTADOS: 1) Todos os 21 pacientes com câncer de tireóide (11 com citologia indeterminada) apresentaram captação focal de FDG na tireóide...

INTRODUCTION: Around 80% of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytological result are benign. Positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy- D-glucose (FDG) might help to identify malignant thyroid lesions. FDG uptake depends on GLUTs expression (transmembranous glucose transporters) and on hexokinases. Although diffuse FDG thyroid uptake has been associated with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT), there is some evidence that patients with apparently normal thyroid parenchyma can display this pattern of FDG uptake. OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess the sensitivity and specificity of FDG PET in identifying thyroid malignancy in the preoperative evaluation of thyroid nodules and evaluate these results in the subgroup of patients with indeterminate cytological results and in the subgroup with CAT. (2) To compare the finding of diffuse FDG thyroid uptake with the histopathologic diagnosis of CAT and with the serum levels of antithyroid antibodies. (3) To evaluate the immunoexpression by thyroid nodules of GLUT 1, GLUT 3, GLUT 12, hexokinase 2 and hexokinase 3 and to compare it with the histopathologic diagnosis of these nodules and with FDG uptake. METHODS: 56 patients with thyroid nodules (42 with indeterminate cytological result, 10 with papillary carcinoma and 4 with benign cytological result) underwent FDG PET and, subsequently, thyroidectomy. FDG PET results were compared with the histopathologic diagnosis of the nodule, lymphocytic infiltrate of thyroid parenchyma, CAT diagnosis and immunohistochemical results of tissue microarray of the tissue from the thyroid nodule and the normal thyroid parenchyma...

[Preoperative evaluation of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules with 18F-FDG PET]. / Avaliação pré-operatória com PET-18F-FDG de nódulos de tireóide com citologia indeterminada.

The aim of this article is to discuss the role of 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in the preoperative evaluation of patients with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules. All studies with patients with thyroid cancer were selected to the calculation of sensitivity. Only studies aiming to evaluate patients with thyroid nodules whose cytological result was indeterminate were selected to establish the specificity. The finding of focal 18F-FDG uptake at PET was associated with the presence of thyroid malignancy in most of the studies. The sensitivity of the exam to the detection of thyroid malignancy was extremely high, but the specificity varied from 0 to 66%. In our experience, the specificity was 39%. In conclusion, the studies suggest that 18F-FDG PET can reduce the number of unnecessary thyroidectomies performed in patients with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules. However, the relatively high percentage of false positive results, the high costs, the low availability of this exam in developing countries and the low clinical experience still restrict the use of 18F-FDG PET when recommended with this aim.

Avaliação pré-operatória com PET-18F-FDG de nódulos de tireóide com citologia indeterminada / Preoperative evaluation of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules with 18F-FDG PET

Esse artigo tem o objetivo de discutir o papel da tomografia por emissão de pósitrons (PET) com 18F-FDG na avaliação pré-operatória de pacientes com nódulos de tireóide com citologia indeterminada. Para o cálculo da sensibilidade, foram selecionados todos os estudos com pacientes com carcinoma de tireóide. Para o cálculo da especificidade, foram selecionados apenas estudos desenhados para avaliação dos pacientes com nódulos com citologia indeterminada. O achado de captação focal na PET-18F-FDG relacionou-se com a presença de carcinoma de tireóide na maioria dos estudos. A sensibilidade do exame foi bastante alta na detecção de malignidade tireoidiana, porém sua especificidade variou de 0 por cento a 66 por cento, sendo de 39 por cento em estudo brasileiro. Concluindo, os estudos indicam que a PET-18F-FDG pode reduzir o número de tireoidectomias desnecessárias em pacientes com nódulos de tireóide com citologia indeterminada. Entretanto, o percentual relativamente elevado de resultados falso-positivos, o alto custo, a baixa disponibilidade do exame em países em desenvolvimento e a pouca experiência clínica ainda limitam o uso da PET-18F-FDG com essa finalidade.

The aim of this article is to discuss the role of 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in the preoperative evaluation of patients with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules. All studies with patients with thyroid cancer were selected to the calculation of sensitivity. Only studies aiming to evaluate patients with thyroid nodules whose cytological result was indeterminate were selected to establish the specificity. The finding of focal 18F-FDG uptake at PET was associated with the presence of thyroid malignancy in most of the studies. The sensitivity of the exam to the detection of thyroid malignancy was extremely high, but the specificity varied from 0 to 66 percent. In our experience, the specificity was 39 percent. In conclusion, the studies suggest that 18F-FDG PET can reduce the number of unnecessary thyroidectomies performed in patients with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules. However, the relatively high percentage of false positive results, the high costs, the low availability of this exam in developing countries and the low clinical experience still restrict the use of 18F-FDG PET when recommended with this aim.

Role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in preoperative assessment of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in the preoperative diagnosis of thyroid nodules with indeterminate fine-needle aspiration biopsy results. METHODS: Forty-two consecutive patients with thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytological results participated in this study. Abnormal (18)F-FDG PET uptake was assessed visually and by measuring the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in thyroid topography. All these results were compared with the final pathological results. RESULTS: The presence of focal uptake correlated with a greater risk of malignancy (P = 0.018). All 11 malignant nodules had focal uptake (sensitivity of 100%). Of the 31 patients with benign nodules, there were 19 with positive uptake (specificity of 38.7%). The pre-PET probability of cancer was 26.2% (11 of 42), and this probability increased to 36.7% after PET for those patients whose exam showed focal uptake (11 of 30). The preoperative use of (18)F-FDG PET would result in a significant reduction (39%, 12 of 31) in the number of thyroidectomies performed in patients with benign lesions. SUVmax could not improve this degree of accuracy. There was no correlation between thyroid nodule size and SUVmax value (P = 0.96). Patients with carcinomas were younger than patients with benign lesions (P = 0.048). There was no other clinical, laboratory, or ultrasonographic variable related to malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: (18)F-FDG PET provides high sensitivity to malignant lesions and may be a potentially useful tool in the evaluation of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytological findings. For these nodules the number of unnecessary thyroidectomies in a hypothetical algorithm using (18)F-FDG PET would be reduced by 39%.

Genetica do cancer colorretal / Genetics of colorectal cancer

O cancer colorretal (CCR) e uma das neoplasias de maior importancia atualmente, tanto por sua prevalencia como por sua incidencia, correspondendo a...