123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy for the diagnosis of DLB: a multicentre 3-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We previously reported the usefulness of iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy for differentiation of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a cross-sectional multicentre study. The aim of this study was, by using reassessed diagnosis after 3-year follow-up, to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 123I-MIBG scintigraphy in differentiation of probable DLB from probable AD. METHODS: We undertook 3-year follow-up of 133 patients with probable or possible DLB or probable AD who had undergone 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy at baseline. An independent consensus panel made final diagnosis at 3-year follow-up. Based on the final diagnosis, we re-evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of 123I-MIBG scintigraphy performed at baseline. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients completed 3-year follow-up assessment. The final diagnoses were probable DLB (n=30), possible DLB (n=3) and probably AD (n=31), and depression (n=1). With a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) ratios for differentiating probable DLB from probable AD, the sensitivity/specificity were 0.77/0.94 for early images using 2.51 as the threshold of early H/M ratio, and 0.77/0.97 for delayed images using 2.20 as the threshold of delayed H/M ratio. Five of six patients who were diagnosed with possible DLB at baseline and with probable DLB at follow-up had low H/M ratio at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Our follow-up study confirmed high correlation between abnormal cardiac sympathetic activity evaluated with 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy at baseline and the clinical diagnosis of probable DLB at 3-year follow-up. Its diagnostic usefulness in early stage of DLB was suggested. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UMIN00003419.

Detection of intracranial aneurysms using deep learning-based CAD system: usefulness of the scores of CNN's final layer for distinguishing between aneurysm and infundibular dilatation.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the diagnostic performance of a clinically available deep learning-based computer-assisted diagnosis software for detecting unruptured aneurysms (UANs) using magnetic resonance angiography and assessed the functionality of the convolutional neural network (CNN) final layer score for distinguishing between UAN and infundibular dilatation (ID). MATERIALS AND METHODS: EIRL brain aneurysm (EIRL_BA) was used in this study. The subjects were 117 UAN and/or ID cases including 100 UAN lesions (average sizes of 2.56 ± 1.45 mm) and 40 ID lesions (average sizes of 1.75 ± 0.41 mm) in any of internal carotid artery, middle cerebral artery, and anterior communicating artery, and 123 normal controls. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of EIRL_BA were determined for UAN and ID or UAN only. Furthermore, the relationship between the lesion category and score was examined using a linear regression analysis model, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess whether the scores represent UAN-like characteristics. RESULTS: EIRL_BA showed a total of 203 candidates (an average of 1.73/case) in UAN and/or ID cases and 98 candidates (an average of 0.80/case) in normal controls. For diagnosing either UAN/ID, EIRL_BA showed an overall sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 84.2%, and accuracy of 83.7%, resulting in the positive likelihood ratio of 5.0. For diagnosing UAN only, the overall sensitivity of 89.0, specificity of 82.6%, and accuracy of 83.2% resulting in the positive likelihood ratio of 5.1. In a linear regression analysis, the scores significantly increased in the candidates' first and second ranks in UAN (p < 0.05) but not in ID. An ROC analysis using the score for diagnosing UAN showed an area under the curve of 0.836. CONCLUSION: EIRL_BA is applicable for detecting small UAN, and the CNN's final layer scores may be an effective index for discriminating UAN and ID and representing the likelihood of UAN.

Granulocyte Colony-stimulating Factor-associated Aortitis on Gallium Scintigraphy.

Aortitis is a rare adverse event associated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) is widely used to diagnose G-CSF-associated aortitis. However, the usefulness of gallium scintigraphy for the diagnosis of G-CSF-associated aortitis is unknown. We herein report a set of pre- and post-treatment gallium scintigrams of a patient with G-CSF-associated aortitis. During the diagnosis, gallium scintigraphy revealed hot spots on the arterial walls that appeared inflamed on CECT. Both the CECT and gallium scintigraphy findings disappeared. Gallium scintigraphy can be a supportive diagnostic tool for G-CSF-associated aortitis, especially in patients with an impaired renal function or allergy to iodine contrast.

Clinical practice guidelines for high-resolution breast PET, 2019 edition.

Breast positron emission tomography (PET) has had insurance coverage when performed with conventional whole-body PET in Japan since 2013. Together with whole-body PET, accurate examination of breast cancer and diagnosis of metastatic disease are possible, and are expected to contribute significantly to its treatment planning. To facilitate a safer, smoother, and more appropriate examination, the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine published the first edition of practice guidelines for high-resolution breast PET in 2013. Subsequently, new types of breast PET have been developed and their clinical usefulness clarified. Therefore, the guidelines for breast PET were revised in 2019. This article updates readers as to what is new in the second edition. This edition supports two different types of breast PET depending on the placement of the detector: the opposite-type (positron emission mammography; PEM) and the ring-shaped type (dedicated breast PET; dbPET), providing an overview of these scanners and appropriate imaging methods, their clinical applications, and future prospects. The name "dedicated breast PET" from the first edition is widely used to refer to ring-shaped type breast PET. In this edition, "breast PET" has been defined as a term that refers to both opposite- and ring-shaped devices. Up-to-date breast PET practice guidelines would help provide useful information for evidence-based breast imaging.

[Difference in treatment for metastatic bone tumors due to differences in opinion among departments--the role of medical teams for metastatic bone tumors].

Few experts can deal appropriately with metastatic bone tumors in the present situation. We developed a questionnaire about zoledronic acid for doctors with several specialties, and analyzed the differences in treatment strategy among various doctors retrospectively. Breast surgeons, have used zoledronic acid appropriately based on accurate knowledge, but it has been used inappropriately by doctors of other specialties due to lack of knowledge. Development of new treatment for metastatic bone tumors is awaited, but there is a possibility of inappropriate use as with zoledronic acid because of lack of knowledge and experience. So a medical team is necessary to provide the most recent knowledge of metastatic bone tumor and to enlighten other doctors.

Bone Scintigraphy in Pembrolizumab-Induced Inflammatory Arthritis.

We present a novel report on the use of bone scintigraphy in pembrolizumab-induced inflammatory arthritis. A 70-year-old man with lung cancer complained about arthralgia after 7 courses of the pembrolizumab therapy. Tc-HMDP bone scintigraphy revealed symmetrically strong uptakes in the major distal joints of the upper and lower extremities, thereby clearly identifying them as the affected joints. The pattern of uptakes was not consistent with that of other pathophysiologies including bone metastases, hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, and rheumatoid arthritis. Tc-HMDP bone scintigraphy is more practical and cost-effective compared with PET to reveal the affected joints in pembrolizumab-induced inflammatory arthritis.

[The 29th report on survey of the adverse reaction to radiopharmaceuticals (the 32nd survey in 2006)].

This survey was performed in order to investigate the incidence of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals in FY2006 in Japan. It was based on responses to questionnaires sent to nuclear medicine institutions. The reply was obtained from 975 institutions among 1263 to which the questionnaire had been sent. Thirty-two cases of adverse reactions were reported. A total of 1,189,127 radiopharmaceutical administrations was reported. The incidence of adverse reactions per 100,000 cases was 2.7. Three cases of defect products were reported, and the incidence of defect products per 100,000 cases was 0.3.

Creation and characterization of Japanese standards for myocardial perfusion SPECT: database from the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine Working Group.

OBJECTIVE: Standards for myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) adapted for a Japanese population were not available. The purpose of this study was to create standard files approved by the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine and to make known the characteristics of the myocardial perfusion pattern of this population. METHODS: With the collaboration of nine hospitals, a total of 326 sets of exercise-rest myocardial perfusion images were accumulated from subjects with a low likelihood of cardiac diseases. The normal database included a (99m)Tc-MIBI/tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion study with 360 degrees (n = 80) and 180 degrees (n = 56) rotations, (201)Tl study with 360 degrees (n = 115) and 180 degrees rotations (n = 54) and a dual-isotope study with 360 degrees rotation (n = 27). The projection images were transferred by digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) format and reconstructed and analyzed with polar maps. RESULTS: The projection data from multiple centers were successfully transferred to a common format for SPECT reconstruction. When the average values were analyzed using a 17-segment model, myocardial counts in the septal segment differed significantly between 180 degrees and 360 degrees rotation acquisitions. Regional differences were observed between men and women in the inferior and anterior regions. A tracer difference between (99m)Tc and (201)Tl was also observed in some segments. The attenuation patterns differed significantly between subjects from the United States and those from Japan. CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial perfusion data that were specific for the Japanese population were generated. The normal database can serve a standard for nuclear cardiology work conducted in Japan.

[The 28th report on survey of the adverse reaction to radiopharmaceuticals (the 31st survey in 2005)].

This survey was performed in order to investigate the incidence of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals in FY2005 in Japan. It was based on responses to questionnaires sent to nuclear medicine institutions. The reply was obtained from 1,007 institutions among 1,243 to which the questionnaire had been sent. Nineteen cases of adverse reactions were reported. A total of 1,264,098 radiopharmaceutical administrations was reported. The incidence of adverse reactions per 100,000 cases was 1.5. Three cases of defect products were reported, and the incidence of defect products per 100,000 cases was 0.2.

Prognostic value of FDG-PET in patients with ovarian carcinoma following surgical treatment.

OBJECTIVE: [corrected] To determine the prognostic value of FDG-PET after surgical resection in patients with ovarian carcinoma, we compared the results of FDG-PET and serum CA-125 level and prognosis of patients. METHODS: Eighteen patients underwent a total of 32 FDG-PET examinations following surgery for ovarian carcinoma from October 2001 to December 2002 at our hospital (median follow-up period, 31 months). Age of the patients at the time of the initial FDG-PET examination ranged from 31 to 73 years (mean 52 years) and the period from surgery to the initial FDG-PET examination ranged from 5 to 109 months (mean 30 months). Serum CA-125 levels were determined on the occasion of each FDG-PET examination. Recurrent tumors were treated with surgery in 5 cases, radiotherapy in 2 cases, and chemotherapy in 9 cases. RESULTS: The initial FDG-PET examinations revealed that 13 cases had positive and 5 cases had negative findings, which included 2 false positive cases. The survival rate for all patients at 1 year and 2 years after the initial examination was 82% and 63%, respectively. Two-year survival rates in patients with positive and negative FDG-PET findings were 51% and 83%, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.19). Furthermore, 4 patients with normal CA-125 levels and 14 patients with elevated CA-125 levels showed 2-year survival rates of 100% and 51%, respectively, and they were not significantly different (p = 0.11). For all 32 examinations, the 2-year survival rates for patients with normal CA-125 levels (100%) were significantly higher (p = 0.025) than that for patients with elevated CA-125 levels (47%), however there was no significant difference (p = 0.20) between FDG-PET positive cases (53%) and negative cases (83%). CONCLUSION The prognosis of patients with positive FDG-PET findings was less favorable than that of patients with negative findings. However, over the mean extended observation period of about 2.5 years, no significant difference in the prognosis of patients was observed between the two groups. The results of the present study indicate that elevated serum CA-125 levels may be more useful for evaluating the prognosis of ovarian cancer during the post-operative follow-up than FDG-PET findings.

[The 27th Report on Survey of the Adverse Reaction to Radiopharmaceuticals (the 30th survey in 2004)].

This survey was performed in order to investigate the incidence of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals and defect products in FY2004 in Japan. It was based on responses to questionnaires sent to nuclear medicine institutions. The reply was obtained from 968 institutions among 1,220 to which the questionnaire had been sent. Sixteen cases of adverse reactions were reported. A total of 1,277,906 radiopharmaceutical administrations was reported. The incidence of adverse reactions per 100,000 cases was 1.3. Eight cases of defect products were reported, and the incidence of defect products per 100,000 cases was 0.6.

Diagnostic accuracy of 123I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy in dementia with Lewy bodies: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) needs to be distinguished from Alzheimer's disease (AD) because of important differences in patient management and outcome. Severe cardiac sympathetic degeneration occurs in DLB, but not in AD, offering a potential system for a biological diagnostic marker. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy, in the ante-mortem differentiation of probable DLB from probable AD, of cardiac imaging with the ligand 123I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) which binds to the noradrenaline reuptake site, in the first multicenter study. METHODS: We performed a multicenter study in which we used 123I-MIBG scans to assess 133 patients with clinical diagnoses of probable (n = 61) or possible (n = 26) DLB or probable AD (n = 46) established by a consensus panel. Three readers, unaware of the clinical diagnosis, classified the images as either normal or abnormal by visual inspection. The heart-to-mediastinum ratios of 123I-MIBG uptake were also calculated using an automated region-of-interest based system. RESULTS: Using the heart-to-mediastinum ratio calculated with the automated system, the sensitivity was 68.9% and the specificity was 89.1% to differentiate probable DLB from probable AD in both early and delayed images. By visual assessment, the sensitivity and specificity were 68.9% and 87.0%, respectively. In a subpopulation of patients with mild dementia (MMSE ≥ 22, n = 47), the sensitivity and specificity were 77.4% and 93.8%, respectively, with the delayed heart-to-mediastinum ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Our first multicenter study confirmed the high correlation between abnormal cardiac sympathetic activity evaluated with 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy and a clinical diagnosis of probable DLB. The diagnostic accuracy is sufficiently high for this technique to be clinically useful in distinguishing DLB from AD, especially in patients with mild dementia.

[Phase III additional clinical study of 111In-pentetreotide (MP-1727): diagnosis of gastrointestinal hormone producing tumors based on the presence of somatostatin receptors].

Additional phase III multicenter clinical study was performed to investigate the efficacy, safety, and usefulness of somatostatin receptor scintigraphy using 111In-pentetreotide (MP-1727), which binds to somatostatin receptors. Forty patients were included in the study; Group A: 18 patients, gastrointestinal hormone producing tumors had been detected with conventional imaging modalities, Group B: 22 patients, no tumors had been detected with conventional imaging modalities in spite of high serum hormone levels. By comparing the results of the octreotide suppression test, 12/16 cases (75.0%) of Group A and 11/19 cases (57.9%) of Group B were assessed as "effective." By comparing the results of immunohistological examination, 5/9 cases (55.6%) of Group A and 2/4 cases (50.0%) of Group B were assessed as "effective." Severe adverse events were not observed in any of the evaluable 35 cases. MP-1727 was judged as clinically useful in 11/16 cases (68.8%) of Group A and 5/19 cases (26.3%) of group B. These results suggest that MP-1727 scintigraphy is very useful for the diagnosis and decision of the therapeutic strategy of gastrointestinal hormone producing tumors.

Three-dimensional brain phantom containing bone and grey matter structures with a realistic head contour.

INTRODUCTION: A physical 3-dimensional phantom that simulates PET/SPECT images of static regional cerebral blood flow in grey matter with a realistic head contour has been developed. This study examined the feasibility of using this phantom for evaluating PET/SPECT images. METHODS: The phantom was constructed using a transparent, hydrophobic photo-curable polymer with a laser-modelling technique. The phantom was designed to contain the grey matter, the skull, and the trachea spaces filled with a radioactive solution, a bone-equivalent solution of K(2)HPO(4), and air, respectively. The grey matter and bone compartments were designed to establish the connectivity. A series of experiments was performed to confirm the accuracy and reproducibility of the phantom using X-ray CT, SPECT, and PET. RESULTS: The total weight was 1997 ± 2 g excluding the inner liquid, and volumes were 563 ± 1 and 306 ± 2 mL, corresponding to the grey matter and bone compartments, respectively. The apparent attenuation coefficient averaged over the whole brain was 0.168 ± 0.006 cm(-1) for Tc-99 m, which was consistent with the previously reported value for humans (0.168 ± 0.010 cm(-1)). Air bubbles were well removed from both grey-matter and bone compartments, as confirmed by X-ray CT. The phantom was well adapted to experiments using PET and SPECT devices. CONCLUSION: The 3-dimensional brain phantom constructed in this study may be of use for evaluating the adequacy of SPECT/PET reconstruction software programs.

Diagnostic localization of ectopic parathyroid lesions: developmental consideration.

Parathyroid glands arise from the third and fourth pharyngeal pouches. Parathyroid lesions sometimes develop ectopically. The aim of this article is to illustrate the knowledge of pharyngeal apparatus development to assist with diagnostic localization of ectopic parathyroid lesions. We retrospectively reviewed charts of 23 patients who received a diagnosis of ectopic parathyroid lesions. The ectopic lesions were widely distributed; cranially lesions were located on the carotid bifurcation, caudally in the right paraaortic region, ventrally on the surface of the sternohyoid muscle, and dorsally in the paraesophageal region. In most cases, parathyroid tissues were associated with structures related to the third or fourth pharyngeal pouches that traveled to regions where the ectopic lesions ultimately developed. In a few cases, lesions were not associated with these pouches and might have developed from parathyroid tissue that migrated due to an anomalous pathway of parathyroid travel. When patients present without entopic lesions, the presence of ectopic lesions should be evaluated based on an understanding of the developmental mechanisms of parathyroid glands and the frequency with which ectopic lesions have been found in specific locations. Systematic diagnosis can minimize the frequency with which ectopic lesions are missed during clinical care and maximize their accurate localization.