Lancastermahler2931

To evaluate the effectiveness of retrograde transvenous obliteration (RTO) for the prevention of variceal rebleeding in cirrhotic patients with portal vein thrombosis (PVT).

Consecutive cirrhotic patients with PVT who underwent RTO for the prevention of variceal rebleeding between January 2002 and June 2019 were included in this multicenter retrospective study. The primary outcome measure was rebleeding. The secondary outcome measures were survival, other complications of portal hypertension, liver function, and PVT.

Forty-five patients (mean age, 66.0 ± 10.6years; mean Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, 13.9 ± 5.5) were included. The 1-year actuarial probability of remaining free of rebleeding was 92.8 ± 4.0%. The 6-week, 1-year, and 3-year actuarial probabilities of survival were 79.8 ± 6.0%, 48.8 ± 7.7%, and 46.1 ± 7.9%, respectively. MELD score (hazard ratio (HR), 1.09 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.17); p = .013) and ascites (HR, 2.84 (95% CI, 1.24-6.55); p = .014) were identifi prevent variceal rebleeding in cirrhotic patients with portal vein thrombosis. • The risks of other complications of portal hypertension may not be high after retrograde transvenous obliteration in cirrhotic patients with portal vein thrombosis. • Portal vein thrombosis may improve in approximately one-third of cirrhotic patients within 3 months after retrograde transvenous obliteration.

To investigate the patterns of breast cancer-related and lactation-related

F-FDG uptake in breasts of lactating patients with pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) and without breast cancer.

F-FDG-PET/CT datasets of 16 lactating patients with PABC and 16 non-breast cancer lactating patients (controls) were retrospectively evaluated. Uptake was assessed in the tumor and non-affected lactating tissue of the PABC group, and in healthy lactating breasts of the control group, using maximum and mean standardized uptake values (SUVmax and SUVmean, respectively), and breast-SUVmax/liver-SUVmean ratio. Statistical tests were used to evaluate differences and correlations between the groups.

Physiological uptake in non-breast cancer lactating patients' breasts was characteristically high regardless of active malignancy status other than breast cancer (SUVmax = 5.0 ± 1.7, n = 32 breasts). Uptake correlated highly between the two breasts (r = 0.61, p = 0.01), but was not correlated with age or lactation duratibreast tissue is significantly lower among PABC patients compared with that in lactating women who do not have breast cancer. • In pregnancy-associated breast cancer patients,

F-FDG uptake is markedly increased in the breast tumor compared with uptake in the non-affected lactating tissue, enabling its prompt visualization on PET/CT.

• FDG uptake in the breast is characteristically high among lactating patients regardless of the presence of an active malignancy other than breast cancer. • FDG uptake in non-affected lactating breast tissue is significantly lower among PABC patients compared with that in lactating women who do not have breast cancer. • In pregnancy-associated breast cancer patients, 18F-FDG uptake is markedly increased in the breast tumor compared with uptake in the non-affected lactating tissue, enabling its prompt visualization on PET/CT.

To differentiate combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) from cholangiocarcinoma (CC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using machine learning on MRI and CT radiomics features.

This retrospective study included 85 patients aged 32 to 86years with 86 histopathology-proven liver cancers 24 cHCC-CC, 24 CC, and 38 HCC who had MRI and CT between 2004 and 2018. Initial CT reports and morphological evaluation of MRI features were used to assess the performance of radiologists read. Following tumor segmentation, 1419 radiomics features were extracted using PyRadiomics library and reduced to 20 principle components by principal component analysis. GPCR inhibitor Support vector machine classifier was utilized to evaluate MRI and CT radiomics features for the prediction of cHCC-CC vs. non-cHCC-CC and HCC vs. non-HCC. Histopathology was the reference standard for all tumors.

Radiomics MRI features demonstrated the best performance for differentiation of cHCC-CC from non-cHCC-CC with the highest AUC of 0.77 (SD 0.19)s regards liver resection and transplantation.

• Retrospective study demonstrated promising predictive performance of MRI radiomics features in the differentiation of cHCC-CC from HCC and CC and of CT radiomics features in the differentiation of HCC from cHCC-CC and CC. • With future validation, radiomics analysis has the potential to inform current clinical practice for the pre-operative diagnosis of cHCC-CC and to enable optimal treatment decisions regards liver resection and transplantation.

In patients with advanced liver disease, portal hypertension is an important risk factor, leading to complications such as esophageal variceal bleeding, ascites, and hepatic encephalopathy. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of T1 and T2 mapping and extracellular volume fraction (ECV) for the non-invasive assessment of portal hypertension.

In this prospective study, 50 participants (33 patients with indication for trans-jugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) and 17 healthy volunteers) underwent MRI. The derivation and validation cohorts included 40 and 10 participants, respectively. T1 and T2 relaxation times and ECV of the liver and the spleen were assessed using quantitative mapping techniques. Direct hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) and portal pressure measurements were performed during TIPS procedure. ROC analysis was performed to compare diagnostic performance.

Splenic ECV correlated with portal pressure (r = 0.72; p < 0.001) and direct HVPG (r = 0.50; p = 0.003).. • Quantitative splenic and hepatic MRI-derived parameters have a potential to become a new non-invasive diagnostic parameter to assess and monitor portal pressure.

• Non-invasive assessment and monitoring of portal hypertension is an area of unmet interest. • Splenic extracellular volume fraction is strongly associated with portal pressure in patients with end-stage liver disease. • Quantitative splenic and hepatic MRI-derived parameters have a potential to become a new non-invasive diagnostic parameter to assess and monitor portal pressure.

To construct a MRI radiomics model and help radiologists to improve the assessments of pelvic lymph node metastasis (PLNM) in endometrial cancer (EC) preoperatively.

During January 2014 and May 2019, 622 EC patients (age 56.6 ± 8.8years; range 27-85years) from five different centers (A to E) were divided into training set, validation set 1 (351 cases from center A), and validation set 2 (271 cases from centers B-E). The radiomics features were extracted basing on T2WI, DWI, ADC, and CE-T1WI images, and most related radiomics features were selected using the random forest classifier to build a radiomics model. The ROC curve was used to evaluate the performance of training set and validation sets, radiologists based on MRI findings alone, and with the aid of the radiomics model. The clinical decisive curve (CDC), net reclassification index (NRI), and total integrated discrimination index (IDI) were used to assess the clinical benefit of using the radiomics model.

The AUC values were 0.935 for the trainingifier. • The reclassification measures of discrimination confirmed that the radiomics-aided radiologists performed better than the radiologists alone, with an NRI of 1.26 and an IDI of 0.21 for radiologist 1 and an NRI of 1.37 and an IDI of 0.24 for radiologist 2.

To assess whether spatial labeling with multiple inversion pulses (SLEEK) sequence can be employed as a one-stop assessment method for evaluating renal function and displaying renal artery in hypertensive patients with suspected renal dysfunction.

A total of 78 patients with suspected hypertensive renal damage were enrolled in this retrospective study. All patients underwent MRI examinations, and both SLEEK and DWI sequences were performed simultaneously. According to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), patients were divided into three groups (Group 1, eGFR> 90; Group 2, eGFR = 60-90; Group 3, eGFR< 60). Twenty-two of these patients also underwent CT angiography (CTA) examination. Comparison between CTA, DWI, and eGFR was performed to assess the value of SLEEK in evaluating renal function and displaying renal artery.

The performance of SLEEK to display renal artery was highly consistent with the results of CTA (kappa = 0.713). The corticomedullary contrast ratio positively correlated withh renal dysfunction. • SLEEK could be utilized as a one-stop assessment method for evaluating renal function and renal artery in hypertensive patients.

• Spatial labeling with multiple inversion pulses (SLEEK) improves renal corticomedullary differentiation in hypertensive patients with renal dysfunction compared with DWI. • SLEEK clearly displays renal artery in hypertensive patients with renal dysfunction. • SLEEK could be utilized as a one-stop assessment method for evaluating renal function and renal artery in hypertensive patients.Patients with type 2 diabetes run a high risk for progressive renal function loss. Many interventions have been tested to reduce the risk, but we are nowadays still confronted with a high unmet need. To improve on this unmet need, we will have to change the current strategies in drug discovery, clinical trials and clinical practice. Target finding and the search for new interventions has to change to include more individual mechanistic approaches. Drugs will be selected on basis of finding the "individual" mechanism of renal function loss by looking at renal tissue biopsies or new biomarkers in urine or plasma. To test the promising drugs for clinical efficacy and safety and reduce the unmet need, trial design in type 2 diabetes will have to alter. First, selection of patients at risk for progression of renal function loss will need to be more specific. True progressors need to be identified by switching from classical risk determinants (low eGFR and high albuminuria) to new surrogates like steep eGFR slopes. In addition, the investigational drugs should only continue into registration trials in responder populations patients that show a good response in the target/surrogate risk marker and no bad responses. This way we will improve the success of hard outcome trials, which has been poor in the past decade. We will reduce the unmet need and reduce the number of patients that are exposed to long term trial treatments without any benefit or even harm. Platform design and basket trials will catch the non-responders and switch them to other investigational drugs with different mechanism of action.Drug registration will be much more directed to the individual patients and will lead to improved individual patient medication advices and improved individual efficacy and safety. We are entering the era of precision medicine in nephrology.

Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is confounded by the extracardiac artefacts cause by hepatobiliary clearance of the radiotracers. Various techniques have been evaluated to lessen those artefacts. In this study, we endeavoured to determine the effect of carbonated water in reducing such infracardiac artefact so to improve MPI image quality, sensitivity and specificity.

A total of 1000 patients were prospectively enrolled and randomised into two equal groups as A and B. Group A were given 250ml of carbonated beverages and Group B were given 250ml plain water immediately after radiotracer injection. Images were evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively for the interfering extracardiac artefacts.

The qualitative analysis favoured carbonated water in reducing the interfering intestinal activity during rest as well as stress (p = 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively). Quantitative calculation showed significant improvement of myocardium to extracardiac ratio with carbonated water ingestion in rest (p = 0.