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To assess the renal elasticity values using (SWE) and correlate the values with steroid sensitivity to distinguish between steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) and steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) in children. In this IRB-approved cross-sectional study, 83 children (4–14 years) diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome were included from July 2021 to December 2022. SWE measurements were done for each kidney’s upper pole, interpolar region, and lower pole. Mean as well as median SWE were calculated. Correlation of the renal stiffness values was done with different laboratory findings (blood urea, serum creatinine, 24 h urine protein, serum albumin, and serum cholesterol), the grayscale findings (cortical echogenicity, and corticomedullary differentiation), and the final diagnosis of SRNS and SSNS. The statistical tests were done at a significance level of α = 0.05. The median (IQR) overall SWE of kidneys was higher in SRNS group 12.64 (8.4–19.68) kPa than SSNS group 9.87 (8.20–12.56) kPa. The difference was significant (p = 0.004). At a cut-off of ≥ 10.694 kPa (AUROC- 0.641), the overall SWE predicted SRNS group with a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 63%. A significant correlation (p < 0.05) was found between the SWE and 24-h urine protein, cortical echogenicity, and corticomedullary differentiation in SSNS, while only between SWE and corticomedullary differentiation in SRNS. The mean SWE was higher in children with SRNS. While SWE has potential to differentiate SSNS from SRNS, a different study design where SWE is performed at presentation is needed for confirmation.

To characterize and investigate PET/CT findings in the omentum in the differentiation of tuberculous peritonitis (TBP) and peritoneal carcinoma (PC). Thirty-nine patients with TBP and 113 patients with PC who underwent PET/CT were retrospectively enrolled. The omental uptake intensity, distribution characteristics, contracture, size and boundary of soft-tissue lesions, and CT patterns were reviewed. Absent and focal FDG uptake in the lesser omentum was more common in the PC patients (P = 0.034 and P = 0.017, respectively), and diffuse FDG uptake in the lesser omentum was more common in the TBP patients (P < 0.001). An apron-like pattern in the greater omentum commonly occurred in the TBP patients (P = 0.004). Micronodules (< 5 mm) were more common in the TBP patients (P < 0.001), and masses (> 3 cm) were more common in the PC patients (P = 0.001). Smudged and nodular patterns occurred more frequently in the TBP patients than in the PC patients (P < 0.001 and P = 0.003, respectively), and the caked pattern occurred more frequently in the PC patients (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the FDG uptake intensity and the boundary of soft-tissue lesions between the TBP and PC patients (P = 0.191 and P = 0.061, respectively). Diffuse FDG uptake, an apron-like pattern, micronodules, and a smudged and nodular pattern might be significant differential features of TBP. Absent and/or focal FDG uptake, mass, and a caked pattern might be significant differential features of PC.

The role and method of image-based staging of anal cancer has evolved with the rapid development of newer imaging modalities and the need to address the rising incidence of this rare cancer. In 2014, the European Society of Medical Oncology mandated pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for anal cancer and subsequently other societies such as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network followed suit with similar recommendations. Nevertheless, great variability exists from center to center and even within individual centers. Notably, this is in stark contrast to the imaging of the anatomically nearby rectal cancer. As participating team members for this malignancy, we embarked on a comprehensive literature review of anal cancer imaging to understand the relative merits of these new technologies which developed after computed tomography (CT), e.g., MRI and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). The results of this literature review helped to inform our next stage: questionnaire development regarding the imaging of anal cancer. Next, we distributed the questionnaire to members of the Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR) Rectal and Anal Disease-Focused Panel, a group of abdominal radiologists with special interest, experience, and expertise in rectal and anal cancer, to provide expert radiologist opinion on the appropriate anal cancer imaging strategy. In our expert opinion survey, experts advocated the use of MRI in general (65% overall and 91–100% for primary staging clinical scenarios) and acknowledged the superiority of PET/CT for nodal assessment (52–56% agreement for using PET/CT in primary staging clinical scenarios compared to 30% for using MRI). We therefore support the use of MRI and PET and suggest further exploration of PET/MRI as an optimal combined evaluation. Our questionnaire responses emphasized the heterogeneity in imaging practice as performed at numerous academic cancer centers across the United States and underscore the need for further reconciliation and establishment of best imaging practice guidelines for optimized patient care in anal cancer.

To assess the performance of a machine learning model trained with contrast-enhanced CT-based radiomics features in distinguishing benign from malignant solid renal masses and to compare model performance with three abdominal radiologists. Patients who underwent intra-operative ultrasound during a partial nephrectomy were identified within our institutional database, and those who had pre-operative contrast-enhanced CT examinations were selected. The renal masses were segmented from the CT images and radiomics features were derived from the segmentations. The pathology of each mass was identified; masses were labeled as either benign [oncocytoma or angiomyolipoma (AML)] or malignant [clear cell, papillary, or chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (RCC)] depending on the pathology. The data were parsed into a 70/30 train/test split and a random forest machine learning model was developed to distinguish benign from malignant lesions. Three radiologists assessed the cohort of masses and labeled cases as benign or malignant. 148 masses were identified from the cohort, including 50 benign lesions (23 AMLs, 27 oncocytomas) and 98 malignant lesions (23 clear cell RCC, 44 papillary RCC, and 31 chromophobe RCCs). The machine learning algorithm yielded an overall accuracy of 0.82 for distinguishing benign from malignant lesions, with an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.80. In comparison, the three radiologists had significantly lower accuracies (p = 0.02) ranging from 0.67 to 0.75. A machine learning model trained with CT-based radiomics features can provide superior accuracy for distinguishing benign from malignant solid renal masses compared to abdominal radiologists.

This study aimed to quantitatively assess the quality of levator ani muscle (LAM) using shear wave elastography (SWE) and to evaluate the association between the elasticity of LAM and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The study population included 32 women with SUI and 34 women with normal pelvic support. The thickness of LAM, bladder neck descent (BND), and urethral funneling (UF) were assessed by transperineal ultrasound. LAM elasticity was measured by SWE at rest and during the maximal Valsalva maneuver. Age, menopause, BND, and UF showed a positive correlation with SUI. There was no significant between-group difference in the elastic modulus values of LAM at rest. The thickness of LAM in women with SUI was greater than that in control group at rest and during the maximal Valsalva maneuver (P < 0.001). The elastic modulus values of Emax and Emean were significantly increased from rest to the maximal Valsalva maneuver in all participants (56.24 vs 82.43 kPa and 47.92 vs 72.37 kPa, P < 0.001). The change of these variables from rest to the maximal Valsalva maneuver in the control group was more obvious than that in the SUI group (34.09 vs 17.87 kPa and 31.55 vs 16.82 kPa, P < 0.05). The elasticity of LAM, as quantified by SWE, may potentially be used as an index for predicting SUI.

Để đánh giá mối liên hệ giữa các tham số không đồng nhất mô tại các khu vực khác nhau trên hình ảnh CT, độ sống sót và tình trạng đột biến BRCA ở phụ nữ mắc ung thư buồng trứng dạng tán xạ cao cấp (HGSOC). Nghiên cứu hồi cứu được thực hiện trên 88 bệnh nhân HGSOC dưới sự theo dõi hình ảnh CT và kiểm tra tình trạng đột biến BRCA trước khi thực hiện phẫu thuật cắt bỏ định hướng chính. Các mối liên hệ giữa các số liệu về đặc trưng mô—cụ thể là phương sai cụm giữa các khu vực (SCV), nổi bật cụm giữa các khu vực (SCP), và entropy cụm giữa các khu vực (SE)—đến khả năng sống sót toàn bộ (OS), khả năng sống sót không tiến triển (PFS) cũng như tình trạng đột biến BRCA đã được đánh giá. Phương sai cụm giữa các khu vực (SCV) cao hơn có liên quan đến PFS thấp hơn (p = 0,006) và OS thấp hơn (p = 0,003). Nổi bật cụm giữa các khu vực (SCP) cao hơn có liên quan đến PFS thấp hơn (p = 0,02) và entropy cụm giữa các khu vực (SE) cao hơn tương quan với OS thấp hơn (p = 0,01). Giá trị cao hơn của cả ba chỉ số đều có liên quan đáng kể đến tình trạng cắt bỏ hoàn toàn ngoại khoa kém ở bệnh nhân âm tính với BRCA (SE p = 0,039, SCV p = 0,006, SCP p = 0,02), nhưng không thấy ở bệnh nhân dương tính với BRCA (SE p = 0,7, SCV p = 0,91, SCP p = 0,67). Không chỉ số nào có thể phân biệt được giữa người mang đột biến BRCA và người không mang đột biến. Đánh giá độ không đồng nhất của khối u trong thời đại y học cá nhân hóa là rất quan trọng, vì sự tăng cường không đồng nhất đã được liên hệ với các bất thường về gen rõ ràng và kết quả tồi tệ hơn cho bệnh nhân. Một cách tiếp cận radiomics sử dụng hình ảnh CT theo tiêu chuẩn điều trị có thể mang lại ảnh hưởng lâm sàng bằng cách cung cấp một công cụ không xâm lấn để dự đoán kết quả và do đó cải thiện hiệu quả điều trị. Tuy nhiên, nó không thể đánh giá tình trạng đột biến BRCA ở phụ nữ mắc HGSOC.

The question referred to in the title of this article is a relatively common situation when performing prostate MRI in some healthcare settings. Moreover, the answer is not always straightforward. The decisions on type of receiver coil for prostate MRI and whether or not an endorectal coil (ERC) should be used is based on several factors. These relate to the patient (e.g., body habitus, presence of metallic devices in the pelvis), the focus of the exam (diagnosis, staging, recurrence), and characteristics of the MRI system (e.g., magnetic field strength and hardware components including coil design and number of elements/channels available in the surface coil). Historically, the combined use of an ERC and a surface coil was the optimal combination for maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), particularly for low-strength magnetic fields (1.5T). However, there are several disadvantages associated with the use of an ERC, and several studies have advocated equivalent clinical performance of modern MRI systems for diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer (PCa), either with ERC or surface alone. Accordingly, there is a wide variation in the precise imaging technique across institutions. This article focuses on the most relevant aspects of the decision of whether to use an ERC for PCa MR imaging.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is hard to distinguish from inflammatory mass (IM) complicated with hepatolithiasis in clinical practice preoperatively. This study looked to develop and confirm the radiomics models to make a distinction between ICC with hepatolithiasis from IM and to compare the results of different contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) phase. The models were developed in a training cohort of 110 patients from January 2005 to June 2020. Radiomics features were extracted from both arterial phase and portal venous phase contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scans. The radiomics scores based on radiomics features, were built by logistic regression after using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method. The rad-scores of two contrast -enhanced CT phases and clinical features were incorporated into a novel model. The performance of the models were determined by theirs discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness. The models were externally validated in 35 consecutive patients. The radiomics signature comprised two features in arterial phase (training cohort, AUC = 0.809, sensitivity 0.700, specificity 0.848, and accuracy 0.774;validation cohort, AUC = 0.790, sensitivity 0.714, specificity 0.800, and accuracy 0.757) and three related features in portal venous phase (training cohort, AUC = 0.801, sensitivity 0.800, specificity 0.717, and accuracy 0.759; validation cohort, AUC = 0.830, sensitivity 0.700, specificity 0.750, and accuracy 0.775) showed significant association with ICC in both cohorts (P < 0.05).We also developed a model only based on clinical variables (training cohort, AUC = 0.778, sensitivity 0.567, specificity 0.891, and accuracy 0.729; validation cohort, AUC = 0.788, sensitivity 0.571, specificity 0.950, and accuracy 0.761). The radiomics-based model contained rad-score of two phases and two clinical factors (CEA and CA19-9) showed the best performance (training cohort, AUC = 0.864, sensitivity 0.867, specificity 0.804, and accuracy 0.836; validation cohort, AUC = 0.843, sensitivity 0.643, specificity 0.980, and accuracy 0.821). Our radiomics-based models provided a diagnostic tool for differentiate intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) from inflammatory mass (IM) with hepatolithiasis both in arterial phase and portal venous phase. To go a step further, the diagnostic accuracy will improved by a clinico-radiologic model.

Multiparametric-MRI is an important tool in the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa), particularly diffusion-weighted imaging for peripheral zone (PZ) cancer in the untreated prostate. However, there are many benign entities that demonstrate diffusion restriction in the PZ mimicking PCa resulting in diagnostic challenges. Fortunately, these benign entities usually have unique MR features that may help to distinguish them from PCa. The purpose of this pictorial review is to discuss benign entities with diffusion restriction in the PZ and to emphasize the key MR features of these entities that may help to differentiate them from PCa.