scholarly journals Assessment of Liver Metastases Using CT and MRI Scans in Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Effects of Observer Experience on Diagnostic Accuracy

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masakatsu Tsurusaki ◽  
Isao Numoto ◽  
Teruyoshi Oda ◽  
Miyuki Wakana ◽  
Ayako Suzuki ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of radiologic experience on the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography (CT) vs. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reporting on the liver metastases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (LM of PDAC). Intra-individual CT and MRI examinations of 112 patients with clinically proven LM of PDAC were included. Four radiologists with varying years of experience (A > 20, B > 5, C > 1 and D < 1) assessed liver segments affected by LM of PDAC, as well as associated metastases occurring in each patient. Their sensitivity and specificity in evaluating the segments were compared. Cohen’s Kappa (κ) for diagnosed liver segments and Intra-class Correlation Coefficients (ICC) for the number of metastatic lesions in each patient were calculated. The radiologists’ sensitivity and specificity for the CT vs. MRI were, respectively: Reader A—94.4%, 90.3% vs. 96.6%, 94.8%; B—86.7%, 79.7% vs. 83.9%, 82.0%; C—78.0%, 76.7% vs. 83.3%, 78.9% and D—71.8%, 79.2% vs. 64.0%, 69.5%. Reviewers A and B achieved greater agreement in assessing results from the MRI (κ = 0.72, p < 0.001; ICC = 0.73, p < 0.001) vs. the CT (κ = 0.58, p < 0.001; ICC = 0.61, p < 0.001), in contrast to readers C and D (MRI: κ = 0.34, p < 0.001; ICC = 0.42, p < 0.001, and CT: κ = 0.48, p < 0.001; ICC = 0.59, p < 0.001). Our results indicate that the accurate diagnosis of LM of PDAC depends more on radiologic experience in MRI over CT scans.

Author(s):  
Masakatsu Tsurusaki ◽  
Isao Numoto ◽  
Teruyoshi Oda ◽  
Miyuki Wakana ◽  
Ayako Suzuki ◽  
...  

To investigate the impact of radiologic experience on the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography CT vs. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reporting for liver metastases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (LM of PDAC). Intra-individual CT and MRI examinations of 112 patients with clinically proven LM of PDAC were included. Four radiologists with varying years of experience (A &gt; 20, B &gt; 5, C &gt; 1 and D &lt; 1) assessed liver segments affected by LM of PDAC, as well as associated metastases occurring in each patient. Their sensitivity and specificity in evaluating the segments were compared. Cohen's Kappa (&kappa;) for diagnosed liver segments and Intra-class Correlation Coefficients (ICC) for the number of metastatic lesions in each patient were calculated. The radiologists&rsquo; sensitivity and specificity for the CT vs. MRI were, respectively: Reader A -94.4, 90.3% vs. 96.6, 94.8%; B - 86.7, 79.7% vs. 83.9, 82.0%; C - 78.0, 76.7% vs. 83.3, 78.9% and D - 71.8, 79.2% vs. 64.0, 69.5%. Reviewers A and B achieved greater agreement in assessing results from the MRI (&kappa; = 0.72, p &lt; 0.001; ICC = 0.73, p &lt; 0.001) vs. the CT (&kappa; = 0.58, p &lt; 0.001; ICC = 0.61, p &lt; 0.001), in contrast to readers C and D (MRI: &kappa; = 0.34, p &lt; 0.001; ICC = 0.42, p &lt; 0.001, and CT: &kappa; = 0.48, p &lt; 0.001; ICC = 0.59, p &lt; 0.001). Our results indicate that accurate diagnosis of LM of PDAC depends more on radiologic experience in MRI over CT scans.


Author(s):  
Martina Pecoraro ◽  
Stefano Cipollari ◽  
Livia Marchitelli ◽  
Emanuele Messina ◽  
Maurizio Del Monte ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The aim of the study was to prospectively evaluate the agreement between chest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) and to assess the diagnostic performance of chest MRI relative to that of CT during the follow-up of patients recovered from coronavirus disease 2019. Materials and methods Fifty-two patients underwent both follow-up chest CT and MRI scans, evaluated for ground-glass opacities (GGOs), consolidation, interlobular septal thickening, fibrosis, pleural indentation, vessel enlargement, bronchiolar ectasia, and changes compared to prior CT scans. DWI/ADC was evaluated for signal abnormalities suspicious for inflammation. Agreement between CT and MRI was assessed with Cohen’s k and weighted k. Measures of diagnostic accuracy of MRI were calculated. Results The agreement between CT and MRI was almost perfect for consolidation (k = 1.00) and change from prior CT (k = 0.857); substantial for predominant pattern (k = 0.764) and interlobular septal thickening (k = 0.734); and poor for GGOs (k = 0.339), fibrosis (k = 0.224), pleural indentation (k = 0.231), and vessel enlargement (k = 0.339). Meanwhile, the sensitivity of MRI was high for GGOs (1.00), interlobular septal thickening (1.00), and consolidation (1.00) but poor for fibrotic changes (0.18), pleural indentation (0.23), and vessel enlargement (0.50) and the specificity was overall high. DWI was positive in 46.0% of cases. Conclusions The agreement between MRI and CT was overall good. MRI was very sensitive for GGOs, consolidation and interlobular septal thickening and overall specific for most findings. DWI could be a reputable imaging biomarker of inflammatory activity.


Stresses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-47
Author(s):  
Maria Mortoglou ◽  
David Wallace ◽  
Aleksandra Buha Buha Djordjevic ◽  
Vladimir Djordjevic ◽  
E. Damla Arisan ◽  
...  

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most aggressive and invasive type of pancreatic cancer (PCa) and is expected to be the second most common cause of cancer-associated deaths. The high mortality rate is due to the asymptomatic progression of the clinical features until the advanced stages of the disease and the limited effectiveness of the current therapeutics. Aberrant expression of several microRNAs (miRs/miRNAs) has been related to PDAC progression and thus they could be potential early diagnostic, prognostic, and/or therapeutic predictors for PDAC. miRs are small (18 to 24 nucleotides long) non-coding RNAs, which regulate the expression of key genes by targeting their 3′-untranslated mRNA region. Increased evidence has also suggested that the chemoresistance of PDAC cells is associated with metabolic alterations. Metabolic stress and the dysfunctionality of systems to compensate for the altered metabolic status of PDAC cells is the foundation for cellular damage. Current data have implicated multiple systems as hallmarks of PDAC development, such as glutamine redox imbalance, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Hence, both the aberrant expression of miRs and dysregulation in metabolism can have unfavorable effects in several biological processes, such as apoptosis, cell proliferation, growth, survival, stress response, angiogenesis, chemoresistance, invasion, and migration. Therefore, due to these dismal statistics, it is crucial to develop beneficial therapeutic strategies based on an improved understanding of the biology of both miRs and metabolic mediators. This review focuses on miR-mediated pathways and therapeutic resistance mechanisms in PDAC and evaluates the impact of metabolic alterations in the progression of PDAC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (14) ◽  
pp. 4127-4127
Author(s):  
Henry C.-H. Law ◽  
Emalie J. Clement ◽  
Paul M. Grandgenett ◽  
Michael A. Hollingsworth ◽  
Nicholas T. Woods

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mahnaz ◽  
L. Das Roy ◽  
M. Bose ◽  
C. De ◽  
S. Nath ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMyeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are immature myeloid cells that are responsible for immunosuppression in tumor microenvironment. Here we report the impact of mucin 1 (MUC1), a transmembrane glycoprotein, on proliferation and functional activity of MDSCs. To determine the role of MUC1 in MDSC phenotype, we analyzed MDSCs derived from wild type (WT) and MUC1-knockout (MUC1KO) mice bearing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma KCKO and breast cancer C57MG xenografts. We observed enhanced tumor growth in MUC1KO mice compared to WT mice in both pancreatic KCKO and breast C57MG cancer models due to increased MDSC population and enrichment of Tregs in tumor microenvironment. Our current study shows that knockdown of MUC1 in MDSCs promotes proliferation and immature suppressive phenotype indicated by increased level of iNOS, ARG1 activity and TGF-β secretion under cancer conditions. Increased activity of MDSCs leads to repression of IL-2 and IFN-ɣ production by T-cells. We were able to find that MDSCs from MUC1KO mice have higher levels of c-Myc and activated pSTAT3 as compared to MUC1 WT mice, that are signaling pathways leading to increased survival, proliferation and prevention of maturation. In summary, MUC1 regulates signaling pathways that maintain immunosuppressive properties of MDSCs. Thus, immunotherapy must target only tumor associated MUC1 on epithelial cells and not MUC1 on hematopoietic cells to avoid expansion and suppressive functions of MDSC.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoyi Wu ◽  
Xiaoben Pan ◽  
Baohua Wang ◽  
Xiaolei Zhu ◽  
Jing Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Estimates of the incidence and prognosis of developing liver metastases at the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) diagnosis are lacking.Methods In this study, we analyzed the association of liver metastases and the PDAC patients outcome. The risk factors associated with liver metastases in PDAC patients were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The overall survival (OS) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test. Cox regression was performed to identify factors associated with OS.Results Patients with primary PDAC in the tail of the pancreas had a higher incidence of liver metastases (62.2%) than those with PDAC in the head (28.6%). Female gender, younger age, primary PDAC in the body or tail of the pancreas, and larger primary PDAC tumor size were positively associated with the occurrence of liver metastases. The median survival of patients with liver metastases was significantly shorter than that of patients without liver metastases. Older age, unmarried status, primary PDAC in the tail of the pancreas, and tumor size ≥4 cm were risk factors for OS in the liver metastases cohort.Conclusions Population-based estimates of the incidence and prognosis of PDAC with liver metastases may help decide whether diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging should be performed in patients with primary PDAC in the tail or body of the pancreas. The location of primary PDAC should be considered during the diagnosis and treatment of primary PDAC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_9) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Russell ◽  
Claire Stevens ◽  
Rahul Bhome ◽  
Dimitrios Karavias ◽  
Ali Arshad ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Portal vein resection (PVR) with pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is often performed to achieve clear margins for patients with vascular involvement in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, there is evidence to suggest that patients undergoing PVR often have more advanced cancers, therefore the impact of PVR on survival and recurrence remains unclear. The aim of this study is to assess overall (OS) and recurrence free (RFS) survival in patients who underwent PVR during PD, with particular attention to margin positivity. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 638 patients who underwent PD during a 12-year period. Exclusion criteria included PD for non-PDAC tumours, neoadjuvant chemotherapy or intra-operative radiotherapy. 374 patients were included in the study (90 PVR and 284 non-PVR). Patient characteristics and histopathological factors associated with OS and RFS were then evaluated using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. 270 patients (90 PVR and 180 non-PVR), were matched by propensity score based on perineural invasion, pT and pN staging. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival and log-rank tests. Results Resection margin positivity was associated with shorter OS and RFS (p &lt; 0.0001), and the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) margin was the most significant risk factor for survival on competing risks analysis. Absent adjuvant chemotherapy, nodal metastasis and margin positivity were independent risk factors for OS and RFS on multivariate analysis. PVR was associated with higher intra-operative blood loss (p = 0.009), but was not associated with increased length of stay, complications or readmissions. PVR patients had increased pT staging, nodal metastasis and perineural invasion, however, there was no difference in OS (p = 0.551) or RFS (p = 0.256) between PVR and non-PVR after propensity matching. Conclusions Positive resection margins are associated with shorter survival times, and the SMV margin is the most significant prognostic indicator for overall survival and recurrence compared to other margins. PVR is a relatively safe procedure, however, it does not achieve the intended survival benefits of complete margin clearance. The impact on survival for margin positivity, particularly the SMV margin, and nodal metastasis should be considered when making decisions with regards to vein resection and adjuvant treatments.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Mohamed Nashnoush

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a fatal type of cancer with an increasing incidence rate in North America. The only curative procedure of this disease is the Whipple procedure, which is restricted only to those that received an early diagnosis. The remainder of the patients are informed of a dismal prognosis and undergo palliative care through systemic chemotherapy. Multiple modalities are involved in the staging and diagnosis of this disease. However, there seems to be a controversy regarding a gold standard or whether a gold standard exists. Additionally, there are various emerging techniques that warrant heightened sensitivity and specificity in their designated modalities. Transabdominal ultrasound that is most commonly used as the first line of imaging for patients with epigastric pain is found to be virtually insensitive to neoplasms that have a size of 2 cm or less, limiting its application. However, sonographers could resort to contrasts and elastography to increase the conspicuity of the neoplasms. Moreover, endoscopic ultrasound has shown to be a promising imaging modality with an unprecedented degree of sensitivity to tumors with a diameter less than 1.5 cm. The sensitivity and specificity values of MDCT, MRI, and PET were found to be comparable. The main conclusions consist of the fact that EUS is a highly sensitive test that should be accompanied by MRI, MDCT, PET, or TUS to increase its specificity. Lastly, empathetic communication is vital not only for patient comfort but also to improve the quality of the imaging assessment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Argentiero ◽  
Angela Calabrese ◽  
Angela Monica Sciacovelli ◽  
Sabina Delcuratolo ◽  
Antonio Giovanni Solimando ◽  
...  

Metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by poor prognosis and short survival. Today, the use of new polytherapeutic regimens increases clinical outcome of these patients opening new clinical scenario. A crucial issue related to the actual improvement achieved with these new regimens is represented by the occasional possibility to observe a radiological complete response of metastatic lesions in patients with synchronous primary tumor. What could be the best therapeutic management of these patients? Could surgery represent an indication? Herein, we reported a case of a patient with PDAC of the head with multiple liver metastases, who underwent first-line chemotherapy with mFOLFIRINOX. After 10 cycles, he achieved a complete radiological response of liver metastases and a partial response of pancreatic lesion. A duodenocephalopancreasectomy was performed. Due to liver a lung metastases after 8 months from surgery, a second-line therapy was started with a disease-free survival and overall survival of 8 months and 45 months, respectively. Improvement in the molecular characterization of PDAC could help in the selection of patients suitable for multimodal treatments. This trial is registered with NCT02892305 and NCT00855634.


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