The Blood Oxygenation T₂* Values of Resectable Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinomas as Measured by 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Association with Tumor Stage

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between the blood oxygenation T₂* values of resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs) and tumor stages. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 48 ESCC patients and 20 healthy participants who had undergone esophageal T₂*-weighted imaging to obtain T₂* values of the tumors and normal esophagi. ESCC patients underwent surgical resections less than one week after imaging. Statistical analyses were performed to identify the association between T₂* values of ESCCs and tumor stages. RESULTS: One-way ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls tests revealed that the T₂* value could differentiate stage T1 ESCCs (17.7 ± 3.3 ms) from stage T2 and T3 tumors (24.6 ± 2.7 ms and 27.8 ± 5.6 ms, respectively; all p(s) 0.05) or between N stages (N1 vs. N2 vs. N3: 24.7 ± 6.9 ms vs. 25.4 ± 4.5 ms vs. 26.8 ± 3.9 ms, respectively; all p(s) > 0.05). The former tests illustrated that the T₂* value could differentiate anatomic stages I and II (18.8 ± 4.8 ms and 26.9 ± 5.9 ms, respectively) or stages I and III (27.3 ± 3.6 ms). ROC analysis depicted the same cutoff T₂* value of 21.3 ms for either differentiation. In addition, the Student's t test revealed that the T₂* value could determine grouped T stages (T0 vs. T1–3: 17.0 ± 2.9 ms vs. 25.2 ± 6.2 ms; T0–1 vs. T2–3: 17.3 ± 3.0 ms vs. 27.1 ± 5.3 ms; and T0–2 vs. T3: 18.8 ± 4.2 ms vs. 27.8 ± 5.6 ms, all p(s) < 0.001). ROC analysis indicated that the T₂* value could detect ESCCs (cutoff, 20 ms), and discriminate between stages T0–1 and T2–3 (cutoff, 21.3 ms) and between T0–2 and T3 (cutoff, 20.4 ms). CONCLUSION: The T₂* value can be an additional quantitative indicator for detecting ESCC except for stage T1 cancer, and can preoperatively discriminate between some T stages and between anatomic stages of this tumor.

Association between HLAⅡgene polymorphism and genetic susceptibility to Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the correlations between HLAⅡgene polymorphism and the development of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia ( MPP ) in children and to identify the susceptibility genes and protective genes for MPP for further elucidating the pathogenesis of MPP and providing the guid-ance for researches on gene therapy for MPP. Methods Genotypes of HLAⅡgene ( HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DRB1) in 60 children with MPP and 30 healthy children were detected by using sequence specific primer polymerase chain reaction ( SSP-PCR) . The haplotype frequencies, linkage disequilibrium and correlations with MPP were analyzed by using Arlequin software and Chi-square test. Results The frequencies of HLA-DQA1*0201/*0301 in children with MPP (35. 83%/30. 00%) were higher than those in healthy children (16. 67%/8. 33%) (χ2=12. 139, P<0. 05, OR=5. 059;χ2=15. 142, P<0. 05, OR=7. 500). However, the frequency of HLA-DQA1*0401 in children with MPP decreased to 12. 50% as compared with 40. 00%in healthy children (χ2=24. 638, P<0. 05, OR=0. 083). The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*07/*15 in children with MPP increased to 38. 33%/30. 00% as compared with 20. 00%/16. 67% in healthy children (χ2=11. 735, P<0. 05, OR=4. 929; χ2=5. 692, P<0. 05, OR=3. 000). But the frequency of HLA-DRB1*11 dropped to 15. 00% as compared with 43. 33% in healthy children (χ2=19. 448, P<0. 05, OR=0. 087). Conclusion HLA-DQA1*0201, HLA-DQA1*0301, HLA-DRB1*07 and HLA-DRB1*15 might be the susceptibility genes for MPP in children, while HLA-DQA1*0401 and HLA-DRB1*11 were probably associated with the resistance to MPP. No extensive linkage disequilibrium was found between HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DRB1.

Semi-quantitative dynamic contrast enhanced MRI in diagnosing of breast tumor / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To evaluate the semi-quantitative parameters of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE MRI) with double echo in the diagnosis of breast tumors.Methods Thirty eight patients suspected of breast tumour underwent DCE MRI with double echo examination by using 3.0 T whole-body MR scanner with a sixteen-channel phased-array breast coil.Semi-quantitation of both pharmacokinetic and perfusion parameters were performed including peak enhancement ratio (PER),time from contrast agent arrive to peak enhancement (Tmax),and maximum signal intensity loss (MSIL).The mean PER,Tmax and MSIL of the breast cancer,fibroma and other benign lesions were calculated.One-way ANOVA and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis were used to compare the differences between malignant and benign lesions.Results The mean PER,Tmax and MSIL of the lesions were as follows:0.61 ± 0.09,(164.9 ± 20.5) s,and 0.31 ± 0.03 for breast cancers (n =20) ; 0.46 ± 0.07,(183.2 ± 13.7) s,and 0.17± 0.03 for fibromas (n =10) ; 0.23 ± 0.06,(139.4 ± 23.6) s,and 0.24 ± 0.07 other benign lesions (n =8),respectively.There were significant differences among 3 groups in all semi-quantitative parameters (F =4.319,4.154,4.752,respectively.P ＜ 0.05).The areas under the ROC curve of PER,Tmax and MSIL for the diagnosis of malignant lesions were 0.513,0.794 and 0.769,respectively.The sensitivity of PER,Tmax,and MSIL were 60.0％,80.0％ and 62.5％ and the specificity were,62.5％,75.0％ and 90.0％,respectively,with the maximum Youden'index as cut off value.When combining the 3 semi-quantitative parameters,the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy for differential diagnosis of breast tumors were 95.0％ (19/20),83.3％ (15/18),and 89.4％ (34/38),respectively.Conclusion The semi-quantitation of pharmacokinetic parameters (PER,Tmax) and perfusion data (MSIL) can be simultaneously estimated in a dynamic contrast enhanced MRI with double echo in breast lesions.The Accuracy for differential diagnosis of breast tumors can be improved when judge by combination of PER,Tmax and MSIL.