Recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone for post-operative assessment in patients with low- to intermediate-risk differentiated thyroid cancer: results of phase Ⅰ study / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy by using domestic recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) before or after 131I therapy. Methods:From May 2019 to November 2020, a total of 24 patients with DTC (5 males, 19 females, median age 41 years) in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Zhengzhou University were enrolled into the open-label, dose escalation phase Ⅰ study. All patients were divided into 4 domestic rhTSH dose groups: 0.9 mg×1 d (group A), 0.9 mg×2 d (group B), 1.8 mg×1 d (group C), 1.8 mg×2 d (group D) in succession, with 6 patients in each group. Each patient underwent rhTSH phase and thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) phase. The end point included safety, tolerability, the quality of life (hypothyroidism symptom and sign score (Billewicz score), profile of mood states (POMS)), effectiveness (thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroglobulin (Tg) levels, diagnostic whole-body scan (Dx-WBS)) and pharmacokinetic characteristics (peak time, peak concentration) of rhTSH. Paired t test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for statistical analysis. Results:There were no dose-limiting toxicities, serious adverse events, or no grade ≥3 adverse events reported. The quality of life in rhTSH phase was significantly better than those in THW phase, including the lower Billewicz score (-53.00(-53.00, -53.00) vs -39.50(-47.00, -23.00); S=119.50, P<0.001) and the lower POMS score (91.92±12.06 vs 99.67±19.13; t=0.95, P=0.025). Serum TSH level was increased from 0.04(0.02, 0.11) mU/L (baseline) to 150.00(105.20, 173.31) mU/L 24 h after the last rhTSH administration, which was increased along with the elevation of rhTSH doses. In the THW phase, patients′ TSH levels were≥30 mU/L after 23 d (median) of THW, with the median of 73.51(57.22, 106.22) mU/L. Median Tg level of baseline was 0.10(0.10, 0.41) μg/L, which reached a peak of 0.85(0.12, 3.01) μg/L at 48 h after rhTSH administration. The peak Tg level in the THW phase was 0.88(0.15, 8.04) μg/L. The Dx-WBS consistency rate between rhTSH and THW phase was 95.8%(23/24). Conclusion:rhTSH is a safe and effective method to stimulate the serum Tg level and radioiodine uptake in patients undergoing post-operation or post- 131I assessment for DTC, as well as maintain a higher quality of life in comparison to THW phase.

The correlation of serum lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 with intra-stent restenosis after drug-eluting stent implantation / 中国医师杂志

Objectives:To investigate the correlation of serum lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) with intra-stent restenosis (ISR) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation.Methods:A total of 227 patients with coronary artery disease, who were diagnosed with severe epicardial coronary stenosis by coronary angiography (CAG) and treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and DES implantation were enrolled in our study. After follow-up for 1-1.5 years, the CAG was performed and the patients were divided into ISR group and non-ISR (nISR) group according to the consequence of CAG. Biochemical data and multiple serum inflammatory factors such as Lp-PLA2, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were analyzed before the CAG. Multivariate logistic regression and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the influencing factors of stent restenosis after DES implantation.Results:The level of serum Lp-PLA2 and the proportion of hypertension in ISR group were significantly higher than those in nISR group, and the level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was significantly lower than that in nISR group (all P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in other biochemical indexes and inflammatory factors between the two groups (all P>0.05). The minimum lumen diameter of stent segment in ISR group was significantly lower than that in nISR group ( t=14.975, P<0.01), and the stenosis degree of stent segment diameter was significantly higher than that in nISR group ( P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Lp-PLA2 remained an independent predictor for ISR (1.011, 95% CI: 1.005-1.017). Only the serum levels of Lp-PLA2 had linear relationship with the degree of ISR by multivariate linear regression analysis ( β=0.790, P<0.01). Conclusions:Serum Lp-PLA2 level is independently associated with an increased risk of ISR in patients with coronary heart disease.

Predictive value of preablative stimulated thyroglobulin in detection of distant metastases in children and adolescents with differentiated thyroid cancer / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To explore the value of preablative stimulated thyroglobulin (ps-Tg) in predicting distant metastasis (DM) at the time of 131I therapy in children and adolescents with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Methods:From January 2016 to March 2020, 54 children and adolescents who underwent total thyroidectomy due to DTC in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were retrospectively reviewed and divided into 2 groups according to the presence of DM or not: M0 group( n=29, 10 males, 19 females, age (16.3±3.8) years) and M1 group( n=25, 13 males, 12 females, age (12.4±4.3) years). Independent-sample t test, χ2 test (or Fisher′s exact test) and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the general characteristics between the two groups. According to status of regional lymph node (RLN) at the time of 131I therapy, the two groups were further divided into M1RLN+ ( n=8) and M1RLN-( n=17), M0RLN+ ( n=5) and M0RLN-( n=24) subgroups. Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the different ps-Tg levels between M0 and M1, M1RLN+ and M1RLN-, as well as M0RLN+ and M0RLN-groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to obtain a cut-off value of ps-Tg as a predictor of DM. Results:Patients with DM tended to have higher ps-Tg level (medians: 406.80 μg/L vs 7.90 μg/L, U=690.000, P<0.001), younger age ( t=-3.559, P=0.001), larger tumor size ( t=3.523, P=0.001), more advanced T stage ( U=506.500, P=0.010) and more multifocality( P=0.013) in comparison with those without DM. Though ps-Tg did not significantly differ between M1RLN+ group and M1RLN-group ( U=98.500, P>0.05) or between M0RLN+ group and M0RLN-group ( U=63.000, P>0.05), the two RLN+ groups tended to hold higher medians than the two RLN-groups (18.05 vs 5.71 μg/L; 1 698.50 vs 216.40 μg/L). In order to avoid the possible influence on the ps-Tg cut-off value, 13 RLN+ samples were removed, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.946 (95% CI: 0.883-1.000). The ps-Tg level of 55.87 μg/L was established as the optimal cut-off value to distinguish M0RLN- from M1RLN-, with the sensitivity and specificity of 14/17 and 95.8%(23/24), respectively. Conclusion:Ps-Tg holds a high predictive value in identifying DM, which may be of great help in avoiding inadequate 131I treatment in children and adolescents with metastatic DTC ignored by radiological examinations.

Diagnostic value of three evaluation methods of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in detecting bone marrow infiltration in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate three methods of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in detecting bone marrow infiltration in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-seven patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma from July 2012 to June 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received both ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scan and bone marrow biopsy in the region of the posterior iliac crests. There were three evaluation methods of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT to detect bone marrow infiltration, including visual comparison (the FDG uptake in bone marrow of iliac crests was higher than the normal liver tissue), the maximal standardized uptake values (SUV(max)) in bone marrow of iliac crests (more than or equal to 2.5), the ratio of maximal standardized uptake values of iliac crests bone marrow to liver parenchyma intensity (more than 1). All results were compared with the bone marrow biopsy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Visual comparison of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT could be used to diagnose bone marrow infiltration, with the sensitivity of 100.00%, specificity of 80.00%, positive predictive value of 48.00%, and negative predictive value of 100.00%. When the SUV(max) of iliac crests was used as the diagnostic threshold, the sensitivity was 75.00%, with 92.31% specificity, 64.29% positive predictive value, and 95.24% negative predictive value. The ratio of SUV(max) had the best diagnostic efficiency, with sensitivity of 100.00%, specificity of 90.77%, positive predictive value of 66.67%, and negative predictive value of 100.00%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The ratio of SUV(max) is a valuable diagnostic method in detecting diffuse large B-cell lymphoatic bone marrow involvement.</p>

Integrated positron emission tomography and computed tomography in preoperative lymph node staging of non-small cell lung cancer / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Integrated positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) is increasingly used for the preoperative nodal staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of PET/CT in comparison with CT in detection of nodal metastasis and preoperative nodal staging in patients with NSCLC, and to analyze the causes of the PET/CT false-negative and false-positive results.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Consecutive patients with pathologically proven NSCLC who underwent staging using PET/CT from July 2008 to February 2012 were evaluated retrospectively. Nodal staging was pathologically confirmed on tissue specimens obtained at thoracotomy. The accuracy of PET/CT and CT in the assessment of intrathoracic nodal involvement was determined using histological results as the reference standard. Logistic regression was used to define the causes of the false-negative and false-positive results.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 528 lymph node stations were evaluated in 101 patients. Lymph nodes were positive for malignancy in 43 out of 101 patients (42.6%), and 101 out of 528 nodal stations (19.2%). PET/CT was significantly more accurate for nodal staging than CT. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of PET/CT for detecting nodal metastasis were 51.5%, 95.8%, 74.3%, 89.3%, and 87.3% and the corresponding data by CT were 45.5%, 87.1%, 45.5%, 87.1%, and 79.2%, respectively. PET/CT confers significantly higher specificity, positive predictive value, and accuracy than CT in detecting nodal metastasis. False-negative results by PET/CT are significantly associated with smaller lymph node size, whereas false-positive results are related to a combination of inflammatory disorders and larger lymph node size.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>PET/CT confers significantly higher accuracy than CT in nodal staging, and is more specific and accurate than CT in detecting nodal metastasis but has a low sensitivity and high false-negative rate.</p>

Application of 131I-MIBG scintigraphy in diagnosis of pheochromocytoma / 中国医学影像技术

Objective To assess the clinical value of 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy in pheochromocytoma. Methods A total of 430 patients with clinically suspected pheochromocytoma underwent 131I-MIBG whole body scintigraphy, 326 among them underwent B-ultrasound, 400 for CT and 77 for MR examination respectively. While 178 among them were diagnosed with pathology and the others were diagnosed clinically. Results Of all the patients, 108 were diagnosed pheochromocytoma, including 89 131I-MIBG scan positive and 19 negative. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 131I-MIBG were 82.41%, 100% and 95.70%, respectively. 131I-MIBG scan detected 90.00% of unilateral adrenal, 45.45% of bilateral adrenal, 85.71% of ectopic and 66.67% of malignant lesions, respectively. The proportion of patients with positive 131I-MIBG scan increased from 20.69% in all patients to 35.15% in patients with clinical symptoms and positive conventional imaging (at least one of B-ultrasonography, CT or MR was positive) and 64.58% in those with clinical symptoms, positive conventional imaging, and elevated 24 h urinary catacholamines. In 59 patients with adrenal incidentaloma, 8 were scan-positive and all had confirmed pheochromocytoma, while 2 of scan-negative patients also had confirmed pheochromocytoma. Conclusion 131I-MIBG scintigraphy is the first choice for the diagnosis of both adrenal and extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma. However, it is inappropriate to take this method as the initial screening approach.