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Background & objectives: Tissue stiffness in liver is related to tissue composition, which is changed by cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma or metastases. Shear wave ultrasonographic elastography is a new imaging technique by which the elasticity of soft tissue can be measured quantitatively. The aim of this study was to measure the elasticity values of liver segments in healthy volunteers. Methods: One hundred twenty seven healthy volunteers (89 women, 38 men; mean age 37, 72 ± 9.11 yr, range 17-63 yr) were examined on shear wave elastography and ultrasonography by using convex probe with a frequency of 3 MHz. Individuals with liver hepatosteatosis, cirrhosis, chronic liver disease, or focal liver lesions were excluded from the study. Results: The mean elasticity values of right posterior, right anterior, left medial and left lateral segments of the liver was determined as 4 (±2.2), 3.3 (±2.1), 3.8 (±2.1), and 3.7 (±1.9) kPa for each segments, respectively. There was no significant difference in liver elasticity values between men and women. Interpretation & conclusions: In this preliminary study the elasticity values of liver segments were measured by shear wave ultrasonographic elastography in normal healthy volunteers. Further studies, comparing elasticity values of normal and pathologic tissues are needed to detect the diagnostic role of this new technique.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Compare clinical outcomes in patients having urothelial tumors invading less than one half of the depth of bladder muscle and greater than one half of bladder muscle and, to determine various clinical variables as predictive factors for survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: According to our inclusion criteria, 57 patients among cases with T2 bladder tumor were selected. Thirty-five patients (61.4 percent) had pT2a (Group-1) and 22 patients (38.6 percent) had pT2b (Group-2) muscle invasive tumors. Mean follow up time was 7.3 years for Group-1, and 6.1 years for Group-2. Multivariate analysis was performed in order to identify possible correlation of clinical variables like age, gender, grade of primary tumor, appearance of local and/ or distant metastasis with patient outcome. RESULTS: Five year recurrence-free and overall survival rates were 69.1 percent and 44.3 percent for patients with pT2a tumor, whereas these ratios were 66.1 percent and 43 percent, respectively for patients with pT2b tumor (p = 0.896; p = 0.975). Mean overall and progression-free survival times were 87.7 ± 13.8 and 116 ± 13.12 months for Group-1, while they were 73.8 ± 13.7 and 88.85 ± 12.55 months for Group-2, respectively. On both univariate and multivariate analysis, age was noticed as an independent predictive factor for survival. CONCLUSIONS: The depth of muscle invasion in bladder tumors has no prognostic significance. Recurrence of the disease either locally or at distant sites dramatically shortens patients' life. Being older than 60 years old during the time of radical surgery, is also a bad prognostic factor for overall and progression-free survival.