RESUMO
Objective To observe the value of virtual tough tissue imaging quantification (VTIQ) in differential diagnosis of thyroid imaging reporting and data system(TI-RADS) 4 thyroid nodules.Methods A total of 185 patients with 192 TI-RADS 4 nodules were included in this study.The nodules were divided into three groups according to the maximum size as follows:Group Ⅰ,the maximum size≤0.6 cm;Group Ⅱ,0.6 cm＜ the maximum size≤ 1.0 cm;Group Ⅲ,the maximum size ＞ 1.0 cm.Shear wave velocities (SWV) of nodules were measured by means of VTIQ technique.With pathological diagnosis as the gold standard,SWV value of benign and malignant nodules were analyzed and ROC curve was drawn to assess the diagnostic efficiency.Results By the ROC curve test,at SWV cut-off values of 2.44 m/s for group Ⅰ and group Ⅱ,2.49 m/s for group Ⅲ,the sensitivity were 79.0 ％,76.0 ％,88.6％,specificity were 88.6％,89.5 ％,93.7 ％,accuracy were 83.5 ％,81.8 ％,90.1％,Youden index were 0.68,0.66,0.82,respectively.Conclusions VTIQ can reflect the hardness of TI-RADS 4 nodules,the value of the differential diagnosis of such nodules is high,convenient,noninvasive and not limited by the size of nodules.
RESUMO
Objective:To compare the effect of the frequency of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) on preventing tumor recurrence after hepatectomy. Methods:A total of 45 post-operative patients who had received prophylactic TACE once or thrice were retrospectively examined between January 2008 and June 2009. Of the 45 patients, 23 underwent TACE once, and the others un-derwent it thrice. TACE was administered to all patients via the hepatic artery one to two months after operation and was repeated every two to four months with patients who underwent TACE three times. All cases were followed up for 36 to 40 months after surgery. The rates of cumulative recurrence between the two groups were compared. Results:In the group that underwent TACE once, the 1-, 2-and 3-year cumulative recurrence rates were 30.43%, 47.83%, and 47.83%, respectively. In the group that underwent TACE thrice, the 1-, 2-and 3-year cumulative recurrence rates were 4.55%, 27.27%, and 36.36%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the relapse rate within one year was lower in the group that underwent TACE thrice than in the group that underwent TACE only once (P=0.022). How-ever, no significant difference in the cumulative recurrence rate was found between the two groups in two and three years (P=0.086, 0.225). Conclusion:Hepatocellular carcinoma patients who undergo preventive TACE three times after hepatectomy exhibit reduced re-currence rates during the peak time of tumor recurrence and extended disease-free survival intervals.