ABSTRACT
Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), labeled with F-18, is a glucose analog that accumulates in cells in proportion to the rate of glucose metabolism, and increased carbohydrate metabolism has been recognized as a feature of malignant cells versus normal cells. In addition, it permits the detection of metastases not discovered by bone scan. Although detection of the primary site of disease is usually accomplished well with conventional techniques, the performance of FDG positron emission tomography (PET) may be useful to determine metastases that are not clinically evident. The authors describe a case of early detection of distant metastases by FDG-PET in a young patient diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma of the hand.
Subject(s)
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 , Rhabdomyosarcoma, Embryonal/pathology , Sarcoma/diagnostic imaging , Sarcoma/secondary , Adolescent , Arm/pathology , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Hand/pathology , Humans , Radionuclide Imaging , Rhabdomyosarcoma, Embryonal/diagnosis , Rhabdomyosarcoma, Embryonal/therapy , Sarcoma/diagnosisABSTRACT
Purpose. To assess the effectiveness of Ir-192 interstitial brachytherapy as an adjunct to wide local excision as a functionsaving strategy for soft tissue sarcomas.Subjects and methods. From September 1993 to April 1998, 20 consecutive patients diagnosed with soft tissue sarcomas were treated with a combination of wide local excision and interstitial brachytherapy. In 16 patients brachytherapy was done as an intraoperative procedure, while in four, the implant was performed post-operatively under local anesthesia. Eleven of the 20 patients also received external beam radiotherapy following the implant.Results. After a mean follow-up of 27 months (4-54) the local control rate for all 20 patients was 85% (17/20). In the 16 patients who had an intra-operative implant, local control was 94% (15/16). In the four patients who underwent a post-operative implant, local control was 50% (2/4). Actuarial 5-year survival was 90%. There were three cases (15%) of severe local complications.Conclusions. Wide local excision followed by low dose rate intersitital brachytherapy have yielded a 85% local control rate in 20 patients with soft tissue sarcomas. Local control rates were higher when the implants were done as an intra-operative procedure than as a post-operative one.
ABSTRACT
Intracapsular and paraarticular chondromas are rare benign tumors. The authors report four such lesions, three of which occurred about the knee and one at the hip. Radiographs showed calcified soft-tissue masses in the infrapatellar region of the knee in three patients. In the hip, the lesion was not visible on conventional radiographs. Three lesions originated from the joint capsule and one was extracapsular. These lesions should be differentiated from synovial chondromatosis and other calcified lesions occurring about the joints. After local excision, the tumors usually do not recur.
