Metachronous Brain Tumor in 177Lu-PSMA Scan in a Patient with Metastatic Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer Mimicking Disease Progression.

A 66-year old man known case of metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer underwent successful 6 cycles treatment with 177Lu- prostate-specific membrane antigen. On the last post therapy whole body scan a new lesion in the skull was noted, suspected for disease progression. One week later, the patient complained from weakness of left upper extremity and brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a brain tumor, confirmed as glioblastoma pathologically.

Parathyroid Carcinoma With Marked Uptake of 99mTcO4.

ABSTRACT: A 51-year-old man with a palpable neck mass and elevated parathyroid hormone was referred to our department for parathyroid scintigraphy. After injection of 740 MBq 99mTc-MIBI, a dual-phase scan was obtained, which revealed a persistent and intense focal hyperactivity in the left side of the neck (compatible with the neck mass). Thyroid scan with 99mTcO4- also showed increased uptake of the mass, similar to a hot thyroid nodule. After surgery, parathyroid carcinoma was confirmed pathologically. This case demonstrates a rare presentation of parathyroid carcinoma as a hot nodule in thyroid scan, which has been attributed to hypervascularity of the lesion.

A Case of Coronavirus Infection Incidentally Found on FDG PET/CT Scan.

We present a highly suspicious case of COVID-19 infection, incidentally found on F-FDG PET/CT images. Patient was scanned on February, 25, 2020, when COVID-19 outbreak was unrecognized in our country. She admitted having recent occasional dry cough and fever. A retrospective review of her clinical and laboratory data was strongly suggestive for diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. PET/CT images demonstrated hypermetabolic diffuse ground glass opacities in both lungs with bilateral nodules. There was no evidence of pleural effusion or prominent mediastinal or hilar lymphadenopathy. Radiologists must be aware of COVID-19 presentations on PET/CT scan images during COVID-19 outbreak.

Diagnostic Utility of Lutetium-177 (Lu 177) Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Scintigraphy In Prostate Cancer Patients With PSA Rise And Negative Conventional Imaging.

PURPOSE: Prostate cancer is a major worldwide health concern with up to 60% of patients experiencing biochemical relapse after radical treatment. Introduction of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based radiotracers for imaging and therapy had gained increasing attention in recent years. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with Ga68 PSMA is the most promising technique, but PSMA-based radiotracers SPECT imaging with low dose of 177Lu-PSMA when PET imaging is not available may also be considered. The goal of the study is to evaluate the sensitivity of 177Lu_psma for detection of metastatic sites in patients with biochemical relapse and negative conventional (MRI, MRS, CT scan and bone scintigraphy) imaging. MATERIALS & METHODS: 26 patients with biochemical recurrence after curative (surgery and/or radiotherapy) therapy, which had previous negative imaging as pelvic CT scan, pelvic MRI, MRS and bone scan, were enrolled in this clinical imaging approach between 2015 and 2017.After injection of 5 mCi (185MBq)177Lu-PSMA-617, diagnostic planar whole body scan and SPECT study was obtained after 3 hours, 24 hours and  72 hours . The images were analyzed visually by an expert nuclear medicine physician for the presence of active regional or distant lesions.  Results were then prospectively checked by new CT scan images as a control. RESULT: A total of 26 patients, with a mean age of 70 years (range: 46 to 89 years) were included in this study. The overall detection rates were 38.5% (10 out of 26 patients). Most common site of detected lesions was lung in 6 patients, abdominal lymph nodes in 2 and mediastinum in another 2 patients. CONCLUSION: 177Lu-PSMA SPECT scan can help detecting metastatic lesions in more than one third of patients with biochemical recurrence and negative conventional investigations, when 68Ga- PSMA PET is not available.

Efficacy and safety of 177Lutetium-prostate-specific membrane antigen therapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients: First experience in West Asia - A prospective study.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a transmembrane protein that is highly expressed on the surface of prostate cancer (PC) cells, making it an excellent radiotracer for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. In this prospective study, we investigated the efficacy and toxicity of 177Lutetium (Lu)-PSMA in metastatic castration-resistant PC (mCRPC) patients for the establishment and approval of this therapy in Iran. Fourteen mCRPC patients (mean age 70.57 ± 7.3 years) were treated with a single dose of 177Lu-PSMA. Complete blood count, liver function tests (aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase), alkaline phosphatase levels, renal function tests (urea and creatinine), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were obtained for the patients at baseline and every 2 weeks. A majority of the patients (11 patients, 64.2%) experienced a decline in their PSA levels; in 5 (45.4%) of these patients, the PSA levels declined > 50%.The severity of pain decreased in 8 (57.1%) patients, and performance status was improved in 5 (45.4%) patients. The treatment was well tolerated, and no severe hematological or nonhematological side effects were observed. Our findings show that 177Lu-PSMA had a high efficacy and a low toxicity in an Iranian population and is a promising treatment option for PC patients.

Erectile dysfunction in methadone maintenance patients: a cross sectional study in northern iran.

OBJECTIVE: Erectile dysfunction affects quality of life and is a common dysfunction in drug abusers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of erectile dysfunction in drug abusers on methadone maintenance therapy to reduce this drug side effect in the future studies. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted with two hundred addicted individuals on methadone maintenance therapy. Erectile dysfunction was surveyed using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). Finally, all data were collected and analyzed by descriptive statistics such as measures of variability and central tendency and Chi-squared (χ(2)) test using SPSS Version18.0 software. RESULTS: The amount of the total frequency of erectile dysfunction was pointed 30 or less among the two hundred patients and included the moderate and severe cases. In this study, the number of patients with erectile dysfunction was fifty three (26.5%). CONCLUSION: The frequency of erectile dysfunction in our study was approximately 1.5 times of prevalence of the public (16.1%). In this study, all the factors related to sexual function such as erectile function, libido, orgasm, and sexual pleasure showed a decline among drug abusers.