Additional value of combined evaluation of tumor size with lymph node size in the detection of lymph node metastases in early-stage cervical cancer patients.

Although tumor size is a prognostic factor in cervical cancer patients, its role in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis is unclear. We therefore evaluated the diagnostic value of tumor and lymph node size compared with lymph node size alone in the detection of metastatic lymph nodes in patients with early-stage cervical cancer.We retrospectively evaluated 699 patients with International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology stage IB1-IIA cervical carcinoma who underwent magnetic resonance imaging before lymphadenectomy involving all visible lymph nodes in the surgical fields. Seven nodal groups were evaluated: para-aortic, both common iliac, both external iliac, and both internal/obturator areas. Pathologic evaluation was the diagnostic standard. The largest short-axis diameter of lymph nodes in each region and the largest tumor diameters were measured in magnetic resonance images. The value of additional information from magnetic resonance images was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.Of the 699 patients, 108 (15.8%) had lymph node metastases. The areas under the curve for measurements of lymph node size, tumor size, and both were (A) 0.635, (B) 0.706, and (C) 0.742, respectively (A vs B, P = 0.006; A vs C P < 0.001; B vs C, P = 0.002).This study illustrates that magnetic resonance imaging measurements of tumor size and tumor size plus lymph node size showed a higher diagnostic performance than lymph node size alone in predicting lymph node metastasis in patients with early-stage cervical cancer.

Recurrence patterns of bladder transitional cell carcinoma after radical cystectomy.

BACKGROUND: Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is widely accepted as an effective imaging modality in monitoring for bladder cancer recurrence after radical cystectomy. Elucidating the pattern of bladder cancer recurrence on CT can increase the diagnostic accuracy. PURPOSE: To evaluate the recurrence patterns of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and the factors associated with cancer recurrence. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred and forty-nine consecutive patients (mean age, 66.55 years; range, 32-86 years) who underwent preoperative contrast-enhanced CT and radical cystectomy were included in this study. The presence, site, and time of tumor recurrence were recorded retrospectively by two radiologists in a consensus fashion. The association of tumor recurrence and tumor factors (T stage, lymph node metastasis, nuclear grade, and tumor diameter) were also evaluated using multiple logistic regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier statistics. RESULTS: Tumor recurrence occurred in 60 patients (40.3%) with a mean time of 14 months (range, 1-64 months). The sites of recurrence included the operation site (n = 20), lymph node (n = 20), bone (n = 11), liver (n = 6), lung (n = 5), upper urinary tract (n = 4), colon (n = 3), adrenal gland (n = 2), peritoneum (n = 1), abdominal wall (n = 1), psoas muscle (n = 1), and penile skin (n = 1). Tumor recurrence was found to be associated with advanced T stage (P = 0.002) and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Transitional cell carcinomas of the bladder recur more frequently at the operation site and lymph node, and T-stage and lymph node metastasis are closely associated with tumor recurrence.

Primary postpartum hemorrhage: outcome of pelvic arterial embolization in 251 patients at a single institution.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of pelvic arterial embolization (PAE) for the treatment of primary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and to determine the factors associated with clinical outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective single-center study was institutional review board approved, and informed consent was waived. Outcomes were analyzed in 251 patients who underwent PAE for primary PPH between January 2000 and February 2011. Mode of delivery, causes of bleeding, detailed laboratory and treatment records, and clinical outcomes were recorded. Clinical success was defined as cessation of bleeding after initial session of PAE without the need for additional PAE or surgery. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the factors related to clinical outcomes. RESULTS: The clinical success rate was 86.5% (217 of 251). Among the 34 failed cases, 12 underwent repeat PAE, 16 underwent additional surgery, and three recovered with conservative management. Overall bleeding control was achieved in 98.0% (246 of 251) of the patients. Overall mortality was 2% (five of 251) after the first (n = 3) or second (n = 1) session of PAE or additional surgery (n = 1). Among the 113 patients with long-term follow-up, 110 (97.3%) maintained a regular menstrual cycle and 11 had successful pregnancies. Univariate analysis showed that cesarean section delivery, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and massive transfusion of more than 10 red blood cell units were related to failed PAE. Multivariate analysis showed that DIC (odds ratio, 0.36; P = .04) and massive transfusion (odds ratio, 0.10; P < .001) were significantly related to clinical failure. CONCLUSION: PAE is safe and effective for managing primary PPH. Patients with DIC and massive transfusion were likely to have poor results after PAE.

The utility of multi-detector computed tomography in the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion in the patients with ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively assess possible clinical predictors of malignant pleural effusion in patients with ovarian cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This review was performed on 38 ovarian cancer patients that showed pleural effusion in a CT scan and who underwent thoracocentesis before treatment. CT scans were obtained using a 4-channel multi-detector CT scanner. Fisher's exact test was used to determine the probability of malignant pleural effusion as a function of; amount of ascites, lymph node enlargement, amount of pleural effusion, pleural nodules, and pleural thickening. RESULTS: Sixteen (42.1%) of the 38 patients had malignant pleural effusion and malignant pleural effusion amounts were greater than those with nonmalignant effusion. Pleural nodules were more frequently found in the malignant pleural effusion group (eight [50%] patients) than in the nonmalignant group (zero [0%] patient) (p<0.001). Supradiaphragmatic lymph node enlargement (with short axis diameter 1cm or more) was more frequent in malignant group (12 [75%] patients) than in the nonmalignant group (two [9.1%] patients) (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The probability of malignant pleural effusion in patients with ovarian cancer was found to be correlated with the amount of pleural effusion, the presence of pleural nodules, and supradiaphragmatic lymph node enlargement.

Additional value of MR/PET fusion compared with PET/CT in the detection of lymph node metastases in cervical cancer patients.

We evaluated the additional diagnostic value of magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography (MR/PET) fusion in the detection of metastatic lymph nodes in cervical cancer patients. Seventy nine patients with FIGO stage IB-IVA cervical cancer who had undergone both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) before lymphadenectomy were included in this study. Image analysis was first performed with PET/CT images only. A second analysis was then performed with MR/PET fused images that focused on the additional information obtained from the MR images. Lymphadenectomy involved removing all visible lymph nodes in the surgical field. To enable nodal group-specific comparisons, para-aortic and pelvic lymph nodes were divided into seven nodal groups: para-aortic, both common iliac, both external iliac and both internal iliac/obturator areas. Histopathological evaluation of lymph nodes has been the diagnostic standard. The value of the additional information from the MR images was evaluated by means of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Fused MR/PET rendered readers to detect six more metastatic lymph node groups. The sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT and fused MR/PET were 44.1%, 93.9% and 54.2%, 92.7% respectively. The ROC analysis demonstrated a higher diagnostic performance of fused MR/PET compared to PET/CT alone for detecting lymph node metastases (p=0.0259). The findings of this study demonstrate the additional diagnostic value of fused MR/PET images compared with PET/CT in the detection of metastatic lymph nodes in patients with uterine cervical cancer.