Characterization of tumoral lesions of the breast: preliminary experience with multislice spiral CT.

The aim of the present study was to validate low dose Multislice Spiral Computed Tomography (MSCT) in the diagnosis of breast lesions. Fourteen patients with mammographic and ultrasound findings suspect of malignant neoplasm underwent dynamic MSCT of the breast under basal conditions and 1, 3, and 6 minutes after intravenous injection of iodinated contrast medium. Both enhancement of the lesion >100% without further increase after 6 minutes, and irregular margins of the lesion were considered signs of malignancy. All lesions were examined cytologically and/or histologically. A correct diagnosis was achieved by MSCT in 7/8 malignant lesions, and in 6/6 benign lesions. The only malignant lesion missed by MSCT was histologically a ductal carcinoma in situ (false negative). In one case the MSCT showed the multifocality of an infiltrating ductal carcinoma, and in another it defined the bilaterality of the malignant lesions. Sensitivity and specificity of MSCT in the diagnosis of malignancy of a lesion were 88% and 100%, respectively. Our results suggest that MSCT is an effective diagnostic method to define suspicious breast lesions, and a valid alternative to Magnetic Resonance Imaging, especially when the latter is not feasible.

[Collateral effects of intraoperative hyperthermic chemotherapy in peritoneal carcinomatosis]. / Effetti collaterali della ipertermochemioterapia intraoperatoria nel trattamento della carcinosi peritoneale.

The association between chemotherapy and hypertermia produces a synergic effect. In this study the Authors present their experience, by the analysis of the results. From 1993 to 2000, 17 patients have been treated with surgery associated with hypertermic chemotherapy for peritoneal carcinomatosis. For the management of these patients a constant cooperation among surgeon, cardiologist and anaesthetist is very important.

[Diagnosis and treatment of distal bile duct carcinoma: our experience]. / Diagnosi e trattamento delle neoplasie del coledoco distale: nostra esperienza.

Bile duct carcinomas are known to be difficult to cure, due to frequent locoregional recurrence even after radical resection. The Authors analyze their experience in a study about 53 patients treated between October 1991-January 2002.

[Magnetic resonance of the knee: possibility and current indications]. / La risonanza magnetica del ginocchio: possibilità ed indicazioni attuali.

MRI is a multiparametric, multiplanar, non-invasive largely employed tool for assessing osseous, ligamentous and tendineous injuries, inflammatory and degenerative changes of the knee. Although its wider availability and the lack of ionizing radiations MRI should be used only if clinically useful in patient management, in a appropriate diagnostic iter including plain film and/or ultrasound examination. The aim of our work is to review possibilities, limits and current indications for MRI assessment of diseases of the knee.

Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma of the thoracic wall.

The authors report the CT features of a very rare case of Extraskeletal Myxoid Chondrosarcoma of the thoracic wall, one of a few malignant primary bone tumors which rarely originate from soft tissues.

CT cystoscopy in the evaluation of bladder tumors.

The aim of the present study was to assess the role of virtual cystoscopy in the identification of bladder tumors. Fifteen patients (11 men and 4 women, median age: 61 years, range: 46-74 years) with a positive finding of bladder tumor at fiber-optic cystoscopy were studied by multislice-CT. Scans were downloaded to a workstation with the aid of a software for the processing of 3-D reconstructions, with a volume-rendering technique which allowed the "navigation" within the bladder in search of wall lesions. In this group of 15 patients, cystoscopy was able to detect 19 neoplastic lesions, 13 with a diameter >10 mm and 6 with a diameter <10 mm. Virtual cystoscopy, instead, identified 17 lesions (89%) only. In particular, all those lesions with a diameter >1 cm (13/13=100%) were correctly identified, whereas only 4 of the 6 lesions with a diameter <1 cm were depicted. The 2 false negative cases were 2 lesions with a flat morphology, measuring 5 and 6 mm. Most recent technological advances allowed the employement of virtual endoscopies, characterized by the absence of invasivity as compared with fiber-optic studies and based on data obtained by spiral- and multislice-CTs. According to our experience, virtual CT-cystoscopy revealed to be a complementary tool in the evaluation of cross-sectional images and proved to be an easy procedure without complications, well-accepted by the patients, and with a reliable detection of those bladder lesions measuring more than 5 mm in case of polypoid formations and at least 10 mm in case of flat lesions. This technique, however, does not allow the collection of a bioptic sample and--with the present resolution power of available equipments--it could be unable to correctly detect small-sized flat lesions. We, nonetheless, believe that this procedure, in the future, thanks to rapid technological improvements in virtual imaging techniques, could become a useful diagnostic tool in the management of those patients with bladder tumors. Further studies on larger study groups are therefore desirable for a more reliable validation of the technique.

Adenocarcinoma on horseshoe kidney studied with computed tomography.

Horseshoe kidney is a congenital anomaly of the upper urinary system frequently associated with atypical vascularization, mostly asymptomatic, usually undetected until the onset of infectious, obstructive or neoplastic complications. Although intravenous pyelography and US are useful tools, the role of CT is of vital importance especially in the pre-operative planning of related complications and in those cases where other techniques have correctly diagnosed the disease but have missed the visualization of an underlying malformation. We report here two cases of adenocarcinoma in two patients with a horseshoe kidney, where CT has clearly depicted both the malformation and the associated pathologic findings.

[Esthesioneuroblastoma. Description of a case investigated with CT and MR]. / Estesioneuroblastoma. Descrizione di un caso studiato con TC e RM.

Esthesioneuroblastoma, also known as olfactory neuroblastoma, is a rare neuroendocrine tumor originating from the olfactory epithelium of the upper nasal cavity and representing < 3% of all tumors of the nasal cavities. This malignant tumor is characterized by a slow growth and local recurrencies and has a more favorable prognosis as compared with other more frequent forms of neuroblastomas originating from the suprarenal medulla and the sympathetic nervous system. Affected patients usually present with a history of progressive nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, and severe epistaxis--sign of the conspicuous vascularity of this type of tumor. The combined use of CT and MR techniques allows the diagnostic suspicion of esthesioneuroblastoma and is of vital importance in the accurate staging of the disease and in the treatment planning.

[The radiologic report and its readability]. / Il referto radiologico e la sua leggibilità.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the readability of radiologic reports and to determine whether they can be improved by modifying then according to precisely defined rules. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty reports, 10 for each diagnostic procedure (conventional radiography, US, CT, MRI); were randomly selected from a corpus of 400. The reports were analysed quantitatively using a dedicated software and qualitatively taking into account the formal, syntactic and lexical aspects of linguistically correct language and specially defined rules. On the basis of the collected results the reports were modified and analysed. RESULTS: Once again the modifications resulted in increased legibility (as testified by readability indices) that was more evident in US and X-ray reports and less evident in CT and MR reports because of the quantity of technical terms. It hoped that a radiological lexicon and guidelines for report writing will be widely adapted, so that radiologic reports will be more readable and easy understand.