Metastatic pulmonary calcification is a consequence of calcium deposition in the normal pulmonary parenchyma, secondary to abnormal calcium metabolism. The most characteristic radiological manifestation is poorly defined nodular opacities that are mainly seen in the upper lung zone. The aim of this report is to describe the CT and MRI findings observed in two patients with metastatic pulmonary calcification. The disease may present in CT as consolidations with calcification, and with a high lesion/muscle signal intensity ratio on T1 weighted imaging without contrast in MRI. The high signal on T1 weighted imaging probably occurs because the low calcium concentration of the lesion changes the surface effects of diamagnetic calcium particles, causing T1 shortening of water protons. MRI is a good option for characterising calcium accumulation caused by a metabolic disorder.

Malignant tumours of the sacrum may be primary or secondary. While sacral metastases are frequently encountered, a diagnostic dilemma can present when there is a single sacral bone tumour with no history or evidence of malignancy elsewhere in the body. Familiarity with the imaging features and clinical presentations of primary malignant bone tumours is helpful in narrowing the differential. This pictorial review will illustrate with both common and uncommon malignant sacral tumours CT, MRI and positron emission tomography/CT, highlighting the specific features of each.

Objectives

To evaluate the effects of employing a 10B-carrier and manipulating intratumour hypoxia on local tumour response and lung metastatic potential in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) by measuring the response of intratumour quiescent (Q) cells.

Methods

B16-BL6 melanoma tumour-bearing C57BL/6 mice were continuously given 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) to label all proliferating (P) cells. The tumours received reactor thermal neutron beam irradiation following the administration of a 10B-carrier [L-para-boronophenylalanine-10B (BPA) or sodium mercaptoundecahydrododecaborate-10B (BSH)] in combination with an acute hypoxia-releasing agent (nicotinamide) or mild temperature hyperthermia (MTH). Immediately after the irradiation, cells from some tumours were isolated and incubated with a cytokinesis blocker. The responses of the Q and total (P+Q) cell populations were assessed based on the frequency of micronuclei using immunofluorescence staining for BrdU. In other tumour-bearing mice, macroscopic lung metastases were enumerated 17 days after irradiation.

Results

BPA-BNCT increased the sensitivity of the total tumour cell population more than BSH-BNCT. However, the sensitivity of Q cells treated with BPA was lower than that of BSH-treated Q cells. With or without a 10B–carrier, MTH enhanced the sensitivity of the Q cell population. Without irradiation, nicotinamide treatment decreased the number of lung metastases. With irradiation, BPA-BNCT, especially in combination with nicotinamide treatment, showed the potential to reduce the number of metastases more than BSH-BNCT.

Conclusion

BSH-BNCT in combination with MTH improves local tumour control, while BPA-BNCT in combination with nicotinamide may reduce the number of lung metastases.

The presence of the appendix within a femoral hernia is rare. It was first described by the French surgeon Jacques Croissant de Garengeot in 1731. This phenomenon accounts for 0.8–1% of all femoral hernias. Acute appendicitis occurring within a femoral hernia is even rarer and is difficult to diagnose pre-operatively. This type of hernia is termed a de Garengeot hernia. The ultrasonographic and CT imaging features of de Garengeot hernias have been described previously. We report a case of a 57-year-old female who presented with a painful right-sided groin mass. She underwent MRI of the inguinal region, which successfully diagnosed this rare hernia pre-operatively. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a de Garengeot hernia diagnosed using MRI.

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare two different automated biopsy needles, a fully automated biopsy needle (Monopty; Bard, Covington, GA) and a semi-automated biopsy needle (Temno; Bauer Medical, Clearwater, FL), for lung biopsy.

Methods

50 consecutive percutaneous lung biopsies using the Monopty needle between June 2006 and January 2007 and 66 consecutive lung biopsies for 1 nodule in each session using the Temno needle between February 2007 and August 2008 were performed under CT fluoroscopic guidance followed by histopathological evaluation.

Results

In 42/50 lung biopsies performed with the Monopty needle and 54/66 lung biopsies performed with the Temno needle, the final diagnosis was confirmed by independent surgical pathological findings or clinical follow-up. Sufficient samples for histopathological evaluation were obtained in all 50 (100%) biopsies using the Monopty needle and in 55 (83.3%) of the 66 biopsies using the Temno needle (p<0.01). Accurate diagnosis was achieved in 41 (97.6%) of 42 biopsies using the Monopty needle and in 45 (83.3%) of 54 biopsies using the Temno needle (p=0.04). Biopsy-induced complications were pneumothorax, haemoptysis and haemothorax in 44.0%, 10.0% and 6.0% of biopsies, respectively, using the Monopty needle and in 48.3%, 8.3% and 3.3%, respectively, using the Temno needle.

Conclusion

There is a possibility that a fully automated biopsy needle such as the Monopty is more useful for CT scan-guided lung biopsy than semi-automated biopsy needles.

Objectives

To evaluate the efficacy and treatment-related toxicity of accelerated hyperfractionation field-involved re-irradiation combined with concurrent capecitabine chemotherapy for locally recurrent and irresectable rectal cancer (LRIRC).

Methods

72 patients with LRIRC who underwent the treatment were studied. Three-dimensional conformal accelerated hyperfractionation radiotherapy (3D-CAHRT) was performed and the dose was delivered with a schedule of 1.2 Gy twice daily, with an interval of at least 6 h between fractions, 5 days a week. Concurrent capecitabine chemotherapy was administered twice daily. After 36 Gy in 30 fractions over 3 weeks, patients were evaluated to define the resectability of the disease. If resection was not feasible irradiation was resumed until the total dose administered to the tumour reached 51.6–56.4 Gy.

Results

Two patients temporarily interrupted concurrent chemoradiation because of Grade IV diarrhoea. The remaining 70 patients completed the planned concurrent chemoradiation. In all patients, the complete response rate was 8.3% and the partial response rate was 51.4%. The overall response rate was 59.7% and clinical benefit rate was 93.1%. Symptomatic responses proved to be obvious and tumour resection was performed in 18 patients. The overall median survival time and median progression-free survival time were 32 and 17 months, respectively. 3 year overall survival and progression-free survival were 45.12% and 31.19%, respectively. Severely acute toxicities included Grade III–IV diarrhoea and granulocytopenia with 9.7% and 8.3% incidence respectively. Small bowel obstruction was severely late toxicity, and the incidence was 1.4%.

Conclusion

Three-dimensional conformal accelerated hyperfractionation field-involved re-irradiation combined with concurrent capecitabine chemotherapy might be an effective and well-tolerated regimen for patients with LRIRC.

The potential harmful effects of ionising radiation continue to be highlighted. Radiation reduction techniques have largely consisted of low-dose techniques rather than a shift to non-ionising methods of imaging. CT scanning is frequently employed for imaging the craniofacial skeleton despite being one of the key anatomical regions for radiation protection in view of the radiosensitive lens and thyroid gland. We describe a low flip angle gradient echo MRI sequence which provides high image contrast between bone and other tissues but reduces the contrast between individual soft tissues. This permits the “black bone” to be easily distinguished from the uniformity of the soft tissues. While maintaining a repetition time of 8.6 ms and an echo time of 4.2 ms, the flip angle which provided optimised suppression of both fat and water was identified to be 5°. The biometric accuracy of this sequence was confirmed using a phantom to obtain direct anatomical measurements and comparable CT scanning. The average discrepancy between black bone MRI measurements and direct anatomical measurements was 0.32 mm. Black bone MRI therefore has the potential to reduce radiation exposure by replacing CT scanning when imaging the facial skeleton, with particular scope for imaging benign conditions in the young.

Hyperdense renal cysts, a common condition in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, may be induced by haemorrhage into the cysts. However, hyperdense renal cysts resulting from retention of contrast material after intravenous injection is extremely uncommon because the intravenous administration of contrast material does not induce an increase in the attenuation of renal cysts. We report a case of retention of iodinated contrast material within renal cysts in a patient with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

Objective

To evaluate the usefulness of fistulography as a diagnostic and management tool for clinically suspected pancreatic fistulas (PF) after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).

Methods

84 consecutive fistulographies were performed for clinical suspicion of PF and retrospectively analysed. We radiologically defined two types of PF by means of fistulography, PF1 in the case of primary filling with contrast agent of the jejunal loop or stomach and PF2 in the case of secondary filling of the jejunal loop or stomach through a fistulous tract or a fluid collection.

Results

In 35/84 (41.7%) of the fistulograms, a PF1 was demonstrated owing to an instantaneous opacification of the intestinal lumen or the stomach, without evidence of a fistulous tract or fluid collection. In 49/84 (58.3%) fistulograms, a PF2 was demonstrated by the depiction of a fluid collection and/or a fistulous tract and a communication with the intestinal loop or the stomach anastomised with the pancreas. The mean healing time of a PF after PD was 2.7 days for PF1, and 9.8 days for PF2.

Conclusion

Fistulography helps in the confirmation of clinically suspect PF, and can distinguish PF1 and PF2, thus decreasing post-operative morbidity significantly.

Objective

Standard tangential radiotherapy techniques after breast conservative surgery (BCS) often results in the irradiation of the tip of the left ventricle and the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), potentially increasing cardiovascular morbidity. The importance of minimising radiation dose to these structures has attracted increased interest in recent years. We tested a hypothesis that in some cases, by manipulating beam angles and accepting lower-than-prescribed doses of radiation in small parts of the breast distant from the surgical excision site, significant cardiac sparing can be achieved compared with more standard plans.

Methods

A sample of 12 consecutive patients undergoing radiotherapy after left-sided BCS was studied. All patients were planned with a 6 MV tangential beam, beam angles were manipulated carefully and if necessary lower doses were given to small parts of the breast distant from the surgical excision site to minimise cardiac irradiation (“institutional” plan). Separate “hypothetical standard” plans were generated for seven patients using set field margins that met published guidelines.

Results

In seven patients, the institutional plans resulted in lower doses to the LAD and myocardium than the hypothetical standard plans. In the other five patients, LAD and myocardial doses were deemed minimal using the hypothetical standard plan, which in these patients corresponded to the institutional plan (the patients were actually treated using the institutional plans).

Conclusion

Much attention has been devoted to ways of minimising cardiac radiation dose. This small sample demonstrates that careful manipulation of beam angles can often be a simple, but effective technique to achieve this.

We describe the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound as an additional imaging technique during an ultrasound examination of a traumatised testis, allowing for confident testicular preserving surgery to be performed.

At our academic institution, we have noticed repeated examples of both false-positive and false-negative MR diagnoses in breast cancer. The most common diagnostic errors in interpreting MRI of the breast are discussed in this review and experience-based advice is provided to avoid similar mistakes. The most common reasons for false-positive diagnoses are misinterpretation of artefacts, confusion between normal enhancing structures and tumours and, above all, insufficient use of the American College of Radiology breast imaging reporting and data system lexicon, whereas false-negative diagnoses are made as a result of missed tiny enhancement, a background-enhancing breast, or enhancement interpreted as benign rather than malignant.

We present the case of a 79-year-old female with symptomatic cavernous haemangioma of the liver. The patient had experienced progressive right lateral abdominal pain for years despite increased painkiller use. Surgical resection or transarterial embolisation was not recommended because of the patient’s age, cardiovascular comorbidities and large tumour size. Therefore, the patient was treated with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (RT) with a total dose of 30 Gy in 15 fractions. Following RT, the painkillers were tapered from the third month, and complete symptomatic remission was achieved after the ninth month. The measured tumour volume from serial images pre-RT and 3, 9 and 15 months post-RT was 400 ml, 372 ml, 185 ml and 140 ml, respectively. The most dramatic volumetric reduction was found between 3 and 9 months post-RT, whereas the change before or after this period was minimal. The time course of the radiological volumetric changes correlated with that of the clinical symptoms. In addition, the observed vascular changes on serial imaging studies were consistent with the assumed radiobiological effects after fractionated RT.

Objective

For CT coronary angiography (CTCA), a generic chest conversion factor returns a significant underestimate of effective dose. The aim of this manuscript is to communicate new dosimetry methods to calculate weighted CT dose index (CTDIw), effective dose, entrance surface dose (ESD) and organ dose to the breast for prospectively gated CTCA.

Methods

CTDIw in 32 cm diameter Perspex phantom was measured using an adapted technique, accounting for the segmented scan characteristic. Gafchromic XRCT film (International Speciality Products, New Jersey, NJ) was used to measure the distribution and magnitude of ESD. Breast dose was measured using high sensitivity metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors and compared to the computer based imaging performance assessment of CT scanners (ImPACT) dosimetry calculations.

Results

For a typical cardiac scan the mean ESD remained broadly constant (7–9 mGy) when averaged over the circumference of the Perspex phantom. Typical absorbed dose to the breast with prospectively gated protocols was within the range 2–15 mGy. The subsequent lifetime attributable risk (LAR) of cancer incidence to the breast was found at 0.01–0.06 for a 20-year-old female. This compares favourably to 100 mGy (LAR ∼0.43) for a retrospectively gated CTCA.

Conclusions

Care must be taken when considering radiation dosimetry associated with prospectively gated scanning for CTCA and a method has been conveyed to account for this. Breast doses for prospectively gated CTCA are an order of magnitude lower than retrospectively gated scans. Optimisation of cardiac protocols is expected to show further dose reduction.