Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027627 (metastases)
 103,950 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Currently, up to 50% of the operations in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are futile owing to the presence of locally advanced tumour or distant metastases. More accurate pre-operative staging is required in order to reduce the number of futile operations. The cost-effectiveness of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)FDG-PET) added to the conventional diagnostic work-up was studied in the PLUS study. Prior to invasive staging and/or thoracotomy, 188 patients with (suspected) NSCLC were randomly assigned to conventional work-up (CWU) and whole-body PET or to CWU alone. CWU was based on prevailing guidelines. Pre-operative staging was followed by 1 year of follow-up. Outcomes are expressed in the percentage of correctly staged patients and the associated costs. The cost price of PET varied between <euro>736 and <euro>1,588 depending on the (hospital) setting and the procurement of (18)FDG commercially or from on-site production. In the CWU group, 41% of the patients underwent a futile thoracotomy, whereas in the PET group 21% of the thoracotomies were considered futile ( P=0.003). The average costs per patient in the CWU group were <euro>9,573 and in the PET group, <euro>8,284. The major cost driver was the number of hospital days related to recovery from surgery. Sensitivity analysis on the cost and accuracy of PET showed that the results were robust, i.e. in favour of the PET group. The addition of PET to CWU prevented futile surgery in one out of five patients with suspected NSCLC. Despite the additional PET costs, the total costs were lower in the PET group, mainly due to a reduction in the number of futile operations. The additional use of PET in the staging of patients with NSCLC is feasible, safe and cost saving from a clinical and from an economic perspective.
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PMID:Cost-effectiveness of FDG-PET in staging non-small cell lung cancer: the PLUS study. 1457 81

The current standard of practice for the detection of osseous metastatic disease is the conventional bone scan of the entire body using technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (Tc-99m MDP). Although Tc-99m MDP scintigraphy is sensitive for the detection of advanced skeletal metastatic lesions, early involvement may be missed because this technique relies on the identification of the osteoblastic reaction of the involved bone rather than the detection the tumor itself. Positron emission tomography (PET) has proven to be the gold standard in metabolic imaging. Fluorine -18 deoxyglucose (FDG) provides a means of quantitating the glucose metabolism, with the amount of tracer accumulation reflecting the glucose metabolism: high-grade malignancies tend to have higher rates of glycolysis than do low-grade malignancies and benign lesions; therefore, high-grade malignancies have greater uptake of FDG than that of low-grade or benign lesions. Positron emission tomography has been shown to be superior to scintigraphy in the detection of metastases because it detects the presence of tumor directly by metabolic activity, rather than indirectly by showing tumor involvement due to increased bone mineral turnover. This has allowed the detection of metastatic foci earlier with PET than with bone scintigraphy. Although the spectrum of PET applications is unknown, it now is approved for the diagnosis, staging and restaging of many common malignancies and has shown efficacy for the detection of osseous metastasis from several malignancies including lung carcinoma, breast carcinoma, and lymphoma.
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PMID:Diagnosis of occult bone metastases: positron emission tomography. 1460 Jun 1

Cervical cancer traditionally has been staged clinically. Advances in imaging could improve the staging of cervical cancer by facilitating the detection of lymph node metastases and micrometastases in distant organs. Such progress could lead to improvements in treatment selection and therefore increase overall survival rates. At the Second International Conference on Clinical Cancer (Houston, TX, April 11-14, 2002), a panel composed of gynecologic oncologists, radiation oncologists, and diagnostic radiologists reviewed relevant technologies. Advances in lymphangiography, ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and lymphatic mapping were reviewed, along with the impact of these advances on the diagnosis, treatment, and survival of patients with cervical cancer. Few cancer centers still use lymphangiography, but the sensitivity of this method ranges from 28% to 83%, with specificity ranging from 47% to 100%. The roles of transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasonography in evaluating cervical cancer are expected to expand when new contrast agents increase the sensitivity of these techniques to parametrial invasion and lymph node metastases; meanwhile, ultrasonography's most significant contributions may involve the identification of uterine and cervical leiomyomas and the evaluation of urinary tract obstruction. Advances in CT have made it a rival technique to MRI, but limitations prevent CT from providing definitive information on certain parameters. MRI, which is valuable because of its superior soft tissue contrast resolution, multiplanar capabilities, and cost-effectiveness, is used to determine the size of the cervix and to detect certain types of invasion, characteristics of lymph nodes, and the presence of disease in the ureter, lung, and liver. PET with 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose has been found to detect abnormal lymph node regions better than CT does but PET can also be used in conjunction with CT to measure tumor dimensions. PET also has become a method for identifying tumors that are unresponsive to chemoradiation. When used together with immunohistochemical and molecular techniques as well as conventional stains, sentinel lymph node mapping, an important development in the surgical management of solid tumors, is expected to improve gynecologic cancer management. Advances in imaging methods and in contrast agents, along with advances in the combined use of the two, are expected to make imaging technologies more valuable in cervical cancer assessment.
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PMID:Imaging in cervical cancer. 1460 39

Several studies have reported on the expression of somatostatin receptors in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the imaging abilities of a recently developed technetium-99m labelled somatostatin analogue, (99m)Tc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC ((99m)Tc-TOC), in terms of precise localisation of disease. The study population comprised 54 patients (24 men, 30 women; age range 22-90 years) with histologically confirmed DTC who presented with recurrent or persistent disease as indicated by elevated Tg levels after initial treatment. All patients were negative on the iodine-131 post-therapy whole-body scans. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG PET) was performed in a subgroup of 36 patients. The study population consisted of two groups: Group A ( n=22) comprised patients with disease recurrence as shown by elevated Tg levels but without detectable pathology. In group B ( n=32), pre-existing lesions were known. Among the 54 cases, SSTR scintigraphy was true positive in 33 (61.1%), true negative in 4 (7.4%) and false negative in 17 (31.5%) cases, which resulted in a sensitivity of 66%. A total of 138 tumour foci were localised in 33 patients. The fraction of true positive (99m)Tc-TOC findings was positively correlated ( P<0.01) with elevated Tg levels (higher than 30 ng/ml). Despite two false positive findings, analysis on a lesion basis demonstrated better diagnostic efficacy with (18)F-FDG PET ( P<0.001); however, it also revealed substantial agreement between the imaging techniques [Cohen's kappa of 0.62 (0.47-0.78)]. In conclusion, scintigraphy with (99m)Tc-TOC might be a promising tool for treatment planning; it is easy to perform and showed sufficient accuracy for localisation diagnostics in thyroid cancer patients with recurrent or metastatic disease.
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PMID:99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC and (18)F-FDG in thyroid cancer patients with negative (131)I whole-body scans. 1462 64

Malignant melanoma can metastasize to almost any organ site. Optimal management requires sensitive radiographic evaluation of the entire body. The optimal management of patients with metastatic melanoma requires accurate assessment of extent of disease (EOD). The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of fluorine-18 deoxyglucose (FDG) whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) in determination of EOD in patients with metastatic melanoma and its impact on surgical and medical management decisions. Forty-nine patients (30 men, 19 women; aged 25-83 years) with known or suspected metastatic melanoma underwent EOD evaluation using computerized tomography (CT) of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. After formulation of an initial treatment plan, the patients underwent FDG-PET imaging. The EOD determined by PET was compared with physical examination and conventional radiography findings. Fifty-one lesions were pathologically evaluated. The impact of PET on patient management was assessed based on the alterations made in the initial treatment plan after reevaluation of the patients using the information obtained by PET. The PET scan identified more metastatic sites in 27 of 49 (55%) of the patients who had undergone a complete set of imaging studies, including CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, and MRI of the brain. In 6 of those 27 patients, PET detected disease outside the fields of CT and MRI. Fifty-one lesions were resected surgically. Of these, 44 were pathologically confirmed to be melanoma. All lesions larger than 1 cm (29 of 29) were positive on PET, whereas only 2 of 15 (13%) lesions smaller than 1 cm were detected by PET. The results of PET led treatment changes in 24 patients (49%). Eighteen of these changes (75%) were surgical. In 12 cases (67%), the planned operative procedure was cancelled, and in 6 cases (33%), an additional operation(s) was performed. In 6 of 24 (25%) patients, biochemotherapy, radiation therapy, or an experimental immunotherapy protocol was prompted by identification of new foci of disease. Compared with conventional imaging, FDG-PET provides more accurate assessment of EOD in patients with metastatic melanoma. Significant surgical and medical treatment alterations were made based on PET results.
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PMID:The role of fluorine-18 deoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the management of patients with metastatic melanoma: impact on surgical decision making. 1466 16

Two nuclear medicine physicians retrospectively evaluated fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) spine abnormalities in patients with cancer with the purpose of identifying straightforward criteria for benign versus malignant spine abnormalities. Four hundred seventy-five consecutive patients with colon, breast, and lung cancer were evaluated with FDG. Thirty-two patients (32) had spine abnormalities, 30 of 32 patients had adequate follow up for a final diagnosis, and 29 of 30 patients' studies were available to both PET readers for this retrospective review. The readers categorized the FDG PET abnormalities as benign, metastatic, or equivocal using a straightforward set of criteria. A final diagnosis was made using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), plain films, bone scans, previous studies, and clinical follow up. A single spinal focus of increased FDG activity had a relatively high probability of being a spinal metastasis (71%); and the more foci, the higher the probability. Segmental decreased activity of the spine after radiation therapy indicated benignity. The only discrepancies were with 3 abnormalities, each called metastasis by 1 reader and equivocal by the other, with a final diagnosis of metastasis in each case. Equivocal patterns required CT or MR correlation, because these could be either malignant or benign. However, abnormal patterns fulfilling either the benign or metastatic criteria described here resulted in the correct diagnoses of benign spinal changes or spinal metastases, respectively, in 100% of cases with low interobserver variation. No study was interpreted as benign by 1 reader and metastasis by the other. The 2 nuclear medicine readers agreed in their interpretations in 90% of cases.
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PMID:High predictive value of F-18 FDG PET patterns of the spine for metastases or benign lesions with good agreement between readers. 1466 17

The aims of this study were to determine, firstly, the relationship between FIGO stage and various tumor parameters determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and, secondly, whether any of these parameters were predictors of lymph node metastases as determined by fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) in cervical cancer patients referred for radiotherapy. In 70 consecutive patients, both PET and MRI visualized all primary tumors except for one previously removed by cone biopsy. While clinical diameter and MRI-derived diameter showed a significant relationship between these two measurements (r = 0.70; P < 0.001) there was a large variability in MRI diameter for each FIGO stage and wide overlap. The average volume of primary cervical tumor on MRI was 60 cc (5-256). In FIGO stages, I, II, III and IV, uterine body involvement was present in 58%, 73%, 88%, and 100% of 19, 30, 16, and 5 patients, respectively (Ptrend= 0.015). Node positivity on FDG PET was present in 11% of patients without uterine body extension, but increased to 75% in those with uterine involvement. Average tumor volume in node-negative patients was 49 cc (5-186). Average tumor volume in node-positive patients was 69 cc (8-256). There was a significant association between nodal involvement and both FIGO stage (P = 0.018) and uterine body involvement (P < 0.001), but tumor volume and longitudinal MRI diameter were not statistically significant in unifactor predictors of nodal involvement. In multivariate analysis only uterine body extension, however, was independently related to the risk of nodal involvement. In conclusion, MRI provides noninvasive tumor size evaluation and can also demonstrate invasion of the uterine body that appears to be associated with an increased risk of nodal metastasis. This may provide clinically important prognostic information not available from current FIGO staging.
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PMID:Relation between FIGO stage, primary tumor volume, and presence of lymph node metastases in cervical cancer patients referred for radiotherapy. 1467 51

18F-Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) has been evaluated in breast cancer for the characterisation of primary tumours, lymph node staging and the follow-up of patients after surgery, chemotherapy and/or external radiotherapy. In contrast to both the low sensitivity and moderate specificity of FDG PET in the initial detection and characterisation of breast cancer and the low lesion-based sensitivity for lymph node staging, the results from use of FDG PET in re-staging breast cancer patients are very promising. A major advantage of FDG PET imaging compared with conventional imaging is that it screens the entire patient for local recurrence, lymph node metastases and distant metastases during a single whole-body examination using a single injection of activity, with a reported average sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 77%, respectively. In most studies the sensitivity of FDG PET is higher than that of a combination of conventional imaging methods. Limitations of FDG PET in the follow-up of breast cancer patients include the relatively low detection rate of bone metastases, especially in case of the sclerotic subtype, and the relatively high rate of false positive results. The rather low specificity of FDG PET can be improved/increased by utilising combined anatomical-molecular imaging techniques, such as a PET/CT tomograph. First results using PET/CT imaging in the follow-up of breast cancer patients demonstrate increased specificity compared with FDG PET alone. Both imaging modalities, however, offer to detect recurrent and metastatic breast cancer disease at an early stage and thus continue to demonstrate the efficacy of molecular imaging in patient management, despite the limited therapeutic options in recurrent and metastatic breast cancer.
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PMID:Advantages and limitations of FDG PET in the follow-up of breast cancer. 1508 95

The aims of this study were to assess the potential of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) for tumor grading in chondrosarcoma patients and to evaluate the role of standardized uptake value (SUV) as a parameter for prediction of patient outcome. FDG PET imaging was performed in 31 patients with chondrosarcoma prior to therapy. SUV was calculated for each tumor and correlated to tumor grade and size, and to patient outcome in terms of local relapse or metastatic disease with a mean follow-up period of 48 months. Chondrosarcomas were detectable in all patients. Tumor SUV was 3.38 +/- 1.61 for grade I (n = 15), 5.44 +/- 3.06 for grade II (n = 13), and 7.10 +/- 2.61 for grade III (n =3). Significant differences were found between patients with and without disease progression: SUV was 6.42 +/- 2.70 (n = 10) in patients developing recurrent or metastatic disease compared with 3.74 +/- 2.22 in patients without relapse (P = 0.015). Using a cut-off of 4 for SUV, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for a relapse were 90%, 76%, 64%, and 94%, respectively. Combining tumor grade and SUV, these parameters improved to 90%, 95%, 90%, and 95%, respectively. Pretherapeutic tumor SUV obtained by FDG PET imaging was a useful parameter for tumor grading and prediction of outcome in chondrosarcoma patients. The combination of SUV and histopathologic tumor grade further improved prediction of outcome substantially, allowing identification of patients at high risk for local relapse or metastatic disease.
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PMID:FDG PET imaging for grading and prediction of outcome in chondrosarcoma patients. 1512

Breast cancer continues to be one of the most common cancers in North America and Western Europe. Positron emission tomography with 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG PET) represents a non-invasive functional imaging modality that is based on metabolic characteristics of malignant tumours. In breast cancer, FDG PET is more accurate than conventional methods for staging of distant metastases or local recurrences and enables early assessment of treatment response in patients undergoing primary chemotherapy. Recent data indicate a rationale for the use of FDG PET in cases of asymptomatically elevated tumour marker levels in the presence of uncertain results of conventional imaging. Despite the fact that PET cannot rule out microscopic disease, it does have particular value in providing, in a single examination, a reliable assessment of the true extent of the disease. This technique is complementary to morphological imaging for primary diagnosis, staging and re-staging. It may become the method of choice for the assessment of asymptomatic patients with elevated tumour marker levels. This method, however, cannot replace invasive procedures if microscopic disease is of clinical relevance.
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PMID:FDG PET and tumour markers in the diagnosis of recurrent and metastatic breast cancer. 1514 95


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