Breast MRI: guidelines from the European Society of Breast Imaging

The aim of breast MRI is to obtain a reliable evaluation of any lesion within the breast. It is currently always used as an adjunct to the standard diagnostic procedures of the breast, i.e., clinical examination, mammography and ultrasound. Whereas the sensitivity of breast MRI is usually very high, specificity—as in all breast imaging modalities—depends on many factors such as reader expertise, use of adequate techniques and composition of the patient cohorts. Since breast MRI will always yield MR-only visible questionable lesions that require an MR-guided intervention for clarification, MRI should only be offered by institutions that can also offer a MRI-guided breast biopsy or that are in close contact with a site that can perform this type of biopsy for them. Radiologists involved in breast imaging should ensure that they have a thorough knowledge of the MRI techniques that are necessary for breast imaging, that they know how to evaluate a breast MRI using the ACR BI-RADS MRI lexicon, and most important, when to perform breast MRI. This manuscript provides guidelines on the current best practice for the use of breast MRI, and the methods to be used, from the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI)

Newly designed flow field-flow fractionation channel for macromolecules and particles in the submicrometer and micrometer range

The flow field-flow fractionation (FIFFF) technique is a promising method for separating and analysing particles and large size macromolecules from a few nanometers to approximately 50 μm. A new fractionation channel is described featuring well defined flow conditions even for low channel heights with convenient assembling and operations features. The application of the new flow field-flow fractionation channel is proved by the analysis of pigments and other small particles of technical interest in the submicrometer range. The experimental results including multimodal size distributions are presented and discussed

Photodynamic therapy: novel third-generation photosensitizers one step closer?

Photodynamic sensitizers are drugs activated by light of a specific wavelength and are used in the photodynamic therapy (PDT) of certain diseases. Second- and third-generation photosensitizers with improved PDT properties are now under investigation. In this issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology, Leung et al. have described the synthesis and investigation of a second-generation photosensitizer (BAM-SiPc) targeted towards the cells of HepG2 and HT29 tumours. BAM-SiPc is selectively functionalized with bis-amino groups and has demonstrated potent PDT activity in a small animal model. However, it also exhibited non-selective distribution and accumulation in multiple animal (small mouse) organs and tissue. These issues highlight the importance and need for good biodistribution and localization properties for an efficacious photosensitizer. The lack of tumour specificity may have a significant impact on the potential BAM-SiPc has in clinical PDT