A Rare Case of Recurrent Myoid Hamartoma Mimicking Malignancy: Imaging Appearances

Myoid hamartoma is an uncommon type of breast hamartoma and its recurrence is very rare. We report the imaging appearance of an unusual case of recurrent myoid hamartoma of the breast mimicking malignancy in a 43-year-old woman. Although the mammographic and ultrasonographic findings have long been described in the literature, MR finding with a dynamic study has not, to the best of our knowledge, been reported previously

Region-Of-Interest Selection and Statistical Analysis of Dynamic Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is emerging as a powerful tool for the diagnosis of breast abnormalities. Early investigation of contrast-enhanced MRI of the breast demonstrated that breast carcinoma consistently enhanced after the intravenous administration of contrast material (Gadolinium). However, many benign lesions also enhance reducing as a result MRI specificity- . Further characterization is necessary to differentiate benign from malignant lesions and analysis of the temporal pattern of contrast uptake has been applied to improve specificity. Selecting a Region-Of-Interest (ROI) is an almost universal step in the process of examining the contrast uptake characteristics of a breast lesion. A limitation of most ROI analysis procedures is that only subjectively selected regions are examined. We propose a ROI selection method based on techniques from multivariate data analysis and statistical image segmentation. In addition to the enhancement rate of the contrast material, we use other characteristics of the signal intensity to group areas of the breast with similar characteristics and then select the group which corresponds to a fast and strong enhancement. We then investigate tools for subsequent analysis of signal intensity time course data in the selected region in order to determine if the enhancing lesion is likely to be benign or malignant. We tested our procedure on cases for which the diagnosis was available. The results are promising and are consistent with the diagnosed nature of the lesions

A high-content small molecule screen identifies sensitivity of glioblastoma stem cells to inhibition of polo-like kinase 1

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain cancer in adults and there are few effective treatments. GBMs contain cells with molecular and cellular characteristics of neural stem cells that drive tumour growth. Here we compare responses of human glioblastoma-derived neural stem (GNS) cells and genetically normal neural stem (NS) cells to a panel of 160 small molecule kinase inhibitors. We used live-cell imaging and high content image analysis tools and identified JNJ-10198409 (J101) as an agent that induces mitotic arrest at prometaphase in GNS cells but not NS cells. Antibody microarrays and kinase profiling suggested that J101 responses are triggered by suppression of the active phosphorylated form of polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) (phospho T210), with resultant spindle defects and arrest at prometaphase. We found that potent and specific Plk1 inhibitors already in clinical development (BI 2536, BI 6727 and GSK 461364) phenocopied J101 and were selective against GNS cells. Using a porcine brain endothelial cell blood-brain barrier model we also observed that these compounds exhibited greater blood-brain barrier permeability in vitro than J101. Our analysis of mouse mutant NS cells (INK4a/ARF(-/-), or p53(-/-)), as well as the acute genetic deletion of p53 from a conditional p53 floxed NS cell line, suggests that the sensitivity of GNS cells to BI 2536 or J101 may be explained by the lack of a p53-mediated compensatory pathway. Together these data indicate that GBM stem cells are acutely susceptible to proliferative disruption by Plk1 inhibitors and that such agents may have immediate therapeutic value

Presenting a simplified assistant tool for breast cancer diagnosis in mammography to radiologists

This paper proposes a method to simplify a computational model from logistic regression for clinical use without computer. The model was built using human interpreted featrues including some BI-RADS standardized features for diagnosing the malignant masses. It was compared with the diagnosis using only assessment categorization from BI-RADS. The research aims at assisting radiologists to diagnose the malignancy of breast cancer in a way without using automated computer aided diagnosis system

Computer aids and human second reading as interventions in screening mammography: Two systematic reviews to compare effects on cancer detection and recall rate

Background: There are two competing methods for improving the accuracy of a radiologist interpreting screening mammograms: computer aids (CAD) or independent second reading. Methods: Bibliographic databases were searched for clinical trials. Meta-analyses estimated impacts of CAD and double reading on odds ratios for cancer detection and recall rates. Sub-group analyses considered double reading with arbitration. Results: Ten studies compared single reading with CAD to single reading. Seventeen compared double to single reading. Double reading increases cancer detection and recall rates. Double reading with arbitration increases detection rate (CI: 1.02-1.15) and decreases recall rate (CI: 0.92-0.96). CAD does not have a significant effect on cancer detection rate (CI: 0.96-1.13) and increases recall rate (95% CI: 1.09-1.12). However, there is considerable heterogeneity in the impact on recall rate in both sets of studies. Conclusion: The evidence that double reading with arbitration enhances screening is stronger than that for single reading with CAD

Environmental impacts of the deep-water oil and gas industry: a review to guide management strategies

The industrialization of the deep sea is expanding worldwide. Increasing oil and gas exploration activities in the absence of sufficient baseline data in deep-sea ecosystems has made environmental management challenging. Here, we review the types of activities that are associated with global offshore oil and gas development in water depths over 200 m, the typical impacts of these activities, some of the more extreme impacts of accidental oil and gas releases, and the current state of management in the major regions of offshore industrial activity including 18 exclusive economic zones. Direct impacts of infrastructure installation, including sediment resuspension and burial by seafloor anchors and pipelines, are typically restricted to a radius of ~100 m on from the installation on the seafloor. Discharges of water-based and low-toxicity oil-based drilling muds and produced water can extend over 2 km, while the ecological impacts at the population and community levels on the seafloor are most commonly on the order of 200–300 m from their source. These impacts may persist in the deep sea for many years and likely longer for its more fragile ecosystems, such as cold-water corals. This synthesis of information provides the basis for a series of recommendations for the management of offshore oil and gas development. An effective management strategy, aimed at minimizing risk of significant environmental harm, will typically encompass regulations of the activity itself (e.g., discharge practices, materials used), combined with spatial (e.g., avoidance rules and marine protected areas), and temporal measures (e.g., restricted activities during peak reproductive periods). Spatial management measures that encompass representatives of all of the regional deep-sea community types is important in this context. Implementation of these management strategies should consider minimum buffer zones to displace industrial activity beyond the range of typical impacts: at least 2 km from any discharge points and surface infrastructure and 200 m from seafloor infrastructure with no expected discharges. Although managing natural resources is, arguably, more challenging in deep-water environments, inclusion of these proven conservation tools contributes to robust environmental management strategies for oil and gas extraction in the deep sea.Copyright © 2016 Cordes, Jones, Schlacher, Amon, Bernardino, Brooke, Carney, DeLeo, Dunlop, Escobar-Briones, Gates, Génio, Gobin, Henry, Herrera, Hoyt, Joye, Kark, Mestre, Metaxas, Pfeifer, Sink, Sweetman and Witte. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms