Usefulness of iodine-123 whole-body scan in planning iodine-131 treatment of the differentiated thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescence

OBJECTIVE: Radioiodine treatment (RAI-T) of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is important to avoid disease progression, in particular in pediatric patients. For these reasons, a diagnostic scan may be useful to assess therapeutic tailored activity. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of diagnostic whole-body scan (WBS) with iodine-123 (I) in combination with recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rh-TSH; Thyrogen) (rh-TSH-Dx-WBS), in planning RAI-T or further surgery before RAI-T in pediatric DTC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among 101 rh-TSH-Dx-WBS of 55 patients (21 males, mean age: 15 years, range: 5-18 years) followed at the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital for DTC from February 2004 to December 2016, 41 rh-TSH-Dx-WBS scans of 41 patients (20 male and 21 female, mean age: 14 years, range: 5-18 years) performed for staging before RAI-T were retrospectively evaluated. Thyroglobulin was determined at baseline and on day 5. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that thyroglobulin alone is not a good predictor for staging modification (area under the curve=0.6855). rh-TSH-Dx-WBS showed both remnant and lymph node in 11 (27%), lymph node localization alone in one (2.5%), lung alone in 1/41 (2.5%), both lymph node and lungs in 2/41 (5%), and thyroid remnant alone in 26/41 (63%) patients. rh-TSH-Dx-WBS modified staging in 12/41 (29%): in 3/12 (25%) for the presence of lung metastases and in 9/12 (75%) for lymph node involvement. In all these patients, administered activity for RAI-T was then modified or further surgery was planned. CONCLUSION: Although further studies are needed, our data showed that combined use of rh-TSH and I-Dx-WBS allows an accurate and complete staging of disease, to implement the best therapeutic plan

Myocardial Functional Imaging in Pediatric Nuclear Cardiology

The role of nuclear medicine in pediatric cardiology has grown rapidly over the years, providing useful functional and prognostic information and playing a complementary role to morphological imaging in the evaluation of myocardial perfusion, cardiovascular inflammation and infections, and cardiac sympathetic innervation. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize and highlight the most important evidence on pediatric nuclear cardiology, describing clinical applications and the possibilities, advantages, and limitations of nuclear medicine techniques. Moreover, a special focus will be given to the minimization of radiation exposure in pediatric nuclear cardiology imaging, a critical topic in children

Video1_Case report: Pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy for focal congenital hyperinsulinism in a 5-month-old baby.avi

BackgroundIn focal congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI), surgery is the gold standard of treatment, even for lesions localized in the head of the pancreas. We report the video of the pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy performed in a five-month-old child with focal CHI.Operative techniqueBaby was placed in the supine position with both arms outstretched to the up. After transverse supraumbilical incision and mobilization of ascending and transverse colon, exploration and multiple biopsies of the tail and the body of the pancreas ruled out multifocality. Pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy was performed according to the following steps: extended Kocher maneuver, followed by retrograde cholecystectomy and common bile duct isolation; division of the gastroduodenal artery and of the gastrocolic ligament; division of the duodenum, Treitz ligament and jejunum; transection of the pancreatic body. The reconstructive time was with: pancreato-jejunostomy; hepaticojejunostomy; pilorus-preserving antecolic duodeno-jejunostomy. The anastomoses were accomplished with synthetic absorbable monofilament sutures; two drains were placed close to the biliary and pancreatic anastomoses and to the intestinal anastomosis, respectively. Total operative time was 6 h, with no blood loss and/or intra-operative complications, immediate normalization of blood glucose levels and discharge from surgical ward 19 days after surgery.ConclusionsSurgical treatment of medical unresponsive focal forms of CHI is feasible in very small children: it is mandatory to refer the baby to a high-volume centre for a multidisciplinary management involving hepato-bilio-pancreatic surgeons and experts in metabolic disease.</p

Fit of biokinetic data in molecular radiotherapy: a machine learning approach

Abstract Background In literature are reported different analytical methods (AM) to choose the proper fit model and to fit data of the time-activity curve (TAC). On the other hand, Machine Learning algorithms (ML) are increasingly used for both classification and regression tasks. The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of employing ML both to classify the most appropriate fit model and to predict the area under the curve (τ). Methods Two different ML systems have been developed for classifying the fit model and to predict the biokinetic parameters. The two systems were trained and tested with synthetic TACs simulating a whole-body Fraction Injected Activity for patients affected by metastatic Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma, administered with [131I]I-NaI. Test performances, defined as classification accuracy (CA) and percentage difference between the actual and the estimated area under the curve (Δτ), were compared with those obtained using AM varying the number of points (N) of the TACs. A comparison between AM and ML were performed using data of 20 real patients. Results As N varies, CA remains constant for ML (about 98%), while it improves for F-test (from 62 to 92%) and AICc (from 50 to 92%), as N increases. With AM, $$\Delta \tau$$ Δ τ can reach down to − 67%, while using ML $$\Delta \tau$$ Δ τ ranges within ± 25%. Using real TACs, there is a good agreement between τ obtained with ML system and AM. Conclusions The employing of ML systems may be feasible, having both a better classification and a better estimation of biokinetic parameters

Congenital hyperinsulinism and glucose hypersensitivity in homozygous and heterozygous carriers of Kir6.2 (KCNJ11) mutation V290M mutation: K(ATP) channel inactivation mechanism and clinical management.

Objective: The ATP-sensitive K+-channel (KATP) controls insulin secretion from the islet. Gain- or loss-of-function mutations in channel subunits underlie human neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) and congenital hyperinsulinism (HI), respectively. In this study we sought to identify the mechanistic basis of KATP-induced HI in two probands, and characterize the clinical course. Research Design and Methods: We analyzed HI in two probands and characterized the course of clinical treatment in each, as well as properties of mutant KATP channels expressed in COSm6 cells using Rb efflux and patch-clamp methods. Results: We identified mutation V290M in the pore-forming Kir6.2 subunit in each proband. In vitro expression in COSm6 cells supports the mutation resulting in an inactivating phenotype, which leads to significantly reduced activity in intact cells when expressed homomerically, and to a lesser extent when expressed heteromerically with WT subunits. In one heterozygous proband, fluoro-DOPA scan revealed a causal focal lesion, indicating uniparental disomy with loss of heterozygosity. In a second family, the proband, homozygous for the mutation, was diagnosed with severe diazoxide-unresponsive hypersinsulinism at 2 weeks of age. The patient continues to be treated successfully with octreotide and amlodipine. The parents and a male sibling are heterozygous carriers without overt clinical HI. Interestingly, both the mother and the sibling exhibit evidence of abnormally enhanced glucose tolerance. Conclusions: V290M results in inactivating KATP channels that underlies HI. Homozygous individuals may be managed medically, without pancreatectomy. Heterozygous carriers also show evidence of enhanced glucose sensitivity, consistent with incomplete loss of KATP channel activity

Prognostic factors in children and adolescents with differentiated thyroid carcinoma treated with total thyroidectomy and RAI: a real-life multicentric study

PURPOSE: This multicentric study aimed to investigate the main prognostic factors associated with treatment response at 1 year after radioactive iodine therapy (RAIT) and the last disease status in pediatric patients affected by differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the period 1990–2020, all consecutive patients ≤ 18 years from six different centers were retrospectively included. Patients were classified as low, intermediate, and high risk for persistence/recurrence. The response to RAIT was evaluated and scored 1 year later according to 2015 ATA guidelines. Moreover, at the last follow-up, the disease status was evaluated and dichotomized as no evidence of disease (NED) or persistent disease. RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty-five patients (197 female, 88 male; mean age 14.4 years) were recruited. All, except nine, underwent near-total thyroidectomy followed by RAIT. One-year after first RAIT, 146/276 (53%) patients had excellent response, 37/276 (14%) indeterminate response, and 91/276 (33%) incomplete response. One-year after RAIT, children with excellent response had significantly lower stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) compared to not excellent group (median sTg 4.4 ng/ml vs 52.5 ng/ml, p < 0.001). ROC curve showed sTg higher than 27.2 ng/ml as the most accurate to predict 1-year treatment response. After a median follow-up of 133 months, NED was present in 241 cases (87%) while persistent disease in 35 (13%). At multivariate analysis, sTg and 1-year treatment response categories were both significantly associated with the last disease status (p value 0.023 and < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In pediatric DTC, sTg is significantly associated with 1-year treatment response and final outcome. However, 1-year response is the principal prognostic factor able to predict pediatric DTCs outcome. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00259-021-05586-8