Parathyroid dual tracer subtraction scintigraphy: small regions method for quantitative assessment of parathyroid adenoma uptake.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was quantitative assessment of parathyroid adenoma (PTA) uptake in dual tracer dynamic scintigraphy. METHODS: In 78 patients, median age 58 (19-80) years, surgically treated for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), with parathyroid hormone median 125 (70-658) pg/ml, we performed preoperative parathyroid scintigraphy, following EANM guidelines of subtraction and double-phase protocol (2009) using two tracers: Tc-99m pertechnetate and Tc-99m MIBI. In addition to standard subtraction processing and visual interpretation of delayed MIBI planar images of neck and mediastinum in oblique sections (positions according to ultrasound PTA localisation), we developed Submarine processing software that enables selecting custom regions grid sizes ≥6 mm (as this solution was not present in commercial software) to follow time activity curve changes in thyroid tissue and PTA. Histopathology in 53/78 patients revealed PHPT and in 25/78 patients thyroid nodular disease only, and thyroid malignancy occurred in total of 15/78 (19 %) patients. PHPT group included 44 solitary PTA, 8 patients with hyperplasia and one parathyroid carcinoma. The median macroscopic volume of PTA was 717.5 (15-6125) mm(3). Concomitant PHPT and thyroid nodular disease occurred in 24/53 patients and among them 8 patients had thyroid malignancies. RESULTS: PTA showed typical pattern of late peak on time activity curves characterized by median start time on 15 (10-25) min, the peak amplitude mean 19 (±5) % above thyroid declining washout curve, and duration of peak 6 (4-10) min, allowing PTA to "emerge" like submarine, independent from thyroid tissue and lesions. The ratio of PTA-to-normal thyroid uptake at peak maximum was 1.35 (±0.21). The thyroid TACs results of normal 29/78 (37 %) patients, benign nodular 34/78 (44 %) patients, and malignancy in 15 (19 %) patients were all presented by declining exponential curves. The slope analysis of TACs in normal thyroid tissue, thyroid benign and malignant lesions (linear fitted logarithm of TAC) showed no difference (the same negative slope: -0.04). Submarine processing was sensitive in detection of small lesions, in hyperplasia, and concomitant thyroid nodular disease. CONCLUSIONS: The novel Submarine processing confirmed specific PHPT pattern and was effective in the group with potential pitfalls of standard interpretation, increasing sensitivity and specificity of standard processing subtraction algorithm. Prolonged MIBI accumulation was present in malignant as well as benign thyroid nodules with identical TAC slope

Difference between Luminal A and Luminal B subtypes according to Ki-67, tumor size, and progesterone receptor negativity providing prognostic information

© the authors, publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Limited. Background: The St. Gallen International Expert Consensus of 2011 proposes a new classification system for breast cancer based on its division into five subgroups. The criteria to identify these subtypes were recently refined at the 2013 Conference. In this respect, the authors of this paper have conducted a retrospective analysis of breast cancer subtypes, related to Ki-67 and involvement of the axillary lymph nodes (ALNs). The analysis was performed only in the cases of invasive breast cancer in the pT2 stages. The research and results of the paper have shown that investigating the value of these parameters could be of great benefit in future treatment strategies of invasive breast cancer.Results: The conclusion was made that when Ki-67 was found to be higher, patients also showed a higher involvement in their ALNs. The chi-square test shows the difference to be significant (chi-square = 4.757; P = 0.029). Luminal B subtypes had the highest percentage (54.9%) of involvement of lymph nodes when compared to the other four subtypes. The Luminal B subtype had a higher percentage (51.4%) of involvement of lymph nodes than did Luminal A (10.7%). The chi-square test also shows the difference to be significant (P, 0.05).Methods: A retrospective analysis of breast cancer subtypes, tumor nodal metastatic staging, and histopathological grading of 108 cases has been performed according to the methods recommended and provided by the St. Gallen International Expert Consensus Report, 2011. The estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), and Ki-67 of 108 tumor samples were all investigated by immu-nohistochemistry according to the methods used to classify breast cancer subtypes as proposed in the St. Gallen Consensus Report, 2011. Invasive breast cancers (n = 108) were immunohistochemically classified as follows: 28 (25.92%) as Luminal A, 51 (47.22%) as Luminal B (HER2 negative), 21 (19.44%) as Luminal B-like (HER2 negative), 2 (1.85%) as HER2 positive, and 6 (5.55%) as being a triple-negative subtype.Conclusion: A combination of the Ki-67 index, HER negative tumors, PR negativity, and a low value that can be used to segregate ER positive pT2 tumors into prognostically significantly different clinical outcomes may be utilized clinically to guide patient management in accordance with these tumor characteristics

Surgical management of well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents: 33 years of experience of a single institution in Serbia

© The Japan Endocrine Society. Well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents is rare but demonstrates aggressive behavior. Gross lymph node metastases and distant metastases are common upon first clinical presentation. During a 33-year period (1981-2014) at the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, 62 children and adolescents underwent surgery due to well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Mean age was 16.7 (range 7-21) years. At the time of diagnosis 6% of patients had lung metastases. Total thyroidectomy or completion thyroidectomy was performed for all patients followed by central neck dissection and frozen section examination of jugular-carotid compartments. Median follow-up was 10.9 (range 0.69-33.05) years and median tumor size was 20 (range 2-60) mm. Papillary carcinoma was found in 96%, and follicular and Hürthle cell carcinoma in 2% of patients. Multifocal tumors were found in 50% and capsular invasion in 60% of patients. Lymphonodal metastases in either central or lateral neck compartments were found in 73% of patients. Multifocality and capsular invasion were significantly more frequent in patients less than 16 years of age (both p<0.01). Median disease-free interval had not been reached and overall survival rate was 100%. Well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents is characterized by a high rate of loco-regional aggressiveness, multifocality, capsular invasion, lymph node metastases and distant metastases at the time of diagnosis. Adequate surgical approaches should be performed for both primary and recurrent disease in young patients with well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma in order to achieve loco-regional disease control and longer disease-free survival