Inguinal intranodal CT lymphangiography for thoracic duct injury: feasibility with rapid scanning.

Objective: To demonstrate the optimized protocol for CT lymphangiography (CTL) and describe its performance in pediatric and adult patients with suspected thoracic duct injury.

Materials And Methods: Patients with suspected thoracic duct injury who underwent either CTL or dynamic contrast-enhanced MR lymphangiography (DCMRL) between August 2017 and July 2024 at a tertiary referral center were retrospectively evaluated. CTL and DCMRL were performed using inguinal lymph node cannulation.

Bronchiectasis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: AI-based CT quantification using the bronchial tapering ratio.

Objective: Although chest CT is the primary tool for evaluating bronchiectasis, accurately measuring its extent poses challenges. This study aimed to automatically quantify bronchiectasis using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based analysis of the bronchial tapering ratio on chest CT and assess its association with clinical outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Materials And Methods: COPD patients from two prospective multicenter cohorts were included.

Interstitial lung abnormality with preserved pulmonary function in lung cancer screening-eligible individuals: long-term effects on function and prognosis.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of CT progression of interstitial lung abnormality (ILA) and ILA subtypes on pulmonary function and mortality in lung cancer screening (LCS) participants with preserved pulmonary function.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive participants who met the 2021 United States Preventive Services Task Force guidelines for LCS during a medical check-up between 2012 and 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Forced vital capacity (FVC) ≥ 80% at baseline was considered indicative of preserved pulmonary function.

Risk factors for poor survival outcomes in patients with resected stage I lung cancer harbouring epidermal growth factor receptor mutations.

Objectives: To identify risk factors in patients with surgically-resected pathological stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations dichotomized according to the presence of ground-glass opacity (GGO).

Methods: Patients with pathological stage I NSCLC harbouring EGFR mutations who underwent curative resection between 2010 and 2020 were retrospectively included. Cox regression was used to investigate risk factors for overall survival (OS).

Prognostic Variability in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with Pathologic Separate Nodules in the Same Lobe at CT.

Background Patients with stage T3 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with separate nodules (SNs) have been reported to have better outcomes than those with T3 tumors with other descriptors, but heterogeneity may exist depending on nodule characteristics. Purpose To identify prognostic factors based on the imaging features of SNs among patients with pathologically confirmed SNs in the same lobe. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included patients with pT2b-pT3 NSCLC who underwent lobectomy or pneumonectomy between January 2010 and December 2021.

Quantitative CT Imaging in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a highly heterogeneous condition characterized by diverse pulmonary and extrapulmonary manifestations. Efforts to quantify its various components using CT imaging have advanced, aiming for more precise, objective, and reproducible assessment and management. Beyond emphysema and small airway disease, the two major components of COPD, CT quantification enables the evaluation of pulmonary vascular alteration, ventilation-perfusion mismatches, fissure completeness, and extrapulmonary features such as altered body composition, osteoporosis, and atherosclerosis.

Comparative validation of clinical staging based on solid component versus total tumor size in resected lung adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: To compare clinical staging based on total tumor size with that of solid component size using the same criteria.

Materials And Methods: Patients who underwent curative resection for clinical stage IA1-IB adenocarcinoma between 2011 and 2021 were retrospectively included. Patients were re-staged according to the criteria of the current TNM staging using total tumor size (cStage) and solid component size (cStage).

Leveraging deep learning-based kernel conversion for more precise airway quantification on CT.

Objectives: To evaluate the variability of fully automated airway quantitative CT (QCT) measures caused by different kernels and the effect of kernel conversion.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 96 patients who underwent non-enhanced chest CT at two centers. CT scans were reconstructed using four kernels (medium soft, medium sharp, sharp, very sharp) from three vendors.

Influence of content-based image retrieval on the accuracy and inter-reader agreement of usual interstitial pneumonia CT pattern classification.

Objectives: To investigate whether a content-based image retrieval (CBIR) of similar chest CT images can help usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) CT pattern classifications among readers with varying levels of experience.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent high-resolution chest CT between 2013 and 2015 for the initial workup for fibrosing interstitial lung disease. UIP classifications were assigned to CT images by three thoracic radiologists, which served as the ground truth.

Evaluation of Autoimmune Features in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Pathologic Usual Interstitial Pneumonia: Implications for CT Patterns and Prognosis.

Background The clinical, radiologic, and prognostic implications of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) in patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia and pathologic usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) have not been fully evaluated. Purpose To compare autoimmune features according to CT patterns for the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and to assess the diagnostic and prognostic implications of IPAF in patients with IPF-UIP. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included patients with UIP confirmed by surgical lung biopsy between January 2013 and February 2020.

Validation of changes in stage by the new N category in the 9th edition of lung cancer staging for resected non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: The reclassification following N2 subcategorization (N2a vs. N2b) in the 9th edition of lung cancer staging has not yet been externally validated. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the survival outcomes of reclassified stages in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer.

Diagnosing Complete Response to Preoperative Chemoradiation in Esophageal Cancer Using Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI Response Criteria.

Objective: To assess the performance of novel qualitative diagnostic criteria using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify the pathologic complete response (pCR) of primary tumors in esophageal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiation (nCRT).

Materials And Methods: Patients who underwent nCRT, subsequent MRI, positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), endoscopy, or esophagectomy for esophageal cancer between October 2021 and October 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The DCE-MRI response of primary tumors was interpreted using five grades by thoracic radiologists as follows: G1 (compatible with CR), G2 (probable CR), G3 (probable partial response [PR]), G4 (compatible with PR), and G5 (stable or progressive disease).

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Pathologic N2 Disease in Resected Lung Cancers Assessed as N0 or N1 Disease on Preoperative Imaging.

For certain patients with lung cancer, guidelines recommend endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) as the primary method to evaluate for metastatic mediastinal lymph nodes defining pN2 disease. EBUS-TBNA has associated costs and complications and possibly limited availability. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for pN2 disease in patients undergoing resection of lung cancer who were assessed as having radiologic N0 or N1 disease.

Prognostic Implications of the Volume Doubling Time of the Solid Component in Lung Adenocarcinomas Manifesting as Part-Solid Lesions on Chest CT.

In lung adenocarcinomas manifesting as part-solid lesions, evidence supports greater prognostic importance for the volume of the solid component than that of the whole nodule. However, assessments of lesion growth rates have historically focused on the volume doubling time (VDT) of the whole lesion. The purpose of the study was to compare the prognostic utility of the VDT of the solid component versus the VDT of the whole lesion for resected lung adenocarcinomas manifesting as part-solid lesions on chest CT.

Inter-reader agreement for diagnosing thymic cysts on chest MRI in two tertiary referral centers.

Despite the substantial role of chest MRI for the diagnosis and follow-up of thymic cysts, information about inter-reader agreement and optimal MR sequences is still limited. We aimed to investigate the inter-reader agreement for diagnosing thymic cysts using various combinations of MR sequences and to assess the effect of the addition of CT on inter-reader agreement. A total of 76 anterior mediastinal lesions (≤ 30 mm) from two tertiary referral hospitals (55 from Institution A and 21 from Institution B) who underwent chest CT and contrast-enhanced chest MR were included.

Incorporating Lymph Node Size at CT as an N1 Descriptor in Clinical N Staging for Lung Cancer.

Background The ninth edition of the TNM classification for lung cancer revised the N2 categorization, improving patient stratification, but prognostic heterogeneity remains for the N1 category. Purpose To define the optimal size cutoff for a bulky lymph node (LN) on CT scans and to evaluate the prognostic value of bulky LN in the clinical N staging of lung cancer. Materials and Methods This retrospective study analyzed patients who underwent lobectomy or pneumonectomy for lung cancer between January 2013 and December 2021, divided into development (2016-2021) and validation (2013-2015) cohorts.

Improving functional correlation of quantification of interstitial lung disease by reducing the vendor difference of CT using generative adversarial network (GAN) style conversion.

Objective: To assess whether CT style conversion between different CT vendors using a routable generative adversarial network (RouteGAN) could minimize variation in ILD quantification, resulting in improved functional correlation of quantitative CT (QCT) measures.

Methods: Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) who underwent unenhanced chest CTs with vendor A and a pulmonary function test (PFT) were retrospectively evaluated. As deep-learning based ILD quantification software was mainly developed using vendor B CT, style-converted images from vendor A to B style were generated using RouteGAN.

Contrast-enhanced CT Lymphangiography for Various Central Lymphatic Disorders.

Lymphatic leakage, manifesting as chylothorax or chylous ascites, arises from traumatic or nontraumatic causes and poses severe risks such as malnutrition and increased infection susceptibility. Accurate diagnosis and an effective treatment strategy necessitate comprehensive lymphatic imaging. Conventional lymphangiography and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR lymphangiography (DCMRL) have been widely used and studied as effective lymphatic imaging methods.

The prognostic value of lymphovascular invasion for stage I lung adenocarcinoma based on the presence of ground-glass opacity.

Objectives: There is still a debate regarding the prognostic implication of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in stage I lung adenocarcinoma. Ground-glass opacity (GGO) on CT is known to correlate with a less invasive or lepidic component in adenocarcinoma, which may influence the strength of prognostic factors. This study aimed to explore the prognostic value of LVI in stage I lung adenocarcinoma based on the presence of GGO.

Prognostic Value of Preoperative N Subcategories in Patients with Stage IIIA N2 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose To evaluate the preoperative risk factors in patients with pathologic IIIA N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent upfront surgery and to evaluate the prognostic value of new N subcategories. Materials and Methods Patients with pathologic stage IIIA N2 NSCLC who underwent upfront surgery in a single tertiary center from January 2015 to April 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Each patient's clinical N (cN) was assigned to one of six subcategories (cN0, cN1a, cN1b, cN2a1, cN2a2, and cN2b) based on recently proposed N descriptors.