Multimodality Imaging in the Diagnostic Work-Up of Patients With Cardiac Masses: State-of-the-Art Review.

Cardiac masses encompass a diverse range of benign and malignant tumors as well as pseudotumors. Accurate histologic identification is essential for guiding appropriate treatment, yet the diagnostic process remains challenging. Although biopsy is traditionally the diagnostic gold standard, its invasive nature and associated risks limit its application.

Early detection of cancer therapy cardiotoxicity by radionuclide angiography: An update.

Cancer therapy-induced cardiotoxicity is an emerging clinical and healthcare issue. Myocardial dysfunction and heart failure are mostly responsible for increased cardiovascular mortality in cancer disease survivors. Several imaging surveillance techniques have been proposed for early diagnosis of cancer therapy-induced cardiac dysfunction.

Improved Survival after Transarterial Radioembolisation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Gives the Procedure Added Value.

Background: Transarterial Radioembolisation (TARE) requires multidisciplinary experience and skill to be effective. The aim of this study was to identify determinants of survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), focusing on learning curves, technical advancements, patient selection and subsequent therapies.

Methods: From 2005 to 2020, 253 patients were treated.

99mTc-Mebrofenin Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy Combined With SPECT/CT to Assess Liver Function in Heterotopic Segmental Liver Transplantation in the Splenic Fossa.

Recent studies have shown that the inclusion of a noninvasive and low-cost functional test such as hepatobiliary scintigraphy is considered more reliable than volume alone to predict posthepatectomy liver failure especially in light of new liver regeneration techniques. We herein reported the unique case of a 40-year-old man who underwent heterotopic liver transplantation of segments 2 and 3 in the splenic fossa after splenectomy for unresectable colorectal liver metastases. 99mTc-mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy combined with SPECT/CT was performed after liver transplantation to monitor graft function and regeneration before removal of the native liver.

Pattern of arterial inflammation and inflammatory markers in people living with HIV compared with uninfected people.

Study Design: To compare arterial inflammation (AI) between people living with HIV (PLWH) and uninfected people as assessed by F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 20 PLWH and 20 uninfected people with no known cardiovascular disease and at least 3 traditional cardiovascular risk factors. All patients underwent F-FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) of the thorax and neck.

Single-photon cardiac imaging in patients with cardiac implantable electrical devices.

Nuclear imaging techniques like single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and radionuclide angiography have wide applications in patients receiving a cardiac implantable electrical device (CIED), who cannot usually undergo cardiac magnetic resonance. Our aim was to provide an update of single-photon imaging clinical applications, with a specific focus on CIED recipients. SPECT imaging is commonly used in CIED patients to assess myocardial perfusion, but it can also be used to evaluate myocardial viability, which is an important predictor of LV function improvement by cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Optical coherence tomography assessment of macrophages accumulation in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes.

Aims: To investigate in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) the prevalence and the features of optical coherence tomography (OCT)-detected macrophages accumulation in culprit plaques as compared with nonculprit plaques (NCP).

Methods: The study is a post-hoc analysis of a prospective study aimed at evaluating the relationship between aortic inflammation as assessed by F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET and features of coronary plaque vulnerability as assessed by OCT. We enrolled 32 patients with first NSTE-ACS who successfully underwent three-vessel OCT.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Cardiac Computed Tomography and 18-F Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in Cardiac Masses.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the diagnostic accuracy of cardiac computed tomography (CT) and F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in defining the nature of cardiac masses.

Background: The diagnostic accuracy of cardiac CT and F-FDG PET/CT in identifying the nature of cardiac masses has been analyzed to date only in small samples.

Methods: Of 223 patients with echocardiographically diagnosed cardiac masses, a cohort of 60 cases who underwent cardiac CT and F-FDG PET/CT was selected.

Low Sensitivity of Bone Scintigraphy in Detecting Phe64Leu Mutation-Related Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of bone scintigraphy in a large multicenter cohort of patients with cardiac amyloidotic involvement and Phe64Leu transthyretin (TTR) mutation.

Background: Diagnostic accuracy of bone scintigraphy for transthyretin-related cardiac amyloidosis (TTR-CA) is considered extremely high, enabling this technique to be the noninvasive diagnostic standard for TTR-CA. Nevertheless, this approach has not been systematically validated across the entire spectrum of TTR mutations.

FDG-PET assessment and metabolic patterns in Lafora disease.

Purpose: To describe cerebral glucose metabolism pattern as assessed by F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in Lafora disease (LD), a rare, lethal form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy caused by biallelic mutations in EPM2A or NHLRC1.

Methods: We retrospectively included patients with genetically confirmed LD who underwent FDG-PET scan referred to three Italian epilepsy centers. FDG-PET images were evaluated both visually and using SPM12 software.

Contribution of PET imaging to mortality risk stratification in candidates to lead extraction for pacemaker or defibrillator infection: a prospective single center study.

Purpose: F-FDG PET/CT is an emerging technique for diagnosis of cardiac implantable electronic devices infection (CIEDI). Despite the improvements in transvenous lead extraction (TLE), long-term survival in patients with CIEDI is poor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the extension of CIEDI at F-FDG PET/CT can improve prediction of survival after TLE.

Highlights of the 30th Annual Congress of the EANM, Vienna 2017: "Yes we can - make nuclear medicine great again".

The 30th Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) was held in Vienna, Austria, from 21 to 25 October 2017 under the chairmanship of Professor Francesco Giammarile. As always, the Congress was a great success: more than 6,379 participants came from 90 countries from all continents. Participants were presented with an excellent programme consisting of symposia, and scientific and featured sessions, CME sessions, and plenary lectures.

Effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy on right ventricular function during rest and exercise, as assessed by radionuclide angiography, and on NT-proBNP levels.

Aim: We carried out this study to investigate mid-term effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on right ventricular (RV) function and neurohormonal response, expressed by N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), in heart failure patients stratified by baseline RV ejection fraction (RVEF).

Methods And Results: Thirty-six patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy underwent technetium-99m radionuclide angiography with bicycle exercise immediately after CRT implantation (during spontaneous rhythm and after CRT activation) and 3 months later. Plasma NT proBNP was assessed before implantation and after 3 months.

Relation between thoracic aortic inflammation and features of plaque vulnerability in the coronary tree in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. An FDG-positron emission tomography and optical coherence tomography study.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between aortic inflammation as assessed by F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (F-FDG-PET) and features of plaque vulnerability as assessed by frequency domain-optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT).

Methods: We enrolled 30 consecutive non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. All patients underwent three-vessel OCT before intervention and F-FDG-PET before discharge.

Does the etiology of cardiac amyloidosis determine the myocardial uptake of [18F]-NaF PET/CT?

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) leads to variable degrees of myocardial infiltration with a final echocardiographic phenotype of "hypertrophy." Although many non-invasive imaging techniques (MRI, CT, scintigraphy, PET) are useful, the definitive diagnosis is still based on myocardial histology. We explored the possible role of [18F]-NaF PET/CT in the diagnosis of this disease in two cases with wild-type (ATTRwt) or mutant (ATTRm) Ile68Leu transthyretin (TTR)-related CA.

Heterogeneous response of cardiac sympathetic function to cardiac resynchronization therapy in heart failure documented by 11[C]-hydroxy-ephedrine and PET/CT.

Introduction: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an accepted treatment in patients with end-stage heart failure. PET permits the absolute quantification of global and regional homogeneity in cardiac sympathetic innervation. We evaluated the variation of cardiac adrenergic activity in patients with idiopathic heart failure (IHF) disease (NYHA III-IV) after CRT using (11)C-hydroxyephedrine (HED) PET/CT.

11C-choline PET/CT identifies osteoblastic and osteolytic lesions in patients with metastatic prostate cancer.

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare C-choline PET/CT, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), PSA kinetics, and C-choline uptake in recurrent metastatic prostate cancer patients with osteoblastic and osteolytic bone metastases.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 140 patients with the following criteria: (a) positive bone lesions identified with C-choline PET/CT and validated as true positive by histology (14.2%), correlative imaging (33.

Etiology of amyloidosis determines myocardial 99mTc-DPD uptake in amyloidotic cardiomyopathy.

Tc-DPD (Tc-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid) has a high affinity for transthyretin (TTR)-infiltrated myocardium, allowing a differential diagnosis with light chain cardiac amyloidosis and other nonamyloidotic cardiomyopathies with a hypertrophic phenotype, in which myocardial tracer uptake is low or absent. Myocardial bone tracer uptake in the rarer forms of amyloidosis (eg, apolipoprotein-related) has been rarely studied. We present 4 cases of cardiac amyloidosis that underwent Tc-DPD scintigraphy; myocardial DPD uptake was present in patients with ATTR, wtTTR and apolipoprotein AI and negative in cases with AL and apolipoprotein AII-related disease.

11C-mHED for PET / CT: principles of synthesis, methodology and first clinical applications.

Alterations of the cardiac autonomic nervous system play an important role in the pathway of many heart diseases. Nuclear imaging tools have been demonstrated to be useful for global and regional assessment of myocardial innervation. We used (11)C-meta-hydroxy-ephedrine ((11)C-mHED), a catecholamine analogue, as a radiotracer usable with a PET/CT scanner to study the cardiac sympathetic system.

Role of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis in patients with an implanted cardiac device: a prospective study.

Purpose: Infective endocarditis (IE) is widely underdiagnosed or diagnosed after a major delay. The diagnosis is currently based on the modified DUKE criteria, where the only validated imaging technique is echocardiography, and remains challenging especially in patients with an implantable cardiac device. The aim of this study was to assess the incremental diagnostic role of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in patients with an implanted cardiac device and suspected IE.

Highlights of the 26th EANM 2013 congress in Lyon: new horizons and further.

The 26th European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) annual congress was held in Lyon, France, under the chairmanship of Professor Dominique LeGuludec. The congress was attended by more than 5,200 participants, with about one-quarter coming from outside Europe. This review summarizes the major scientific contributions which were selected from the more than 1,700 submitted abstracts, and presented in the closing highlights session.

Combined computed tomography and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis: a case series.

Background: The diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis is challenging. The gold standard for prosthetic valve endocarditis diagnosis is trans-esophageal echocardiography. However, trans-esophageal echocardiography may result in negative findings or yield images difficult to differentiate from thrombus in patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis.