Rheumatology (Oxford)
May 2025
Objectives: To determine the clinical outcomes of patients with immunoglobulin 4-related disease (IgG4-RD) treated with a defined B-cell depletion protocol using rituximab.
Methods: Patients were included if they had (i) an IgG4-RD diagnosis at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust between February 2017 and October 2022, and (ii) >9 months of follow-up data available following the first rituximab dose. The rituximab protocol targeted B-cell depletion to <10 cells/microliter for a maintenance period of two years.
Radiographics
December 2024
Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in men, with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer presenting a substantial treatment challenge. The authors focuse on prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radiotheranostics, particularly lutetium 177 (Lu)-PSMA radioligand therapy, as an emerging treatment modality for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProstate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) directed PET imaging has rapidly transformed prostate cancer workup over the past decade and paved the way for a theranostic approach using 177Lu-labelled PSMA radioligand therapy (RLT). This review gives an overview of the underlying principles behind PSMA as a target; the current use of PSMA PET in prostate cancer imaging and benefits compared to conventional imaging; and therapeutic applications including optimisation of patient selection. It also explores the evidence base of PSMA PET for other indications not in routine clinical use and the future of PSMA-directed RLT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: MAchine Learning In MyelomA Response (MALIMAR) is an observational clinical study combining "real-world" and clinical trial data, both retrospective and prospective. Images were acquired on three MRI scanners over a 10-year window at two institutions, leading to a need for extensive curation.
Methods: Curation involved image aggregation, pseudonymisation, allocation between project phases, data cleaning, upload to an XNAT repository visible from multiple sites, annotation, incorporation of machine learning research outputs and quality assurance using programmatic methods.
There is a clinical need for F-labeled somatostatin analogs for the imaging of neuroendocrine tumors (NET), given the limitations of using [Ga]Ga-DOTA-peptides, particularly with regard to widespread accessibility. We have shown that [F]fluoroethyl-triazole-[Tyr]-octreotate ([F]FET-βAG-TOCA) has favorable dosimetry and biodistribution. As a step toward clinical implementation, we conducted a prospective, noninferiority study of [F]FET-βAG-TOCA PET/CT compared with [Ga]Ga-DOTA- peptide PET/CT in patients with NET.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGranulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) rarely involves the pituitary gland. Pituitary involvement has been reported in ~ 1% of all cases of GPA. Most commonly, pituitary swelling and inflammation results in symptoms due to pituitary mass effect and arginine vasopressin deficiency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor men with prostate cancer who develop biochemical failure after radiotherapy, European guidelines recommend reimaging with Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and multiparametric MRI (mpMRI). However, the accuracy of Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for detecting intraprostatic recurrences is unclear, both with and without mpMRI. A single-center retrospective study of a series of patients investigated for radiorecurrence between 2016 and 2022 is described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalignant transformation is characterised by aberrant phospholipid metabolism of cancers, associated with the upregulation of choline kinase alpha (CHKα). Due to the metabolic instability of choline radiotracers and the increasing use of late-imaging protocols, we developed a more stable choline radiotracer, [F]fluoromethyl-[1,2-H]choline ([F]D4-FCH). [F]D4-FCH has improved protection against choline oxidase, the key choline catabolic enzyme, via a H/D isotope effect, together with fluorine substitution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Thymidylate synthase (TS) remains a major target for cancer therapy. TS inhibition elicits increases in DNA salvage pathway activity, detected as a transient compensatory "flare" in 3'-deoxy-3'-[F]fluorothymidine positron emission tomography (F-FLT PET). We determined the magnitude of the F-FLT flare in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with the antifolate pemetrexed in relation to clinical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging
November 2023
Purpose: MRI and PET are used in neuro-oncology for the detection and characterisation of lesions for malignancy to target surgical biopsy and to plan surgical resections or stereotactic radiosurgery. The critical role of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in brain tumour biology has come to the forefront. The non-metabolised SCFA radiotracer, [F]fluoropivalate (FPIA), shows low background signal in most tissues except eliminating organs and has appropriate human dosimetry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvest Radiol
December 2023
Objectives: Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) has been demonstrated to be efficient and cost-effective for cancer staging. The study aim was to develop a machine learning (ML) algorithm to improve radiologists' sensitivity and specificity for metastasis detection and reduce reading times.
Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of 438 prospectively collected WB-MRI scans from multicenter Streamline studies (February 2013-September 2016) was undertaken.
A quintessential setting for precision medicine, theranostics refers to a rapidly evolving field of medicine in which disease is diagnosed followed by treatment of disease-positive patients using tools for the therapy identical or similar to those used for the diagnosis. Against the backdrop of only-treat-when-visualized, the goal is a high therapeutic index with efficacy markedly surpassing toxicity. Oncology leads the way in theranostics innovation, where the approach has become possible with the identification of unique proteins and other factors selectively expressed in cancer versus healthy tissue, advances in imaging technology able to report these tissue factors, and major understanding of targeting chemicals and nanodevices together with methods to attach labels or warheads for imaging and therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the test-retest reproducibility and intra/interobserver agreement of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements of myeloma lesions using whole body diffusion-weighted MRI (WB-DW-MRI) at 3T MRI.
Methods: Following ethical approval, 11 consenting patients with relapsed multiple myeloma were prospectively recruited and underwent baseline WB-DW-MRI. For a single bed position, axial DWI was repeated after a short interval to permit test-retest measurements.
Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a disorder characterized by hypercalcemia and an elevated or inappropriately normal parathyroid hormone level. Classic features include bone pain, fractures, renal impairment, nephrolithiasis, and mental disturbance. However, most cases of PHPT are now asymptomatic at diagnosis or associated with nonspecific neurocognitive changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Preoperative nodal staging is important for planning treatment in cervical cancer and endometrial cancer, but remains challenging. We compare nodal staging accuracy of F-ethyl-choline-(FEC)-PET/CT, F-fluoro-deoxy-glucose-(FDG)-PET/CT, and diffusion-weighted-MRI (DW-MRI) with conventional morphologic MRI.
Experimental Design: A prospective, multicenter observational study of diagnostic accuracy for nodal metastases was undertaken in 5 gyne-oncology centers.
Purpose: Cervical cancer metabolic tumour volume (MTV) derived from [18F]-FDG PET/CT has a role in prognostication and therapy planning. There is no standard method of outlining MTV on [18F]-FDG PET/CT. The aim of this study was to assess the optimal method to outline primary cervical tumours on [18F]-FDG PET/CT using MRI-derived tumour volumes as the reference standard.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women of all ages worldwide. The disease is staged using the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system, which was updated in 2018. The authors explain the key changes from the 2009 version and the rationale behind them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJACC Cardiovasc Imaging
February 2021
Br J Radiol
November 2020
There have been major advances in myeloma imaging over the past few years with focal lesions on imaging now forming part of the disease defining criteria. Whole body diffusion-weighted MRI (WB-MRI) is considered the most sensitive technique for the detection of focal active lesions. This pictorial review will focus on imaging the spectrum of myelomatous disorders on WB-MRI including diffusion and Dixon sequences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAccurate disease monitoring is essential after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) because of the potential for profound adverse events and large variations in survival outcome. Posttreatment changes on conventional imaging can confound determination of residual or recurrent disease, magnifying the clinical challenge. On the basis of increased expression of thymidylate synthase (), thymidine kinase 1 (), and equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 () in HCC compared with liver tissue, we conducted a proof-of-concept study evaluating the efficacy of 3'-deoxy-3'-F-fluorothymidine (F-FLT) PET to assess response to TACE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fatty acids derived de novo or taken up from the extracellular space are an essential source of nutrient for cell growth and proliferation. Radiopharmaceuticals including C-acetate, and F-FAC (2-F-fluoroacetate), have previously been used to study short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolism. We developed F-fluoropivalate (F-FPIA; 3-F-fluoro-2,2-dimethylpropionic acid) bearing a gem-dimethyl substituent to assert metabolic stability for studying SCFA metabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFF-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT imaging plays a key role in oncological imaging including in staging, radiotherapy planning, treatment response and recurrence assessment. Immunotherapies represent a major advance in cancer therapy for a number of tumours with resulting survival benefit. However, a wide range of immune related adverse events (irAEs), some of which can be apparent on imaging, have been reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: British Thoracic Society guidelines recommend 18F Fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) for solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) follow-up in high-risk individuals or if the CT Brock score is >10%. Nodule tracer uptake is assessed visually in comparison to the surrounding lung tissue and mediastinal blood pool (Herder score). This score is used to calculate the risk of malignancy and guide patient management.
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