Diana Paez

Current worldwide nuclear cardiology practices and radiation exposure: results from the 65 country IAEA Nuclear Cardiology Protocols Cross-Sectional Study (INCAPS)

Aims To characterize patient radiation doses from nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and the use of radiation-optimizing ‘best practices’ worldwide, and to evaluate the relationship between laboratory use of best practices and patient radiation dose. Methods and results We conducted an observational cross-sectional study of protocols used for all 7911 MPI studies performed in 308 nuclear cardiology laboratories in 65 countries for a single week in March–April 2013. Eight ‘best practices’ relating to radiation exposure were identified a priori by an expert committee, and a radiation-related quality index (QI) devised indicating the number of best practices used by a laboratory. Patient radiation effective dose (ED) ranged between 0.8 and 35.6 mSv (median 10.0 mSv). Average laboratory ED ranged from 2.2 to 24.4 mSv (median 10.4 mSv); only 91 (30%) laboratories achieved the median ED ≤ 9 mSv recommended by guidelines. Laboratory QIs ranged from 2 to 8 (median 5). Both ED and QI differed significantly between laboratories, countries, and world regions. The lowest median ED (8.0 mSv), in Europe, coincided with high best-practice adherence (mean laboratory QI 6.2). The highest doses (median 12.1 mSv) and low QI (4.9) occurred in Latin America. In hierarchical regression modelling, patients undergoing MPI at laboratories following more ‘best practices’ had lower EDs. Conclusion Marked worldwide variation exists in radiation safety practices pertaining to MPI, with targeted EDs currently achieved in a minority of laboratories. The significant relationship between best-practice implementation and lower doses indicates numerous opportunities to reduce radiation exposure from MPI globally.

PET/CT imaging for target volume delineation in curative intent radiotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer: IAEA consensus report 2014

This document describes best practice and evidence based recommendations for the use of FDG-PET/CT for the purposes of radiotherapy target volume delineation (TVD) for curative intent treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These recommendations have been written by an expert advisory group, convened by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to facilitate a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) aiming to improve the applications of PET based radiation treatment planning (RTP) in low and middle income countries. These guidelines can be applied in routine clinical practice of radiotherapy TVD, for NSCLC patients treated with concurrent chemoradiation or radiotherapy alone, where FDG is used, and where a calibrated PET camera system equipped for RTP patient positioning is available. Recommendations are provided for PET and CT image visualization and interpretation, and for tumor delineation using planning CT with and without breathing motion compensation.

Trends in Nuclear Medicine in Developing Countries

This article describes trends in nuclear medicine in the developing world as noted by nuclear medicine professionals at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The trends identified are based on data gathered from several sources, including information gathered through a database maintained by the IAEA; evaluation of country program frameworks of various IAEA Member States; personal interactions with representatives in the nuclear medicine field from different regions of the world; official proceedings and meeting reports of the IAEA; participation in numerous national, regional, and international conferences; discussions with the leadership of major professional societies; and relevant literature. The information presented in this article relied on both objective and subjective observations. The aims of this article were to reflect on recent developments in the specialty of nuclear medicine and to envision the directions in which it is progressing. These issues are examined in terms of dimensions of practice, growth, and educational and training needs in the field of nuclear medicine. This article will enable readers to gain perspective on the status of nuclear medicine practice, with a specific focus on the developing world, and to examine needs and trends arising from the observations.

Combined PET and Biopsy Evidence of Marrow Involvement Improves Prognostic Prediction in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Bone marrow is an important extranodal site in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and marrow histology has been incorporated into the new National Comprehensive Cancer Network international prognostic index. Marrow involvement demonstrated histologically confers poor prognosis but is identified by staging PET in more cases. How information from staging PET and biopsy should be combined to optimize outcome prediction remains unclear. Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency sponsored a prospective international cohort study to better define the use of PET in DLBCL. As a planned subsidiary analysis, we examined the interplay of marrow involvement identified by PET and biopsy on clinical outcomes. Results: Eight countries contributed 327 cases with a median follow-up of 35 mo. The 2-y outcomes of cases with no evidence of marrow involvement (n = 231) were 81% (95% confidence interval [CI], 76%–86%) for event-free survival (EFS) and 88% (83%–91%) for overall survival (OS); cases identified only on PET (n = 61), 81% (69%–89%) for EFS and 88% (77%–94%) for OS; cases indentified only on biopsy (n = 10), 80% (41%–95%) for EFS and 100% for OS; or cases identified by both PET and biopsy (n = 25), 45% (25%–64%) for EFS and 55% (32%–73%) for OS. The hazard ratios for PET-negative/biopsy-negative cases versus PET-positive/biopsy-positive cases were 2.67 (95% CI, 1.48–4.79) for EFS and 3.94 (1.93–8.06) for OS. Conclusion: This large study demonstrates that positive iliac crest biopsy histology only confers poor prognosis for patients who also have abnormal marrow 18F-FDG uptake identified on the staging PET scan. Abnormal 18F-FDG uptake in marrow, when iliac crest biopsy histology is normal, has no adverse effect on outcomes.

Prospective International Cohort Study Demonstrates Inability of Interim PET to Predict Treatment Failure in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

The International Atomic Energy Agency sponsored a large, multinational, prospective study to further define PET for risk stratification of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and to test the hypothesis that international biological diversity or diversity of healthcare systems may influence the kinetics of treatment response as assessed by interim PET (I-PET). Methods: Cancer centers in Brazil, Chile, Hungary, India, Italy, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand followed a common protocol based on treatment with R-CHOP (cyclophosphamide, hydroxyadriamycin, vincristine, prednisolone with rituximab), with I-PET after 2–3 cycles of chemotherapy and at the end of chemotherapy scored visually. Results: Two-year survivals for all 327 patients (median follow-up, 35 mo) were 79% (95% confidence interval [CI], 74%–83%) for event-free survival (EFS) and 86% (95% CI, 81%–89%) for overall survival (OS). Two hundred ten patients (64%) were I-PET–negative, and 117 (36%) were I-PET–positive. Two-year EFS was 90% (95% CI, 85%–93%) for I-PET–negative and 58% (95% CI, 48%–66%) for I-PET–positive, with a hazard ratio of 5.31 (95% CI, 3.29–8.56). Two-year OS was 93% (95% CI, 88%–96%) for I-PET–negative and 72% (95% CI, 63%–80%) for I-PET–positive, with a hazard ratio of 3.86 (95% CI, 2.12–7.03). On sequential monitoring, 192 of 312 (62%) patients had complete response at both I-PET and end-of-chemotherapy PET, with an EFS of 97% (95% CI, 92%–98%); 110 of these with favorable clinical indicators had an EFS of 98% (95% CI, 92%–100%). In contrast, the 107 I-PET–positive cases segregated into 2 groups: 58 (54%) achieved PET-negative complete remission at the end of chemotherapy (EFS, 86%; 95% CI, 73%–93%); 46% remained PET-positive (EFS, 35%; 95% CI, 22%–48%). Heterogeneity analysis found no significant difference between countries for outcomes stratified by I-PET. Conclusion: This large international cohort delivers 3 novel findings: treatment response assessed by I-PET is comparable across disparate healthcare systems, secondly a negative I-PET findings together with good clinical status identifies a group with an EFS of 98%, and thirdly a single I-PET scan does not differentiate chemoresistant lymphoma from complete response and cannot be used to guide risk-adapted therapy.

Estimating the Reduction in the Radiation Burden From Nuclear Cardiology Through Use of Stress-Only Imaging in the United States and Worldwide

Group Information: The INCAPS Investigators Group includes executive committee members A. J. Einstein (chair), T. N. B. Pascual (IAEA project lead), D. Paez (IAEA section head), M. Dondi (IAEA section head); N. Better, S.E. Bouyoucef, G. Karthikeyan, R. Kashyap, V. Lele, F. Mut, V. P. C. Magboo, J. J. Mahmarian, M. Mercuri, M. M. Rehani, and J. V. Vitola, and regional coordinators E. Alexanderson (Latin America), A. Allam (Africa andMiddle East), M. H. Al-Mallah (Middle East), N. Better (Oceania), S. E. Bouyoucef (Africa), H. Bom (East Asia), A. Flotats (Europe), S. Jerome (United States), P. A. Kaufmann (Europe), V. Lele (South Asia), O. Luxenburg (Israel), J. Mahmarian (North America), L. J. Shaw (North America), S. R. Underwood (United Kingdom), and J. Vitola (Latin America). Members by region include W. Amouri, H. Essabbah, S. S. Gassama, K. B. Makhdomi, G. I. E. El Mustapha, N. El Ouchdi, N. Qais, N. Soni, andW. Vangu (Africa); R. M. Abazid, B. Adams, V. Agarwal, M. A. Alfeeli, N. Alnafisi, L. Bernabe, G. G. Bural, T. Chaiwatanarat, J. M. Chandraguptha, G. J. Cheon, I. Cho, A. S. Dogan, M. Eftekhari, A. Frenkel, I. Garty, S. George, P. Geramifar, H. Golan, S. Habib, R. Hussain, H. Im, H-J. Jeon, T. Kalawat, W. J. Kang, F. Keng, A. Klaipetch, P. G. Kumar, J. Lee, W.W. Lee, I. Lim, C. M. M. Macaisa, G. Malhotra, B. R. Mittal, M. H. Mohammad, P. Mohan, I. D. Mulyanto, D. Nariman, U. N. Nayak, K. Niaz, G. Nikolov, J. M. Obaldo, E. Ozturk, J. M. Park, S. Park, C. D. Patel, H. K. Phuong, A. P. Quinon, T. R. Rajini, Y. Saengsuda, J. Santiago, H. B. Sayman, A. S. Shinto, V. Sivasubramaniyan, M. H. Son, P. Sudhakar, G. M. S. Syed, N. Tamaki, K. Thamnirat, T. Thientunyakit, S. Thongmak, D. N. Velasco, A. Verma, U. Vutrapongwatana, Y. Wang, K. S. Won, Z. Yao, T. Yingsa-nga, R. Yudistiro, K. T. Yue, and N. Zafrir (Asia); S. C. Adrian, D. Agostini, S. Aguade, G. Armitage, M. Backlund, M. Backman, M. Baker, M. T. Balducci, C. Bavelaar, M. Berovic, F. Bertagna, R. Beuchel, A. Biggi, G. Bisi, R. Bonini, A. Bradley, L. Brudin, I. Bruno, E. Busnardo, R. Casoni, A. Choudhri, C. Cittanti, R. Clauss, D. C. Costa, M. Costa, K. Dixon, M. Dziuk, N. Egelic, I. Eriksson, G. Fagioli, D. B. de Faria, L. Florimonte, A. Francini, M. French, E. Gallagher, I. Garai, O. Geatti, D. Genovesi, L. Gianolli, A. Gimelli, E. del Giudice, S. Halliwell, M. J. Hansson, C. Harrison, F. Homans, F. Horton, D. Jedrzejuk, J. Jogi, A. Johansen, H. Johansson, M. Kalnina, M. Kaminek, A. Kiss, M. Kobylecka, M. Kostkiewicz, J. Kropp, R. Kullenberg, T. Lahoutte, O. Lang, Y. H. Larsson, M. Lazar, L. Leccisotti, N. Leners, O. Lindner, R. W. Lipp, A. Maenhout, L. Maffioli, C. Marcassa, B. Martins, P. Marzullo, G. Medolago, J. B. Meeks, C. G. Mendiguchia, S. Mirzaei, M. Mori, B. Nardi, S. Nazarenko, K. Nikoletic, R. Oleksa, T. Parviainen, J. Patrina, R. Peace, C. Pirich, H. Piwowarska-Bilska, S. Popa, V. Prakash, V. Pubul, L. Puklavec, S. Rac, M. Ratniece, S. A. Rogan, A. Romeo, M. Rossi, D. Ruiz, N. Sabharwal, B. G. Salobir, A. I. Santos, S. Saranovic, A. Sarkozi, R. P. Schneider, R. Sciagra, S. Scotti, Z. Servini, L. R. Setti, S.-A. Starck, D. Vajauskas, J. Veselý, A. Vieni, A. Vignati, I. M. Vito, K. Weiss, D. Wild, andM. Zdraveska-Kochovska (Europe); R. N. Aguro, N. Alvarado, C. M. Barral, M. Beretta, I. Berrocal, J. F. Batista Cuellar, T.-M. Cabral Chang, L. O. Cabrera Rodriguez, J. Canessa, G. Castro Mora, A. C. Claudia, G. F. Clavelo, A. F. Cruz Jr, F. F. Faccio, K. M. Fernandez, J. R. Gomez Garibo, U. Gonzalez, P. Gonzalez, M. A. Guzzo, J. Jofre, M. Kapitan, G. Kempfer, J. L. Lopez, T. Massardo, I. Medeiros Colaco, C. T. Mesquita, M. Montecinos, S. Neubauer, L. M. Pabon, A. Puente, L. M. Rochela Vazquez, J. A. Serna Macias, A. G. Silva Pino, F. Z. Tartari Huber, A. P. Tovar, L. Vargas, and C. Wiefels (Latin America); A. Aljizeeri, R. J. Alvarez, D. Barger, W. Beardwood, J. Behrens, L. Brann, D. Brown, H. Carr, K. Churchwell, G. A. Comingore, J. Corbett, M. Costello, F. Cruz, T. Depinet, S. Dorbala, M. Earles, F. P. Esteves, E. Etherton, R. J. Fanning Jr, J. Fornace, L. Franks, H. Gewirtz, K. Gulanchyn, C.-L. Hannah, J. Hays, J. Hendrickson, J. Hester, K. Holmes, S. Jerome, A. Johnson, C. Jopek, H. Lewin, J. Lyons, C. Manley, J. Meden, S. Moore, W. H. Moore, V. Murthy, R. Nace, D. Neely, L. Nelson, O. Niedermaier, D. Rice, R. Rigs, K. Schiffer, E. Schockling, T. Schultz, T. Schumacker, B. Sheesley, A. Sheikh, B. Siegel, A. M. Slim, J. Smith, M. Szulc, N. Tanskersley, P. Tilkemeier, G. D. Valdez, R. Vrooman, D. Wawrowicz, and D. E. Winchester (North America); and A. Alcheikh, B. Allen, E. Atkins, J. Bevan, C. Bonomini, J. Christiansen, L. Clack, E. Craig, H. Dixson, I. Duncan, S. Fredericks, S. Gales, R. Hampson, T. Hanley, K. Hartcher, J. Hassall, B. Kelley, S. Kelly, T. Kidd, T. de Kort, G. Larcos, W. Macdonald, C. McGrath, E. Murdoch, S. O’Malley, M. O’Rourke, M. Pack, R. Pearce, R. Praehofer, S. Ramsay, L. Scarlett, K. Smidt, F. Souvannavong, K. Taubman, G. Taylor, K. Tse, S. Unger, and J. Weale (Oceania).

Current Status of Nuclear Medicine Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean

The practice of nuclear medicine (NM) in the Latin American and Caribbean region has experienced important growth in the last decade. However, there is great heterogeneity among countries regarding the availability of technology and human resources. According to data collected through June 2014 by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the total number of γ cameras in the region is 1,231, with an average of 2.16 per million inhabitants. Over 90% of the equipment is SPECT cameras; 7.6% of which have hybrid technology. There are 161 operating PET or PET/CT cameras in 12 member states, representing a rate of 0.3 per million people. Most NM centers belong to the private health system and are in capitals or major cities. Only 4 countries have the capability of assembling 99Mo–99mTc generators, and 2 countries produce 99mTc from nuclear reactors. Cold kits are produced in some countries, and therapeutic agents are mostly imported from outside the region. There are 35 operative cyclotrons. In relation to human resources: there is 1 physician per γ camera, 1.6 technologists per γ camera, 0.1 medical physicist per center, and approximately 0.1 radiochemist or radiopharmacist per center. Nearly 94% of the procedures are diagnostic. PET studies represent about 4% of the total. The future of NM in the Latin American and Caribbean region is promising, with great potential and possibilities. Some of the most important factors driving the region toward greater homogeneity in the availability and application of NM, and bridging the gaps between countries, are clinician awareness of the importance of NM in managing diseases prevalent in the region, increased building of capacity, continuous and strong support from international organizations such as the IAEA through national and regional projects, and strong public–private partnerships and government commitment.

Nuclear medicine in the management of patients with heart failure: guidance from an expert panel of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Heart failure is increasing worldwide at epidemic proportions, resulting in considerable disability, mortality, and increase in healthcare costs. Gated myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography or PET imaging is the most prominent imaging modality capable of providing information on global and regional ventricular function, the presence of intraventricular synchronism, myocardial perfusion, and viability on the same test. In addition, 123I-mIBG scintigraphy is the only imaging technique approved by various regulatory agencies able to provide information regarding the adrenergic function of the heart. Therefore, both myocardial perfusion and adrenergic imaging are useful tools in the workup and management of heart failure patients. This guide is intended to reinforce the information on the use of nuclear cardiology techniques for the assessment of heart failure and associated myocardial disease.

Hybrid Imaging Worldwide—Challenges and Opportunities for the Developing World: A Report of a Technical Meeting Organized by IAEA

The growth in nuclear medicine, in the past decade, is largely due to hybrid imaging, specifically single-photon emission tomography-computed tomography (SPECT-CT) and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT). Introduction and use of hybrid imaging has been growing at a fast pace. This has led to many challenges and opportunities to the personnel dealing with it. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) keeps a close watch on the trends in applications of nuclear techniques in health by many ways, including obtaining inputs from member states and professional societies. In 2012, a Technical Meeting on trends in hybrid imaging was organized by IAEA to understand the current status and trends of hybrid imaging using nuclear techniques, its role in clinical practice, and associated educational needs and challenges. Perspective of scientific societies and professionals from all the regions of the world was obtained. Heterogeneity in value, educational needs, and access was noted and the drivers of this heterogeneity were discussed. This article presents the key points shared during the technical meeting, focusing primarily on SPECT-CT and PET-CT, and shares the action plan for IAEA to deal with heterogeneity as suggested by the participants.

Quality Management in Nuclear Medicine for Better Patient Care: The IAEA Program

The International Atomic Energy Agency promotes the practice of nuclear medicine among its Member States with a focus on quality and safety. It considers quality culture as a part of the educational process and as a tool to reduce heterogeneity in the practice of nuclear medicine, and in turn, patient care. Sensitization about quality is incorporated in all its delivery mechanisms. The Agency has developed a structured peer-review process called quality management (QM) audits in nuclear medicine practices to help nuclear medicine facilities improve their quality through this voluntary comprehensive audit process. The process is multidisciplinary, covering all aspects of nuclear medicine practice with a focus on the patient. It complements other QM and accreditation approaches developed by professional societies or accreditation agencies. The Agency is committed to propagate its utility and assist in the implementation process. Similar auditing programs for practice in diagnostic radiology and radiotherapy, called QUADRIL and QUATRO, respectively, are also in place. Necessary amendments in the auditing process and content are incorporated based on technological and practice changes with time. The reader will become familiar with the approach of the Agency on QM in nuclear medicine and its implementation process to improve patient care.