Kohei Kotani

Positioning of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography imaging in the management algorithm of hepatocellular carcinoma.

18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)‐positron emission tomography (PET) may detect primary lesions (PLs) and extrahepatic metastases (EHMs) only in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. We investigated the requirement of PET and the optimal timing of PET scanning for accurate staging and treatment planning.

Clinical assessment of delayed gastric emptying and diabetic complications using gastric emptying scintigraphy: Involvement of vascular disorder

Delayed gastric emptying, including gastroparesis, is a common complication in diabetes mellitus. The association between delayed gastric emptying and overall diabetic complications remains to be studied in detail. We analysed this association.

Lymphoscintigraphy with single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography is useful for determining the site of chyle leakage after esophagectomy

We describe the case of chylothorax after esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma. Lymphoscintigraphy with Tc-99m-human serum albumin-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid showed an abnormal radioisotope accumulation on the left side of the thoracic duct. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) combined with computed tomography (CT) revealed a hot spot directly on the site at, which the thoracic duct was ligated during surgery, which was the suggested site of chyle leakage. We emphasize that lymphoscintigraphy with SPECT/CT is very useful tool for accurately identifying the site of the chyle leakage.

Role of per-rectal portal scintigraphy in long-term follow-up of congenital portosystemic shunt.

Background:Congenital portosystemic shunt (CPSS) has the potential to cause hepatic encephalopathy and thus needs long-term follow-up, but an effective follow-up method has not yet been established. We aimed to evaluate the importance of per-rectal portal scintigraphy (PRPS) for long-term follow-up of CPSS.Methods:We retrospectively examined shunt severity time course in patients (median: 9.6 y, range: 5.2–16.6 y) with intrahepatic (n = 3) or extrahepatic (n = 3) CPSS by using blood tests, ultrasonography or computed tomography, and PRPS. Per-rectal portal shunt index (cutoff: 10%) was calculated by PRPS.Results:PRPS demonstrated that the initial shunt index was reduced in all intrahepatic cases (from 39.7 ± 9.8% (mean ± SD) to 14.6 ± 4.7%) and all extrahepatic cases (from 46.2 ± 10.9 to 27.5 ± 12.6%) during the follow-up period. However, ultrasonography and computed tomography disclosed different shunt diameter time courses between intrahepatic and extrahepatic CPSSs. Initial shunt diameter (5.8 ± 3.5 mm) reduced to 2.0 ± 0.3 mm in intrahepatic cases, but the initial diameter (6.3 ± 0.7 mm) increased to 10.6 ± 1.0 mm in extrahepatic cases. All patients had elevated serum total bile acid or ammonia levels at initial screening, but these blood parameters were insufficient to assess shunt severity because the values fluctuate.Conclusion:PRPS can track changes in the shunt severity of CPSS and is more reliable than ultrasonography and computed tomography in patients with extrahepatic CPSS.

Usefulness of Stereotactic Radiotherapy Using CyberKnife for Recurrent Lymph Node Metastasis of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

A woman in her 60s presented with a recurrent lymph node metastasis from a papillary thyroid carcinoma in the right parapharyngeal space. She had already undergone total thyroidectomy, five resections for cervical lymph node metastases, and right carotid rebuilding. Surgical resection of the current metastasis was impossible. 131I-radioiodine therapy (RIT) with 3.7 GBq 131I was not effective; therefore, stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) using a CyberKnife radiotherapy system was scheduled. The prescription dose was 21 Gy, and a dose covering 95% of the planning target volume (PTV) in three fractions was administered. The PTV was 4,790 mm3. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging conducted 3 and 12 months after the SRT demonstrated a remarkable and gradual reduction of the recurrent lymph node metastasis in the right parapharyngeal space and no evidence of recurrence. For multidisciplinary therapy of unresectable and/or RIT unresponsive locoregional lymph node metastases and recurrences of DTC, SRT using the CyberKnife system should be considered.

Comprehensive Screening of Gene Function and Networks by DNA Microarray Analysis in Japanese Patients with Idiopathic Portal Hypertension.

The functions of genes involved in idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) remain unidentified. The present study was undertaken to identify the functions of genes expressed in blood samples from patients with IPH through comprehensive analysis of gene expression using DNA microarrays. The data were compared with data from healthy individuals to explore the functions of genes showing increased or decreased expression in patients with IPH. In cluster analysis, no dominant probe group was shown to differ between patients with IPH and healthy controls. In functional annotation analysis using the Database for Annotation Visualization and Integrated Discovery tool, clusters showing dysfunction in patients with IPH involved gene terms related to the immune system. Analysis using network-based pathways revealed decreased expression of adenosine deaminase, ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 4, ATP-binding cassette, subfamily C, member 1, transforming growth factor-β, and prostaglandin E receptor 2; increased expression of cytochrome P450, family 4, subfamily F, polypeptide 3, and glutathione peroxidase 3; and abnormalities in the immune system, nucleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid/leukotriene pathways, and biological processes. These results suggested that IPH involved compromised function of immunocompetent cells and that such dysfunction may be associated with abnormalities in nucleic acid metabolism and arachidonic acid/leukotriene-related synthesis/metabolism.

Regional liver disorder with differences in the accumulation of 99mTc-phytate and 99mTc-galactosyl human serum albumin

We report a 56-year-old woman with regional liver disorder due to acute hepatitis. Computed tomographic images showed low signal density at a plain phase and prolonged contrast effect at a late phase in the left hepatic lobe, in which an accumulation of 99mTc-phytate increased, whereas that of 99mTc-galactosyl human serum albumin (GSA) decreased. Meanwhile, in the right lobe, an accumulation of 99mTc-GSA showed more increased than that of 99mTc-phytate. Liver biopsy showed massive hepatocyte necrosis and interface hepatitis in the left lobe, and moderate hepatitis in the right lobe. Differences in the accumulation between these scintigrams were helpful for understanding rapid necrosis in the left lobe, resulting in a compensatory enlargement of the right lobe. Clinicians should be aware that some cases of acute hepatitis cause regional liver disorder although most cases show homogeneous inflammation.

Diffuse Gallium-67 Accumulation in the Left Atrial Wall Detected Using SPECT/CT Fusion Images

Gallium-67 scintigraphy is useful for detecting active inflammation. We show a 66-year-old female patient with atrial fibrillation and diffuse thickening of the left atrial wall due to acute myocarditis, who presented diffuse abnormal accumulation of gallium-67 in the left atrium on single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) fusion images. In the second gallium-67 scan 2 months after the first scintigraphy, the abnormal accumulation in the heart was no longer visible. Gallium-67 SPECT/CT images helped understanding the disease condition that temporary inflammation in the left atrium caused atrial fibrillation.

131I abnormal uptake by the thyroid bed from Zuckerkandl tubercle diagnosis by 131I SPECT/CT.

After thyroid remnant ablation following total thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer, 131I SPECT/CT revealed 131I uptake, regarded as thyroid bed uptake on planar images, in the anterior cervical region. On SPECT/CT, the 131I uptake focus appeared at the esophagus, suggesting esophageal invasion. No esophageal invasion had been recognized intraoperatively, and no residual uptake was detected by 131I scintigraphy evaluating therapeutic effects 3 months after ablation. Preoperative CT revealed a retrotracheal space portion extending from the normal thyroid with the same density, suggesting Zuckerkandl tubercle. Abnormal uptake on SPECT/CT was deemed Zuckerkandl tubercle-derived thyroid bed uptake.

Illustration of protein loss from the stomach by using SPECT/CT: a case of Ménétrier disease.

We report a 47-year-old man in whom Tc human serum albumin diethylene-triamine-pentaacetic acid protein-losing scintigraphy, performed with SPECT/CT, was useful for diagnosing Ménétrier disease. Planar images taken 1 and 3 hours after radioactive isotope injection yielded a suspicion that the stomach was the site of protein loss in this case. However, the protein loss from the stomach was precisely diagnosed after SPECT/CT was performed; this helped to diagnose Ménétrier disease.