Scott Genshaft

Early Experience with AngioVac Aspiration in the Pulmonary Arteries

Five consecutive cases in which the AngioVac aspiration cannula was used for the management of pulmonary embolism (PE) were retrospectively reviewed. Four cases (80%) presented with massive PE, and two (40%) were technically successful (reduction in Miller index ≥ 5). Four patients (80%) died at a mean of 7.3 days after the procedure, including one death related to right ventricular free wall perforation. Although the AngioVac aspiration cannula has shown clinical promise in a variety of clinical applications, early experience in the pulmonary arteries has shown limited success, and further study and careful patient selection are required.

Imaging Features following Thermal Ablation of Lung Malignancies

Percutaneous image-guided thermal ablation is gaining attraction as an effective alternative to surgical resection for patients with primary and secondary malignancies of the lung. Currently, no standard follow-up imaging protocol has been established or uniformly accepted. The early identification of residual or recurrent tumor would in theory enable the practitioner to offer expeditious retreatment or alternative treatment. This review elaborates on the imaging findings following thermal ablation, both heat- and cold-based, of nonresectable pulmonary malignancies.

RadPath: A Web-based System for Integrating and Correlating Radiology and Pathology Findings During Cancer Diagnosis

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES The current paradigm of cancer diagnosis involves uncoordinated communication of findings from radiology and pathology to downstream physicians. Discordance between these findings can require additional time from downstream users to resolve, or given incorrect resolution, may adversely impact treatment decisions. To mitigate this problem, we developed a web-based system, called RadPath, for correlating and integrating radiology and pathology reporting. MATERIALS AND METHODS RadPath includes interfaces to our institutions clinical information systems, which are used to retrieve reports, images, and test results that are structured into an interactive compendium for a diagnostic patient case. The system includes an editing interface for physicians, allowing for the inclusion of additional clinical data, as well as the ability to retrospectively correlate and contextualize imaging findings following pathology diagnosis. RESULTS During pilot deployment and testing over the course of 1 year, physicians at our institution have completed 60 RadPath cases, requiring an average of 128 seconds from a radiologist and an average of 93 seconds from a pathologist per case. Several technical and workflow challenges were encountered during development, including interfacing with diverse clinical information systems, automatically structuring report contents, and determining the appropriate physicians to create RadPath summaries. Reaction to RadPath has been positive, with users valuing the systems ability to consolidate diagnostic information. CONCLUSIONS With the increasing complexity of medicine and the movement toward team-based disease management, there is a need for improved clinical communication and information exchange. RadPath provides a platform for generating coherent and correlated diagnostic summaries in cancer diagnosis with minimal additional effort from physicians.

Lung cancer screening.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Although smoking prevention and cessation programs have decreased lung cancer mortality, there remains a large at-risk population. Dismal long-term survival rates persist despite improvements in diagnosis, staging, and treatment. Early efforts to identify an effective screening test have been unsuccessful. Recent advances in multidetector computed tomography have allowed screening studies using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) to be performed. This set the stage for the National Lung Screening Trial that found that annual LDCT screening benefits individuals at high risk for lung cancer. An understanding of the harmful effects of lung cancer screening is required to help maximize the benefits and decrease the risks of a lung cancer screening program. Although many questions remain regarding LDCT screening, a comprehensive lung cancer screening program of high-risk individuals will increase detection of preclinical and potentially curable disease, creating a new model of lung cancer surveillance and management.

The evidence for low-dose CT screening of lung cancer

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. An effective screening tool for early lung cancer detection has long been sought. Early chest radiograph and low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening trials were promising and demonstrated increased cancer detection. However, these studies were not able to improve lung cancer mortality. The National Lung Screening Trial resulted in decreased lung cancer mortality with LDCT screening in a high-risk population. Similar trials are currently underway in Europe. With LDCT now being widely implemented, it is paramount for radiologists to understand the evidence for lung cancer screening.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Intensive Care Unit Patients.

Portable chest radiography is a fundamental and frequently utilized examination in the critically ill patient population. The chest radiograph often represents a timely investigation of new or rapidly evolving clinical findings and an evaluation of proper positioning of support tubes and catheters. Thoughtful consideration of the use of this simple yet valuable resource is crucial as medical cost containment becomes even more mandatory. This review addresses the role of chest radiography in the intensive care unit on the basis of the existing literature and as formed by a consensus of an expert panel on thoracic imaging through the American College of Radiology. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every 3 years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances in which evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.

Defining New Metrics in Microwave Ablation of Pulmonary Tumors: Ablation Work and Ablation Resistance Score

PURPOSE To investigate pulmonary microwave ablation metrics including ablation work, ablation resistance score, and involution. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective review was performed of 98 pulmonary tumor ablations using the NeuWave Certus Microwave Ablation System (NeuWave Medical, Madison, Wisconsin) in 71 patients (32 men and 39 women; mean age, 64.7 y ± 11.5). Ablation work was defined as sum of (power) * (time) * (number of antennas) for all phases during an ablation procedure. Ablation zone was measured on CT at 3 time points: after procedure, 1-3 months (mean 47 d), and 3-12 months (mean 292 d). Ablation zones were scored based on location for pulmonary lobe (upper = 1, middle/lingula = 2, lower = 3) and region (peripheral = 1, parenchymal = 2, central = 3), and the 2 were summed for ablation resistance score. RESULTS Ablation zone on CT at 1-3 months was significantly smaller in regions with higher ablation resistance score (P < .05). There was a significant correlation between ablation work and ablation zone measured on CT performed after procedure (P < .001), at 1-3 months (P < .001), and at 3-12 months (P < .05). Ablation zone significantly decreased from after procedure to 1-3 months (P < .001) and from 1-3 months to 3-12 months (P < .001), with change from after procedure to 1-3 months significantly greater (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS Pulmonary microwave ablation zone is significantly smaller in regions with higher ablation resistance score. Ablation work correlates to ablation zone with a nonlinear involution pattern in the first year and may be useful for planning before the procedure.

Coincident liposarcoma, carcinoid and gastrointestinal stromal tumor complicating type 1 neurofibromatosis: Case report and literature review

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is associated with increased risk of multiple neoplasms. We present a case of a female patient with NF1 who presented with a rectal low-grade neuroendocrine (carcinoid) tumor. Computed tomography imaging found a well-differentiated liposarcoma and a well-circumscribed gastro-intestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Although GIST and carcinoid tumors are frequently found in NF1 patients, liposarcoma complicating NF1 is quite rare and this is the first reported case of well-differentiated liposarcoma in NF1. In summary, we report a case of coincident abdominal carcinoid tumor, GIST and well-differentiated liposarcoma, which illustrates the variability of neoplasms in NF1 patients.

Percutaneous cryoablation for the treatment of recurrent thymoma: preliminary safety and efficacy.

Thymoma is the most common primary tumor of the anterior mediastinum and often recurs after initial surgical resection. In this case series, percutaneous cryoablation, a locally ablative technique, was used to treat 25 mediastinal and pleural recurrent thymoma lesions in five patients. Safety and short-term efficacy data were collected. In 23 percutaneous cryoablations (92%), there were no or minimal complications. One serious complication, myasthenia gravis flare, occurred. Over the duration of follow-up (median, 331 d), 18 of 20 ablated lesions (90%) showed no evidence of local recurrence. Percutaneous cryoablation shows promise as a safe and effective treatment modality for recurrent thymoma.

Non–small cell lung cancer clinical trials requiring biopsies with biomarker-specific results for enrollment provide unique challenges

Clinical trials in lung cancer increasingly require patients to provide fresh tumor tissue as a prerequisite to enrollment. The effects of this requirement on enrollment rates, enrollment durations, and patient selection have not been fully elucidated.