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Gastric cancer is the fifth most common malignancy in the world, with nearly one million new cases of gastric cancer diagnosed every year. 1 Curative treatment of gastric adenocarcinoma consists of partial or total resection of the stomach combined with lymphadenectomy. 2 Over the last years, multimodality treatment strategies such as neoadjuvant chemo(radio)therapy, perioperative chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy have gained importance in the treatment of gastric cancer by improving the likelihood of a radical tumor resection, disease free survival and overall survival. 3-8 Unfortunately, the overall 5 year survival rate still remains poor (35-45%). 4,9 Accurate staging of gastric cancer allows for selection of the most appropriate therapy, minimizes unnecessary surgery and maximizes the likelihood of benefit from the selected treatment. After initial diagnosis by gastroscopy with tumor biopsy, diagnostic work-up can consist of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), computed tomography (CT) and 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18 F-FDG PET). However, these techniques all have their limitations. EUS is an invasive, highly operator-dependent technique and does not detect distant metastases. 10,11 CT exposes patients to ionizing radiation and has poor soft-tissue contrast. 18 F-FDG PET is impaired by the fact that not all gastric carcinomas are 18 F-FDG-avid (avidity ranging from 42-96%) and has a low spatial resolution. 12 Historically, the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in gastric cancer has been limited, since relatively long acquisition times and technical challenges of peristaltic motion and respiration artifacts resulted in poor imaging quality. 13,14 With the continuous technical improvements in MRI scanning, including fast imaging techniques, (respiratory) motion compensation techniques, use of anti peristaltic agents and the introduction of functional MRI

Radioembolization of liver malignancies with Ho-microspheres has been shown to be safe in a phase 1 dose-escalation study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy ofHo radioembolization. In this prospective single-arm study, 56 patients were enrolled, all with liver metastases refractory to systemic therapy and ineligible for surgical resection. The primary outcome was a response by 2 target lesions on triphasic liver CT scans 3 mo after therapy, as assessed using RECIST, version 1.1. Secondary outcomes included overall tumor response, time to imaging progression, overall survival, toxicity, quality of life, and quantification of the microspheres on SPECT and MRI. Between May 2012 and March 2015, 38 eligible patients were treated, one of whom was not evaluable. In 27 (73%) of 37 patients, the target lesions showed complete response, partial response, or stable disease (disease control) at 3 mo (95% confidence interval [CI], 57%-85%). The median overall survival was 14.5 mo (95% CI, 8.6-22.8 mo). For colorectal cancer patients ( = 23), the median overall survival was 13.4 mo (95% CI, 8.2-15.7 mo). Grade 3 or 4 toxic events after treatment (according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.03) included abdominal pain (in 18% of patients), nausea (8%), ascites (3%), fatigue (3%), gastric stenosis (3%), hepatic failure (3%), liver abscesses (3%), paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (3%), thoracic pain (3%), upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage (3%), and vomiting (3%). On SPECT, Ho could be quantified with high accuracy and precision, with a mean overestimation of 9.3% ± 7.1% in the liver. Radioembolization with Ho-microspheres induced a tumor response with an acceptable toxicity profile in salvage patients with liver metastases.

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BackgroundNormative data on pulmonary nodules in children without malignancy are limited. Knowledge of the frequency and characteristics of pulmonary nodules in healthy children can influence care decisions in children with malignant disease.ObjectiveTo provide normative data concerning the frequency and characteristics of pulmonary nodules on computed tomography (CT) in young children.Materials and methodsAll children ages 1 year–12 years who underwent chest CT after high-energy trauma were retrospectively investigated. Exclusion criteria were a history of malignancy, thick image slices, motion artefacts and extensive post-traumatic pulmonary changes. Two radiologists were asked to independently identify all nodules and to characterize each nodule with respect to location, size, perifissural location and calcification. Discrepancies were adjudicated by a third reader, who set the reference standard in this study. Interobserver agreement in detection and characterization was assessed using the kappa coefficient (κ).ResultsIdentified were 120 patients, of whom 72 (75% male; median age: 8.0 years [interquartile range: 4–11]) were included. A total of 59 pulmonary nodules were present in 27 patients (38%; 95% confidence interval: 26–49%; range: 1–5 nodules per patient, with a mean diameter of 3.2 mm [standard deviation: 0.9 mm]). For nodule detection, the per-patient interobserver agreement was substantial (κ=0.78) and per-lobe agreement was moderate (κ=0.40). For characterization, there was fair to substantial agreement (κ=0.36–0.74).ConclusionSmall pulmonary nodules on chest CT are a common finding in otherwise healthy children, but detection and characterization have only moderate interobserver agreement.

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