Architectural and dynamic features are important in breast MR imaging interpretation. Multivariate models involving feature assessment have a diagnostic accuracy superior to that of qualitative characterization of the dynamic enhancement pattern.

MR imaging findings are a stronger predictor of pathologic response to NACT than clinical assessment, with the greatest advantage observed with the use of volumetric measurement of tumor response early in treatment.

BACKGROUNDThe authors compared the performance of screening mammography versus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in women at genetically high risk for breast cancer.METHODSThe authors conducted an international prospective study of screening mammography and MRI in asymptomatic, genetically high‐risk women age ≥ 25 years. Women with a history of breast cancer were eligible for a contralateral screening if they had been diagnosed within 5 years or a bilateral screening if they had been diagnosed > 5 years previously. All examinations (MRI, mammography, and clinical breast examination [CBE]) were performed within 90 days of each other.RESULTSIn total, 390 eligible women were enrolled by 13 sites, and 367 women completed all study examinations. Imaging evaluations recommended 38 biopsies, and 27 biopsies were performed, resulting in 4 cancers diagnosed for an overall 1.1% cancer yield (95% confidence interval [95%CI], 0.3–2.8%). MRI detected all four cancers, whereas mammography detected one cancer. The diagnostic yield of mammography was 0.3% (95%CI, 0.01–1.5%). The yield of cancer by MRI alone was 0.8% (95%CI, − 0.3–2.0%). The biopsy recommendation rates for MRI and mammography were 8.5% (95%CI, 5.8–11.8%) and 2.2% (95%CI, 0.1–4.3%).CONCLUSIONSScreening MRI in high‐risk women was capable of detecting mammographically and clinically occult breast cancer. Screening MRI resulted in 22 of 367 of women (6%) who had negative mammogram and negative CBE examinations undergoing biopsy, resulting in 3 additional cancers detected. MRI also resulted in 19 (5%) false‐positive outcomes, which resulted in benign biopsies. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally adapted, primary care–based nurse–community health worker (CHW) team intervention to support diabetes self-management on diabetes control and other biologic measures.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSTwo hundred sixty-eight Samoan participants with type 2 diabetes were recruited from a community health center in American Samoa and were randomly assigned by village clusters to the nurse-CHW team intervention or to a wait-list control group that received usual care.RESULTSParticipants had a mean age of 55 years, 62% were female, mean years of education were 12.5 years, 41% were employed, and mean HbA1c was 9.8% at baseline. At 12 months, mean HbA1c was significantly lower among CHW participants, compared with usual care, after adjusting for confounders (b = −0.53; SE = 0.21; P = 0.03). The odds of making a clinically significant improvement in HbA1c of at least 0.5% in the CHW group was twice the odds in the usual care group after controlling for confounders (P = 0.05). There were no significant differences in blood pressure, weight, or waist circumference at 12 months between groups.CONCLUSIONSA culturally adapted nurse-CHW team intervention was able to significantly improve diabetes control in the U.S. Territory of American Samoa. This represents an important translation of an evidence-based model to a high-risk population and a resource-poor setting.

Focused on interpreting data as statistical evidence, the evidential paradigm uses likelihood ratios to measure the strength of statistical evidence. Under this paradigm, re-examination of accumulating evidence is encouraged because (i) the likelihood ratio, unlike a p-value, is unaffected by the number of examinations and (ii) the probability of observing strong misleading evidence is naturally low, even for study designs that re-examine the data with each new observation. Further, the controllable probabilities of observing misleading and weak evidence provide assurance that the study design is reliable without affecting the strength of statistical evidence in the data. This paper illustrates the ideas and methods associated with using likelihood ratios to measure statistical evidence. It contains a comprehensive introduction to the evidential paradigm, including an overview of how to quantify the probability of observing misleading evidence for various study designs. The University Group Diabetes Program (UGDP), a classic and still controversial multi-centred clinical trial, is used as an illustrative example. Some of the original UGDP results, and subsequent re-analyses, are presented for comparison purposes.

Force (USPSTF) recommends low-dose computed tomography screening for lung cancer. However, USPSTF screening guidelines were derived from a study population including only 4% African American smokers, and racial differences in smoking patterns were not considered. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of USPSTF lung cancer screening eligibility criteria in a predominantly African American and low-income cohort.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are uncommon tumors with increasing incidence and prevalence. Current reports suggest that 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging improves diagnosis and staging of NETs compared with 111In-DTPA-octreotide and conventional imaging. We performed a systematic review of 68Ga-DOTATATE for safety and efficacy compared with octreotide and conventional imaging to determine whether available evidence supports U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Methods Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Reviews electronic databases were searched from January 1999 to September 2015. Results were restricted to human studies comparing diagnostic accuracy of 68Ga-DOTATATE with octreotide or conventional imaging for pulmonary or gastroenteropancreatic NET and for human studies reporting safety/ toxicity for 68Ga-DOTATATE with 10 subjects or more thought to have NETs. Direct communication with corresponding authors was attempted to obtain missing information. Abstracts meeting eligibility criteria were collected by a research librarian and assembled for reviewers; 2 reviewers independently determined whether or not to include each abstract. If either reviewer chose inclusion, the abstract was accepted for review. Results Database and bibliography searches yielded 2,479 articles, of which 42 were eligible. Three studies compared the 2 radiopharmaceuticals in the same patient, finding 68Ga-DOTATATE to be more sensitive than octreotide. Nine studies compared 68Ga-DOTATATE with conventional imaging. 68Ga-DOTATATE estimated sensitivity, 90.9% (95% confidence interval, 81.4%–96.4%), and specificity, 90.6% (95% confidence interval, 77.8%–96.1%), were high. Five studies were retained for safety reporting only. Report of harm possibly related to 68Ga-DOTATATE was rare (6 of 974), and no study reported major toxicity or safety issues. Conclusion No direct comparison of octreotide and 68Ga-DOTATATE imaging for diagnosis and staging in an unbiased population of NETs has been published. Available information in the peer-reviewed literature regarding diagnostic efficacy and safety supports the use of 68Ga-DOTATATE for imaging of NETs where it is available.

Larger lesions (>11 mm) are most consistently detected, with fewer than half of lesions 5 mm or smaller in mean diameter identified; substantial agreement was found for description of lesion size, location, and key features, and moderate agreement was found for lesion management.