SAFE (Scan and Find Early) is a novel microwave imaging device intended for breast cancer screening and early detection. SAFE is based on the use of harmless electromagnetic waves and can provide relevant initial diagnostic information without resorting to X-rays. Because of SAFE’s harmless effect on organic tissue, imaging can be performed repeatedly. In addition, the scanning process itself is not painful since breast compression is not required. Because of the absence of physical compression, SAFE can also detect tumors that are close to the thoracic wall. A total number of 115 patients underwent the SAFE scanning procedure, and the resultant images were compared with available magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasound, and mammography images in order to determine the correct detection rate. A sensitivity of 63% was achieved. Breast size influenced overall sensitivity, as sensitivity was lower in smaller breasts (51%) compared to larger ones (74%). Even though this is only a preliminary study, the results show promising concordance with clinical reports, thus encouraging further SAFE clinical studies.

Background/aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concordance of immunohistochemical (IHC) parameters of breast lesions between the core needle biopsy (CNB) and the surgical resection specimen.Materials and methods: CNB and resection specimens of female patients were retrospectively analyzed. ER, PR, HER-2, and Ki-67 parameters were compared for each patient. A total of 284 cases were assessed. Forty-one and 48 cases were excluded from the HER-2 and Ki-67 examinations, respectively, because the CNBs did not allow for IHC.Results: Concordance rates were 93.3% for ER, 89.4% for PR, 90.1% for HER-2, and 80.9% for Ki-67. Conclusion:CNB is accurate for the evaluation of the surrogate molecular profile of invasive breast cancer despite the heterogeneity of tumors.

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Objectives Biannual ultrasonography, a globally accepted surveillance method, has low sensitivity in detecting early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a surveillance strategy using annual contrast-enhanced MRI to detect HCCs at early-stage. Materials and methods We reviewed the data of 294 patients with consistent annual contrast-enhanced MRI and biannual alpha fetoprotein (AFP) surveillance between 2008 and 2017. Patients were stratified for HCC risk as low-intermediate-high risk group using Toronto risk score. HCCs were classified according to Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging system. Results Thirty-five (11.9%) HCCs were detected with annual surveillance MRI. Of those, 30 (85.8%) were early-stage and 15 (42.9%) were very early-stage. The majority of patients (82.9%) with surveillance detected HCC were high risk at the entry. MRI had sensitivity of 83.3 and 80% with a specificity of 95.4 and 91.4%, for detecting early and very early-stage HCC, respectively. Addition of AFP to MRI displayed similar sensitivity and specificity rates to detect early and very early HCCs. The area under the curve of MRI alone and combination with AFP was not statistically different (Any-HCC: 0.905 vs. 0.924; Early-HCC: 0.853 vs. 0.885; Very early-HCC: 0.838 vs. 0.885, respectively, all P values >0.2). Conclusion Annual MRI strategy demonstrated a satisfactory performance in the surveillance of HCC, in terms of detecting most of the lesions in earlier curable stages and indicating high sensitivity with no additional benefit of biannual AFP. New risk stratified screening algorithms may further increase the yield of HCC surveillance among cirrhotic patients.

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Background Kidney transplantation (KT) recipients are at increased risk of low bone density (LBD) and fractures. In this retrospective study, we investigated bone mineral density (BMD), vertebral fractures, calculated risk for major osteoporotic fractures (MOF), and hip fractures in the KT recipients. Patients-method Patients who completed at least one year after KT were included in the analysis. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were recorded. Measurements of BMD were performed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Vertebral fractures were assessed using semi-quantitative criteria with conventional radiography. The ten-year risk for MOF and hip fracture were calculated using the FRAX@ tool with BMD. Results One hundred fifty-three KT recipients were included in the study. The population included 77 women. The mean age at evaluation was 46,5±11,9 years. Seventy-eight (50.9%) patients had normal femoral neck BMD while osteoporosis and osteopenia at the femoral neck were present in 12 (7.8%) and 63 (41.1%) of the patients, respectively. Age at evaluation was the risk factor for LBD (OR 1.057; 95% CI 1.024–1.091; p = 0.001). In female KT recipients, LBD was principally affected by menopausal status whereas in males, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor use and lower BMI levels were the risk factors. The prevalent vertebral fracture was found in 43.4% of patients. In multivariate analysis, only steroid use (OR 0.121; 95% CI 0.015–0.988; p = 0.049) was found to be associated with prevalent fracture. Among all KT recipients, 1.9% had a high MOF probability (≥20% risk of fracture), and 23.5% had high hip fracture probability (≥3% risk of hip fracture) according to FRAX. Conclusion Exploring the prevalence of LBD and vertebral fracture and the risk factors would help clinicians to modify long-term follow-up strategies. Furthermore, the high hip fracture risk probability in our cohort suggested that there is a need for longitudinal studies to confirm the validity of the FRAX tool in the transplant population.