Search

Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis, two forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are chronic and relapsing conditions of the gastrointestinal tract both characterized by long lasting chronic inflammation and increased risk of dysplasia and colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of our study was to evaluate the interobserver agreement about IBD-associated dysplasia among pathologists belonging to the Italian Group for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IG-IBD P). The present multicenter survey was performed using telepathology, supported by an open source E-learning platform. Biopsy specimens from 30 colonoscopies and from 20 patients were included. The glass slides of any case, including clinical and endoscopic data, were digitalized and uploaded on the E-learning platform. All the digital slides were grouped in 54 diagnostic “blocks”. Blinded histopathological evaluation on all the digital slides was performed by 20 gastrointestinal pathologists. Closed-ended questions about (1) the occurrence of IBD; (2) the classification of IBD (as UC or CD); (3) the presence of active versus quiescent disease; (4) the presence of dysplasia; (5) the possible association of dysplasia with the sites of disease (dysplasia-associated lesion or mass—DALM vs adenoma-like mass—ALM); (6) the grading of dysplasia according to the ECCO guidelines (negative, indefinite, low grade, high grade categories) and (7) the presence of associated serrated features, were proposed in each case. Inter-observer agreement was evaluated by mean agreement percentage and kappa statistic, when suitable. The diagnosis of IBD was confirmed in 19 of 20 patients, 17 of 19 being classified as UC, 2 as CD. The mean interobserver agreement percentages about (1) the evidence of IBD, (2) the presence of either UC or CD and (3) the activity grading resulted to be 80%, 69% and 86%, respectively. Dysplasia was detected in 8/20 patients, with moderate agreement between pathologists (mean 72%, k 0.48). Particularly, low grade dysplasia was found in 13 biopsies (combined k 0.38), whereas high grade dysplasia in 8 (combined k 0.47). When the endoscopic and histopathological data were combined, features consistent with DALM were found in 6 of 20 patients with low grade dysplasia and those consistent with ALM in 2 patients with low grade dysplasia in a single biopsy (mean agreement: 86%). An associated serrated pattern was discovered in 4 patients (7 biopsies). Our study showed moderate interobserver agreement about the histopathological detection and classification of IBD-associated dysplasia. Further efforts should be undertaken to integrate the histopathological data with both the ancillary tests and molecular investigations.

Nel 1943 Mario Sironi dipingeva “Il Gasometro”, riprendendo in toni apocalittici il tema del paesaggio urbano. Sono poi passati quasi quaranta anni dall’aprile 1977, mese in cui uscì il numero monografico 135 di “Edilizia Popolare”, con i primi progetti per la riconversione della Bovisa nel quadro di rinnovate relazioni metropolitane; una attenta cronologia metterebbe in luce il ruolo cruciale che quest’area ha giocato nel dibattito sulle forme insediative di Milano e nella più specifica vicenda dell’articolazione territoriale del Politecnico; una lunga storia, dunque, con profondi connotati simbolici e ideologici, che ha visto sedimentare ampio dibattito e vasto patrimonio di conoscenze - oltre a evidenti contraddizioni - dai quali non si può prescindere, ma che vanno tuttavia attualizzati secondo un nuovo punto di vista. Nel progetto per il nuovo insediamento della Bovisa prende corpo il confronto tra due scale, due misure del progetto di architettura. La prima, quella dell’ “idea di città” riferita al principio ordinatore della direttrice nord-ovest; infatti, come già altrove rimarcato, Milano è da sempre città di dimensioni contenute ma di rapporti territoriali estesi, storicamente radicata a un sistema di itinerari e direttrici di lunga e breve distanza, che si riflette nella compresenza delle diverse scale, appunto, con progetti e realizzazioni che evocano i grandi spazi congeniali a questo carattere di portualità. Ma soprattutto, ben al di là delle questioni stilistiche e delle pur notevoli sperimentazioni progettuali che Milano ha proposto, si sottolinea il valore ideologico e dimostrativo di una interpretazione coerente della forma urbis, intesa come espressione originale di civiltà, il cui studio ha valore di principio nell’accezione autenticamente cattaneiana del termine. Così proprio nella dimensione urbana del progetto, si vuole rintracciare anche quel senso di possibilità, quella suscettibilità alle trasformazioni future che nella sola prospettiva locale possono sembrare inattendibili. La seconda misura si ritrova nelle relazioni minute della prossimità, o del “quartiere” nella terminologia del Movimento moderno, fortemente radicata nella municipalità suburbana prima, nel “rione”, poi nella zona del decentramento amministrativo, che per Bovisa continuano a giocare un ruolo di principale importanza. Il progetto seleziona due giaciture che si impongono come generatrici: quella dei campi, occupati poi dalle fabbriche e dalle geometrie dei raccordi ferroviari, che permane entro l’area della “goccia”; quella dell’asse di via Bovisasca, cui si appoggia la maglia regolare del quartiere nel quale, piazzale Bausàn, capolinea delle linee tranviarie, prende carattere di luogo centrale. Il rigore di questa geometria stabilisce l’impianto dell’academical village, riprendendo la definizione e il tipo inaugurati da Thomas Jefferson, impostato sul vuoto del grande spazio rettangolare, con i lati maggiori bordati dagli edifici allineati e aperto sul quarto lato.

Peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor ? (PPAR?) regulates glucose and lipid homeostasis, insulin signaling, and adipocyte differentiation. Here, we report the skipping of exon 5 as a legitimate splicing event generating PPAR??5, a previously unidentified naturally occurring truncated isoform of PPAR?, which lacks the entire ligand-binding domain. PPAR??5 is endogenously expressed in human adipose tissue and, during adipocyte differentiation, lacks ligand-dependent transactivation ability and acts as a dominant-negative isoform reducing PPAR? activity. Ligand-mediated PPAR? activation induces exon 5 skipping in a negative feedback loop, suggesting alternative splicing as a mechanism regulating PPAR? activity. PPAR??5 overexpression modifies the PPAR?-induced transcriptional network, significantly impairing the differentiation ability of adipocyte precursor cells. Additionally, PPAR??5 expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue positively correlates with BMI in two independent cohorts of overweight or obese and type 2 diabetic patients. From a functional perspective, PPAR??5 mimics PPARG dominant-negative mutated receptors, possibly contributing to adipose tissue dysfunction. These findings open an unexplored scenario in PPARG regulation and PPAR?-related diseases.

Il rapporto tra l’addestramento universitario e la professione dell’architetto e il consolidamento di un numero adeguato di iscritti non può dipendere solo da un’offerta formativa migliore o più attraente come spesso si sente dire. In realtà, la mancanza di lavoro e il decremento del numero degli studenti originano da più cause dipendenti, in parte, da fatti strutturali; in parte, dal fatto che, forse, gli studi di Architettura dimostrano una certa obsolescenza. C’è, in realtà, una tendenza generale in tutta Italia a non proseguire oltre gli studi medi per una minore capacità economica delle famiglie; e, laddove possibile, a studiare presso università straniere. Il maggior decremento di iscritti si registra, comunque, in ambito giuridico e architettonico probabilmente per saturazione del mercato. A ciò si aggiunge, ancora, una distribuzione del lavoro che risente di un fenomeno, anch’esso tutto italiano, relativo allo stato giuridico dell’architetto professionista, al quale non è riconosciuta l’esclusiva competenza nel suo ambito di lavoro. Anzi, ai laureati magistrali in Architettura sono preferite figure professionali non altrettanto qualificate (e semplicemente diplomate) che offrirebbero una maggiore disponibilità a un’utenza relativamente poco interessata alla qualità delle prestazioni. Di contro gli attuali manifesti degli studi sono, invece, irrigiditi su una figura professionale largamente minoritaria.

Nel progetto per il nuovo insediamento della Bovisa prende corpo il confronto tra due scale, due misure del progetto di architettura. La prime, quella "dell'idea di città" riferita al principio ordinatore della direttrice nord-ovest; infatti, come altrove rimarcato, Milano è da sempre città di dimensioni contenute ma di rapporti territoriali estesi, storicamente radicata a un sistema di itinerari e direttrici di lunga e breve distanza, che si riflette nella compresenza delle diverse scale, appunto, con progetti e realizzazioni che evocano i grandi spazi congeniali a questo carattere di portualità.

Background: Despite left ventricular (LV) dysfunction contributing to mortality in chronic heart failure (HF), the molecular mechanisms of LV failure continues to remain poorly understood and myocardial biomarkers have yet to be identified. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate specific transcriptome changes occurring in cardiac tissues of patients with HF compared to healthy condition patients to improve diagnosis and possible treatment of affected subjects. Methods: Unlike other studies, only dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) (n = 2) and restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) (n = 2) patients who did not report family history of the disease were selected with the aim of obtaining a homogeneous population for the study. The transcriptome of all patients were studied by RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) and the read counts were adequately filtered and normalized using a recently developed user-friendly tool for RNA-Seq data analysis, based on a new graphical user interface (RNA-SeqGUI). Results: By using this approach in a pairwise comparison with healthy donors, we were able to identify DCM- and RCM-specific expression signatures for protein-coding genes as well as for long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Differential expression of 5 genes encoding different members of the mediator complex was disclosed in this analysis. Interestingly, a significant alteration was found for genes which had never been associated with HF until now, and 27 lncRNA/mRNA pairs that were significantly altered in HF patients. Conclusions: The present findings revealed specific expression pattern of both protein-coding and lncRNAs in HF patients, confirming that new LV myocardial biomarkers could be reliably identified using Next-Generation Sequencing-based approaches.

I will not speak either of architecture or landscape, because I think is more usefull yo clarify what are the conditions of a real disciplinary advance. The Mediterranean has been and is the “physical nexus” of the coastal settlements. But, even in the past, the Mare Nostrum should not have been so unified as history, sometimes, and the myth, especially, have been handed down. So we should focus on somethimg that will provide reasons and opportunities to mitigate difference and under take a process aimed at a shared interest. For this reason, I refer to the European program of Hidhways of the Sea (2004(, because I think that, starting only from the sea and from its ability to give a meaningful form to people and places, it is possible to stablish a virtous network of coastal countries

Purpose: Lonidamine (LND) can enhance the activity of anthracyclines in patients with metastatic breast cancer. A multicenter, prospective, randomized trial was designed to determine whether the association of LND with high-dose epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide (EC) could improve disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with early breast cancer (BC) compared with EC alone. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was added to maintain the EC dose-intensity. Patients and Methods: From October 1991 to April 1994, 506 patients with stage I/II BC were randomly assigned to four groups: (A) epirubicin 120 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 administered intravenously on day 1 every 21 days for four cycles (124 patients); (B) EC plus LND 450 mg/d administered orally (125 patients); (C) EC plus G-CSF administered subcutaneously (129 patients); (D) EC plus LND plus G-CSF (128 patients). Results: Median follow-up was 55 months. Five-year DFS rate was similar for LND (B+D groups; 69.6%) versus non-LND arms (A+C groups; 70.3%) and G-CSF (C+D groups; 67.2%) versus non–G-CSF arms (A+B groups; 72.9%). Five-year overall survival (OS) was comparable in LND (79.1%) versus non-LND arms (81.3%) and in G-CSF (80.6%) versus non–G-CSF arms (79.6%). DFS and OS distributions in LND and G-CSF arms did not change according to tumor size, node, receptor, and menopausal status. G-CSF dramatically reduced hematologic toxicity without having a significant impact on dose-intensity (98.1% v 95.5% for C+D and A+B groups, respectively). Conclusion: EC is active and well tolerated in patients with early breast cancer. The addition of LND or G-CSF does not improve DFS or OS.

Riflessioni sul sistema costiero siciliano dal punto di vista dei caratteri e della natura del paesaggio.

Nei paesi sviluppati le infrastrutture critiche, come quelle adibite alla produzione energetica, alla gestione delle acque, le reti di approvvigionamento, le reti di telecomunicazione ecc., risultano sempre più mutuamente dipendenti. A seguito di questo fenomeno, vulnerabilità nuove e molto pericolose possono affliggere l’intero sistema infrastrutturale: un guasto (failure), accidentale o doloso (per esempio un attacco terroristico), può infatti diffondersi in modo impredicibile, amplificato nelle sue conseguenze negative e tale da colpire imprevedibilmente un vasto insieme di utenti.

Il sistema costiero siciliano ha costituito da sempre una struttura da cui si vede il mare e visibile dal mare: una “rete” predisposta - ante litteram - per un’area di libero scambio dentro il Mediterraneo. Lungo la linea di costa troviamo, oggi: agglomerati industriali (spesso non finiti o mai attivati); seconde e terze case unifamiliari (nella quasi totalità abusive) e, laddove esistevano strutture urbane costiere consolidate, attrezzature e servizi (legati al mare e tuttavia ‘girati’ verso terra già nella loro concezione); strade carrabili e ferrate. La navigazione per mare ha richiesto, in un passato non lontano, la necessità di approntare tecniche specifiche di avvistamento costiero, basato sulla riconoscibilità di alcuni elementi singolari - visibili alla media e alla corta distanza - detti “punti cospicui”. Questi ultimi erano e sono, tutt’ora, riportati sul “portolano”, una sorta di prontuario, continuamente aggiornato, che contiene tutte le informazioni utili ai naviganti e i disegni della costa. Tale tipo di rappresentazione è costituita da sintetici profili costieri in cui prevale la reciproca posizione dei singoli elementi “cospicui” - naturali e artificiali - scelti per l’orientamento; in cui ogni elemento è indicato non attraverso una sagoma generica bensì attraverso quella, e solo quella, relativa alle rotte di avvicinamento. I disegni dei portolani, insieme alle descrizioni dei geografi, hanno perciò contribuito alla formazione dell’identità dei luoghi, costruendone immagini significative e, soprattutto, memorabili. Da questa tradizione, gli studi sul paesaggio possono ricavare strumenti di lettura e metodi di rappresentazione e, ancora, sistemi di regole per il progetto

Il rapporto di Palermo con il mare è ed è stato prevalentemente concettuale, il che lo rende unico nel suo genere e capace di identificare fortemente la città;le trasformazioni di Palermo, sin dalle sue origini, sono legate molto chiaramente all’orografia che ha nelle direzioni Est/Ovest i suoi punti di forza, fino al punto che persino il famigerato PRG degli anni Sessanta ha riprodotto lo stesso modello di espansione nella piana Nord, ancorché non condizionato dalla presenza di aste fluviali. Ammesso che il porto di Palermo almeno sino al medioevo, abbia avuto il ruolo di nodo scambiatore (diremmo oggi), come testimoniano la presenza dei fondaci e la Ruga degli Aragonesi che integrava il porto alla struttura urbana attraverso il sistema dei mercati, possiamo, oggi, sostenere che possa avere un ruolo analogo? Ci sono elementi importanti da prendere in considerazione: Palermo è stata una capitale, con tutto ciò che questo comporta nei termini di uno sviluppo del terziario e dei servizi a scapito di quello industriale; e lo sarebbe tutt’ora se non avesse rinunciato, da poco meno di due secoli a questa parte, a mantenere il ruolo come testimoniano le allocazioni delle principali istituzioni regionali, fatte salve le sedi che stanno in edifici rappresentativi di poteri precedenti. in occasione dell’ultimo POR, l’Università di Palermo ha partecipato a varie delle azioni ivi previste. Nel il PiT Palermo propose per la linea di costa la costruzione di un itinerario ‘museale’ costiero – non nel senso di un circuito di musei quanto piuttosto di un sistema puntiforme di luoghi in cui la città rappresentasse sé stessa verso il mare e dal mare: itinerario nel quale intrecciare servizi, archeologia, istituzioni culturali e altro, secondo la logica che il legame con il mare fosse discontinuo e che ciascuno dei luoghi si innervasse su strutture trasversali alla città. il porto potrebbe essere uno di quei luoghi.

Purpose To study the prognostic value for overall survival of baseline assessment of functional status, comorbidity, and quality of life (QoL) in elderly patients with advanced non—small-cell lung cancer treated with chemotherapy. Patients and Methods Data from 566 patients enrolled onto the phase III randomized Multicenter Italian Lung Cancer in the Elderly Study (MILES) study were analyzed. Functional status was measured as activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL). The presence of comorbidity was assessed with a checklist of 33 items; items 29 and 30 of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core questionnaire QLQ-C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) were used to estimate QoL. ADL was dichotomized as none versus one or more dependency. For IADL and QoL, three categories were defined using first and third quartiles as cut points. Comorbidity was summarized using the Charlson scale. Analysis was performed by Cox model, and stratified by treatment arm. Results Better values of baseline QoL (P = .0003) and IADL (P = .04) were significantly associated with better prognosis, whereas ADL (P = .44) and Charlson score (P = .66) had no prognostic value. Performance status 2 (P = .006) and a higher number of metastatic sites (P = .02) also predicted shorter overall survival. Conclusions Pretreatment global QoL and IADL scores, but not ADL and comorbidity, have significant prognostic value for survival of elderly patients with advanced non—small-cell lung cancer who were treated with chemotherapy. Using these scores in clinical practice might improve prognostic prediction for treatment planning.

The present study describes supportive care (SC) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), evaluating whether it is affected by concomitant chemotherapy, patient's performance status (PS) and age. Data of patients enrolled in three randomised trials of first-line chemotherapy, conducted between 1996 and 2001, were pooled. The analysis was limited to the first three cycles of treatment. Supportive care data were available for 1185 out of 1312 (90%) enrolled patients. Gastrointestinal drugs (45.7%), corticosteroids (33.4%) and analgesics (23.8%) were the most frequently observed categories. The mean number of drugs per patient was 2.43; 538 patients (45.4%) assumed three or more supportive drugs. Vinorelbine does not produce substantial variations in the SC pattern, while cisplatin-based treatment requires an overall higher number of supportive drugs, with higher use of antiemetics (41 vs 27%) and antianaemics (10 vs 4%). Patients with worse PS are more exposed to corticosteroids (42 vs 30%). Elderly patients require drugs against concomitant diseases significantly more than adults (20 vs 7%) and are less frequently exposed to antiemetics (12 vs 27%). In conclusion, polypharmacotherapy is a relevant issue in patients with advanced NSCLC. Chemotherapy does not remarkably affect the pattern of SC, except for some drugs against side effects. Elderly patients assume more drugs for concomitant diseases and receive less antiemetics than adults.

MRI is a multiparametric, multiplanar, non-invasive largely employed tool for assessing osseous, ligamentous and tendineous injuries, inflammatory and degenerative changes of the knee. Although its wider availability and the lack of ionizing radiations MRI should be used only if clinically useful in patient management, in a appropriate diagnostic iter including plain film and/or ultrasound examination. The aim of our work is to review possibilities, limits and current indications for MRI assessment of diseases of the knee.

In testing for donor-specific alloantibody in renal transplantation we discovered that sera of many recipients lysed their own fibroblasts in complement-dependent cytotoxicity. The incidence of this autoreactivity before and during the first month post-transplant was 15 and 10% respectively, but rose to 48% after 2 months. There was a significant association between autoantibody formation and the presence of donor-specific alloantibody, but no association between autoantibody and graft survival. Autoantibody reactive with fibroblasts was three times more frequent than lymphocytotoxic autoantibody, and showed no association with the presence of such antibody, indicating that these autoantibodies were directed against different antigens. Reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol indicated that much of the autoreactivity was IgM. By absorption tests the autoantigen was shown to be expressed extensively on fibroblasts, but not on lymphocytes, platelets or red cells. Susceptibility to lysis by the autoantibody varied from day to day in the fibroblasts of a particular individual, and also varied from individual to individual. These results are of interest because they indicate that autoantibody formation in human renal allografts may result from chronic allogeneic stimulation, and that the antibody may be detecting a previously unknown fibroblast antigen.

Horseshoe kidney is a congenital anomaly of the upper urinary system frequently associated with atypical vascularization, mostly asymptomatic, usually undetected until the onset of infectious, obstructive or neoplastic complications. Although intravenous pyelography and US are useful tools, the role of CT is of vital importance especially in the pre-operative planning of related complications and in those cases where other techniques have correctly diagnosed the disease but have missed the visualization of an underlying malformation. We report here two cases of adenocarcinoma in two patients with a horseshoe kidney, where CT has clearly depicted both the malformation and the associated pathologic findings.

Prostate carcinoma occurs infrequently in patient less than 50 years old with an incidence of 0.8% to 1.1%. In literature are described less than 20 cases occurred in younger men (40 years old). A 36 year-old man with a two-months history of lower back pain, anorexia and loss of weight, showed at clinical examination a mild enlargement of inguinal lymph nodes and right inferior leg and scrotus edema. CT scan demonstrated marked enlargement and fusion of pelvic, inguinal, sacral and periaortic nodes with a pelvic mass that caused local ureterohydronephrosis and obstruction of the urinary flow. X-rays showed osteoblastic metastases. At total body scintigram were observed fixation areas corresponding to lumbar metamers, pelvis, thigh bones, left humeral head, left acromioclavicular articulation and multiple ribs. Tumor markers resulted negative except prostate specific antigen (PSA: 500 mgr/ml) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP: 208 U/l); prostate biopsy showed an undifferentiated carcinoma. The patient was submitted to right percutaneous nephrostomy, chemotherapy (PEB, cisplatinum, etoposide and bleomycin for 6 cycles) and ormonotherapy (LHRH analogues) reporting a clinical partial response. After 6 months the disease progressed and was started a second line chemotherapy. After 18 months from diagnosis patient is still alive with progressing disease. Our patient represents, with respect to many features, an original clinical case of prostate carcinoma occurring in young age, for the atypical association of an undifferentiated carcinoma with high levels of PSA and PAP and with osteoblastic-pattern of bone metastases. Further studies would be useful to identify new risk factors for development of prostate cancer in young men in order to achieve early diagnosis.

The aim of the present study was to assess the role of virtual cystoscopy in the identification of bladder tumors. Fifteen patients (11 men and 4 women, median age: 61 years, range: 46-74 years) with a positive finding of bladder tumor at fiber-optic cystoscopy were studied by multislice-CT. Scans were downloaded to a workstation with the aid of a software for the processing of 3-D reconstructions, with a volume-rendering technique which allowed the "navigation" within the bladder in search of wall lesions. In this group of 15 patients, cystoscopy was able to detect 19 neoplastic lesions, 13 with a diameter10 mm and 6 with a diameter10 mm. Virtual cystoscopy, instead, identified 17 lesions (89%) only. In particular, all those lesions with a diameter1 cm (13/13=100%) were correctly identified, whereas only 4 of the 6 lesions with a diameter1 cm were depicted. The 2 false negative cases were 2 lesions with a flat morphology, measuring 5 and 6 mm. Most recent technological advances allowed the employement of virtual endoscopies, characterized by the absence of invasivity as compared with fiber-optic studies and based on data obtained by spiral- and multislice-CTs. According to our experience, virtual CT-cystoscopy revealed to be a complementary tool in the evaluation of cross-sectional images and proved to be an easy procedure without complications, well-accepted by the patients, and with a reliable detection of those bladder lesions measuring more than 5 mm in case of polypoid formations and at least 10 mm in case of flat lesions. This technique, however, does not allow the collection of a bioptic sample and--with the present resolution power of available equipments--it could be unable to correctly detect small-sized flat lesions. We, nonetheless, believe that this procedure, in the future, thanks to rapid technological improvements in virtual imaging techniques, could become a useful diagnostic tool in the management of those patients with bladder tumors. Further studies on larger study groups are therefore desirable for a more reliable validation of the technique.

The aim of the present study was to validate low dose Multislice Spiral Computed Tomography (MSCT) in the diagnosis of breast lesions. Fourteen patients with mammographic and ultrasound findings suspect of malignant neoplasm underwent dynamic MSCT of the breast under basal conditions and 1, 3, and 6 minutes after intravenous injection of iodinated contrast medium. Both enhancement of the lesion100% without further increase after 6 minutes, and irregular margins of the lesion were considered signs of malignancy. All lesions were examined cytologically and/or histologically. A correct diagnosis was achieved by MSCT in 7/8 malignant lesions, and in 6/6 benign lesions. The only malignant lesion missed by MSCT was histologically a ductal carcinoma in situ (false negative). In one case the MSCT showed the multifocality of an infiltrating ductal carcinoma, and in another it defined the bilaterality of the malignant lesions. Sensitivity and specificity of MSCT in the diagnosis of malignancy of a lesion were 88% and 100%, respectively. Our results suggest that MSCT is an effective diagnostic method to define suspicious breast lesions, and a valid alternative to Magnetic Resonance Imaging, especially when the latter is not feasible.