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Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of the sum of the maximum standardized uptake value (sumSUVmax) on pretreatment positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) in newly diagnosed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 145 SCLC patients from March 2005 to June 2013 who underwent pretreatment 18F-FDG-PET/CT. The sumSUVmax was assessed in all malignant lesions up to a maximum of 5 lesions and a maximum of 2 lesions per organ according to RECIST 1.1. Results: A significant difference was found between the low and high sumSUVmax groups (low vs. high sumSUVmax, 91.5 vs. 77.3%; p = 0.018) in the response rate (RR) following frontline platinum-based chemotherapy. The group with low sumSUVmax showed significantly better overall survival (OS; p < 0.001) as well as better progression-free survival (PFS; p < 0.001) compared with the group with high sumSUVmax. Moreover, multivariate analysis revealed that a high sumSUVmax alone was an independent poor prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio 2.676; 95% confidence interval, 1.674-4.277; p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study showed that the sumSUVmax adopted from RECIST 1.1 on pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT was significantly correlated with response to treatment, OS, and PFS in patients with SCLC. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Bone metastasis is an important factor for the treatment and prognosis of breast cancer patients. Whole-body bone scintigraphy (WBBS) can evaluate skeletal metastases, and F-FDG PET/CT seems to exhibit high specificity and accuracy in detecting bone metastases. However, there is a limitation of F-FDG PET in assessing sclerotic bone metastases because some lesions may be undetectable. Recent studies showed that F-fluoride PET/CT is more sensitive than WBBS in detecting bone metastases. This study aims to evaluate the usefulness of F-fluoride PET/CT by comparing it with WBBS and F-FDG PET/CT in breast cancer patients with osteosclerotic skeletal metastases. Materials and Methods: Nine breast cancer patients with suspected bone metastases (9 females; mean age ± SD, 55.6 ± 10.0 years) underwent Tc-MDP WBBS, F-FDG PET/CT and F-fluoride PET/CT. Lesion-based analysis of five regions of the skeletons (skull, vertebral column, thoracic cage, pelvic bones and long bones of extremities) and patient-based analysis were performed. Results: F-fluoride PET/CT, F-FDG PET/CT and WBBS detected 49, 20 and 25 true metastases, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of F-fluoride PET/CT were 94.2 %, 46.3 %, 57.7 % and 91.2 %, respectively. Most true metastatic lesions on F-fluoride PET/CT had osteosclerotic change (45/49, 91.8 %), and only four lesions showed osteolytic change. Most lesions on F-FDG PET/CT also demonstrated osteosclerotic change (17/20, 85.0 %) with three osteolytic lesions. All true metastatic lesions detected on WBBS and F-FDG PET/CT were identified on F-fluoride PET/CT. Conclusion: F-fluoride PET/CT is superior to WBBS or F-FDG PET/CT in detecting osteosclerotic metastatic lesions. F-fluoride PET/CT might be useful in evaluating osteosclerotic metastases in breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is the most common soft tissue tumor which often occurs in the extremities and the retroperitoneum. Primary mediastinal MFH is rare; thus, findings on F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) of mediastinal MFH have not been reported yet. We report herein the case of a 64-year-old man who was presented with a superior mediastinal mass. The mass showed intense F-FDG uptake with central metabolic defect on PET/CT. The maximum standardized uptake value was 17.4. After tumor removal via median sternotomy, an MFH of the storiform-pleomorphic type was diagnosed on histopathologic examination. We present the first report of F-FDG PET/CT imaging of MFH in the superior mediastinum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microglial activation during aging is associated with neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment. Galectin-3 plays a crucial role in microglial activation and phagocytosis. However, the role of galectin-3 in the aged brain is not completely understood. In the present study, we investigated aging-related mechanisms and microglial galectin-3 expression in the mouse hippocampus using female 6-, 12-, and 24-month-old C57BL/6 mice. Western blot analysis revealed neurodegeneration, blood-brain barrier leakage, and increased levels of neuroinflammation-related proteins in 24-month-old mice compared to 6- and 12-month-old mice. Immunohistochemistry revealed an increase in activated microglia in the hippocampus of 24-month-old mice compared to 6- and 12-month-old mice. Furthermore, we found more galectin-3 and triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2-positive microglia in 24-month-old mice compared to 6- and 12-month-old mice. Using primary mouse microglial cells, galectin -3 was also increased by lipopolysaccharide treatment. These findings suggest that galectin-3 may play an important role in microglial activation and neuroinflammation during brain aging.