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The aims of the study were to explore the feasibility of generating a monoexponential model (MEM), stretched-exponential model (SEM) based diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) by applying the same set of reduced b values and to compare their effectiveness in distinguishing prostate cancer from stromal hyperplasia (SH) in the transition zone (TZ) area.An analysis of 75 patients who underwent preoperative DWI ( b values of 0, 700, 1400, 2000 s/mm 2 ) was performed. All lesions were localized on magnetic resonance images according to whole-mount histopathological correlations. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), water molecular diffusion heterogeneity index (α), distributed diffusion coefficient (DDC), mean diffusivity (MD), and mean kurtosis (MK) values were calculated and compared between the TZ cancer and SH groups. Receiver operating characteristic analysis and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) were carried out for all parameters.Compared with the SH group, the ADC, DDC, α, and MD values of the TZ cancer group were significantly reduced, while the MK value was significantly increased (all P0.05). The AUCs of the ADC, DDC, α, MD, and MK were 0.828, 0.801, 0.813, 0.822, and 0.882, respectively. The AUC of MK was significantly higher than that of the other parameters (all P0.05).When using the reduced b -value set, all parameters from MEM, SEM, based DWI, and DKI can effectively distinguish TZ cancer from SH. Among them, DKI demonstrated potential clinical superiority over the others in TZ cancer diagnosis.

Introduction. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) imaging is commonly used to assess pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC). However, the value of semiquantitative and quantitative assessments of CECT parameters used to predict survival in PAC remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the prognostic role of pretreatment CECT imaging in patients with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma (LAPAC). Materials and Methods. From June 2013 to May 2017, eighty-six newly diagnosed patients with pathologically and radiologically confirmed LAPAC were retrospectively recruited. All patients were evaluated by CECT and experienced gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. The relationship between overall survival (OS) and clinical factors including age, sex, serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 value, and CECT findings (including tumour location, tumour volume, peripancreatic involvement, blood vessel involvement, tumour enhanced rate, and distance liver metastasis) was determined using Cox proportional hazard regression models, and a nomogram was constructed for the prediction of 1- and 1.5-year survival rates of patients with LAPAC. Results. On univariate analysis, patients who had a tumour enhanced rate (TER) less than 80.465% and those who had a TER ≥ 80.465% are with a 3.587-fold increase in OS (p<0.001). After multivariate Cox regression, a nomogram was established based on a new model containing the predictive variables of high Ca19-9 level, higher clinical stages, larger tumour volume, the presence of peripancreatic involvement, and liver metastases. The model displayed good accuracy in predicting OS with a C-index of 0.614. The calibration plots also showed a good discrimination and calibration of the nomogram between the predicted and observed survival probabilities. Conclusion. Our results showed that TER can be used to predict survival in LAPAC, and we developed a nomogram for determining the prognosis of patients with LAPAC. However, the purposed nomogram still requires external data verification in future applications.

OBJECTIVE To develop regression models using Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS), histogram analysis, and prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) to predict prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant PCa (CSPCa) in patients with prostate-specific antigen of 4 to 20 ng/mL. METHODS In total, 195 PCa and 386 noncancer patients with prostate-specific antigen of 4 to 20 ng/mL were divided into development and validation cohorts. Magnetic resonance imaging results of them were assessed by PI-RADS scores and histogram analysis-corrected PI-RADS (PI-RADSh) scores. Diagnostic efficiencies for PCa and CSPCa of these scores plus PSAD were evaluated with logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS Prostate-specific antigen density + PI-RADSh score showed significantly higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for PCa (0.956) and CSPCa (0.960), which were higher than PI-RADS (0.909 and 0.926), PI-RADSh (0.921 and 0.940), and PSAD + PI-RADS (0.943 and 0.949) (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Incorporation of PSAD and histogram analysis raised the diagnosis efficiencies of PI-RADS for PCa and CSPCa.

Although various kinds of nanomaterials have been used as anticancer theranostics by exploiting the tumor microenvironment, relatively few nanomaterials can be efficiently activated by the tumor redox status for imaging and therapy. Oxygen-deficient tungsten-based oxides or bronzes are appearing as new classes of near-infrared (NIR)-responsive nanomaterials due to their unique properties such as tunable and broad NIR absorption. Herein, we synthesized PEG-NaxWO3 nanorods (NRs) by a simple thermal decomposition method and investigated their redox-activated performance for enhanced photoacoustic (PA) imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancers. Both in vitro and in vivo studies revealed that such a novel class of tungsten bronzes with low toxicity could be used as efficient photothermal agents for PA imaging-guided PTT of cancers.

Due to the space and time constraints of turbulence measurement equipment and the experiment scene, it is difficult to obtain the atmosphere refractive index structure constant over the ocean. In this paper, the characteristics of atmospheric optical turbulence in offshore and open ocean conditions are summarized by analyzing the meteorological data obtained from two ocean atmospheric optical parameter field experiments. Because of the influence of land undersurface, the turbulence strength in offshore conditions is roughly the same as that on land and presents different characteristics in open ocean. Compared with the offshore area, the turbulence strength over the open ocean near-surface decreases during the day and increases at night, and the diurnal variation characteristics weaken. The turbulence strength profiles over the offshore area show different characteristics at different times, where the turbulence strength in the morning is higher than that in the evening. By retrieving the meteorological factors affecting the turbulence, it is found that the temperature gradient and wind shear are in good agreement with turbulence strength in both offshore and open ocean areas. Furthermore, the integrated parameters for astronomy and optical telecommunication are derived from profiles over the offshore and open ocean areas. It is of great significance to research the turbulent characteristics of ocean atmosphere for optical transmission and astronomical observations.

Background: Bone metastasis of cancer can be a result from systemic blood spreading or vertebral venous plexus spreading. Systemic blood pathway induced bone metastasis can happen in any bone in the body since the spreading is considered to be random. However, it remains unknown whether there is any pattern of vertebral venous plexus related bone metastasis. In this study, we explored bone metastasis patterns in patients whose primary tumors had been well identified. Methods: We included 290 consecutive cancer patients with bone metastases but no visceral metastases, out of 2559 patients whose bone metastases were diagnosed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography, between Jan 2015 and Oct 2017 at the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. We excluded those with visceral metastasis to ensure that our study focused on metastasis through the vertebral venous plexus. And we analyzed the distribution and pattern of skeletal metastases. Results: Of the 290 patients, 28 had head and neck tumors, 178 had thorax tumors, 49 had abdominal tumors and 35 had pelvic tumors; 102 (35%) had only one bone containing a metastasis and 188 (65%) had multiple bones containing metastases. Overall, metastases to the thoracic skeleton were more common in patients with thorax tumors than in other patients (81% vs. 67%, P = 0.007); metastases to the cervical spine or thoracic bones were more common in patients with primary tumors above the diaphragm than those below the diaphragm (82% vs. 66%, P = 0.002). Among those with only one bone containing a metastasis (n = 102), patients with head and neck tumors had a higher incidence of cervical spine metastasis than other patients (25% vs. 2%, P = 0.03), those with thorax tumors had a higher incidence of thoracic bone metastasis than other patients (56% vs. 35%, P = 0.035), and those with pelvic tumors had a higher incidence of pelvis bone metastasis than other patients (78% vs. 27%, P = 0.000054). Conclusions: In patients with only one bone containing a metastasis but no visceral metastasis, bones near the primary were more likely to be first metastasized. This may be a valuable clue to primary tumor sites in patients with cancers of unknown primaries. Keywords: Bone metastasis, Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), Vertebral venous plexus

e16177 Background: CUP (Cancer of Unknown Primary) represents a frequent cancer type causing incomparable difficulties in pathological diagnosis as compared to other tumor types. To explore and analyze the causes of CUP (Cancer of Unkown Primary) patients with misdiagnosis in patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy with cholecystitis or cholecystolithiasis. Methods: 13 patients with CUP (Cancer of Unkown Primary) were recruited in this research, who accepted the multidisciplinary discussion of the CMUP (Cancer of Multiple or Unknown Primary) multidisciplinary team. Our team analyzed the clinical data and pathological characteristics of these patients, and tried to find the common characteristics of the CUP patients whose primary site is the gallbladder that has been already removed. Results: 13 patients were received laparoscopic cholecystectomy because of previously considered cholecystitis or cholecystolithiasis. The gallbladder is considered as the primary organ supported by the pathological features of the metastatic sites. Importantly, all these patients have local abdominal wall and/or local perigallbladder lymph node metastases. Among them, 3 cases were diagnosed as gallbladder cancer, and 1 case was considered as high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia after pathological consultation, which were recognized as benign disease. Among the 13 cases, 9 cases showed local thickening of the gallbladder wall by preoperative CT or B-ultrasound. The median recurrence time was 16.4 months (9-48 months). Of the 13 patients, 5 received radical resection again, and received GP (gemcitabine plus platinum) chemotherapy after surgery. Of the 8 patients who were unable to undergo radical surgery, 5 received first-line GP based chemotherapy, 2 received first-line PD-1 immunotherapy combined with anti-vascular targeted drugs, and 1 received tegafur monotherapy due to poor physical condition. Till now, these patients are still under follow-up. Conclusions: Unexpected gallbladder cancer is the source of some unknown primary cancers. For these patients with cholecystitis or cholecystolithiasis, B-ultrasound examination should not be performed alone, and CT or MRI examination should be performed when necessary. We should pay high attention to the patients with cholecystitis or gallstone thickening of the gallbladder wall or other high-risk gallbladder cancer. Before surgery, clinical data should be analyzed comprehensively, and rapid frozen examination should be performed on patients suspected of having cancer. In order to avoid misdiagnosis, we should pay attention to the principle of none tumor and avoid the risk of incision implantation. If unexpected gallbladder cancer is found, radical operation should be performed as soon as possible.

We report here the design and facile synthesis of multifunctional gold nanostars based nanocomposites (MGSNs) through direct organosilica coating onto anisotropic gold nanostars followed by the conjugation of Gd chelates. The as-synthesized MGSNs possess strong NIR absorbance, SERS signal and enhanced T1-MR imaging capability with excellent dispersivity and uniform size, as well as great photothermal stability and Raman stability under photothermal conditions. Importantly, MGSNs present excellent performance in vivo after their intravenous injection for both MR and SERS imaging and the high efficiency for killing tumor cells through photothermal ablation with NIR irradiation. A combination of the high spatial resolution of MR and the exciting sub-cell-level sensitivity and resolution of SERS can provide comprehensive information about the tumor to achieve the optimized therapeutic outcome. Therefore, MGSNs are of great potential as a multifunctional nanoplatform for MR-SERS bimodal imaging-guided, focused photothermal tumor therapy.

Background Intraductal papilloma (IDP) is the most common pathological finding in women with pathological nipple discharge. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown potential for characterizing breast tumors; however, MRI findings of IDPs are inconclusive, and certain diagnostic standards are lacking. Purpose: To characterize the MRI features of IDP from a relatively large cohort. Material and Methods We retrospectively reviewed from 358 women with IDPs that were confirmed by histopathology. The clinical and imaging findings in 70 patients who underwent preoperative MRI were analyzed. MRI analyses included morphology and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. Results In 70 patients, 77 IDPs were detected on MRI, which revealed the following three patterns: small luminal mass papillomas; tumor-like papillomas; and MRI-occult papillomas. Fourteen IDPs involved small, oval, smooth, and contrast-enhanced masses at the posterior end of the enlarged duct corresponding to small luminal mass papillomas. Seven IDPs had large diameters along the direction of the breast duct, indicating the typical MRI findings for IDP. Of 47 tumor-like papillomas, 16 cases showed large diameters along the direction of the breast duct and close to the nipple (within 4 cm), seven cases resembled invasive breast cancer on MRI, and the remaining 24 were (24/47) undistinguishable from other benign breast diseases. Sixteen IDPs were MRI-occult papillomas that could not be distinguished from the surrounding benign disease by either contrast-enhanced MRI or fat-suppressed T2-weighted MRI. Conclusion Small luminal mass papillomas or tumor-like papillomas with the largest diameters along the direction of the breast duct and close to the nipple (within 4 cm) might be the typical MRI findings for IDPs.

Background To compare stretched-exponential and monoexponential model diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in prostate cancer and normal tissues. Methods Twenty-seven patients with prostate cancer underwent DWI exam using b-values of 0, 500, 1000, and 2000 s/mm2. The distributed diffusion coefficients (DDC) and α values of prostate cancer and normal tissues were obtained with stretched-exponential model and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values using monoexponential model. The ADC, DDC (both in 10−3 mm2/s), and α values (range, 0–1) were compared among different prostate tissues. The ADC and DDC were also compared and correlated in each tissue, and the standardized differences between DDC and ADC were compared among different tissues. Results Data were obtained for 31 cancers, 36 normal peripheral zone (PZ) and 26 normal central gland (CG) tissues. The ADC (0.71 ± 0.12), DDC (0.60 ± 0.18), and α value (0.64 ± 0.05) of tumor were all significantly lower than those of the normal PZ (1.41 ± 0.22, 1.47 ± 0.20, and 0.85 ± 0.09) and CG (1.25 ± 0.14, 1.32 ± 0.13, and 0.82 ± 0.06) (all P

PURPOSE Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common primary malignant urologic tumor. The Fuhrman grading system is an independent indicator for aggressiveness and prognosis of ccRCC. We aimed to assess the possible diagnostic role of biexponentially and monoexponentially fitted signal attenuation for the Fuhrman grading. METHODS A total of 33 patients with ccRCC underwent multiple b values (0, 20, 50, 100, 150, 250, 400, 600, 800, 1000 s/mm2) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Biexponential parameters (fast ADC [ADCf], slow ADC [ADCs], and fraction of ADCf [f]) and monoexponential apparent diffusion coefficient were calculated, and correlated with the Fuhrman grade of ccRCC respectively. The performance of biexponential parameters in differentiating Fuhrman low- and high-grade tumors was assessed and compared with ADC value by receiver operating characteristic analysis. RESULTS Qualified images and diffusion-weighted parameters were obtained for all patients. The ADCf and f value were positively correlated, whereas ADCs and ADC value were negatively correlated with Fuhrman grade. Significant differences were observed in ADCf (P < 0.001), ADCs (P = 0.005), and f values (P < 0.001) of high- and low-grade ccRCCs. When differentiating Fuhrman low-grade tumors from high-grade, the ADCf revealed an area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.959, which was higher than the ADC value (0.789; P = 0.046), while ADCs (0.807) and f (0.833) showed no significant difference from ADC (P = 0.85 for ADCs, P = 0.73 for f). CONCLUSION Biexponential DWI provides additional parameters for ccRCC. ADCf is more accurate compared with the ADC value in characterizing Fuhrman grade of ccRCC.

Multimodal bio-imaging has attracted great attention for early and accurate diagnosis of tumors, which, however, suffers from the intractable issues such as complicated multi-step syntheses for composite nanostructures and interferences among different modalities like fluorescence quenching by MRI contrast agents (e.g., magnetic iron oxide NPs). Herein, the first example of T2-weighted MR imaging of Ho3+-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) is presented, which, very attractively, could also be simultaneously used for upconversion luminesence (UCL) and CT imaging, thus enabling high performance multi-modal MRI/UCL/CT imagings in single UCNPs. The new finding of T2-MRI contrast enhancement by integrated sensitizer (Yb3+) and activator (Ho3+) in UCNPs favors accurate MR diagnosis of brain tumor and provides a new strategy for acquiring T2-MRI/optical imaging without fluorescence quenching. Unlike other multi-phased composite nanostructures for multimodality imaging, this Ho3+-doped UCNPs are featured with simplicity of synthesis and highly efficient multimodal MRI/UCL/CT imaging without fluorescence quenching, thus simplify nanostructure and probe preparation and enable win–win multimodality imaging.

To address the intractable issues such as the low performance or biocompatibility frequently encountered in previous CT, magnetic resonance (MR) and fluorescence trimodal imaging nanoprobes, a nanocomposite has been constructed by decorating gadolinium ions doped upconversion nanoparticle (Gd-doped UCNP) with radiopaque but fluorescence-transparent tantalum oxide (TaO(x), x ≈ 1). The as-synthesized water-soluble nanoparticle showed a litchi-like shape with an average size of ~30 nm and demonstrated extraordinarily high longitudinal and transverse relaxivity values (r(1) = 11.45 mM(-1)s(-1) and r(2) = 147.3 mM(-1)s(-1)) compared with the reported Gd-doped UCNPs to date. Obvious CT contrast enhancement was obtained by the combined effect between the radiopaque TaO(x) shell and the Gd-doped UCNP inner core. Strong upconversion luminescence (UCL) signal could unobstructedly penetrate out in virtue of high transparency of the TaO(x) shell. No mutual interference among different modalities of the upconversion nanolitchi (UCNL) was found, which ensured that the individual merits of every imaging modality could be brought into full play, demonstrated by in vitro and in vivo imagings. Furthermore, UCNLs showed only a slight effect on macrophages and RBCs in vitro and tissue in vivo.

Paramagnetic gadolinium (Gd-III)-ion-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are attractive optical-magnetic molecule imaging probes and are a highly promising nanoplatform for future theranostic nanomedicine design. However, the related relaxivity mechanism of this contrast agent is still not well understood and no significant breakthrough in relaxivity enhancement has been achieved. Here, the origin and optimization of both the longitudinal (r1) and transverse (r2) relaxivities are investigated using models of water soluble core@shell structured Gd3+-doped UCNPs. The longitudinal relaxivity enhancement of the nanoprobe is demonstrated to be co-contributed by inner-and outer-sphere mechanisms for ligand-free probes, and mainly by outer-sphere mechanism for silica-shielded probes. The origin of the transverse relaxivity is inferred to be mainly from an outer-sphere mechanism regardless of surface-coating, but with the r2 values highly related to the surface-state. Key factors that influence the observed relaxivities and r2/r1 ratios are investigated in detail and found to be dependent on the thickness of the NaGdF4 interlayer and the related surface modifications. A two orders of magnitude (105-fold) enhancement in r1 relaxivity and 18-fold smaller r2/r1 ratio compared to the first reported values are achieved, providing a new perspective for magnetic resonance (MR) sensitivity optimization and multimodality biological imaging using Gd3+-doped UCNPs.

Early diagnosis probes that combine fluorescence, X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imagings are anticipated to give three dimensional (3D) details of tissues and cells of high resolution and sensitivity. However, how to combine these three modalities together within a sub-50 nm sized structure is technically challenging. Here we report a trimodal imaging probe of PEGylated NaY/GdF(4): Yb, Er, Tm @SiO(2)-Au@PEG(5000) nanopaticles of uniform size of less than 50 nm. The as-designed nanoprobes showed (1) strong emissions ranging from the visible (Vis) to near infrared (NIR) for fluorescent imaging, (2) T(1)-weighted MRI by shorting T(1) relaxation time and (3) enhanced HU value as a CT contrast agent. The structure was optimized based on a comprehensive investigation on the influence of the distance between the NaY/GdF(4): Yb, Er, Tm core and Au nanoparticles (NPs) at the surface. The potential of trimodal imaging for cancerous cells and lesions was further demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo.

Diverse magnetite (Fe3O4) nanostructures have been fabricated by a facile, one-pot, economic and environment-friendly solvent thermal process simply using ethanol as the solvent, including regular magnetite sub-micrometer spheres composed of partially ordered array of magnetite nanoparticles, hollow magnetite aggregates and monodispersed magnetite nanoparticles. The prepared magnetite nanoparticles possess distinctively superparamagnetic behavior, showing great potential in biotechnological applications. Importantly, this general synthetic strategy could be extended to prepare other spinel ferrite nanoparticles such as CoFe2O4. A novel hybrid micelle self-assembly mechanism was introduced and demonstrated to explain the formation procedure of these special nanostructures. Furthermore, the magnetic resonance imaging capability of prepared magnetite nanoparticles was investigated both in vitro and in vivo.

Here we report the design and controlled synthesis of monodisperse and precisely size-controllable UCNP@mSiO(2) nanocomposites smaller than 50 nm by directly coating a mesoporous silica shell (mSiO(2)) on upconversion nanocrystals NaYF(4):Tm/Yb/Gd (UCNPs), which can be used as near-infrared fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agents and a platform for drug delivery as well. Some key steps such as transferring hydrophobic UCNPs to the water phase by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), removal of the excess amount of CTAB, and temperature-controlled ultrasonication treatment should be adopted and carefully monitored to obtain uniform upconversion core/mesoporous silica shell nanocomposites. The excellent performance of the core-shell-structured nanocomposite in near-infrared fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging was also demonstrated.

Up to the neck! Bio-safe upconversion fluorescent nanocrystals (NaYF4:ErYb) and biocompatible superparamagnetic iron oxide nanocrystals (SPION) were effectively combined by means of a general "neck- formation" strategy forming a size-controlled Cd2+- and Gd3+-free silica-shielded magnetic upconversion fluorescent oligomer (SMUFO) bimodal cancer probe that offers high resistance to photoquenching as well as a synergistic T2-weighted magnetic resonance enhanced effect (see graphic).

e24015Background: Sentinel lymph node is the first stop of lymphatic spreading of cancer with known primary. The lymph node metastasis of cancer of known origin can follow similar rules. We assumed...

e24020Background: Bone metastasis of cancer can be a result from systemic blood spreading or vertebral venous plexus spreading. Systemic blood pathway induced bone metastasis can happen in any bone...

Oleic acid stabilized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) were selected as the cores for fabrication of sub-50-nm monodisperse single-loaded SPION@SiO2 core–shell nanostructures. Parameters that influence the formation of SPION@SiO2 in the water-in-oil reverse microemulsion system have been systematically investigated. The sufficiently high concentration of well-dispersed SPION, together with an appropriately low injection rate of tetraethoxysilane, were found to be the keys to efficiently prevent the homogeneous nucleation of silica and obtain a high-quality single-loaded core–shell nanocomposite. A more detailed mechanism for incorporating oleic acid capped inorganic functional nanoparticles into silica is proposed on the basis of previous reports and our new experimental results. Finally, the as-synthesized SPION@SiO2 nanospheres are exploited as an MRI-enhanced contrast agent, and their contrast effect in solution is tested by using a clinical MRI instrument.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristic features of Castleman disease in the abdomen and pelvis as suggested by imaging findings in order to deepen the recognition and understanding of this rare disease.A group of ten patients with pathologically proven Castleman disease in the abdomen (n = 9) and pelvis (n = 1) were included in this study. Patients were 18 approximately 56-year-old (mean = 40); seven of them were men and three were women. Imaging findings (CTMRI, n = 4; only CT, n = 4; only MRI, n = 2) were retrospectively reviewed and correlated with clinical and pathologic findings.The lesions were divided into those with localized Castleman (n = 9) and disseminated Castleman (n = 1). The pathologic subtype of all nine cases of localized disease was hyaline vascular with six patients showing a solitary mass and three having a single dominant mass surrounded by small satellite nodules. On nonenhanced CT images, the lesions were manifested as homogeneous masses of soft tissue attenuation, which was isoattenuated relative to normal muscle. On MRI, the lesions were isointense or slightly hypointense compared with that of normal muscle on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. After intravenous injection of contrast media, most of the masses (7/9) showed marked enhancement and slow washout with the degree of enhancement approaching that of the large arteries. And in the interior of four cases of larger masses (5 cm) was observed fissured and radial patterns in both low-density area on CT and low-signal area on MRI. These patterns were pathologically proved to be fibrous. The pathological subtype of a sole disseminated case was plasma-cell type, where imaging findings showed a lining of well defined, sharply enhanced soft-tissue nodules in retroperitoneal zone.Imaging findings of Castleman disease in the abdomen and pelvis are closely related to pathological type diagnosed. The characteristic features of localized and hyaline vascular type of Castleman disease include a solitary mass or a dominant mass surrounded with small satellite nodules, and high enhancement and slow washout with the degree of enhancement approaches that of large arteries. The presence of central areas of fibrosis of the larger tumors is one of the characteristic features of this disease.

Surgical resection, one of the main clinical treatments of intracranial glioblastoma, bears the potential risk of incomplete excision due to the inherent infiltrative character of the glioblastoma. To maximize the accuracy of surgical resection, the magnetic resonance (MR) and fluorescence imaging are widely used for the tumor preoperative diagnosis and intraoperative positioning. However, present commercial MR contrast agents and fluorescent dyes can only function for single mode of imaging and are subject to poor blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and nontargeting-specificity, resulting in the apparent risks of inefficient diagnosis and resection of glioblastoma. Considering the unique MR/upconversion luminescence (UCL) bimodal imaging feature of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), herein, we have developed a dual-targeting nanoprobe (ANG/PEG-UCNPs) to cross the BBB, target the glioblastoma, and then function as a simultaneous MR/NIR-to-NIR UCL bimodal imaging agent, which showed a much enhanced imaging performance in comparison with the clinically used single MRI contrast (Gd-DTPA) and fluorescent dye (5-ALA). Moreover, their biocompatibility, especially to brains, was systematically assessed by the histological/hematological examination, indicating a negligible in vivo toxicity. As a proof-of-concept, the ANG/PEG-UCNPs hold the great potential in MR diagnosis and fluorescence positioning of glioblastoma for the efficient tumor surgery.

Purpose To characterize Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma (RCC) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). Methods This study retrospectively collected the MRI and CT data of twelve patients with Xp11.2 translocation RCC confirmed by pathology. Nine cases underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and 6 cases underwent CT, of which 3 cases underwent MRI and CT simultaneously. The MRI and CT findings were analyzed in regard to tumor position, size, hemorrhagic, cystic or necrotic components, calcification, tumor density, signal intensity and enhancement features. Results The age of the 12 patients ranged from 13 to 46 years (mean age: 23 years). T2WI revealed heterogeneous intensity, hyper-intensity, and slight hypo-intensity in 6 cases, 2 cases, and 1 case, respectively. On DCE-MR images, mild, moderate, and marked rim enhancement of the tumor in the corticomedullary phase (CMP) were observed in 1, 6, and 2 cases, respectively. The tumor parenchyma showed iso-attenuation (n = 4) or slight hyper-attenuation (n = 1) compared to the normal renal cortex on non-contrast CT images. Imaging findings were suggestive of hemorrhage (n = 4) or necrosis (n = 8) in the tumors, and there was evidence of calcification in 8 cases by CT (n = 3) and pathology (n = 8). On dynamic contrast-enhanced CT images, 3 cases and 1 case manifested moderate and strong CMP enhancement, respectively. Nine tumors by MRI and 4 tumors by CT showed prolonged enhancement. Three neoplasms presented at stage I, 2 at stage II, 3 at stage III, and 4 at stage IV according the 2010 AJCC staging criteria. Conclusions XP11.2 translocation RCC should be considered when a child or young adult patient presents with a renal tumor with heterogeneous features such as hemorrhage, necrosis, cystic changes, and calcification on CT and MRI and/or is accompanied by metastatic evidence.

Mesoporous silica (m-SiO2) coated gadolinium (Gd) ions-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are regarded as one of most attractive nano-platforms which hold great potential in future cancer theranostics. The current general synthetic strategy for such promising structures includes the extraction of surfactant molecules in the final step. Here, in this article, we focus our interest on probing the potential influence of hydrochloric acid extraction on lanthanide ions leakage, MR sensitivity over-estimation and the optical intensity weakening of m-SiO2 coated Gd-doped UCNPs. Control experiments provide evidence of inner core damage, Gd(3+) ion release and residual Gd(3+) ions "trapped" within the core@shell structures. Our investigation shows that: (1) the small Gd-doped UCNPs could be fragile and sensitive to the hydrochloric acid-extraction and thermal treatment processes; and (2) the presence of "trapped" Gd(3+) ions not only provokes the concerns of potential cytotoxicity but also interfere with the contrast imaging tests of Gd-doped UCNPs, providing possible erroneous information on the determination of the longitudinal relaxivities of given probes.

Most hypoxic tumors are insensitive to radiation, which is a major obstacle in the development of conventional radiotherapy for tumor treatment. Some drugs, such as cisplatin (CDDP), have been extensively used both as an anticancer drug and clinically as a radiosensitizer to enhance radiotherapy. Herein, we develop rattle-structured multifunctional up-conversion core/porous silica shell nanotheranostics (UCSNs) for delivering CDDP to tumors for synergetic chemo-/radiotherapy by CDDP radiosensitization and magnetic/luminescent dual-mode imaging. UCSNs had a dynamic light scattering diameter of 79.1 nm and excellent water dispersity and stability. In vitro studies showed that CDDP loaded in UCSNs (UCSNs-CDDP) was more effective than free CDDP as a radiosensitizer. After injection, UCSNs-CDDP also demonstrated unambiguously enhanced radiotherapy efficacy in vivo. Our report aims at presenting a novel strategy in biomedical nanotechnology that allows simultaneous dual-mode imaging and localized therapy via synergetic chemo-/radiotherapy, which may achieve optimized therapeutic efficacy in cancer treatment.

The early diagnosis and simultaneous drug delivery monitored by non-invasive visualization are highly challenging but clinical-relevant for the diagnostics and therapy monitoring of serious diseases such as cancers. Herein, a Gd-doped layered double hydroxide (LDH)/Au nanocomposite has been developed as both a drug carrier and a diagnostic agent. The obtained nanocomposite shows high non-anionic anti-cancer drug DOX loading capacity and an interesting pH-responsive release profile of loaded DOX. The nanocomposite was found to be able to efficiently transport DOX into the cancer cell, release the DOX in the acidic cytoplasm and then cause death of cancer cells. Meanwhile, the nanocomposite demonstrates better in vitro CT and T(1)-weighted MR imaging capabilities than the commercial MRI and CT contrast agents and favorable in vivo CT and T(1)-weighted MR imaging performance. After being modified with heparin, the nanocomposite also demonstrates effective CT and MR imagings of tumors by intravenous administration in tumor-bearing mice. Furthermore, the nanocomposite shows negligible cytotoxicity and no detectable tissue damage on mice after injection of high dosage of nanocomposite. In conclusion, the synthetic nanocomposite is expected to be a potential theranostic agent for bimodal imagings of cancers and anti-cancer drug delivery as well.

To investigate biexponential apparent diffusion parameters of prostate central gland (CG) cancer, stromal hyperplasia (SH), and glandular hyperplasia (GH) and compare with monoexponential apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value for discriminating prostate cancer from benign hyperplasia.Twenty-one CG cancer foci, 23 SH and 26 GH nodules in the CG were analyzed in 39 patients (19 with CG cancer, 20 with peripheral zone cancer but no CG cancer) who underwent preoperative conventional DWI (b-value 0, 1000s/mm(2)) and a 10 b-value (range 0 to 3000s/mm(2)) DWI. All of the cancer and hyperplastic foci on MR images were localized on the basis of histopathologic correlation. The ADC value of the monoexponential DWI, and the fast apparent diffusion coefficient (ADCf), slow apparent diffusion coefficient (ADCs) value and the fraction of ADCf (f) of the biexponential DWI were calculated for all of the lesions. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed for the differentiation of CG cancer from SH and GH.The ADC values (×10(-3)mm(2)/s) were 0.87±0.11, 1.06±0.15, and 1.61±0.27 in CG cancer, SH and GH foci, respectively, and differed significantly, yielding areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) of 1.00 and 0.80 for the differentiation of carcinoma from GH and SH, respectively. The ADCf (×10(-3)mm(2)/s), ADCs (×10(-3)mm(2)/s) and f for cancer were 1.92±0.38, 0.53±0.17, and 47.7±6.1%, respectively, which were lower than the same values for GH (3.43 ±0.65, 1.12±0.21, 61.1±8.7%) (all p0.01). The ADCf and ADCs for cancer were also lower than those for SH (3.11±0.30, 0.79±0.21) (all p0.01). The ADCf yielded AUCs (1.00, p0.01) that were comparable to those from ADC for the differentiation of cancer from GH, while ADCf yielded higher AUCs (0.92) compared with ADC (p0.01) for the differentiation of cancer from SH. ADCs and f revealed AUCs of 0.97 and 0.90, respectively, for the differentiation of cancer from GH, and the ADCs offered relatively lower AUCs (0.68) for differentiating cancer from SH.Biexponential DWI could potentially improve the differentiation of prostate cancer in CG, and the ADCf of the biexponential model offers better accuracy than ADC.

The clinical potentials of radiotherapy could not be achieved completely because of the inaccurate positioning and inherent radioresistance of tumours. In this study, a novel active-targeting upconversion theranostic agent (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-labelled BaYbF5: 2% Er(3+) nanocube) was developed for the first time to address these clinical demands. Heavy metal-based nanocubes (~10 nm) are potential theranostic agents with bifunctional features: computed tomography (CT) contrast agents for targeted tumour imaging and irradiation dose enhancers in tumours during radiotherapy. Remarkably, they showed low toxicity and excellent performance in active-targeting CT imaging and CT imaging-guided radiosensitizing therapy, which could greatly concentrate and enlarge the irradiation dose deposition in tumours to enhance therapeutic efficacy and minimize the damage to surrounding tissues.

Nuclear-targeted therapy by delivering anticancer drug directly into cancer cell nuclei can elicit synergistic therapeutic effects and kill these cancer cells with much enhanced efficiencies. Besides nuclear targeting, another difficulty in nuclear-targeted therapy is how to achieve real-time monitoring of the therapy process simultaneously. In this article we report on the development of multifunctional upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) which were able to target cancer cell nuclei, and thus deliver the anticancer drug directly to the nuclear region and simultaneously image cell nucleus by magnetic resonance (MR)/upconversion fluorescent for real-time guidance of their therapeutic action simultaneously. The Er/Yb-doped NaYF(4) core and NaGdF(4) shell endow the core/shell structured UCNPs with enhanced upconversion fluorescent imaging and more sensitive T(1)-MR imaging performances, and the surface conjugation of TAT peptide served as a key role in the nuclear targeting and nuclear transport process. This multifunctional UCNPs-based nano-theranostic was used to improve the efficacy of DOX in Hela humor tumor models, by direct DOX delivery to the nucleus under the synchronous monitoring of the nano-theranostics. Further development of this technology may provide more exciting opportunities in treating cancer disease by nuclear-targeted therapy.

Early diagnosis that combines the high-resolutional CT and sensitive NIR-fluorescence bioimaging could provide more accurate information for cancerous tissues, which, however, remain a big challenge. Here we report a simple bimodal imaging platform based on PEGylated NaYbF(4): Tm(3+) nanoparticles (NPs) of less than 20 nm in diameter for both CT and NIR-fluorescence bioimaging. The as-designed nanoprobes showed excellent in vitro and in vivo performances in the dual-bioimaging, very low cytotoxicity and no detectable tissue damage in one month. Remarkably, the Yb(3+) in the lattice of NaYbF(4): Tm(3+) NPs functions not only as a promising CT contrast medium due to its high X-ray absorption coefficiency, but also an excellent sensitizer contributing to the strong NIR-fluorescent emissions for its large NIR absorption cross-section. In addition, these NPs could be easily excreted mainly via feces without detectable remnant in the animal bodies.

Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) with fascinating properties hold great potential as nanotransducers for solving the problems that traditional photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been facing. In this report, by using well-selected bifunctional gadolinium (Gd)-ion-doped UCNPs and water-soluble methylene blue (MB) combined with the water-in-oil reverse microemulsion technique, we have succeeded in developing a new kind of UCNP/MB-based PDT drug, NaYF(4):Er/Yb/Gd@SiO(2)(MB), with a particle diameter less than 50 nm. Great efforts have been made to investigate the drug-formation mechanism and provide detailed physical and photochemical characterizations and the potential structure optimization of the as-designed PDT drug. We envision that such a PDT drug will become a potential theranostic nanomedicine for future near-infrared laser-triggered photodynamic therapy and simultaneous magnetic/optical bimodal imaging.

Background Post-contrast diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is occasionally necessary when the results of the pre-contrast DWI differ from that of the dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), however, the effects of contrast material on DWI image and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values have not been fully examined. Purpose To assess whether the administration of gadolinium-DTPA (Gd-DTPA) significantly affects the DWI of prostate lesions or normal tissue at the 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (3.0 T MRI). Material and Methods Fifty-one patients with 52 prostate lesions, including 32 prostate cancer (25 in the peripheral zone [PZ] and seven that could not be confidently located) and 20 benign lesions (11 in PZ and nine in central grand [CG]), underwent echo-planar imaging (EPI)-DWI with b values of 0, 1000 s/mm2 before and after administration of Gd-DTPA at 3.0 T MRI. Regions of interest (ROI) were drawn in all lesions, 42 normal PZ, 44 CG tissue and air to calculate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and ADC values of lesions and normal tissue, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of lesions for pre- and post-contrast images. Statistical differences between pre- and post-contrast data were assessed by use of a paired t test. Results No significant differences between pre- and post-contrast images were found in the CNR of lesions and SNR of all the tissue except CG, which showed a statistically significant decline (9.6%, p < 0.0001) in SNR after contrast relative to the pre-contrast images. The post-contrast ADC values were statistically significantly lower than pre-contrast for prostate cancer (0.80 ± 0.11 mm2/s Vs 0.89 ± 0.12 mm2/s, p < 0.0001) and benign lesions (1.14 ± 0.30 mm2/s vs. 1.2 ± 0.29 mm2/s, p < 0.0001). No significant differences were detected for normal tissue. Conclusion The administration of Gd-DTPA can slightly affect the DWI image quality of the prostate and reduce the ADC value of lesions at 3.0T MRI. Applications of post-contrast DWI require caution in interpretation.

In the pH 6.6 Na2HPO4-NaH2PO4 buffer solutions and in the presence of urease catalyst, urea can be decomposed to form NH4+. The NH4+ reacted with sodium tetraphenyl boron (NaTPB) to form the association particles that exhibited a resonance scattering (RS) peak at 474 nm. When the urea concentration increased, NH4+ increased, and RS intensity at 474 nm enhanced linearly. Under the chosen conditions, the increased RS intensity (ΔI (474 nm)) had a linear response to the urea concentration in the range of 0.125-15 μM, with a detection limit of 0.058 μM urea, and a regression equation of ΔI (474 nm) = 31.6C + 2.1, a correlation coefficient of 0.9986. This catalytic RS method was applied for the detection of urea in human serum sample, with good selectivity and sensitivity, and the results were consistent with the reference method.

Objective The purpose of this study was to analyze CT and MR imaging (MRI) manifestation of primary adrenal lymphoma in order to better understand of this rare disease. Materials and methods Six patients (4 men, 2 women; median age, 65.5 years) with pathologically proven primary adrenal lymphoma were retrospectively reviewed. Imaging findings (CTM only CT, n = 3) were analyzed and correlated with clinical and pathologic findings. Results All cases were pathologically proven primary adrenal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with bilateral lesions in 3 cases respectively. Maximum diameters of the 9 lesions were 6.1–14.8 cm, median 10.5 cm. Seven lesions were round, oval or oblong, and 2 lesions irregular. Seven lesions were well-defined and 2 had ill-defined margins. Unenhanced CT density of 9 lesions and MR signal intensity of T1 weighted images of 6 lesions were similar to that of muscle, and all 6 lesions were hyperintense on T2-weighted MR images. Following intravenous injection of contrast media, 6 lesions had mild enhancement and 3 lesions had moderate enhancement on parenchymal phase imaging. Enhancement was homogenous in three, slightly inhomogeneous in four, and heterogeneous in two. Seven lesions, in 5 cases, infiltrated the adjacent tissues or organs in patients with large tumors. Conclusion Primary adrenal lymphoma usually manifests as large, well-defined, soft-tissue masses replacing the adrenal gland with homogeneous or slightly inhomogeneous enhancement. Large tumors especially tend to infiltrate adjacent structures.

Oleic acid stabilized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) were selected as the cores for fabrication of sub-50-nm monodisperse single-loaded SPION@SiO2 core-shell nanostructures. Parameters that influence the formation of SPION@SiO2 in the water-in-oil reverse microemulsion system have been systematically investigated. The sufficiently high concentration of well-dispersed SPION, together with an appropriately low injection rate of tetraethoxysilane, were found to be the keys to efficiently prevent the homogeneous nucleation of silica and obtain a high-quality single-loaded core-shell nanocomposite. A more detailed mechanism for incorporating oleic acid capped inorganic functional nanoparticles into silica is proposed on the basis of previous reports and our new experimental results. Finally, the as-synthesized SPION@SiO2 nanospheres are exploited as an MRI-enhanced contrast agent, and their contrast effect in solution is tested by using a clinical MRI instrument.

Objective To investigate the biexponential apparent diffusion parameters of diverse prostate tissues and compare them with monoexponential apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value in the efficacy to discriminate prostate cancer from benign lesions. Materials and Methods Eleven healthy volunteers and 61 patients underwent a conventional (b-factors 0, 1000 s/mm2) and a 10 b-factor (0 to 3000 s/mm2) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The monoexponential ADC value and biexponential parameters of fast ADC (ADCf), fraction of ADCf (f), slow ADC (ADCs) value for 29 prostate cancer, 28 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), 24 prostatitis lesions and normal tissue were calculated and compared. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to determine the sensitivity, specificity and optimal cut-off points. Results Prostate cancer had lower ADC, ADCf, f, and ADCs than all other tissues (p < 0.01). Prostatitis exhibited a lower ADC, ADCf, ADCs and f than the peripheral zone tissue (p < 0.01), and BPH showed a lower ADC and ADCf than the central gland tissue (p < 0.01). The ADCf demonstrated a comparable accuracy with ADC in differentiating cancer from BPH [area under the curve (AUC) 0.93 vs. 0.92] and prostatitis AUC 0.98 vs. 0.99) (both p > 0.05), but the AUC of f and ADCs in differentiating cancer from BPH (0.73 and 0.81) and prostatitis (0.88 and 0.91) were significantly lower than ADC (all p < 0.05). Conclusion The biexponential DWI appears to provide additional parameters for tissue characterization in prostate, and ADCf helps to yield comparable accuracy with ADC in differentiating cancer from benign lesions.

In this paper, we report the fabrication, characterization and ex vivo bio-distribution of Rhodamine B-labeled shell cross-linked magnetic micelles (RhB-SCL-MMs) as a T2-weighted magnetic resonance contrast agent. Three sizes of hybrid micelles (80, 130 and 180 nm) are synthesized and the size effects on the cytotoxicity and cell uptake in macrophage cells (RAW264.7) are evaluated. The ex vivo bio-distribution experiments confirm that the three sizes of RhB-SCL-MMs are mainly accumulated in the liver and spleen after intravenous injection, which suggests that the micelles could be used as an efficient MR contrast agent for liver imaging. In addition, no tissue toxicity is detected in tissue slice tests. The application of RhB-SCL-MMs of different sizes is demonstrated for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) both in vitro and in vivo. A maximum r2 value of 320.7 mM−1 s−1 is obtained for the RhB-SCL-MMs with the highest loading amount of magnetite, which is much higher than that of the well-known, liver-specific, T2-weighted contrast agent Feridex (iron oxide, r2 = 108 mM−1 s−1). The in vivo MRI studies show that the contrast enhancement of RhB-SCL-MMs in the liver is dependent on the diameter of the micelles, where the 130 nm RhB-SCL-MMs exhibit the most significant enhancement. In addition, the multifunctional nanoparticles present promising application potential in liver tumor MR imaging through enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Therefore, these kinds of iron oxide-based cross-linked micelles could be used as excellent, safe MR contrast agents for the diagnosis of liver diseases or cancers.