0000000000595219
AUTHOR
Cristoph Düber
Assessment of tumor microcirculation with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in patients with esophageal cancer: initial experience.
PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility and impact of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) on tumor characterization and response to radiochemotherapy (RCT) in patients with esophageal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 48 patients underwent DCE-MRI to assess tumor microcirculation based on a two-compartment model function. Effects of RCT on kinetic parameters were studied in 12 patients with squamous cell carcinoma. RESULTS: Tumor microcirculation differs with respect to histological subtype: squamous cell carcinomas showed lower values of amplitude A (leakage space, P = 0.015) and higher contrast agent exchange rates (k(21), P = 0.225) compared with adenoc…
Diagnosing and staging of pancreatic carcinoma-what is necessary?
The aim of the present prospective observational study was to diagnose and stage pancreatic carcinoma with a minimum of diagnostic procedures. Our experiences in 307 patients with a histologically confirmed pancreatic carcinoma show that for diagnosing pancreatic carcinoma sonography and computed tomography are sufficient in 95% of the cases. The combination of both has a sensitivity equal to that of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP; 96.8 vs. 98.7%; n.s., χ<sup>2</sup> test). ERCP is only indicated in cases with negative sonography and computed tomography, and suspicion of pancreatic cancer. For tumor staging, the routine performance of angiography cannot be …