Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of heterotopic pancreas

Heterotopic pancreas,a rare congenital malformation,manifests outside the normal pancreas.Research suggests that abnormal embryonic development is linked to the presence of heterotopic pancreas.Three prevailing theories explain its mechanism:Dislocation theory,metaplasia theory,and totipotent stem cell theory.Clinical presentations of heterotopic pancreas are often nonspecific,with most patients being asymptomatic and incidentally discovered during unrelated surgeries or examinations.Endoscopic ultrasound,computed tomography,and magnetic resonance imaging are commonly employed diagnostic tools for heterotopic pancreas.However,the accuracy of diagnosis based on these methods is not consistently high,necessitating histopathological confirmation in many cases.Treatment options for heterotopic pancreas typically involve endoscopic resection,surgical resection,or observation through follow-up.

Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma of the pancreas:A case report

BACKGROUND A sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma(SEF)is a rare malignant fibroblastic soft tissue tumor that rarely occurs in intra-abdominal organs.A case of a SEF in the pancreatic head is reported herein,including its clinical manifestations,preoperative imaging features,gross specimen and pathological findings.CASE SUMMARY A 33-year-old male patient was admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital in December 2023 due to a one-year history of intermittent upper abdominal pain and the discovery of a pancreatic mass.The patient underwent an enhanced computed tomography scan of the abdomen,which revealed a welldefined,round mass with clear borders and calcifications in the pancreatic head.The mass exhibited progressive,uneven mild enhancement,measuring approximately 6.6 cm×6.3 cm.The patient underwent laparoscopic pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy.Postoperative pathological examination revealed that the lesion was consistent with a SEF.At the 3-month postoperative follow-up,the patient did not report any short-term complications,and there were no signs of tumor recurrence.CONCLUSION SEFs are rare malignant fibrous soft tissue tumors.SEFs rarely develop in the pancreas,and its preoperative diagnosis depends on imaging findings,with confirmation depending on pathological examination and immunohistochemistry.Currently,only four cases of pancreatic SEF have been reported in studies written in English.This case is the first reported case of a pancreatic SEF by a clinical physician.

Life-threatening Spontaneous Retroperitoneal Haemorrhage:Role of Multidetector CT-angiography for the Emergency Management

Objective To evaluate the role of multidetector computed tomography-angiography(MDCTA) for management of life-threatening spontaneous retroperitoneal haemorrhage(SRH).Methods A retrospective analysis of the medical records of all SRH patients admitted to our hospital from January 1,2005 to November 31,2014 was performed.SRH was defined as unrelated to invasive procedures,surgery,trauma,abdominal tumor or aortic aneurysm.Life-threatening SRH was defined as hemodynamic instability with hypotension.Sixteen cases met the inclusive criteria.Patients' characteristics,clinical presentation,imaging of MDCTA,treatment modalities,morbidity,and follow-up data were analyzed.Results The group of 16 patients included 11 men and 5 women,with a mean age of 51.5 ± 16.4years.All patients underwent MDCTA scan examinations,and active contrast media(CM) extravasation were found in 9 patients.Angiography was performed for 8 patients in the CM extravasation group.Bleeding vessels were found in 7 patients who underwent successful embolization.One patient in the CM extravasation group did not undergo angiography and died of bleeding.Seven patients without active CM extravasation underwent conservative management.Bleeding was controlled for all these 7 patients,and 1 patient died of multiple organ failure.Fourteen patients survived from SRH were successfully discharged.One patient died of heart failure during follow-up.Conclusion MDCTA was useful in the diagnosis of SRH and proved to be predictive for the outcome of conservative treatment and early intervention.

Predictive value of enhanced CT Hounsfield unit value for central lymph node metastasis in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis with papillary carcinoma

Objective To investigate the diagnostic and predictive value of enhanced CT Hounsfield unit value for central lymph node metastasis(CLNM)in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis(HT)complicated with papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC).Methods The CT images of HTs with PTC confirmed by operation and pathology from 88 patients were analyzed retrospectively.Among them,50 cases of CLNM were all negative and 38 cases of CLNM were all positive.One lymph node was selected as the study subject in each case.The average HU values(AHUVs)and maximum HU values(MHUVs)were measured on the enhanced CT.The diagnostic efficacy of the two parameters for diagnosing CLNM was analyzed by the receiver operating specificity curve(ROC),and the best cut-off values were obtained,which were used to predict 103 HT with PTC CLNM in the validation group.Results The AHUVs of negative group and positive group were(63.79±15.34)HU and(90.92±18.04)HU(t=8.828,P<0.001).The MHUVs of negative group and positive group were(77.08±15.30)HU and(108.79±18.37)HU,respectively(t=7.615,P<0.001).The AUCs for AHUVs and MHUVs for the diagnosis of CLNM-positive was 0.870 and 0.906,and the cut-off values were 84.0 HU and 96.5 HU,respectively.The sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of predicting CLNM positivity in the validation group using AHUVs≥84.0 HU were 35.7%,95.1%,and 70.9%,respectively,and MHUVs≥96.5 HU were 38.1%,93.4%,and 70.9%,respectively.Conclusion AHUVs≥84.0 HU and MHUVs≥96.5 HU have high specificity for the diagnosis of HT with PTC CLNM,which can provide an important basis for clinical treatment decision.

Difference in microvascular structure between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules and its relationship with CT enhancement

Objective： To investigate the enhancement basis and the mechanisms of solitary pulmonary nodules （SPNs） by comparing the differences in microvascular structure between benign and malignant lesions. Methods： Dynamic contrast-enhanced CT scan was performed on 53 patients with SPNs （diameter〈3 cm, 38 peripheral lung cancers, 5 hamartomas, 10 inflammatory lesions） using a Siemens Plus S or a Marconi MX8000 multi slices spiral CT scanner. The time-attenuation curves were interpreted. The microvascular density （MVD） and the continuity of the microvessels＇ basemental membrane in the dissected specimens were observed with the ABC （avldin-biotin complex） immuno-histochemical method in all patients. Results ：The CT enhancement values of lung cancer （49.05± 16.08 HU） and inflammatory lesions （49.59±21.30 HU） were significantly higher than those of hamartoma （8.98±4.56 HU） t=7.48, P〈0.051 t=8.35, P〈0.05）. But the enhancement of lung cancer was similar to that of inflammatory lesions （t=0.76, P±0. 05）. The time attenuation curve of inflammatory lesions tended to increase faster and reached a higher peak compared to the lung cancer, and both of them maintained a high plateau after crossing. The hamartoma showed a slight increase in the time-attenuation curve and demonstrated a lowplateau curve. The MVD of SPNs was positively correlated with CT enhancement （r=0. 8051）. The microvascular counts of peripheral lung cancer （48.45±10. 09） and inflammatory lesions （49. 60±19. 94） were significantly higher than those of hamartoma （8.70±7. 30） （t=11. 64, P〈0.001, t=6. 09, P〈0. 001 ）, but no significant difference was found between lung cancer and inflammatory lesions （t= -0.26, P=0.799）. There was no difference in the continuity of basement membrane between nodules with anen haneement less than 30 HU and those with an enhancement higher than 30HU （X^2=3. 13, P〉0.05 ）. Conclusion： The microvascular counts mainly contribute to the enhancement value of SPNs. The basement membrane is not related to nodule enhancement, but it might influence the pattern of the time-attenuation curve.

A case with insulinoma localized by combined use of various means

A patient with insulinoma diagnosed by clinical features and localized preoperatively using a combination of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography （CEUS）, dual phase contrast enhanced spiral computed tomography （DPSCT） and arterial stimulation and venous sampling （ASVS） was reported. A 37-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of hypoglycemic attacks, palpitations, and muscular weakness. Fajans＇ ratio reported to be an index for insulinoma was positive. Transabdominal computed tomography and ultrasonography failed to detect any abnormalities. CEUS showed a small low echoic lesion in the pancreatic body with blood flow and the early arterial phase of DPSCT revealed a small strengthening focus, which mimicked a pancreatic tumor in the pancreatic body. ASVS showed that the insulin levels in the hepatic vein were extremely increased by calcium injection to the gastroduodenal artery. An open intra-abdominal operation was performed and an insulinoma was confirmed in the pancreatic body. Enucleation of tumor was undertaken and histopathological examination showed an adenoma, insulin expression was positive in immunofluorescence staining.Symptomatic hypoglycemia never happened even without glucose infusion since the operation. His blood glucose level improved to within the normal range.

Multi-slice CT angiography by triple-phase enhancement in preoperative evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background Triple-phase enhancement of multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) has markedly improved the diagnostic accuracy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and MSCT angiography (MSCTA) has been proved useful in detecting vascular anatomy noninvasively. This study aimed to explore the value of MSCTA by triple-phase enhancement in preoperative evaluation of HCC.Methods Fifty-six consecutive cases of primary HCC scheduled for resection were studied with MSCTA by triple-phase enhancement. The raw data images were processed on a workstation for multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. The findings after processing of the data were compared with those after surgery or intraoperative sonography. Results The false positive rate of MSCTA by triple-phase enhancement was 10.1% and its false negative rate was 4.3% in detecting HCC. No significant difference was observed in MSCTA and surgery or intraoperative sonography in detecting vascular anatomy anomalies and pathologic variations, whereas significant difference was found in detecting bile duct invasion with MSCT compared to intraoperative sonography.Conclusions MSCTA by triple-phase enhancement not only improves the detection of HCC, but also provides valuable preoperative information about hepatic vascular architecture and parenchyma. MSCTA by triple-phase enhancement is worthy of application as a non-invasive method in preoperative evaluation of HCC.