Combined therapy with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and percutaneous microwave coagulation for small hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM:To assess the efficacy of combined transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE)and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy(PMCT)for small hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). METHODS:Thirty-five patients with a total of 41 HCC nodules(≤3 cm in diameter)were treated with TACE followed by computed tomograghy(CT)-guided percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy(PMCT) within 1-3 wk. RESULTS:By biopsies and enhanced CT scans, complete necrosis of the tumor and 3-5 mm of the surrounding non-cancerous area were observed in 34 foci.In seven foci,incomplete necrosis of the surrounding parenchyma was observed.Serum alpha- fetoprotein(AFP)levels returned to normal 10 d after treatment in 25 patients who originally had high serum AFP levels.The follow-up period was 6-31 mo,and all patients remained alive.One patient had a recurrence in the subsegments of the liver,and another patient had a recurrence near the original lesion. CONCLUSION:Combined therapy with TACE and PMCT is a safe and effective treatment without severe complications for small HCC.

Biochemical metabolic changes assessed by ^(31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy after radiation-induced hepatic injury in rabbits

AIM： To compare the features of biochemical metabolic changes detected by hepatic phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy （^31p MRS） with the liver damage score （LDS） and pathologic changes in rabbits and to investigate the diagnostic value of ^31p MRS in acute hepatic radiation injury. METHODS： A total of 30 rabbits received different radiation doses （ranging 5-20 Gy） to establish acute hepatic injury models. Blood biochemical tests, ^31p MRS and pathological examinations were carried out 24 h after irradiation. The degree of injury was evaluated according to LD5 and pathology. Ten healthy rabbits served as controls. The MR examination was performed on a 1.5 T imager using a 1H/^31P surface coil by the 2D chemical shift imaging technique. The relative quantities of phosphomonoesters （PME）, phosphodiesters （PDE）, inorganic phosphate （Pi） and adenosine triphosphate （ATP） were measured. The data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS： （1） Relative quantification of phosphorus metabolites： （a） ATP： there were significant differences （P 〈 0.05） （LDS-groups：control group vs mild group vs moderate group vs severe group, 1.83±0.33 vs 1.55±0.24 vs 1.27±0.09 vs 0.98±0.18; pathological groups： control group vs mild group vs moderate group vs severe group, 1.83±0.33 vs 1.58±0.25 vs 1.32±0.07 vs 1.02±0.18） of ATP relative quantification among control group, mild injured group, moderate injured group, and severe injured group according to both LDS grading and pathological grading, respectively, and it decreased progressively with the increased degree of injury （r = -0.723, P = 0.000）. （b） PME and Pi; the relative quantification of PME and Pi decreased significantly in the severe injured group, and the difference between the control group and severe injured group was significant （P 〈 0.05） （PME： 1DS- control group vs LDS-severe group, 0.86±0.23 vs 0.58±0.22, P = 0.031; pathological control group vs pathological severe group, 0.86±0.23 vs 0.60±0.21, P = 0.037; Pi： LDS-control group vs LDS-severe group, 0.74±0.18 vs 0.43±0.14, P = 0.013; pathological control group vs pathological severe group, 0.74±0.18 vs 0.43±0.14, P = 0.005） according to LDS grading and pathological grading, respectively. （c） PDE; there were no significant differences among groups according to LDS grading, and no significant differences between the control group and experimental groups according to pathological grading. （2） The ratio of relative quantification of phosphorus metabolites： significant differences （P 〈 0.05） （LDS- moderate group and LDS-severe group vs LDS-control group and LDS-mild group, 1.94±0.50 and 1.96±0.72 vs 1.43±0.31 and 1.40±0.38） were only found in PDE/ATP between the moderate injured group, the severe injured group and the control group, the mild injured group. No significant difference was found in other ratios of relative quantification of phosphorus metabolites.CONCLUSION： ^31p MRS is a useful method to evaluate early acute hepatic radiation injury. The relative quantification of hepatic ATP levels, which can reflect the pathological severity of acute hepatic radiation injury, is correlated with LDS.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a patient with situs inversus totalis

Currently, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is an undoubtfully optimal treatment of cholelithiasis. What about performing this procedure on a patient with situs inversus totalis and what are the difficulties of this operation for a right-handed surgeon? We presented a 35-year-old man with unknown situs inversus totalis who was admitted with epigastric pain and digestive problems. Ultrasonography and computed tomography of the abdomen confirmed the diagnosis of a gallstone. Besides, the liver and gallbladder were on the left side and the spleen was on the right. All systems were left-right reversal as mirror image in all diagnostic studies. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was safely performed, despite of difficulties of situs inversus. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 1. It should be considered that existence of other anomalies may easily cause uninvited injuries. In the patients with situs inversus, laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be safely managed by an experienced surgeon through laparoscopy, and also hepatobiliary surgery.

The Efficacy of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

OBJECTIVE To observe the efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the treatment of late-stage pancreatic cancer. METHODS Sixteen patients with advanced pancreatic cancer received HIFU therapy.Evaluation of efficacy was made on the basis of changes in clinical symptoms and variations in the tumor echo and size. RESULTS Clinical symptoms such as pain were significantly alleviated,echo of the tumor was enhanced with B-US and the quality of life such as eating,sleeping and mental status was markedly improved;no serious complications were observed. CONCLUSION The use of HIFU in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer is feasible and safe.It is effective in killing the carcinoma cells and alleviating pain.This technique may offer non-invasive therapy for the treatment of patients with late-stage pancreatic cancer.

Contrast-enhanced and targeted ultrasound

Ultrasonic imaging is becoming the most popular medical imaging modality,owing to the low price per examination and its safety.However,blood is a poor scatterer of ultrasound waves at clinical diagnostic transmit frequencies.For perfusion imaging,markers have been designed to enhance the contrast in B-mode imaging.These so-called ultrasound contrast agents consist of microscopically small gas bubbles encapsulated in biodegradable shells.In this review,the physical principles of ultrasound contrast agent microbubble behavior and their adjustment for drug delivery including sonoporation are described.Furthermore,an outline of clinical imaging applications of contrast-enhanced ultrasound is given.It is a challenging task to quantify and predict which bubble phenomenon occurs under which acoustic condition,and how these phenomena may be utilized in ultrasonic imaging.Aided by high-speed photography,our improved understanding of encapsulated microbubble behavior will lead to more sophisticated detection and delivery techniques.More sophisticated methods use quantitative approaches to measure the amount and the time course of bolus or reperfusion curves,and have shown great promise in revealing effective tumor responses to anti-angiogenic drugs in humans before tumor shrinkage occurs.These are beginning to be accepted into clinical practice.In the long term,targeted microbubbles for molecular imaging and eventually for directed anti-tumor therapy are expected to be tested.