• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4119-4123
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• 2012

Background: Neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy is the accepted approach for women with locally advanced breast cancer. Anthracycline- and taxane-based regimens have been extensively studied in clinical trials and consequently are widely used. In this study aimed to research the complete response (pCR) rates in different regimens for neoadjuvant setting and determine associated clinical and biological factors. Methods: This study included 63 patients diagnosed with breast carcinoma among 95 patients that had been treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2007 and 2010. TNM staging system was used for staging. The histologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was characterized as a pCR when there was no evidence of residual invasive tumor in the breast or axillary lymph nodes. Biologic subclassification using estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER2 were performed. Luminal A was defined as ER+, PR+, HER2-; Luminal B tumor was defined as ER+, PR-, HER2-; ER+, PR-, HER2+; ER-, PR+, HER2-; ER+, PR+, HER2+; HER2 like tumor ER-, PR+, HER2+; and triple negative tumor ER, PR, HER2 negative. Results: Patients median age was 54.14 (min-max: 30-75). Thirty-two patients (50.8%) were premenapousal and 31 (49.2%) were postmenapousal. Staging was performed postoperatively based on the pathology report and appropriated imaging modalities The TNM (tumor, lymph node, metastasis) system was used for clinical and pathological staging. Fifty-seven (90.5%) were invasive ductal carcinomas, 6 (9.5%) were other subtypes. Thirty nine (61.9%) were grade II and 24 (38.1%) were grade III. Seven (11.1%) patients were stage II and 56 (88.9) patients were stage III. The patients were classified for ER, PR receptor and HER2 positivity. Seventeen patients had complete response to chemotherapy. Forty patients (63.5%) were treated with dose dense regimen (cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 and doxorubicine 60 mg/m every two weeks than paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 every two weeks with filgrastim support) 40 patients (48%) were treated anthracycline and taxane containing regimens. Thirteen patients (76%) from 17 patients with pCR were treated with the dose dense regimen but without statistical significance (p=0.06). pCR was higher in HER2(-), ER(-), grade III, premenopausal patients. Conclusion: pCR rate was higher in the group that treated with dose dense regimen, which should thus be the selected regimen in neoadjuvant setting. Some other factors can predict pCR in Turkish patients, like grade, menopausal status, triple negativity, percentage of ER positivity, and HER2 expression.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.39-47
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• 2014

Purpose As breast cancer patients continue to increase every year, cases of BSGI are on the rise with a heavier reliance on it. However, BSGI protocol in hospitals was not studied enough despite it was covered by hospital's condition and recommendation of manufacturers. The objective of the study was an examination of methods to be applicable to BSGI protocols, putting the self-development phantom to use in quality assessment of the images. Materials and Methods Dilon 6800 (Dilon Technologies Inc, Newport News, USA) was used in the study and five different sizes of sphere were distinctively produced in the phantom. The study used $^{99m}TcO_4$. The cases were classified in to three categories that background radioactivity to region of interest as ratio of 2: 4: 8, They were acquired images for 5, 7, 10mins. The acquired image was set region of interest according to the size of sphere, and We analyzed quantitative and qualitative analysis. The acquired data statistically analyzed with SPSS ver.18.0. Results As the result of quantitative and qualitative analysis, count rate of each sphere in accordance with difference of injection dose showed that higher count rate as injection dose and sphere size increased (P<0.005). Count rate of each sphere in accordance with difference of acquisition time showed that higher count rate as acquisition time and sphere size increased (P<0.005). Contrast noise ratio of each sphere in accordance with difference of injection dose showed that higher contrast noise ratio as injection dose increased. Particularly, Contrast noise ratio of eight times ratio images was the highest among. Contrast noise ratio of each sphere in accordance with difference of acquisition time showed that higher contrast noise ratio as acquisition time increased. And, Contrast noise ratio of seven minute image was the highest among (P<0.005). Conclusion There was significant change of Contrast noise ratio through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Moreover, We found usefulness of phantom. If Institutions identified image through the phantom study and they made BSGI protocol, We expected to help the improvement of diagnostic value of the images.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.90-93
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• 2011

Purpose: A Pixelated BSGI gamma camera has features to enhance resolution and sensitivity and minimize the distance between detector and organs by narrow FOV. Therefore, it is known as useful device to examine small organs such as thyroid, parathyroid and gall bladder. In general, when we would like to enlarge the size of images and obtain high resolution images by gamma camera in nuclear medicine study, we use pinhole collimator. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of Pixelated BSGI gamma camera and to compare to it using pinhole collimator in thyroid scan which is a study of typical small organs. Materials and methods: (1) The evaluation of sensitivity and spatial resolution: We measured sensitivity and spatial resolution of Pixelated BSGI with LEHR collimator and Infinia gamma camera with pinhole collimator. The sensitivity was measured by point source sensitivity test recommended by IAEA. We acquired images considering dead time in BSGI gamma camera for 100 seconds and used $^{99m}TcO4-\;400{\mu}Ci$ line source. (2) The evaluation of thyroid phantom: The thyroid phantom was filled with $^{99m}TcO4-$. After set 300 sec or 100 kcts stop conditions, we acquired images from both pixelated BSGI gamma camera and Infinia gamma camera with LEHR collimator. And we performed all thyroid studies in the same way as current AMC's procedure. Results: (1) the result of sensitivity: As a result, the sensitivity and spatial resolution of pixelated BSGI gamma camera were better than Infinia's. The sensitivities of pixelated BSGI and Infinia gamma camera were $290cps/{\mu}Ci$ and $350cps/{\mu}Ci$ respectively. So, the sensitivity of pixelated BSGI was 1.2 times higher than Infinia's (2) the result of thyroid phantom: Consequently, we confirmed that images of Pixelated BSGI gamma camera were more distinguishable between hot and cold spot compared with Infinia gamma camera. Conclusion: A pixelated BSGI gamma camera is able to shorten the acquisition time. Furthermore, the patients are exposed to radiation less than before by reducing amount of radiopharmaceutical doses. Shortening scan time makes images better by minimizing patient's breath and motion. And also, the distance between organ and detector is minimized because detector of pixelated BSGI gamma camera is small and possible to rotate. When patient cannot move at all, it is useful since device is feasible to move itself. However, although a pixelated BSGI gamma camera has these advantages, the effect of dead time occurs over 2000 cts/s since it was produced only for breast scan. So, there were low concentrations in organ. Therefore, we should consider that it needs to take tests to adjust acquisition time and amount of radiopharmaceutical doses in thyroid scan case with a pixelated BSGI gamma camera.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.492-497
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• 2004

Purpose: it is very important to differentiate breast cancer from benign mass. There are many reports to evaluate the differential diagnosis under the several diagnostic tools. We evaluated the usefulness of mammography and Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography in the differential diagnosis of breast mass and correlated with pathologic findings. Materials and Methods: This study included 80 patients (a8e: 24-72, mean: 48.4) who underwent mammography and Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography for breast masses. Scintimammographies (anterior-posterior and lateral projections) were acquired in 10 minutes and 2 hours after intravenous injection of Tc-99m MIBI. four specialists in diagnostic radioloay and nuclear medicine evaluated the findings of breast masses under the mammography and Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography, and calculated the tumor to background (T/B) ratio. The pathologic results were obtained and we statistically analyzed the correlations between pathologic results and imaging findings under the mammography and Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography by chi-square and correlation test. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of mammography for detection of breast cancer were 87.5%, 56.3%, 75.0%), and 75.0% respectively. 45 cases of 80 patients were suspicious for breast cancer under the Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography. 41 cases of 45 patients were confirmed as breast cancer and the remaining 4 cases were confirmed as benign masses. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography for detection of breast cancer were 85.4%, 87.5%, 91.1%, and 80.8% respectively. The sensitivity of scintimammography was lower than that of mammography for detection of breast cancer, however the specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were higher. In the benign mass, the mean T/B ratio in 10 minutes was $1.409{\pm}0.30$, and that in 2 hours was $1.267{\pm}0.42$. The maximal T/B ratio of benign mass in 10 minutes was $1.604{\pm}0.42$, and that in 2 hours was $1.476{\pm}0.50$. In the malignant mass, the mean T/B ratio in 10 minutes was $2.220{\pm}1.07$, and that in 2 hours was $1.842{\pm}0.75$. The maximal T/B ratio of malignant mass was $2.993{\pm}1.94$, and that in 2 hours was $2.480{\pm}1.34$. And the T/B ratio under the early and delayed images were meaningful. Conclusion: The scintimammography is useful diagnostic tool to differentiate breast cancer from benign mass, although the sensitivity of mammography for detection of breast mass is high. Especially, the use of the T/B ratio is helpful to diagnose breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5759-5765
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• 2014

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a potential supplement for mammogram screening. This study aimed to evaluate and feasibility of EIT as opposed to mammography and to determine pain perception with both imaging methods. Women undergoing screening mammography at the Radiology Department of National University of Malaysia Medical Centre were randomly selected for EIT imaging. All women were requested to give a pain score after each imaging session. Two independent raters were chosen to define the image findings of EIT. A total of 164 women in the age range from 40 to 65-year-old participated and were divided into two groups; normal and abnormal. EIT sensitivity and specificity for rater 1 were 69.4% and 63.3, whereas for rater 2 they were 55.3% and 57.0% respectively. The reliability for each rater ranged between good to very good (p<0.05). Quantitative values of EIT showed there were significant differences in all values between groups (ANCOVA, p<0.05). Interestingly, EIT scored a median pain score of $1.51{\pm}0.75$ whereas mammography scored $4.15{\pm}0.87$ (Mann Whitney U test, p<0.05). From these quantitative values, EIT has the potential as a health discriminating index. Its ability to replace image findings from mammography needs further investigation.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.212-217
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• 2015

Purpose: For a single time-point hyperpolarized $^{13}C$ magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging (MRSI) of animal models, scan-time window after injecting substrates is critical in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of downstream metabolites. Pre-scans of time-resolved magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can be performed to determine the scan-time window. In this study, based on two-site exchange model, protocol-specific simulation approaches were developed for $^{13}C$ MRSI and the optimal scan-time window was determined to maximize the SNR of downstream metabolites. Materials and Methods: The arterial input function and conversion rate constant from injected substrates (pyruvate) to downstream metabolite (lactate) were precalibrated, based on pre-scans of time-resolved MRS. MRSI was simulated using two-site exchange model with considerations of scan parameters of MRSI. Optimal scan-time window for mapping lactate was chosen from simulated lactate intensity maps. The performance was validated by multiple in vivo experiments of BALB/C nude mice with MDA-MB-231 breast tumor cells. As a comparison, MRSI were performed with other scan-time windows simply chosen from the lactate signal intensities of pre-scan time-resolved MRS. Results: The optimal scan timing for our animal models was determined by simulation, and was found to be 15 s after injection of the pyruvate. Compared to the simple approach, we observed that the lactate peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) was increased by 230%. Conclusion: Optimal scan timing to measure downstream metabolites using hyperpolarized $^{13}C$ MRSI can be determined by the proposed protocol-specific simulation approaches.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.79-91
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• 1992

With recent development in spaceborne imaging radar system, there are growing interests using satellite synthetic aperture radar(SAR) data in various applications. This study attempted to identify the relationships between several forest stand characteristics and radar backscatter, measured from space altitude altitude at three incidence angles. Shuttle Imaging Radar-B(SIR-B) data were collected over a forested area in northern Florida in October, 1984. By using various sources of reference data (forest type maps, inventory records, aerial photographs, and Landsat Thematic Mapper data), about 400 forest stands of known characteristics were carefully located in the radar data. Relative radar backscatter for the three incidence angles of SIR-B data were compared with known forest stand parameters such as mean tree height, diameter at breast height(DBH), stand density, biomass, and relative amount of understory vegetation. The results show that these stand parameters have statistically significant correlations with the radar backscatter. In addition, the SIR-B radar backscatter from a certain stand parameter turned out differently at the three different incidence angles. Finally, the types and characteristics of currently available satellite SAR data are discussed.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2019

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) imaging plays an important role in surgery of patients with breast cancer and melanoma. In this study, avidin (Av), a tetrameric protein glycosylated with mannose and N-acetylglucosamine molecules, was labeled with $^{64}Cu$ and then evaluated for LN imaging. $^{64}Cu$-Labeled $NeutrAvidin^{TM}$ (NAv), a non-glycosylated form of Av, was used for comparison. 1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N'',N'''-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-conjugated Av and NAv were prepared from the corresponding proteins and DOTA-NHS ester, which were then labeled with copper-64 and purified using PD-10 columns. The numbers of DOTA molecules conjugated to Av and NAv were 4.9 and 3.3, respectively. [$^{64}Cu$]Cu-DOTA-conjugated Av and NAv were prepared in 93% and 73% radiochemical yields, respectively. In vitro serum stability study showed that copper-64 remained stable on all radiotracers for 24 h (>97%). MicroPET/CT images showed that high radioactivity was accumulated in LNs within 15 min after footpad-injection of radiotracers. Tissue distribution data of mice demonstrated significantly higher uptake in the popliteal (PO) LN than lumbar (LU) LN for $^{64}Cu$-labeled Av (relative % ID/g excluding the injection sites: 66.2% and 26.0%, respectively) compared with those of $^{64}Cu$-labeled NAv (43.0% and 49.2%, respectively). The results of this study suggest that mannose molecules on Av enabled the radiotracer to retain in the first LN after mouse footpad-injection.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.183-189
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• 2009

Purpose : To evaluate the usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) maximal intensity projection (MIP) reconstruction method in breast MRI. Materials and Methods : Total 54 breasts of consecutive 27 patients were examined by breast MRI. Breast MRI was performed using GE Signa Excite Twin speed (GE medical system, Wisconsin, USA) 1.5T. We obtained routine breast MR images including axial T2WI, T1WI, sagittal T1FS, dynamic contrast-enhanced T1FS, and subtraction images. 3D MIP reconstruction images were obtained as follows; subtraction images were obtained using TIPS and early stage of contrast-enhanced TIPS images. And then 3D MIP images were obtained using the subtraction images through advantage workstation (GE Medical system). We detected and analyzed the lesions in the 3D MIP and routine MRI images according to ACR $BIRADS^{(R)}$ MRI lexicon. And then we compared the findings of 3D MIP and those of routine breast MR images and evaluated whether 3D MIP had additional information comparing to routine MR images. Results : 3D MIP images detect the 43 of 56 masses found on routine MR images (76.8%). In non-mass like enhancement, 3D MIP detected 17 of 20 lesions (85 %). And there were one hundred sixty nine foci at 3D MIP images and one hundred nine foci at routine MR images. 3D MIP images detected 14 of 23 category 3 lesions (60.9%), 11 of 16 category 4 lesions (68.87%), 28 of 28 Category 5 lesions (100%). In analyzing the enhancing lesions at 3D MIP images, assessment categories of the lesions were correlated as the results at routine MR images (p-value < 0.0001). 3D MIP detected additional two daughter nodules that were descriped foci at routine MR images and additional one nodule that was not detected at routine MR images. Conclusion : 3D MIP image has some limitations but is useful as additional image of routine breast MR Images.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.201-208
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• 2007

Purpose: We investigated whether the diagnostic performance of SPECT scintimammography (SMM) can be improved by adding computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) of ultrasonography (US). Materials and methods: We reviewed breast SPECT SMM images and corresponding US images from 40 patients with breast masses (21 malignant and 19 benign tumors). The quantitative data of SPECT SMM were obtained as the uptake ratio of lesion to contralateral normal breast. The morphologic features of the breast lesions on US were extracted and quantitated using the automated CAD software program. The diagnostic performance of SPECT SMM and CAD of US alone was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The best discriminating parameter (D-value) combining SPECT SMM and the CAD of US was created. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of combined two diagnostic modalities were compared to those of a single one. Results: Both SPECT SMM and CAD of US showed a relatively good diagnostic performance (area under curve = 0.846 and 0.831, respectively). Combining the results of SPECT SMM and CAD of US resulted in improved diagnostic performance (area under curve =0.860), but there was no statistical differerence in sensitivity, specificity and accuracy between the combined method and a single modality. Conclusion: It seems that combining the results of SPECT SMM and CAD of breast US do not significantly improve the diagnostic performance for diagnosis of breast cancer, compared with that of SPECT SMM alone. However, SPECT SMM and CAD of US may complement each other in differential diagnosis of breast cancer.