Positron emission tomography using 18Ffluorodeoxyglucose (FDG PET) potentially underperforms for staging of patients with grade 1–2 estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer. The aim of this ...study was to retrospectively investigate the diagnostic accuracy of FDG PET in this patient population. Suspect tumor lesions detected on conventional imaging and FDG PET were confirmed with pathology or follow up. PET-positive lesions were (semi)quantified with standardized uptake values (SUV) and these were correlated with various pathological features, including the histological subtype. Pre-operative imaging detected 155 pathologically verified lesions (in 74 patients). A total of 115/155 (74.2%) lesions identified on FDG PET were classified as true positive, i.e., malignant (in 67 patients) and 17/155 (10.8%) lesions as false positive, i.e., benign (in 9 patients); 7/155 (4.5%) as false negative (in 7 patients) and 16/155 (10.3%) as true negative (in 14 patients). FDG PET incorrectly staged 16/70 (22.9%) patients. The FDG uptake correlated with histological subtype, showing higher uptake in ductal carcinoma, compared to lobular carcinoma (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Within this study, FDG PET inadequately staged 22.9% of grade 1–2, ER + BC cases. Incorrect staging can lead to inappropriate treatment choices, potentially affecting survival and quality of life. Prospective studies investigating novel radiotracers are urgently needed.
The diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) and Charcot Neuroarthropathy (CN) are serious complications of diabetes mellitus in which wound closure is complex to achieve. Treating recurrent DFU in patients with a ...combination of infection, ischemia, and deformities is extremely challenging and this group of patients has a very poor outcome. This case series describes the outcomes of patients with a recurrent DFU and CN, with a mean SINBAD score of 4 and of which 40% had a TCS of D3, using a multidisciplinary protocol that includes reconstructive foot and ankle surgery. In 24/35 (69%) of patients, wound closure was achieved after a mean of 75 days postoperatively. The mean ulcer‐free period was 358 days. The mean number of interventions was 6.7 (range 3–9). Post treatment 27/35 (77%) of patients was mobile, without additional amputation or ulcer recurrence. This study shows that wound closure and a long ulcer‐free period can be achieved in patients with a DFU and CN and its multifactorial underlying diseases when treated in a multidisciplinary team, including reconstructive foot and ankle surgery.
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