ely in patients with uterine cervix carcinoma. The sensitivity is rather higher according to diagnostic criteria of most diameter ≥10 mm.

Objectiye To improve the diagnosis and treatment of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma(CRCC). Methods The clinical dota of 25 patients of CRCC were reviewed.Thirteen were xmales and 12 were females and thirteen on the left and twelve on the right.The mean age was 51 years.Sixteen(64%)patients were asymptomatic.Gross hematuria,low back pain and discomfort and fever occurred in the other 9 patients.Laboratory investigations showed 1 patient had raised alanine aminotransferase and 1 had high erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Results B-ultrasound was mainly characterized by low echo renal mass with intact capsule and low blood flow signals.CT and MR of CRCC were typically well circumscribed,homogeneous(unenhanced CT was 70%,MR was 73%)with no necrosis and hemorrhage,homogenous enhancement(CT was 65%,MR was 67%)and mild enhanced(CT was 65%,MR was 67 %)renal mass.Twenty-two patients with tumors＞4.0 cm had radical nephrectomy and three with tumors≤4.0 cm had partial nephrectomy.The average diameter of tumors was 7.6 cm.The cross-sections of the tumors were grossly homogeneous,pale or dark brown solid.Light microscopy showed that the tumors were composed of trabeculae or sheets with voluminous cells in pale or eosinophilic cytoplasm.Immunohistochemical assay was positive of CK8 and negative of Vimentin.The pathologic TNM stages were 8 with T1a,9 with T1b,6 with T2 and 2 with T3a.Twenty-three patients were followed up.After mean follow-up of 28 months,22 cases were tumor free.One patient had pulmonary metastasis 58 months after operation and had no reaction to interferon-α and chemotherapy and died. Conclusions The majority of CRCC patients are asymptomatic and usually with low-stages.There are some features in CT and MR appearance of CRCC such as well circumscribed and homogenous.Surgical treatment should follow the treatment principles of renal cell carcinoma and carries an excellent prognosis for most localized tumors but there has been no effective measures to treat metastasis disease.The interval between operation and metastasis is relatively long and the time of follow-up should be prolonged in CRCC.

Objective To study the perfusion imaging features of renal cell cancer(RCC) and their correlation with microvessel density(MVD) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) ex-pression status. Methods Dynamic contrast-enhanced multislice spiral CT was performed preopera-tively in 73 cases with histologically proven RCC (65 cases of clear cell carcinoma, 3 of papillary ade-nocarcinoma, and 5 of chromophobic carcinoma). Blood volume (BV), blood flow (BF), mean transit time (MTT), and permeability surface area product (PS) of tumors were recorded. MVD and VEGF expression status were studied by immunohistochemial staining. Results The mean BV, BF, MTT negative in 35 (47.9 %) cases, slightly positive in 24 (32.9 %) cases, moderate positive in 10 (13.7 %) cases, and intensively positive in 4 (5.5 %) cases. MVD of RCC was positively correlated with BV, BF and PS (P<0.01),and negatively correlated with MTT (P<0.05). No relationship was found be-tween the expression of VEGF and perfusion CT parameters. Conclusion Perfusion CT scan is use-ful to evaluate the angiogenesis status of RCC.

OBJECTIVETo assess the effect of ultrasonography and computerized tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of large upper abdominal mass.

METHODSData from 43 cases that were clinically and pathologically confirmed were retrospectively analyzed and the effect of their preoperative ultrasonography and CT was compared.

RESULTSFour of 10 (40 percent) cases of liver mass were diagnosed correctly using ultrasonic device, nineteen of 25 (76 percent) cases of adrenal gland mass and 2 of 4 cases of kidney mass. Two of 10 (20 percent) cases of liver mass were correctly diagnosed by CT, and so were 6 of 22 (27.2 percent) cases of adrenal gland mass. In 4 patients with spleen mass, neither ultrasonography nor CT diagnosis was correct.

CONCLUSIONBecause upper abdomen organs are closely connected with each other, correct imaging localization of a large mass in this region is not easy. In this study, we compared the accuracy of ultrasonography and CT in diagnosing large upper abdominal masses, and found that ultrasonography works better for adrenal rather than liver or kidney. Neither ultrasonography or CT could accurately diagnose a large mass in the spleen.

Abdominal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Diagnostic Errors ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the CT and MR findings of retroperitoneal ectopic pheochromocytoma.

METHODSTo analyze retrospectively the CT and MR images of 32 patients with retroperitoneal ectopic pheochromocytoma proved by pathology.

RESULTSThe lesions (benign=28, malignant=4) were located in the anterior pararenal space (ARS) (n=12), the perirenal space (PS) (n=13) and the posterior pararenal space (PRS) (n=7). The tumors showed heterogeneous density on unenhanced CT (n=25). Among the 23 cases with enhanced CT imaging, 19 cases had marked contrast and 4 had mild contrast. The enhancement patterns included whole enhancement (n=9), solid area enhancement (n=12), peripheral enhancement (n=1), and spotted enhancement (n=1). The tumors had heterogeneous signal on unenhanced MR (n=23), and usually showed enhancement at arterial, portal and delayed phases on 22 enhanced MR, while cystic area with no enhancement. The lesions usually had cystic changes (n=18), septa (n=16), vessels inside (n=9), hemorrhage (n=3), and calcification (n=3). Besides that the morphology had statistical significance (P=0.013), other indexes had no statistical significance (P>0.05) in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant retroperitoneal ectopic pheochromocytomas.

CONCLUSIONSRetroperitoneal ectopic pheochromocytomas have some CT and MR features, usually revealed as an oval mass, growing along the paravertebral axis, and often with cystic changes. Those signs combined with hypertension and elevated catecholamine level may lead to a correct diagnosis.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Calcinosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Image Enhancement ; Pheochromocytoma ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUNDBenign and malignant primary retroperitoneal tumors (RT) have different pathological manifestations, and overlapping imaging characteristics. This study aimed to evaluate the value of computed tomography (CT) for differentiating benign from malignant RT.

METHODSOne hundred and ninety-four patients with clinical and radiographic data were evaluated retrospectively following surgical resection of primary RT. There were 38.1% (n = 74) benign lesions and 61.9% (n = 120) malignant lesions. Categorical variables were tested with a chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for the diagnostic indexes and sensitivity and specificity of CT characteristics.

RESULTSIn univariate analysis, the differences in ill-defined margins, irregular surfaces, long diameter >6.75 cm, short diameter >6.25 cm, and solid or mixed texture had statistical significance; the sensitivity and specificity were 44.2% and 91.9%, 70.0% and 62.2%, 68.8% and 60.7%, 59.7% and 74.2%, 87.5% and 35.1%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, a combination of all the above indexes was the best model for differentiating malignant tumors, resulting in the most accurate diagnosis of malignancies with a sensitivity of 77.2% and a specificity of 81.1% (P < 0.0001) when the score was 4. The differences in other findings including CT attenuation, number, and calcification had no statistical significance. The unique characteristics included the spotted enhancement (mottled high density) in schwannoma (P < 0.0001), adipose tissue in liposarcoma (P < 0.0001) and paravertebral location in neurogenic tumors (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONSMore accurate differential diagnosis of primary RT can be made through comprehensive analysis of the combined diagnostic indexes of CT. Some specific characteristics of CT can assist in preoperative planning.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retroperitoneal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the safety and efficacy of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF) in preventing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in patients with breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to provide the basis for clinical application.

METHODSAccording to the principle of open-label, randomized, parallel-group controlled clinical trial, all patients were randomized by 1∶1∶1 into three groups to receive PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg, or rhG-CSF 5 μg/kg, respectively. The patients with breast cancer received two chemotherapy cycles, and the NSCLC patients received 1-2 cycles of chemotherapy according to their condition. All patients were treated with the combination chemotherapy of TAC (docetaxel+ epirubicin+ cyclophosphamide) or TA (docetaxel+ epirubicin), or the chemotherapy of docetaxel combined with carboplatin, with a 21 day cycle.

RESULTSThe duration of grade 3-4 neutropenia in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg and PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg groups were similar with that in the rhG-CSF 5 μg/kg group (P>0.05 for all). The incidence rate of grade 3-4 neutropenia in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg group, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg group, and G-CSF 5 μg/kg group were 69.7%, 68.4%, and 69.5%, respectively, with a non-significant difference among the three groups (P=0.963). The incidence rate of febrile neutropenia in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg group, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg group and G-CSF 5 μg/kg group were 6.1%, 6.4%, and 5.5%, respectively, showing no significant difference among them (P=0.935). The incidence rate of adverse events in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg group, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg group and G-CSF 5 μg / kg group were 6.7%, 4.1%, and 5.5%, respectively, showing a non-significant difference among them (P=0.581).

CONCLUSIONSIn patients with breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing TAC/TA chemotherapy, a single 100 μg/kg injection or a single fixed 6 mg dose of PEG-rhG-CSF at 48 hours after chemotherapy show definite therapeutic effect with a low incidence of adverse events and mild adverse reactions. Compared with the continuous daily injection of rhG-CSF 5 μg/kg/d, a single 100 μg/kg injection or a single fixed 6 mg dose of PEG-rhG-CSF has similar effect and is more advantageous in preventing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.

Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Carboplatin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; Cyclophosphamide ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Epirubicin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Female ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Incidence ; Induction Chemotherapy ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Neutropenia ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Polyethylene Glycols ; Recombinant Proteins ; administration & dosage ; Taxoids ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects