Short-axis Diameter Of Lymph Nodes Research Articles

Added value of spectral parameters in diagnosing metastatic lymph nodes of pT1-2 rectal cancer.

To investigate the added value of spectral parameters derived from dual-layer spectral detector CT (SDCT) in diagnosing metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) of pT1-2 (stage 1-2 determined by pathology) rectal cancer. A total of 80 LNs (57 non-metastatic LNs and 23 metastatic LNs) from 42 patients with pT1-T2 rectal cancer were retrospectively analyzed. The short-axis diameter of LNs was measured, then its border and enhancement homogeneity were evaluated. All spectral parameters, including iodine concentration (IC), effective atomic number (Zeff), normalized IC (nIC), normalized Zeff (nZeff), and slope of the attenuation curve (λ), were measured or calculated. The chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, independent-samples t-test, or Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the differences of each parameter between the non-metastatic group and the metastatic group. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine the independent factors for predicting LN metastasis. Diagnostic performances were assessed by ROC curve analysis and compared with the DeLong test. The short-axis diameter, border, enhancement homogeneity, and each spectral parameter of LNs showed significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.05). The nZeff and short-axis diameter were independent predictors of metastatic LNs (P < 0.05), with areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.870 and 0.772, sensitivity of 82.5% and 73.9%, and specificity of 82.6% and 78.9%. After combining nZeff and the short-axis diameter, the AUC (0.966) was the highest with sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 87.7%. The spectral parameters derived from SDCT might help us to improve the diagnostic accuracy of metastatic LNs in patients with pT1-2 rectal cancer, the highest diagnostic performance can be achieved after combining nZeff with the short-axis diameter of LNs.

CT and Pathological Control Study on Small Cluster Lymph Nodes Metastases of Esophageal Cancer and Construction of Nomogram Prediction Model

Aim of this study was to explorer the predictor of small cluster lymph nodes metastasis of esophageal cancer and construction of nomogram prediction model. We retrospectively analyzed the 202 patients with pathologically confirmed esophageal cancer from Fujian Provincial Tumor Hospital between January 2008 and December 2009. The clinical and imaging features of preoperative enhanced CT of small clustered lymph nodes in the mediastinal and supraclavicular region were recorded in detail, and compared with postoperative pathological data. We have identified using single factor χ2 test or Fisher's exact test to explorer the predictors of small cluster lymph nodes metastasis of esophageal cancer, and using Logistic multivariate analysis. Based on binary Logistic regression analysis results, a nomogram model was established by using R software. The predicting accuracy of the nomogram was evaluated by C-index and calibration curve. The total of 961 small lymph node stations of 202 patients met with inclusion criteria were observed. The pathological positive rates of small cluster lymph nodes group and small non-clustered lymph nodes group were 55.3%(187/338) and 16.7%(104/623),The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).Univariate χ2 test or Fisher's exact test showed that histological grading, vascular invasion and the short-axis diameter of lymph nodes were significantly associated with small cluster lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer in supraclavicular area and mediastinal (all P < 0.05). Logistic multivariate analysis showed that histological grading, vascular invasion and the short-axis diameter of lymph nodes (≥0.545cm) were independent predictor factors for small cluster lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05).After the predictor factors were include into the nomogram, and its AUC was 0.5931 (95%CI 0.5363-0.6498).The calibration curve show that the predicted and actual lymph node metastasis were consistent. Histological grading, vascular invasion and the short-axis diameter of lymph nodes (≥0.545cm) were independent predictor factors for small cluster lymph node (≥ 3 lymph nodes clustered and nonfusion) metastasis of esophageal cancer patients in the supraclavicular and mediastinal and construction of nomogram prediction model.

Preoperative lymph node status on computed tomography influences the survival of pT1b, T2 and T3 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The preoperative lymph node status is critical for tailoring optimal treatments for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of a diagnostic criterion based solely on the short-axis diameters of lymph nodes depicted on computed tomography (CT) in ESCC patients undergoing upfront esophagectomy. We retrospectively reviewed 246 pT1b-T3 ESCC patients undergoing upfront esophagectomy. Clinically positive lymph node metastasis (cN+) was defined as nodes with a short-axis diameter of at least 8mm on CT. Ninety-three patients had a cN+ status according to this criterion. The overall and recurrence-free survival rates were significantly lower in the cN+ group than in the cN- group (P < 0.001). The overall survival rate was markedly lower in the "pN2/3 and cN+" group than in the other groups (vs. pN0: P < 0.001, vs. pN1: P = 0.002, vs. "pN2/3 and cN-": P < 0.001). However, the overall survival rate of the "pN2/3 and cN-" group was similar to that of the pN0-1 groups. A multivariate analysis showed that cN+ (P = 0.002), major complications (P = 0.001), and pT3 (P = 0.021) were independently associated with a poor prognosis. A diagnostic criterion based solely on the short-axis diameters of lymph nodes depicted on CT was useful for stratifying the survival in ESCC patients.

Value of LSR and ADCs in differential diagnosis of hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes in lung cancer

Objective: To evaluate the value of minimum ADC(ADC(min))and mean ADC(ADC(mean)), lesion to spinal cord signal intensity ratio (LSR) in diagnosis of metastatic hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes in patients with lung cancer. Methods: A total of 34 patients (89 lymph nodes) pathologically diagnosed as lung cancer were enrolled into this study who were examined in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from January 2016 to June 2017. All patients underwent MRI scan 1 week before surgery or endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). The short-axis diameter, ADC(mean) and ADC(min) of lymph nodes were measured and recorded respectively by two radiologists.The signal intensity of lymph nodes and spinal cord was also measured on DWI images (b=800 s/mm(2)). According to pathological findings, all lymph nodes were divided into metastasis group (58 lymph nodes) and non-metastasis group(31 lymph nodes). An independent sample t-test was used to compare the differences between the two groups of short-axis diameter, LSR, ADC(mean) and ADC(min) between two groups.The diagnostic performance of short-axis diameter, LSR, ADC(mean) and ADC(min) was analyzed by ROC curves. Results: There were significant differences in short-axis diameter, ADC(mean), ADC(min) and LSR values between two groups (all P<0.01). The short-axis diameter and LSR of the metastatic group were higher than that in non-metastasis group, while ADC(mean) and ADC(min) in metastatic group were lower than that in non-metastasis group.The ROC curve analysis showed that ADC(mean), ADC(min) and LSR achieved excellent but comparable diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.977, 0.972 and 0.941, respectively (P<0.05). While the short-axis diameter of lymph nodes demonstrated poor diagnosis performance with an AUC of 0.798 (P<0.05). The thresholds of short-axis diameter, ADC(mean), ADC(min) and LSR were 9.86 mm, 1.88×10(-3) mm(2)/s, 1.57×10(-3) mm(2)/s and 0.80, respectively.Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy for ADC(mean) were 96.6%, 90.3%, 94.9%, 93.3% and 94.4%, respectively, and those for ADC(min) were 98.3%, 90.3%, 95.0%, 96.6% and 94.4%, respectively, those for LSR were 91.4%, 90.3%, 94.6%, 84.8% and 89.9%, respectively, while those for short-axis diameter were 79.3%, 71.0%, 83.6%, 64.7% and 76.4%, respectively.There were significant differences in the area under the ROC curve between short-axis diameter and LSR, short-axis diameter and ADC(mean), short-axis diameter and ADC(min) (P<0.05). But there was no significant difference in the area under ROC curve between LSR and ADC(mean), LSR and ADC(min), ADC(mean) and ADC(min) (P>0.05). Conclusion: LSR, ADC(min) and ADC(mean) are the reliable parameters for the differentiation of metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes in lung cancer patients, and have good performance.

Endoscopic ultrasonography for preoperative staging of esophageal carcinoma

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in preoperative staging of esophageal carcinoma (EC).Material and methods: A total of 86 surgical patients with EC who were confirmed by endoscopy and biopsy underwent preoperative TN staging with EUS examination. The EUS findings were compared with surgical pathologic results.Results: The accuracy of EUS in T and N staging of EC was 82.6% and 84.9%, respectively. While determining whether EC invades the muscularis propria or outer membrane, EUS had the favorable sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. The short-axis diameter of lymph nodes of 5mm had high sensitivity and negative predictive value to determine malignance with low specificity and positive predictive value. The short-axis diameter of 10mm presented the satisfactory sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value.Conclusion: EUS can accurately determine the TN staging of EC and provide a reliable basis for the treatment of EC.

Differentiation of Metastatic and Non-Metastatic Mesenteric Lymph Nodes by Strain Elastography in Surgical Specimens.

To investigate if strain elastography could differentiate between metastatic and non-metastatic mesenteric lymph nodes ex-vivo. 90 mesenteric lymph nodes were examined shortly after resection from 25 patients including 17 patients with colorectal cancer and 8 patients with Crohn's disease. Ultrasound-based strain elastography was performed with a linear probe. Tissue hardness in lymph nodes was assessed using visual scales and measuring the strain ratio. B-mode characteristics were also recorded. Pathological diagnosis with grading of fibrosis served as the reference standard. 20 lymph nodes were metastatic and 70 lymph nodes were non-metastatic. The strain ratios of metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes were significantly different (1.83 vs. 1.42, p = 0.021). The VAS scale (0 - 100) for tissue hardness gave higher mean values for metastatic than non-metastatic nodes, but the difference was not significant (65.5 vs. 55.0, p = 0.055). There was no difference between lymph nodes in Crohn's and non-metastatic cancer specimens. The metastatic lymph nodes were significantly more fibrotic than the non-metastatic lymph nodes by the ordinal fibrosis score (0 - 3). In an ROC analysis, quantitative strain imaging was not superior to the measurement of the short-axis diameter of lymph nodes in differentiating metastatic from non-metastatic mesenteric lymph nodes ex-vivo. Strain elastography is correlated to fibrosis in lymph nodes and a significant difference was observed on a group level using the strain ratio. Due to measurement overlap, individual mesenteric lymph nodes could not be identified accurately as metastatic or not in this ex-vivo model by strain imaging alone.

Diffusion-weighted imaging can correctly identify false-positive lymph nodes on positron emission tomography in non-small cell lung cancer

One of the limitations of fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (PET) for N-staging in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is false-positive results due to lymphadenitis. This study was performed to examine whether DWI can correctly identify false-positive nodes on PET in NSCLC. Both PET and DWI were performed in 157 patients before surgery, which involved dissection of 1033 nodal stations. Of the 157 patients, 26 patients had pathological N1 or N2 disease. Each nodal station was classified as positive or negative on PET and DWI according to the cutoff value determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve. Short-axis diameters of lymph nodes were measured on computed tomography. While hilar nodes did not show significant differences in the number of false-positives between PET and DWI, DWI showed fewer false-positives than PET in the mediastinum (p=0.011). Of the 43 false-positive mediastinal nodes on PET, 35 (81%) were negative on DWI. The mean size of the 43 false-positive nodes on PET was 9±1mm, which was significantly larger than mean size of 7±3mm of the 24 false-positive nodes on DWI (p=0.002). DWI can correctly identify false-positive nodes on PET in the mediastinum. The larger size of false-positive nodes on PET could be due to enlargement by lymphadenitis.

The size of retrieved lymph nodes correlates with the number of retrieved lymph nodes and is an independent prognostic factor in patients with stage II colon cancer.

PurposeIn stage II colon cancer, patients with many retrieved lymph nodes (LNs) have been reported to have better oncological outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that the greater number of retrieved LNs is related to a larger LN size.MethodsThe subjects comprised 320 patients with stage II colon cancer who underwent curative resection. All operations were elective and were performed by the same surgeons. The maximum long axis and short axis diameters of LNs were measured on hematoxylin-eosin-stained specimens.ResultsA total of 4,744 LNs were evaluated. The number of retrieved LNs was 14.8 ± 10.1 (mean ± SD). The long axis diameter was 4.8 ± 2.6 mm, with a median value of 4.3 mm, a maximum value of 20.4 mm, and a minimum value of 0.6 mm. The corresponding short axis diameters were 3.4 ± 1.7, 3.0, 15.1, and 0.5 mm, respectively. The highest correlation coefficient for the association with the number of LNs was obtained for the maximum value of the long axis diameter (0.59). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, tumor location, pathological T stage, and the maximum long axis diameter were independent prognostic factors. The number of LNs was not a significant factor. Patients with less than 12 LNs and a maximum long axis diameter of less than 10 mm had significantly poorer outcomes (p < 0.001).ConclusionIn patients with stage II colon cancer, the maximum long axis diameter of LNs correlated with the number of LNs and was an independent prognostic factor.

Additional Value of Combined Evaluation of Tumor Size With Lymph Node Size in the Detection of Lymph Node Metastases in Early-Stage Cervical Cancer Patients

Although tumor size is a prognostic factor in cervical cancer patients, its role in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis is unclear. We therefore evaluated the diagnostic value of tumor and lymph node size compared with lymph node size alone in the detection of metastatic lymph nodes in patients with early-stage cervical cancer.We retrospectively evaluated 699 patients with International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology stage IB1-IIA cervical carcinoma who underwent magnetic resonance imaging before lymphadenectomy involving all visible lymph nodes in the surgical fields. Seven nodal groups were evaluated: para-aortic, both common iliac, both external iliac, and both internal/obturator areas. Pathologic evaluation was the diagnostic standard. The largest short-axis diameter of lymph nodes in each region and the largest tumor diameters were measured in magnetic resonance images. The value of additional information from magnetic resonance images was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.Of the 699 patients, 108 (15.8%) had lymph node metastases. The areas under the curve for measurements of lymph node size, tumor size, and both were (A) 0.635, (B) 0.706, and (C) 0.742, respectively (A vs B, P = 0.006; A vs C P < 0.001; B vs C, P = 0.002).This study illustrates that magnetic resonance imaging measurements of tumor size and tumor size plus lymph node size showed a higher diagnostic performance than lymph node size alone in predicting lymph node metastasis in patients with early-stage cervical cancer.

Diagnosis value of 3.0 T diffusion-weighted imaging with background suppression magnetic resonance for metastatic lymph nodes in rectal cancer

To evaluate the diagnostic value of 3.0 T diffusion-weighted imaging with background suppression (DWIBS) magnetic resonance (MR) for lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer. Thirty-five patients with rectal cancer who underwent preoperative routine MRI+DWI examination were enrolled in the study and were treated by rectal cancer resection plus lymph node dissection. Metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes were confirmed by postoperative pathology. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, long-axis and short-axis diameters of lymph nodes were measured. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the diagnostic efficacy of ADC, long-axis and short-axis diameters for differentiating metastatic lymph nodes from non-metastatic lymph nodes. A total of 151 lymph nodes were confirmed with exact location in 35 patients. Sixty-five metastatic lymph nodes and 86 non-metastatic lymph nodes were identified. The ADC values of metastatic lymph nodes and non-metastatic lymph nodes were(0.86±0.14)×10(-3) and (0.94±0.16)×10(-3) mm(2)/s respectively. The long-axis diameter were(9.78±3.13) and (7.90±1.77) mm, respectively. The short-axis diameter were (7.65±2.00) and (6.45±1.19) mm, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes in ADC values, long-axis diameter, and short-axis diameter(all P<0.01). The areas under the ROC curve of ADC value, long-axis diameter, and short-axis diameter were 0.648, 0.706, and 0.692, respectively. Optimal cutoff values for these parameters were 1.05×10(-3) mm(2)/s, 7.95 mm, and 5.90 mm, respectively, and the corresponding sensitivities and specificities were 93.8% and 30.2%, 75.4% and 61.6%, 90.8% and 38.4%. Quantitative measurement of ADC value may reflect the degree of diffusion restriction of metastatic lymph nodes by DWIBS at 3.0 T MR. Accurate diagnosis of metastatic lymph nodes in rectal cancer demands comprehensive evaluation combining ADC value with diameter measurement.

Size of noncancerous hilomediastinal lymph nodes measured on coronal and sagittal reconstruction CT images

To determine the sizes of hilomediastinal lymph nodes on coronal and sagittal reconstruction computed tomographic images of subjects without known malignancies. We evaluated 560 lymph nodes of 246 consecutive patients who underwent multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) of the chest, then reconstructed coronal and sagittal images on a viewer and measured short-axis diameters of lymph nodes in each station according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) map for axial, coronal, and sagittal images. On coronal images, short-axis diameters were significantly larger than on axial images in station #4R (P < 0.01). On sagittal images, short-axis diameters were significantly smaller than on axial images in stations #4L (P < 0.01), #10R (P < 0.001), and #10L (P < 0.05). On coronal and sagittal images, short-axis diameters were significantly smaller than on axial images in stations #11R (P < 0.001). In #7, diameters were significantly larger on coronal images than on axial and sagittal images (P < 0.001), and diameters were significantly smaller on sagittal images than on axial images (P < 0.01). In stations #4R, #4L, #7, #10R, #10L, and #11R, measurements of short-axis diameters of hilomediastinal lymph nodes differed on coronal and sagittal images. On coronal and sagittal images, evaluation of hilomediastinal lymph nodes requires unique size criteria for every station.

Computed tomography evaluation of regional lymph node metastases in patients with biliary cancer

Identification of lymph node metastases in biliary cancer is important for determining prognosis and surgical planning, but the effectiveness of computed tomography (CT) in diagnosing node metastases of the hepatoduodenal ligament (peribiliary and retroportal nodes) or around the common hepatic artery is unknown. CT scans and pathological results from 146 patients who had undergone regional lymphadenectomy for biliary carcinoma were reviewed. To evaluate the regional lymph nodes, long- and short-axis diameters of lymph nodes were measured and axial ratios calculated (short-axis diameter/long-axis diameter). Nodes were considered round if the axial ratio exceeded 0.7. Internal lymph node structures were also evaluated. The presence of a round node with a short-axis diameter exceeding 16 mm had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 56 per cent for the presence of metastatic foci, and node heterogeneity had a PPV of 64 per cent. The highest PPV (67 per cent) was obtained for round nodes greater than 18 mm in short-axis diameter, but nodes of this size and character were rare. CT is not useful for predicting regional lymph nodal metastases in biliary carcinoma.