The risk of new cancer or cancer recurrence among patients with a history of cancer and use of anti-TNF therapy is similar to the risk with nonbiological disease modifying therapies. These results support the use of anti-TNF medications in select populations despite prior diagnosis of cancer.

No abstract

Crystalloids are occasionally encountered on fine needle aspiration of cystic parotid lesions. This goal of this study was to retrospectively characterize the MRI features of a series benign crystalloid-containing parotid cysts. A total of 4 patients with fine needle aspiration findings of crystalloids and available parotid MRI scans were identified. Review of the imaging revealed that the cystic lesions contain layering material that corresponds to crystals.

We rate radiology practices in all sorts of different ways-the number of radiologists they employ, the number of examinations they perform, total revenue, and so on. Based on such parameters, we can determine the largest practices, the busiest practices, and the most profitable practices.However, the measurable aspects of a radiology practice tell only part of the story. There are many aspects of an organization's performance that do not lend themselves to measurement. In this discussion, we refer to these nonmeasurable aspects of an organization as its culture-the aspirations, vision, and patterns of thought and action that characterize an organization (1).We believe that if we neglect culture in assessing the quality and performance of radiology organizations, we will inevitably end up with an incomplete and perhaps even distorted picture. In the following, we outline three key components of culture and their respective implications for the assessment of radiology organizations.It is important to say at the outset that the concept of culture has a meaning and significance that extends far beyond assessment. Today, most organizational assessments tend to focus on what an organization is-a radiology department-and how well the organization is doing what such organizations doperforming and interpreting radiological examinations.

Background: Differentiating among the different types of parotid tumors on imaging is useful for guiding clinical disposition, which ultimately may lead to surgical management. The goal of this study was to determine whether quantitative T2 signal characteristics and morphologic features on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can serve as predictive biomarkers for distinguishing between tumor types.Methods: A retrospective review of T2-weighted MRIs in patients with pathology-proven parotid tumors was performed. Quantitative T2 maps and surface regularity measurements of the tumors were obtained via semi-automated regions of interest (ROI). Linear Discriminant Analysis was used to populate the receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) curves for these variables. A P value of <0.05 was considered to be significant.Results: A total of 35 tumors (21 benign and 14 malignant neoplasms) were included in this analysis.For differentiating the benign versus malignant classes of parotid tumors, T2 signal and surface regularity combined yielded an area under the curve of 0.62 (P value: 0.2) through the ROC analysis. However, for the pleomorphic adenomas versus other types of parotid tumors, using both T2 signal and surface regularity yielded an area under the curve of 0.81 (P value: 0.007) through the ROC analysis.Conclusions: T2 signal and surface regularity combined can significantly differentiate pleomorphic adenomas from other types of parotid tumors and can potentially be used as a predictive imaging biomarker.