Purpose:To compare the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of prostate cancer in both the peripheral zone (PZ) and the transition zone (TZ) with those of benign tissue in the same zone using echo-planar diffusion weighted imaging with a parallel imaging technique. Materials and Methods:A total of 29 consecutive male patients (mean age 61.3 years, age range 53-88 years) with suspected prostate cancer were referred for MR imaging. All patients underwent transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided biopsy of the prostate after MR imaging at 1.5 T, including ADC. For each patient, seven to 10 specimens were obtained from the prostate, and regions of interest (ROIs) were drawn on the ADC map by referring to the urologist's illustration of TRUSguided biopsy sites. ADC values of cancerous tissue in both the PZ and TZ were compared to those of noncancerous tissue in the same zone. Results:Out of 29 patients, 23 had cancer tissue. In the 23 patients with cancer, the mean ADC value of all cancer ROIs and that of all noncancer ROIs, respectively, were 1.11 Ϯ 0.41 ϫ 10 -3 and 1.68 Ϯ 0.40 ϫ 10 -3 mm 2 /second (values are mean Ϯ SD) (P Ͻ 0.01). The mean ADC value of TZ cancer ROIs and that of TZ noncancer ROIs, respectively, were 1.13 Ϯ 0.42 ϫ 10 -3 and 1.58 Ϯ 0.37 ϫ 10 -3 mm 2 /second (P Ͻ 0.01).Conclusions: ADC measurement with a parallel imaging technique showed that ADC values of prostate cancer in both the PZ and TZ were significantly lower than those of benign tissue in the PZ and TZ, respectively.

A relation between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and tumor cellular density has been reported. The purpose of this study was to measure the ADC values of cervical cancers in the uterus and compare them with those of normal cervical tissues, and to test whether ADC could differentiate between normal and malignant cervical tissues in the uterus. Twelve consecutive female patients with cervical cancer of the uterus and ten female patients with other pelvic abnormalities were included in this study. ADC was measured at 1.5 T with b-factors of 0, 300 and 600 s/mm2 using single-shot echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging and a parallel imaging technique. The mean ADC value of cervical cancer lesions was 1.09+/-0.20 x 10(-3) mm2/s, and that of normal cervix tissue was 1.79+/-0.24 x 10(-3) mm2/s (P<0.0001). In nine patients treated by chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, the mean ADC value of the cervical cancer lesion increased significantly after therapy (P<0.001). The present study showed, with a small number of patients, that ADC measurement has a potential ability to differentiate between normal and cancerous tissue in the uterine cervix. Further study is necessary to determine the accuracy of ADC measurement in monitoring the treatment response.

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ObjectiveThe primary purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of the early response to surgery on brain structure and cognitive function in patients with breast cancer. It was hypothesized that the structure of the thalamus would change during the early response after surgery due to the effects of anesthesia and would represent one aspect of an intermediate phenotype of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD).MethodsWe examined 32 postmenopausal females with breast cancer and 20 age-matched controls. We assessed their cognitive function (attention, memory, and executive function), and performed brain structural MRI 1.5 ± 0.5 days before and 5.6 ± 1.2 days after surgery.ResultsWe found a significant interaction between regional grey matter volume (rGMV) in the thalamus (P < 0.05, familywise error (FWE), small volume correction (SVC)) and one attention domain subtest (P = 0.001, Bonferroni correction) after surgery in the patient group compared with the control group. Furthermore, the changes in attention were significantly associated with sevoflurane anesthetic dose (r 2 = 0.247, β = ‒0.471, P = 0.032) and marginally associated with rGMV changes in the thalamus (P = 0.07, FWE, SVC) in the Pt group.ConclusionOur findings suggest that alterations in brain structure, particularly in the thalamus, may occur shortly after surgery and may be associated with attentional dysfunction. This early postoperative response to anesthesia may represent an intermediate phenotype of POCD. It was assumed that patients experiencing other risk factors of POCD, such as the severity of surgery, the occurrence of complications, and pre-existing cognitive impairments, would develop clinical POCD with broad and multiple types of cognitive dysfunction.

Recent studies have suggested a critical role of specific gene loss in several embryonic tumours and certain adult cancers. In retinoblastoma, hemizygosity or homozygosity of a recessive mutant allele results in the loss of normal gene product, and this seems to cause the manifestation of the disorder. Familial polyposis coli (FPC) is a human autosomal dominant trait characterized by numerous adenomatous polyps of the colon and rectum, and a high incidence of colon carcinoma. Karyotype analyses have failed to detect specific deletion or translocation. We report the use of polymorphic DNA markers to look for the somatic loss of heterozygosity at specific loci. Investigation of 38 tumours from 25 FPC patients, and 20 sporadic colon carcinomas from 19 patients, revealed frequent occurrence of allele loss on chromosome 22, with some additional losses on chromosomes 5, 6, 12q and 15. The FPC gene-linked DNA probe C11p11 also detected frequent allele loss in both familial and sporadic colon carcinomas but not in benign adenomas. These results suggest the possible involvement of more than one chromosomal locus in the development of familial and sporadic colon carcinomas.