No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

IntroductionBreast cancer still represents the leading tumor among women and the incidence of the disease is rising all over the world (1, 2). The risk of developing breast cancer is related to a number of factors including the events of reproductive life and lifestyle factors that modify endogenous levels of sex hormones. Diet has been also found to play an important role in the etiology of breast cancer.Mammography represents the most used modality for breast cancer screening, with mortality reduction of 30-40% in screened population (3, 4). However, its sensitivity is decreased in young women with radiologically dense breast (5). Another limitation of planar mammography is represented by the two-dimensional visualization of a three-dimensional volumetric structure such as the breast, with a consequent superimposition of tissue. These limitations are partially solved by the full-field digital mammography (FFDM), with its improved dynamic range, tissue contrast and post-processing, and by the digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), which partially addresses the two-dimensional breast representation of planar mammography (4). Dual-energy contrast enhanced digital mammography represents a novel technique and has a reported sensitivity of 93% versus 78% of conventional mammography alone (6).With the recent advances in technology, US and MRI allow to delineate occult malignancy in women with dense breast tissue, especially in case of high risk patients (5,7,8).Recently, nuclear medicine imaging technology has been introduced in the field of breast cancer with the development of positron emission tomography (PET), PET- Aim. To compare the diagnostic accuracy of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and core needle biopsy (CNB) in patients with USdetected breast lesions.Patients and methods. KEY WORDS: Breast -Fine-needle aspiration cytology -Core needle biopsy -FNAC -CNB.

Acute intestinal ischemia is an abdominal emergency occurring in nearly 1% of patients presenting with acute abdomen. The causes can be occlusive or non occlusive. Early diagnosis is important to improve survival rates. In most cases of late or missed diagnosis, the mortality rate from intestinal infarction is very high, with a reported value ranging from 60% to 90%. Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) is a fundamental imaging technique that must be promptly performed in all patients with suspected bowel ischemia. Thanks to the new dedicated reconstruction program, its diagnostic potential is much improved compared to the past and currently it is superior to that of any other noninvasive technique. The increased spatial and temporal resolution, high-quality multi-planar reconstructions, maximum intensity projections, vessel probe, surface-shaded volume rending and tissue transition projections make MDCT the gold standard for the diagnosis of intestinal ischemia, with reported sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 64%-93%, 92%-100%, 90%-100% and 94%-98%, respectively. MDCT contributes to appropriate treatment planning and provides important prognostic information thanks to its ability to define the nature and extent of the disease. The purpose of this review is to examine the diagnostic and prognostic role of MDCT in bowel ischemia with special regard to the state of art new reconstruction software.