MR imaging-controlled LITT may be a safe, minimally invasive alternative in the treatment of recurrent head and neck tumors.

Purpose Alkylphosphocholines represent a new class of cytostatic drugs with a novel mode of action. Erufosine (ErPC3), the first compound of this class that can be administered intravenously, has recently been shown to be active against human tumor and leukemic cell lines. Methods In order to evaluate the antileukemic potential of ErPC3 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) the lethal concentration 50% (LC 50) was determined using WST-1 assay. For analysis of cell death, staining for Annexin V and activated caspase 3 was performed. An interaction analysis was performed by calculation of combination index and construction of isobolograms. Results The LC 50 was 7.4 lg/ml after 24 h and 3.2 lg/ ml after 72 h in HL 60 cells and 30.1 and 8.6 lg/ml, respectively, in 19 fresh samples from patients with AML.ErPC3 was found to be cytotoxic in HL60 cells with distinct activation of caspase 3. ErPC3 was not cross-resistant with cytarabine, idarubicine and etoposide as shown by the linear relation of respective LC 50s. The latter agents, however, exerted an additive cytotoxicity in combination with ErPC3 as revealed by isobologram analysis and combination index, although results are uneven for idarubicine. Conclusion Based on these data ErPC3 appears as a novel antileukemic candidate drug, which needs to be explored further in the treatment of AML.

The authors recommend combined SE imaging and MR angiography for ruling out tumor in patients with pulsatile tinnitus.

A phase III trial was conducted in 40 patients with known or suspected skull base tumors to evaluate the safety and efficacy of high-dose gadodiamide injection for use as a paramagnetic contrast medium in conventional and dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Contrast material enhancement was assessed dynamically with use of a gradient-recalled sequence. The time-intensity curve of selected regions of interest showed a reproducible dropout effect in the form of a dip in the curve during the early enhancement of the sigmoid sinus and jugular bulb; the same phenomenon was observed in all glomus tumors of the skull base, regardless of size or location. In contrast, schwannomas, meningiomas, and a variety of other lesions showed a continuous increase in the time-intensity curve. The drop-out sign, which is probably a result of a paramagnetic phenomenon during the early phase of enhancement, seems to be specific for glomus tumors. High-dose gadodiamide injection may show a specific dynamic pattern for glomus tumors, allowing differentiation from other tumors of the middle and posterior skull base.

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