The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a differentiation of iodine from other materials and of different body tissues using dual energy CT. Ten patients were scanned on a SOMATOM Definition Dual Source CT (DSCT; Siemens, Forchheim, Germany) system in dual energy mode at tube voltages of 140 and 80 kVp and a ratio of 1:3 between tube currents. Weighted CT Dose Index ranged between 7 and 8 mGy, remaining markedly below reference dose values for the respective body regions. Image post-processing with three-material decomposition was applied to differentiate iodine or collagen from other tissue. The results showed that a differentiation and depiction of contrast material distribution is possible in the brain, the lung, the liver and the kidneys with or without the underlying tissue of the organ. In angiographies, bone structures can be removed from the dataset to ease the evaluation of the vessels. The differentiation of collagen makes it possible to depict tendons and ligaments. Dual energy CT offers a more specific tissue characterization in CT and can improve the assessment of vascular disease. Further studies are required to draw conclusions on the diagnostic value of the individual applications.

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Background: Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is described as a useful new biomarker in ovarian cancer. As HE4 is neither tumor nor organ specifi c, we intensively investigated the occurrence of this protein in female and male patients with various benign and malignant diseases in order to avoid misinterpretation and to identify potential additional clinical relevance. Methods:We retrospectively investigated HE4 (ARCHITECT ® , Abbott Diagnostics, US) in the sera of 205 healthy individuals, 654 patients with benign disorders and 720 patients with cancer before initial treatment. Results:The lowest concentrations of HE4 were observed in healthy men (median 26.2 pmol/L) followed by healthy women (median 40.4 pmol/L). In benign diseases, highest HE4 concentrations were seen in both women and men with renal failure (women, median 1041 pmol/L; men, median 1368 pmol/L). In women, the highest HE4 levels in malignant diseases were observed in ovarian cancer (median 242 pmol/l), whereas the highest HE4 concentrations in men occurred in lung cancer (median 89.2 pmol/L). The area under the curve (AUC) of HE4 in women was highest in ovarian cancer and borderline tumors as compared to benign gynecological disorders (88.9 % ), with a sensitivity of 67.4 % at 95 % specifi city. Also, signifi cantly elevated concentrations of HE4 with reference to the respective group of benign diseases were observed

SummaryIn this study, we analyzed vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression and survival in a breast cancer patient cohort of 82 breast cancer patients. Immunohistochemical analysis was possible in 91.5% of the patients (75/82). Staining was evaluated using the semi-quantitative assay according to Remmele and Stegner (immunoreactivity score [IRS]). IRS 0-1 was negative/very low, IRS 2-4 was moderate to high, and IRS 6-12 was high. Statistical analysis was performed by Spearman's correlation test (p<0.05 significant). Overall survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimations. Only 6 patients had a negative IRS. Moderate IRS values were present in 20 patients. Most of the patients had a high IRS (49). For survival analysis, data were dichotomized (IRS 0-4: negative to moderate and IRS 6-12: high VDR expression). In univariate analysis, VDR expression showed significant differences in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients with high IRS scores showed significantly better PFS and OS than patients with moderate/negative IRS scores for VDR expression. Tumor size was significantly correlated to PFS. When analyzed separately, the three different IRS groups showed significant differences in VDR expression. The present data suggest that VDR expression in breast cancer tissue may be of clinical significance, and the results provide evidence that VDR may be a factor with prognostic relevance. (J Histochem Cytochem 60:121-129, 2012)