Biomedical subjects

Tsung-Ming Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Tsung-Ming Chen.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Color Doppler sonography of bile duct tumor thrombi in hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To determine with the use of color Doppler sonography whether bile duct tumor thrombi had detectable vasculature in hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: Among 491 patients with tissue-proven hepatocellular carcinoma, 9 (1.8%) had bile duct tumor thrombi. All 9 patients had spectral Doppler sonography guided by color Doppler sonography (3.75-MHz convex probe). RESULTS: All 9 patients had dilated bile ducts with isoechoic thrombi. Eight patients had tumors infiltrating into and obstructing adjacent major bile ducts. The other patient had common hepatic duct tumor emboli that were not adjacent to primary tumors. Color signals were detectable within bile duct tumor thrombi in 7 patients. All of them had pulsatile waveforms on spectral analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Bile duct tumor thrombosis with obstructive jaundice was a rare complication of hepatocellular carcinoma. A detectable color signal with pulsatile waveforms was shown in most cases by color Doppler sonography with spectral analyses.

Bile Duct Neoplasms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Flash-echo gray-scale imaging in the subtraction mode for assessing perfusion of small hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using flash-echo imaging (FEI) in the subtraction mode to assess the vascularity of small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) that had been unsatisfactorily assessed with power Doppler sonography. METHODS: Between May 2000 and April 2001, we prospectively assessed nodular small HCCs using FEI in the subtraction mode after power Doppler sonography resulted in unsatisfactory images. After microbubble contrast was injected, we used the FEI technique to assess tumor perfusion in the arterial, portal, and delayed phases. RESULTS: Our study population comprised 14 patients (10 men and 4 women) whose ages ranged from 31 to 79 years (mean, 61 +/- 13.7 years) and whose tumors ranged in size from 0.8 to 3 cm (mean, 1.8 +/- 0.5 cm). Power Doppler sonography was unable to assess tumor vascularity in 6 cases because of interference by heart pulsation, and it failed to detect a color signal in the other 8 cases. All tumors were enhanced with FEI. In the arterial phase, 7 of the 14 tumors (50%) showed hyperperfusion relative to liver parenchyma enhancement, 5 of 14 (36%) showed isoperfusion, and 2 of 14 (14%) showed hypoperfusion. In the portal phase, 3 of the 14 tumors (21%) showed isoperfusion, and the other 11 (79%) showed hypoperfusion. In the delayed phase, all 14 tumors showed hypoperfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Despite heart pulsation and slow vascular flow, FEI in the subtraction mode was sensitive and effective in assessing the perfusion of small HCCs.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prediction of viremia for cases of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection using a third-generation anti-HCV enzyme immunoassay test.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Positive results for anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing reveal subjects are infected by HCV, with presence of HCV RNA indicating persistent infection. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the validity of the HCV viremia using a commercially available, third-generation anti-HCV test. METHODOLOGY: Sample rate/cut-off rate (S/CO) ratios for 1,907 anti-HCV-positive tests (S/CO >1, AxSYM HCV 3.0; Abbott, IL, USA), which had been performed during the last three years, were retrospectively analyzed. Cases with S/CO values between 1 and 100 were divided into 20 groups according to S/CO range (in increments of 10) and ALT (normal or elevated). Ten random cases were obtained for each of the 20 groups. If cases in any group numbered < or =10, all were recruited. Totally, 193 cases were enrolled for HCV RNA detection (COBAS Amplicor; Roche Diagnostics, NJ, USA). RESULTS: The S/CO distribution was biphasic, with two S/CO peaks in the ranges 1-10 (10.7%) and 81-90 (24.2%). Regardless of the ALT level, all samples with S/COs < or =10 were negative for HCV RNA. Of the samples with S/CO values >10, the optimal cut-off was 40 with sensitivity and specificity for both of 81%. In conclusion, subjects with S/CO values < or =10 (10.7%) were more likely to be cases of past infection or of non-specific reaction. Most (90%, 108/120) of the subjects with S/COs >40 represent current or persistent infection. To predict viremia in subjects with S/COs between 10 and 40, 6.7% of all anti-HCV-positive subjects was invalid by a cross-sectional observation. CONCLUSIONS: Follow-up or further study is recommended. The third-generation EIA test plays a semiquantitative role for the prediction of viremia in HCV infection.

Hepacivirus↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Oncocytic schneiderian papilloma found in a recurrent chronic paranasal sinusitis.

Oncocytic schneiderian papilloma (OSP), also known as cylindrical cell papilloma, is a rare benign sinonasal neoplasm. Due to its rare incidence, this disease is not well-understood by clinicians. The probability of malignancies arising in OSP is not low but they are rarely encountered in clinical practice. To the best of our knowledge, there is no documentation of OSP associated with recurrent chronic paranasal sinusitis (CPS). We hereby report an unusual case of OSP in a 28 year-old man which was first diagnosed and treated as recurrent chronic paranasal sinusitis. After three surgeries, OSP was revealed in the pathological findings and the tumor was completely resected endoscopically in the fourth operation. There was no sign of recurrence after two years of follow-up. A thorough review of histopathological slides from the first two surgeries showed no sign of OSP in these tissue sections. We present this case to remind clinicians that OSP can be found with inflammatory polyps in CPS, and it is easily overlooked clinically. Nevertheless, sufficient alertness from both the surgeon and pathologist is the cornerstone for the proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment of this rare nasal neoplasm.

Adult↗