Shalmali Pal

Excitement is never in short supply in Las Vegas. But a new session at the 2008 Stanford International Multidetector-Row CT Symposium may give the casinos, cocktail lounges, and Canadian circus acts a run for their money.

Truly flat or depressed colorectal polyps pose a diagnostic dilemma and are always worth a closer look. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association may have overstated the case, however, by concluding that these polyps were quite common and carried an increased cancer risk, according to CT colonography experts.

Preventing adverse skin reactions during breast radiotherapy is a challenge. Attempts to address the problem with topical creams or hygiene have been unsuccessful. Instead, Canadian researchers have gone back to the source of the problem and found that using intensity-modulated radiation therapy can reduce acute dermatitis, especially when compared with traditional whole-breast radiotherapy.

A casual attitude toward keeping track of gadolinium-enhanced studies may come back to haunt radiology departments that have become involved in several federal lawsuits alleging a connection between cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and gadolinium-based MR contrast agents.

Pairing chemoembolization with radiofrequency ablation improved survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular cancer, according to a multidisciplinary group based at Shangdong University in Jinan, China. Their study results demonstrated how tumor microarchitecture could be manipulated to boost localized therapy.

CT-guided radiofrequency ablation offers long-term pain reduction in patients with osteoid osteoma, making it a viable alternative to open surgery, according to researchers from Seoul.

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis has received widespread attention, but official protocols on how to avoid the life-threatening skin condition are quite sparse: Only one section in the American College of Radiology’s 2007 white paper on safe MR practices is devoted to the condition.

Preoperative cardiac stress tests in hip fracture patients lead to unnecessary surgical delays and prolonged hospital stays, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The group suggested that routine stress testing was not necessary, as screening with either dobutamine stress echocardiography or sestamibi scans had very little impact on patient management.

The always-controversial International Early Lung Cancer Action Program has been struck a serious blow with news that the trial was funded by a cigarette manufacturer, according to an article in Wednesday’s New York Times.

The discovery process for more than 60 federal lawsuits alleging a connection between cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and gadolinium-based MR contrast agents will be consolidated at a single district court in Ohio, according to a U.S. judicial panel. Centralization will accelerate the discovery process and give plaintiffs access to a wider pool of pretrial information.

A radiologist and a cardiologist have been cleared of negligence in the diagnosis and treatment of actor John Ritter, whose family brought a $67 million wrongful death suit against the two physicians.

The American Cancer Society’s green light for CT colonography as a preferred modality for colon cancer screening is a major victory for proponents, but they are not resting on their laurels. Imaging and gastroenterology experts must gear up for widespread dissemination of the procedure, according to Drs. Judy Yee and Beth McFarland.

The American Cancer Society has added CT colonography to its approved list of colon cancer screening methods. Released this week, the new guidelines designate virtual colonoscopy as a “preferred” test that “finds polyps and cancer” and should be performed every five years.

Flat or depressed colorectal neoplasms are more likely than polyps to contain in situ or submucosal carcinoma, according to a study released Wednesday. Unfortunately, these nonpolypoid lesions may be missed by colon cancer screening methods, according to gastroenterologists based in Palo Alto, CA.

To the listener, jazz improvisation is an aural flight of fancy, borne aloft by a musician’s on-the-spot skill and imagination. But functional MRI results show the brain actually follows a grounded process of activation and deactivation during these spontaneous musical riffs, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University.