Oncol Lett
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Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are unusual and aggressive malignant soft-tissue tumors that comprise 5-10% of all soft-tissue sarcomas. Approximately 50% of MPNST cases are associated with neurofibromatosis type-1 (NF-1). As a rare MPNST subset, the epithelioid variant of MPNST (eMPNST) is histologically characterized by the predominant presence of epithelioid tumor cells, and accounts for <5% of all MPNSTs. ⋯ A literature search for eMPNSTs was conducted by browsing PubMed and MEDLINE for English-language articles, as well as references from review articles, and revealed 129 published cases. Only 5 cases of eMPNST were associated with NF-1. The studies were retrospectively reviewed and the clinicopathological data of the patients, including tumor site, treatment, follow-up, prognosis, and immunohistochemical positivity were collected.
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The present study aimed to investigate the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) combined with dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced (DSC) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in astrocytoma grading, and correlated MRI scan parameters of values of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and relative cereberal blood volume (rCBV) with the immunohistochemical (IHC) indices of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), topoisomerase IIα (Topo IIα) and O 6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). A total of 123 patients with pathologically confirmed astrocytomas of differing grades underwent DWI and DSC scans. The values of the ADC and relative cerebral blood volume rCBV were compared with the grade II-IV astrocytomas. ⋯ No correlation was observed between MGMT and ADC or rCBV. The combined application of DWI and DSC may increase astrocytoma grading accuracy. Values of ADC and rCBV exhibit certain correlations with IHC indices, and may predict degree of malignancy of astrocytoma.