Imaging of Gynecological Disease 2.0
A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 24225
Special Issue Editor
Interests: ultrasound; ovarian cancer; cervical cancer; sonography; diagnosis; ultrasonography; gynecologic oncology; imaging; treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The evaluation of a pelvic mass, detected at routine ultrasounds or in the context of having acute symptoms, requires certain methodical steps. It is necessary to diagnose the primary site or origin of the lesion; understand whether the lesion is an intra- or an extra-peritoneal lesion; attempt to discriminate between the benign or malignant nature of the lesion; formulate a specific diagnosis; and, furthermore, in the case of a possible malignant mass, define the stage of the disease process. Transvaginal ultrasonography is a dynamic and interactive examination and, in addition to an analysis of the echostructure and “elasticity” of a pelvic mass, it also permits an assessment of site-specific pain in different pelvic areas and an evaluation of the movement of the mass in relation to adjacent structures. All these “dynamic” features, together with morphological and vascular parameters, are essential for making a correct diagnosis.
Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer among women in the developed world, and most women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage of disease, when large intraperitoneal dissemination has already occurred. An accurate preoperative assessment of the tumor dissemination is pivotal for adequate counseling among risks and benefits of an aggressive surgical procedure, often required to achieve a complete cytoreduction. When performed by an experienced sonographer, ultrasound has an invaluable role in the primary diagnosis of gynecological cancer, in the assessment of tumor extent in the pelvis and abdominal cavity. Finally, ultrasound allows performing a biopsy in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis, obtaining an adequate specimen for histologic diagnosis.
Intraoperative ultrasound techniques have been used for a long time in some surgical areas, especially in liver surgery, where some authors describe the role of intraoperative ultrasound during radiofrequency ablation or hepatic resection. However, in gynecology, these methods are not yet commonly employed.
An appropriate preoperative evaluation is required to obtain an optimal surgical procedure, and transvaginal ultrasound is the most used diagnostic method due to its feasibility and availability. However, and also in benign pathology, some fibroids are difficult to detect during surgery, especially when the palpation is not possible or limited, such as during laparoscopy or mini-laparotomy.
Recently, intraoperative ultrasound examination has been proposed in this setting as a useful method to guide the surgeon during myomectomy. Ultrasound examiners and surgeons should work together more often to guarantee the best therapeutic management for the patient in a gynecological setting.
The prevalence of pelvic urinary tract infiltration on transvaginal ultrasound examination in women with gynecologic malignancy was 10%. Pelvic urinary tract assessment plays a key role during transvaginal ultrasound examination, to plan the management of patients with gynecologic cancers.
Improvements in the treatment of cervical carcinoma have made it possible to offer optimal and personalized treatment. Cervical cancer staging is based on clinical examination and histological findings. Magnetic resonance imaging is considered the optimal method for staging cervical carcinoma because of its high accuracy in assessing local extension of disease and distant metastases. Ultrasound has gained increased attention in recent years; it is faster, cheaper, and more widely available than other imaging techniques and is highly accurate in detecting tumor presence and evaluating local extension of disease. Both are often used together with computed tomography or positron emission tomography, combined with computed tomography to assess the whole body, for a more accurate detection of pathological lymph nodes and metabolic information of the disease.
Ultrasound examination is an indisputable imaging method in the diagnosis of endometriosis, as the first step in the detection, as the fundamental tool in planning the management, and as the best diagnostic instrument during surveillance of affected women.
Dr. Manuela Ludovisi
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- ultrasound
- ovarian cancer
- cervical cancer
- gynecologic oncology
- endometriosis
- ultrasound biopsy
- imaging
- treatment
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.