Anju Garg's research while affiliated with Maulana Azad Medical College and other places

Purpose Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women, with significant mortality. Mammography is a routine investigation for breast disease. A known risk factor for breast cancer is increased breast density. Here, we tried to observe if mammographic density also affects the hormone receptor status of breast cancer, which will help in the understanding of the biological mechanisms of breast cancer development. Material and methods Suspected breast cancer patients at Lok Nayak Hospital, Delhi, underwent mammography in the Department of Radiodiagnosis. The density of breast contralateral to the mass was assessed using Hologic Quantra software version 2.1.1 [Area Breast Density(ABD)]. The hormone receptor status of all the tumours was recorded on histopathology. Of these, 100 confirmed cases were included in the study. Results ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-positive tumours were seen in 41%, 33%, and 34% patients, respectively. Regarding ER receptor status, the mean ABD for positive and negative tumours was 27% and 23%, respectively, p-value = 0.01, showing significant relation between them. Mean ABD for HER2-positive and -negative tumours was 25% and 24%, respectively, p-value = 0.75. Mean ABD for PR-positive and PR-negative tumours was 23% and 25%, respectively, p-value = 0.42 (not significant). Conclusions We found that ER-positive tumours were common in dense breasts, which was statistically significant. However, this was not true for PR and HER2 receptor status. Limited studies have been done to study MD using computerised software and its effect on hormone receptor status, with conflicting results. Further, large, multicentric studies can be useful in understanding the mechanism and providing better treatment for breast cancer patients.

Objective To compare the image quality of normal anatomical structures and radiation dose on low-dose (LDCT) and standard-dose (SDCT) temporal bone CT in children. Methods The study included 45 LDCT (80 kV and 130 mAs) and 45 SDCT (120 kV and 170 mAs) scans in children, 1–15 years of age. LDCT and SDCT scans were analyzed on H60s and H70h reconstruction kernels, respectively. Two readers assessed the image quality for 25 anatomical structures, using a 5-point scale. A score of 3 and above was considered “sufficient” and 2 and below was considered “insufficient” image quality. Image noise, contrast, age and size-specific effective doses were calculated. Results Despite an increase in image noise on LDCT, image quality remained sufficient for most structures owing to increased image contrast. The median effective dose on LDCT, calculated with age-specific conversion factor, decreased by 72.9% and that calculated with size-specific conversion factor decreased by 81.8% compared to the dose on SDCT. Conclusion LDCT provides comparable image quality for evaluation of temporal bone with significant reduction in radiation dose in children.

The presacral space is a potential space located between the rectum and the lumbosacral spine. It contains various primitive germ cell types that serve as the origin for a range of tumors. Imaging is crucial in characterizing, assessing the extent of and evaluating the treatment response to these tumors. We report a series of six cases of pediatric presacral tumors with intraspinal extension, including an immature sacrococcygeal teratoma (Altman type II), a malignant sacrococcygeal teratoma (Altman type IV), a neuroblastoma, a rhabdomyosarcoma, a clear cell sarcoma and an Ewing's sarcoma of the ilium. These tumors can be broadly categorized as tumors of germ cell, neuroblastic, mesenchymal and osteogenic origin. Despite overlapping imaging features, a review of the existing literature and careful retrospective observation revealed several distinctive features that aid in the optimal characterization of tumors. These include the tumor's epicenter, the pattern and degree of bone involvement, the status of sacral foramina and neural elements, and internal tumor characteristics such as the presence of fat, calcification, hemorrhage and necrosis.

The mesentery is a broad fan-shaped fold of peritoneum that suspends the loops of small intestine from the posterior abdominal wall. Although primary neoplasms arising in the mesentery are rare, the mesentery is a major avenue for the dissemination of tumours, which can spread through hematogenous, lymphatic, direct or peritoneal seeding. Imaging helps in the diagnosis of these tumours and aids in directing appropriate treatment by assessing their size, extent and relationship with adjacent structures. The aim of this article is to describe the spectrum of imaging findings of the various mesenteric lesions using ultrasound and CT. Contribution: Evaluation of the mesentery is often neglected during routine ultrasound (US) because of inadequate training and unfamiliarity with the common US features encountered with mesenteric disease. CT plays an essential role in the diagnosis of mesenteric disease. Knowledge of imaging characteristics of various mesenteric lesions helps in timely diagnosis and management.

Torsion of a uterine leiomyoma is an extremely rare, albeit life-threatening surgical emergency. A 28-year-old woman presented with acute abdominal pain. Imaging revealed a torsed subserosal uterine leiomyoma which was managed surgically and the diagnosis confirmed intraoperatively as well as on histopathology. Contribution: While intraoperative findings remain the primary means of diagnosis, radiologists should be familiar with the potential imaging findings of leiomyoma torsion as timely intervention can greatly improve patient outcome.

Purpose: To determine the role of functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques (diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging [DW-MRI] and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging [DCE-MRI]) in the differentiation of various salivary gland tumours. Material and methods: In this prospective study, we evaluated 32 patients with salivary gland tumours using functional MRI. Diffusion parameters (mean apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC], normalized ADC and homogeneity index [HI]),semiquantitative DCE parameters (time signal intensity curves [TICs]) and quantitative DCE parameters (Kep, Ktrans and Ve) were analysed. Diagnostic efficiencies of all these parameters were determined to differentiate benign and malignant tumours as well as to characterize 3 major subgroups of salivary gland tumours, namely pleomorphic adenoma, Warthin tumour, and malignant tumours. Results: Mean ADC, normalized ADC and HI were insignificant in differentiating benign and malignant tumours but were significant in differentiating pleomorphic adenomas, Warthin tumours, and malignant tumours. Mean ADC was the best parameter in predicting both pleomorphic adenomas and Warthin tumours (AUC: 0.95 and 0.89, respectively). Amongst DCE parameters, only TIC pattern could differentiate between benign and malignant tumours, with an accuracy of 93.75% (AUC: 0.94). The quantitative perfusion parameters aided greatly in characterizing pleomorphic adenomas, Warthin tumours and malignant tumours. For predicting pleomorphic adenomas, the accuracy of Kep and Ktrans was 96.77% (AUC: 0.98) and 93.55% (AUC: 0.95), respectively and for predicting Warthin tumours, the accuracy of both Kep and Ktrans was 96.77% (AUC: 0.97). Conclusions: DCE parameters (particularly TIC, Kep and Ktrans) had higher accuracy in characterizing various tumour subgroups (pleomorphic adenomas, Warthin tumours, and malignant tumours) than DWI parameters. Hence, dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging adds immense value with only a minimum time penalty to the examination.

Background: Despite having the highest number of preterm births globally, no genomic study on preterm birth was previously published from India or other South-Asian countries. Methods: We conducted a genome-wide association (GWA) study of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) on 6211 women from India. We used a novel resampling procedure to identify the associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) followed by haplotype association analysis and imputation. Findings: We found that 512 maternal SNPs were associated with sPTB (p < 2.51e-3), of which minor allele at 19 SNPs (after Bonferroni correction) had increased genotype relative risk. Haplotypes containing six of the 19 SNPs (rs13011430, rs8179838, rs2327290, rs4798499, rs7629800, and rs13180906) were associated with sPTB (p < 9.9e-4; Bonferroni adjusted p-value <0.05). After imputation in regions around the 19 SNPs, 15 imputed SNPs were found to be associated with sPTB (Bonferroni adjusted p-value <0.05). One of these imputed SNPs, rs35760881, and three other SNPs (rs17307697, rs4308815, and rs10983507) were also reported to be associated with sPTB in women belonging to European ancestry. Moreover, we found that GG genotype at rs1152954, one of the associated SNPs, enhanced risk of sPTB and reduced telomere length. Interpretation: This is the first study from South Asia on the genome-wide identification of maternal SNPs associated with sPTB. These SNPs are known to alter the expression of genes associated with major pathways in sPTB viz. inflammation, apoptosis, cervical ripening, telomere maintenance, selenocysteine biosynthesis, myometrial contraction, and innate immunity. From a public health perspective, the trans-ethnic association of four SNPs identified in our study may help to stratify women with risk of sPTB in most populations. Funding: Department of Biotechnology (India), Grand Challenges India - All Children Thriving Program and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

Presacral space is a potential space between the rectum anteriorly and lumbosacral spine posteriorly containing derivatives from various primitive germ cell types which serve as origin to a myriad of tumors. Imaging plays a vital role in diagnosis, characterization, assessing extent and evaluation of spread. We present a series of six cases of pediatric presacral tumors with intraspinal extension. The series comprises of an immature sacrococcygeal teratoma (Altman type II), a malignant sacrococcygeal teratoma (Altman type IV), a neuroblastoma, a rhabdomyosarcoma, a clear cell sarcoma and an Ewing’s sarcoma of the ilium which can be broadly categorized as tumors of germ cell, neuroblastic, mesenchymal, osteogenic origin. In spite of overlapping imaging features, careful retrospective observation revealed few distinctive features that would aid in optimal characterization of tumors with a fair degree of certainty.In summary, the salient imaging features that aid in differentiation are the epicentre of the tumor, pattern and degree of bone involvement, status of sacral foramina and neural elements and internal characteristics such as presence of fat, calcification, hemorrhage, necrosis, etc.