Role of nuclear medicine in pulmonary neoplastic processes

Journal Article · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · Semin. Nucl. Med.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-2998(86)80015-0· OSTI ID:7090744

Waxman, A D

It has been demonstrated that the single most important factor in determining survival in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma is the extent of spread of metastasis from the primary lesion. This explains the extensive efforts in developing accurate staging tests for pulmonary tumors, both primary and metastatic, with special emphasis on the determination of pulmonary hilar and mediastinal spread of disease. Continued improvements in nuclear medicine instrumentation along with the development of tumor specific radiopharmaceuticals, as well as agents that have the capability of tracking tumor viability, have changed the orientation of scintigraphic techniques in the evaluation of pulmonary neoplastic processes. Gallium scintigraphy is no longer considered as a primary imaging modality in the staging of pulmonary tumors, and in most institutions has been replaced by computed tomography (CT) for this purpose. It has been demonstrated that gallium, relative to other imaging modalities, is a sensitive indicator of hilar spread of tumor. However, because of the normally high background activity within the sternum and spine, mediastinal abnormalities are poorly detected. Since most pulmonary tumors metastasize via regional nodes to the pulmonary hilum and then to the mediastinum, the high sensitivity for the detection of pulmonary hilar abnormalities and the high specificity for mediastinal lesion detection suggest that gallium scintigraphy is a valuable adjunctive test when used appropriately. Thallium 201 as a tumor agent is being studied by several institutions. Preliminary results indicate a high degree of sensitivity for the detection of pulmonary hilar and mediastinal lesions and there are early indications that thallium is a promising agent to evaluate tumor viability. 52 references.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles
• OSTI ID: 7090744
• Journal Information: Semin. Nucl. Med.; (United States), Journal Name: Semin. Nucl. Med.; (United States) Vol. 4; ISSN SMNMA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550601* -- Medicine-- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
BODY AREAS
CHEST
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISEASES
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
EVALUATION
GALLIUM ISOTOPES
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LUNGS
MAGNETIC RESONANCE
MEDIASTINUM
MEDICINE
METASTASES
NEOPLASMS
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
RADIOISOTOPES
RESONANCE
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SCINTISCANNING
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
THALLIUM 201
THALLIUM ISOTOPES
TOMOGRAPHY