title: Thoracic imaging with gallium-67.
abstract: In the past, gallium-67 imaging has undergone several ups and downs related to its clinical importance. After a period of initial enthusiasm, its role and indications are now established. At present, there are two fields of clinical interest for 67Ga-imaging: (1) mediastinal staging in bronchogenic carcinoma and the staging of malignant lymphoma; (2) assessment of activity in interstitial lung diseases, especially sarcoidosis and inflammatory lung disorders. The advantage of 67Ga-imaging is that it is highly sensitive for the detection of neoplastic and inflammatory processes, independent of anatomical barriers. Particularly with the challenge of AIDS, 67Ga-imaging will gain increasing importance in the future. The low specificity of gallium for detecting underlying disorders precludes its use as a primary diagnostic tool. Therefore, and because of the cost and radiation load, the indications for application will have to be selected very carefully.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
chemical_list: D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes