title: Detection of axillary lymph node metastases in breast carcinoma by technetium-99m sestamibi breast scintigraphy, ultrasound and conventional mammography.
abstract: Axillary lymph node status is important in the staging of breast carcinoma. To evaluate the accuracy of technetium-99m sestamibi breast scintigraphy in detecting metastatic axillary lymph nodes as compared with other accepted imaging modalities, we performed 99mTc-sestamibi breast scintigraphy, conventional mammography and ultrasound in 36 patients with primary untreated breast carcinoma. With histopathology as the gold standard, 99mTc-sestamibi breast scintigraphy was found to yield true-positive results in 7 of 11 cases (64%) of axillary lymph node metastases and true-negative results in 18 of 20 cases (90%); it has an accuracy of 81%, a positive predictive value of 77.8% and a negative predictive value of 81.8%.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Organ Imaging, Prince of Wales Hospital, Ngan Shing Street, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: I E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Metreweli
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008327:Mammography; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary
chemical_list: D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi