Value of low-dose gallium-67 imaging in detection of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma recurrence.
We evaluated the usefulness of low-dose Ga-67 scintigraphy as a diagnostic tool for the detection of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma recurrence. Forty-six patients were included in this retrospective study. Anterior and posterior whole body images were obtained two or three days after the injection of 74 MBq of Ga-67. Inter- and intraobserver variability in scintigraphic imaging interpretation was analyzed using the kappa (kappa) statistics. Ga-67 scintigraphy allowed correct detection of recurrence in 18 of 22 events (sensitivity, 82%), and excluded relapse in 34 of 39 events (specificity, 87%). The positive predictive value was 0.78 and negative predictive value 0.89. All cases involving superficial lymph nodes (10/ 10) could be detected by Ga-67. Chest lesions were diagnosed with a sensitivity of 86% (6/7), bone and soft tissue 83% (5/6), and abdomen 80% (8/10). The sensitivity and specificity of CT were 91% (22/24) and 67% (8/12), respectively. In abdominal lesions, ultrasonography had sensitivity and specificity of 93% (14/15) and 94% (15/16), respectively. Kappa (kappa) statistics demonstrated good to strong inter- and intraobserver agreement in the interpretation of Ga-67 scintigraphy. The diagnostic results of low-dose Ga-67 scans, currently applied in Japan, were similar to those reported by the authors using high doses of 296 MBq to 370 MBq. Ga-67 scintigraphy, even at low dose, is useful in the detection of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma recurrence.
Nakayama
M
M
Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan.
Sakahara
H
H
Minowa
Y
Y
Sasai
K
K
Ishigaki
T
T
Saga
T
T
Nakamoto
Y
Y
Yao
Z
Z
Hiraoka
M
M
Sakai
K
K
Konishi
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015588:Observer Variation; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography
D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes