Technetium-99m-tetrofosmin SPECT imaging of lung masses: a negative study.
Technetium-99m-tetrofosmin has emerged as a new radiopharmaceutical for myocardial imaging, in competition with 201Tl and 99mTc-MIBI. In this study, 99mTc-tetrofosmin was evaluated for its ability to detect malignant and benign lesions from single solid lung masses.


METHODS
Forty-nine patients with a single solid lung mass based on chest radiograph findings received 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT of the chest to evaluate the value of 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT for detecting malignant and benign lesions.


RESULTS
Only 61% of the lung malignancies were detected by 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT of the chest, including 53% of epidermoid carcinoma (ca), 67% of adeno ca, 75% of small-cell ca, 0% of undifferentiated large-cell ca and 100% of other lung malignancies. In addition, 50% of the benign lesions were detected by chest 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT. The probability of tetrofosmin uptake in the mass was not related to mass size. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 61%, 50% and 59%, respectively, for differentiating malignant and benign lesions when diagnosing a single solid lung mass.


CONCLUSIONS
Technetium-99m-tetrofosmin SPECT of the chest is of little or no value for the detection of lung ca from single solid lung masses.
Kao
C H
CH
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, Republic of China.
ChangLai
S P
SP
Shen
Y Y
YY
Lee
J K
JK
Wang
S J
SJ
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; C078700:technetium tc-99m tetrofosmin