title: Detection of malignant breast tumours in dense breast tissue: results of 99mTc-tetrofosmin scintimammography related to surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the contribution of 99mTechnetium tetrofosmin (99mTc-TF) scintimammography for staging of breast lesions in patients with a suspicious or non-diagnostic mammogram to reduce unnecessary surgical procedures in future.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients with suspicious physical examinations and/or mammography underwent 99mTc-TF breast imaging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Scintimammography with 99mTc-TF was positive in 37 patients (36 true positive, one false positive) and negative in 13 patients (12 true negative, one false negative). The detection of a malignant tumour by 99mTc-TF was independent of the density of the breast tissue. In 33 patients with a malignant breast tumour 99mTc-TF was diagnostic with respect to axillary status, but in four out of 19 patients with a histologically positive axillary lymph node status, tumour involvement remained undetected by scintigraphy. Moreover, in four patients, scintimammography revealed an additional discrete area of increased 99mTc-TF uptake, which proved to be second primary breast cancers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  99mTc-TF scintimammography appears to be an accurate diagnostic test in patients with a symptomatic breast lesion and a non-diagnostic mammogram, also in those patients with dense breast tissue. This procedure may also have potential for the detection of second primary breast cancers in an early stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bongers
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Borel Rinkes
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sie-Go
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pijnappel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Hooge
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: van Rijk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
chemical_list: D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; C078700:technetium tc-99m tetrofosmin