title: Scintimammography in patients with minimal mammographic or clinical findings.
abstract: A prospective study was made of scintimammographic findings obtained in 75 patients with minimal mammographic or physical examination findings. Patients included those with a new mammographic nodule or density (n = 33), indeterminate calcifications (n = 15), a palpable abnormality with normal mammographic findings and normal or inconclusive ultrasonographic findings (n = 13), or a new lump or mammographic change at the site of prior surgery (n = 14). A positive scintimammographic focus was defined as a discrete, rounded lesion with increased uptake and could have an intensity ranging from low to very high. Of the 30 cancers diagnosed, 27 demonstrated a positive scintimammographic focus. Eight of these foci represented occult cancers that were not identified at mammography or physical examination, and 11 were smaller than 1 cm (down to 4 mm). The overall sensitivity and specificity of scintimammography were 90% and 93.8%, respectively, which suggests that this modality may be useful in the early detection of breast cancer. It can also help distinguish postsurgical and post-radiation therapy changes from carcinoma and may be of value in certain high-risk patients. Scintimammography is a useful, noninvasive method of evaluating patients with low-suspicion or indeterminate mammographic or palpable findings and can help detect additional small tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Los Robles Regional Medical Center, 227 W Janss Rd, Suite 150, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Polan
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Richman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi