title: Clinical significance of 99mTc-MIBI breast imaging in the diagnosis of early breast cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To find an effective, sensitive, specific and noninvasive diagnostic method for cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  109 masses from 102 patients with breast lesions smaller than 2 cm in diameter were divided into three groups to undergo 99mtechnetium-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (99mTc-MIBI) imaging. The results were compared with their pathology. Twenty cases without breast lesions were selected as a control group. Abnormal density of 99mTc-MIBI in the breast and a threshold level 10% higher than that in the counterpart of the healthy breast was regarded as positive.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 32 breast cancers, positive imaging appeared in 25. Negative imaging was found in 31 of 38 benign breast lesions. Of 39 nonpalpable breast lesions, five cases were breast cancers and 34 cases benign. Positive MIBI imaging appeared in all of the breast cancers, while in the benign lesions, four were positive and 30 negative. No positive imaging was found in the control group. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 99mTc-MIBI were 88.4%, 89.2%, 88.0%, 75.0% and 95.3%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  99mTc-MIBI imaging had high sensitivity and accuracy in the diagnosis of breast cancer, as well as in the differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions. It could provide reliable information in confirming the diagnosis in patients with clinically suspected breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, Peoples Republic of China.
authors.forename: Changcai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Shaojin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Huiqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Hongying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chunli
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001940:Breast / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi