Comparative whole-body 201Tl and bone scintigraphies for the detection of bone marrow involvement in multiple myeloma.
The objectives of this study were to investigate the role of whole-body 201Tl-chloride scintigraphy in comparison with bone scintigraphy in the detection of bone marrow involvement in patients with multiple myeloma and to assess the follow-up evaluation using 201Tl-chloride. Twenty-one patients with untreated multiple myeloma were evaluated. 201Tl-chloride images were acquired 10 min (early) and 2 h (delayed) after the injection of 111 MBq 201Tl-chloride. Bone images were acquired 3 h after the intravenous injection of 740 MBq 99mTc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (HMDP). The 201Tl-chloride scan patterns were classified as normal, diffuse (presence of bone marrow), focal (localized areas of uptake) and diffuse+focal. The bone scan patterns were classified as normal and abnormal. Eight of the 21 patients also underwent 201Tl-chloride scintigraphy after chemotherapy for the evaluation of the therapeutic response. On the early 201Tl-chloride image, two patients showed a normal, 13 a diffuse, two a focal and four a diffuse + focal pattern. On the delayed 201Tl-chloride image, nine patients showed a normal, six a diffuse, four a focal and two a diffuse + focal pattern. Bone scintigraphy showed an abnormal accumulation in only five of the 21 patients. Of the eight patients who underwent follow-up 201Tl-chloride studies, the abnormal diffuse pattern was changed to a normal pattern on post-treatment scintigraphy in three, and the degree of abnormal 201Tl-chloride accumulation decreased in comparison with the pre-treatment scan in three. These six patients were considered to be in clinical remission. In the two remaining patients, the degree of abnormal 201Tl-chloride accumulation increased in comparison with the pre-treatment scan, and they were considered to be in clinical progression. 201Tl-chloride scintigraphy is a non-invasive tool, which may be more useful than bone scintigraphy for the diagnosis of multiple myeloma, and may be helpful in the follow-up of multiple myeloma.
Nishiyama
Y
Y
Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa Medical University, Kita-gun, Kagawa, Japan. nisiyosi@kms.ac.jp
Yamamoto
Y
Y
Nagai
M
M
Satoh
K
K
Ohkawa
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019046:Bone Marrow Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D013793:Thallium; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014915:Whole-Body Counting / Q000379:methods*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; C027549:thallium chloride; C024226:technetium Tc 99m hydroxymethylene diphosphonate; D013793:Thallium; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate