[Application of 99mTc(V)-dimercaptosuccinic acid imaging in detecting neck metastases in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the applicability of 99mTc(V) -dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc (V) -DMSA) imaging in detecting neck metastases in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.


METHODS
Single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) scintigraphy with 99mTc(V) -DMSA was performed on 32 patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma in oral cavity. The coronal aspect of SPECT image was chosen, the region of interest (ROI) of the affected neck was drawn, and the radioactivity uptake value of the ROI was given by the computer to compare with the contralateral neck. The results of 99mTc(V) -DMSA were compared with postoperative pathological studies. For false positive lymph nodes, semi-continuous slice was carried out for pathology examination.


RESULTS
The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 99mTc(V) -DMSA imaging for detecting metastatic lymph nodes were 75.0%, 90.0% and 84.4% respectively. The ROI values of the affected neck are higher than that of the contralateral part in the 9 positive patients (t = 8.128, P = 0.000 04). Metastasis was not found in the enlarged lymph nodes of the false positive patients.


CONCLUSIONS
99mTc(V) -DMSA SPECT imaging has fairly high affinity with metastatic lymph nodes in the neck especially in the cN0 patients and is helpful for designing proper neck dissection.
Zhang
Ye
Y
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University School of Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China. zhangyie1101@sohu.com
Guo
Chuan-Bin
CB
Yu
Guang-Yan
GY
Ma
Da-Quan
DQ
Li
Qian
Q
Zhang
Chun-Li
CL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D009333:Neck; D019783:Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D019783:Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid