title: Combined use of 99mTc-sestamibi and 99mTc-V-DMSA in the assessment of chemotherapy effectiveness in patients with multiple myeloma.
abstract: This study determined the role of the combined use of (99m)Tc-sestamibi and (99m)Tc-pentavalent dimercaptosuccinic acid (V-DMSA) scintigraphy in evaluating the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with multiple myeloma.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 20 patients with multiple myeloma who had received or were receiving chemotherapy, (99m)Tc-sestamibi and (99m)Tc-V-DMSA scanning was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In group A (11 patients with active disease), 42 (99m)Tc-sestamibi-positive lesions were found. Thirty-seven of those lesions were also positive for (99m)Tc-V-DMSA uptake, as were 16 additional lesions (nonactive) (NAL). Thus, in group A, the total number of positive lesions (TPL) detected was 58 and the NAL/TPL ratio was 16:58. In group B (9 patients in remission), 5 (99m)Tc-sestamibi-positive lesions were found. A further 22 lesions were also positive for (99m)Tc-V-DMSA uptake. Thus, in group B, the NAL/TPL ratio was 22:27. Therefore, the NAL/TPL ratios considered to represent effectively treated lesions were 27.6% and 81.5% for groups A and B, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Combined use of the 2 agents allows the effectiveness of chemotherapy to be evaluated through a comparison of NAL and TPL multiple myeloma lesions even in the absence of a baseline study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Alexandra University Hospital, 44-48 Martinegou Street, N. Filothei, 11524 Athens, Greece. jtkoutsik@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koutsikos
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Athanasoulis
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anagnostopoulos
authors.forename: Antigone
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Velidaki
authors.forename: Marianthi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Passadi
authors.forename: Meletios Athanasios
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dimopoulos
authors.forename: Cherry
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zerva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019783:Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019783:Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi