Nuclear Medicine in Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

Early cancer diagnosis remains one of the most actual problems of medicine, since it allows using the most effective methods of cancer treating. Unlike most diagnostic methods used in oncology, the methods of nuclear medicine allow assessing not so much the anatomic changes in the organ as the disturbance of metabolic processes in tumors and surrounding tissues. The authors describe the main radiopharmaceuticals used for diagnose and radiotherapy of malignant tumors

Optimization of the extent of surgical treatment in patients with stage I in cervical cancer

The study included 26 patients with FIGO stage Ia1–Ib1 cervical cancer who underwent fertility-sparing surgery (transabdominaltrachelectomy). To visualize sentinel lymph nodes, lymphoscintigraphy with injection of 99mTc-labelled nanocolloid was performed the day before surgery. Intraoperative identification of sentinel lymph nodes using hand-held gamma probe was carried out to determine the radioactive counts over the draining lymph node basin. The sentinel lymph node detection in cervical cancer patients contributes to the accurate clinical assessment of the pelvic lymph node status, precise staging of the disease and tailoring of surgical treatment to individual patient

Optimization of the extent of surgical treatment in patients with stage I in cervical cancer

The study included 26 patients with FIGO stage Ia1–Ib1 cervical cancer who underwent fertility-sparing surgery (transabdominaltrachelectomy). To visualize sentinel lymph nodes, lymphoscintigraphy with injection of 99mTc-labelled nanocolloid was performed the day before surgery. Intraoperative identification of sentinel lymph nodes using hand-held gamma probe was carried out to determine the radioactive counts over the draining lymph node basin. The sentinel lymph node detection in cervical cancer patients contributes to the accurate clinical assessment of the pelvic lymph node status, precise staging of the disease and tailoring of surgical treatment to individual patient

Nuclear Medicine in Breast Cancer Diagnostics: Primary Tumor and Lymphatic Metastasis

The purpose of the study: to assess the possibility of using nuclear medicine techniques at the stages of diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Materials and Methods: The study included 290 patients with breast cancer and 70 patients with benign breast tumors. The study was used as a radiopharmaceutical 99mTc-MIBI, 199Tl for imaging tumors and colloid 99mTc-Aloteh for visualization sentinel lymph nodes (SLN), colloid was injected peritumoral in four points to 80 MBq one day prior to the planned operation. Results: The sensitivity of SPECT using both 99mTc-MIBI and 199Tl for breast cancer detection was shown to be rather high, being 98.5% and 98%, respectively. It should be noted that the sensitivity of SPECT in detection of small tumors (less than 1 cm in diameter) and multicentric tumors was not high irrespective of the radioisotope used (60% and 65% with 99mTc-MIBI and 65% and 59% with 199Tl, respectively). The difference in the sensitivity was found between 99mTc-MIBI and 199T for the detection of regional lymph node metastasis (91% vs 70%). SLN were detected in 31 patients. The most commonly SLN were defined in the axillary region of 96.7%. In 22 (70.9%) patients there was no metastasis SLN. The sensitivity of the method was 91.2%, specificity of 100%. Conclusion: The specificity of SPECT with 199Tl was higher than that with 99mTc-MIBI. The data obtained show that SPECT with 199Tl can be recommended for its use as an additional breast cancer detection method in cases when other imaging techniques and histological findings are not accurate enough. The clinical study of 99mTc-Aloteh, a new radiopharmaceutical agent, has shown that the studied colloid has high uptake level in SLN and can be successfully used for visualization of SLN in patients with breast cancer

Nuclear Medicine in Breast Cancer Diagnostics: Primary Tumor and Lymphatic Metastasis

The purpose of the study: to assess the possibility of using nuclear medicine techniques at the stages of diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Materials and Methods: The study included 290 patients with breast cancer and 70 patients with benign breast tumors. The study was used as a radiopharmaceutical 99mTc-MIBI, 199Tl for imaging tumors and colloid 99mTc-Aloteh for visualization sentinel lymph nodes (SLN), colloid was injected peritumoral in four points to 80 MBq one day prior to the planned operation. Results: The sensitivity of SPECT using both 99mTc-MIBI and 199Tl for breast cancer detection was shown to be rather high, being 98.5% and 98%, respectively. It should be noted that the sensitivity of SPECT in detection of small tumors (less than 1 cm in diameter) and multicentric tumors was not high irrespective of the radioisotope used (60% and 65% with 99mTc-MIBI and 65% and 59% with 199Tl, respectively). The difference in the sensitivity was found between 99mTc-MIBI and 199T for the detection of regional lymph node metastasis (91% vs 70%). SLN were detected in 31 patients. The most commonly SLN were defined in the axillary region of 96.7%. In 22 (70.9%) patients there was no metastasis SLN. The sensitivity of the method was 91.2%, specificity of 100%. Conclusion: The specificity of SPECT with 199Tl was higher than that with 99mTc-MIBI. The data obtained show that SPECT with 199Tl can be recommended for its use as an additional breast cancer detection method in cases when other imaging techniques and histological findings are not accurate enough. The clinical study of 99mTc-Aloteh, a new radiopharmaceutical agent, has shown that the studied colloid has high uptake level in SLN and can be successfully used for visualization of SLN in patients with breast cancer

Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Locally Advanced Laryngeal and Hypopharyngeal Cancer

The diagnostic capabilities of nuclear medicine imaging in the detection and assessment of the spread of laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer were studied. A total of 40 patients with histologically verified laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer and 20 patients with benign laryngeal lesions were included into the study. Submucosal injections of {99m}Tc-MIBI and {99m}Tc-Alotech were made around the tumor. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was performed 20 minutes after the injection of {99m}Tc-MIBI. Sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) were detected in 26 patients. In 18 hours after the injection of {99m}Tc-Alotech, SPECT was performed. In 24 hours after the injection of {99m}Tc-Alotech, intraoperative SLN detection was performed using Gamma Finder II. SPECT with {99m}Tc-MIBI revealed laryngeal and hypopharyngeal tumors in 38 of the 40 patients. The {99m}Tc-MIBI uptake in metastatic lymph nodes was visualized in 2 (17%) of the 12 patients. Twenty eight SLNs were detected by SPECT and 31 SLNs were identified using the intraoperative gamma probe. The percentage of {99m}Tc-Alotech in the SLN was 5-10% of the radioactivity in the injection site by SPECT and 18-33% by intraoperative gamma probe detection. Thus, SPECT with {99m}Tc-MIBI is an effective tool for the diagnosis of laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of this technique were 95%, 80% and 92%, respectively. The use of {99m}Tc-Alotech for the detection of SLNs in patients with laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer is characterized by 92.8% sensitivity

The use of {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] for detection of sentinel lymph nodes in cervical cancer patients

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of using {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3]- based radiopharmaceutical, a novel molecular imaging agent for sentinel lymph node detection in patients with invasive cervical cancer. The study included 23 cervical cancer patients (TlaNxMx- T[2]bNxMx) treated at the Tomsk Cancer Research Institute. At 18 hours before surgery, 80 MBq of the {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] were injected peritumorally, followed by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the pelvis and intraoperative SLN identification. Twenty-seven SLNs were detected by SPECT, and 34 SLNs were identified by intraoperative gamma probe. The total number of identified SLNs per patient ranged from 1 to 3(the mean number of SLNs was 1.4 per patient). The most common site for SLN detection was the external iliac region (57.2%), followed by the internal iliac, obturator, presacral and retrosacral regions (they amounted to 14%, respectively),and the parametrial region (1%). Sensitivity in detecting SLNs was 100% for intraoperative SLN identification and 79% for SPECT image

The first experience of using {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3]-based radiopharmaceutical for the detection of sentinel lymph nodes in cervical cancer patients

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of using {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3]-based radiopharmaceutical,a novel molecular imaging agent for sentinel lymph node detection in patients with invasive cervical cancer. The study included 23 cervical cancer patients (T1aNxMx-T2bNxMx) treated at the Tomsk CancerResearch Institute. In the 18 hours before surgery, 80 MBq of the {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] in peritumoral injected, followed by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the pelvis and intraoperative SLN identification. Twenty-seven SLNs were detected by SPECT, and 34 SLNs were identified by intraoperative gamma probe. The total number of identified SLNs per patient ranged from 1 to 3 (the mean number of SLNs was 1.4 per patient). The most common site for SLN detection was the external iliac region (57.2%), followed by the internal iliac (14%), obturator (14%), presacral and retrosacral regions (14%), and the parametrial region (1%). Sensitivity in detecting SLNs was 100% for intraoperative SLN identification and 79% for SPECT image

The use of (99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] for detection of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer

Purpose: to study the feasibility of using the new radiopharmaceutical based on the technetium-99m-labeled gamma-alumina for identification of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer patients. The study included two groups of breast cancer patients who underwent single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and intraoperaive gamma probe identification of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). To identify SLNs, the day before surgery Group I patients (n=34) were injected with radioactive {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3], and Group II patients (n=30) received 99mTc-labeled phytate colloid. A total of 37 SLNs were detected in Group I patients. The number of identified SLNs per patient ranged from 1 to 2 (the average number of identified SLNs was 1.08). Axillary lymph nodes were the most common site of SLN localization. 18 hours after {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] injection, the percentage of its accumulation in the SLN was 7-11% (of the counts in the injection site) by SPECT and 17-31% by gamma probe detection. In Group II SLNs were detected in 27 patients. 18 hours after injection of the phytate colloid the percentage of its accumulation in the SLN was 1.5-2% out of the counts in the injection site by SPECT and 4-7% by gamma probe. The new radiopharmaceutical based on the {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] demonstrates high accumulation in SLNs without redistribution through the entire lymphatic basin. The sensitivity and specificity of {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] were 100% for both SPECT and intraoperative gamma probe identification

The use of (99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] for detection of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer

Purpose: to study the feasibility of using the new radiopharmaceutical based on the technetium-99m-labeled gamma-alumina for identification of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer patients. The study included two groups of breast cancer patients who underwent single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and intraoperaive gamma probe identification of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). To identify SLNs, the day before surgery Group I patients (n=34) were injected with radioactive {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3], and Group II patients (n=30) received 99mTc-labeled phytate colloid. A total of 37 SLNs were detected in Group I patients. The number of identified SLNs per patient ranged from 1 to 2 (the average number of identified SLNs was 1.08). Axillary lymph nodes were the most common site of SLN localization. 18 hours after {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] injection, the percentage of its accumulation in the SLN was 7-11% (of the counts in the injection site) by SPECT and 17-31% by gamma probe detection. In Group II SLNs were detected in 27 patients. 18 hours after injection of the phytate colloid the percentage of its accumulation in the SLN was 1.5-2% out of the counts in the injection site by SPECT and 4-7% by gamma probe. The new radiopharmaceutical based on the {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] demonstrates high accumulation in SLNs without redistribution through the entire lymphatic basin. The sensitivity and specificity of {99m}Tc-Al[2]O[3] were 100% for both SPECT and intraoperative gamma probe identification