Usefulness of gallium scintigraphy in primary and metastatic breast carcinoma

Gallium-67-citrate whole-body scintigraphy was incorporated into the evaluation of 125 patients with primary and metastatic breast carcinoma. A prospective analysis of these patients demonstrated gallium scanning to be limited in its corroborative value and of practical use only in detecting metastatic breast carcinoma in the mediastinum. Since the extent of tumor involvement is a significant prognostic factor, the gallium scan merits consideration for the detection of mediastinal metastases.