Experience with 111-In-chloride scanning in patients with focal defects on 99-mTc-sulfur colloid liver scans

Thirty-nine patients with focal defects on the technetium liver scan were rescanned using 111-In chloride. Of 20 patients with hepatic malignancy, 11 had positive indium scans. None of the 19 with focal cirrhotic fibrosis had a positive indium scan although 5 of these had primary tumor. Thus, a positive indium scan suggests that the defect is malignant. A negative indium scan is less helpful, failling to distinguish between neoplasm and focal cirrhosis. Positive uptake in an extrahepatic primary neoplasm and negative uptake in the liver suggest that the hepatic lesion is not neoplastic.