Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
10:28
Gene Regulation and Targeted Therapy in Gastric Cancer Peritoneal Metastasis: Radiological Findings from Dual Energy CT and PET/CT
Published on: January 22, 2018
99mTechnetium-SESTAMIBI uptake in malignant lymphomas. Correlation with chemotherapy response
Alberto Lazarowski1, Juan Dupont, José Fernández
1Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Lymphatic Research and Biology
|March 30, 2006
Summary
Technetium-99m-sestamibi uptake by lymphoma tumors predicts chemotherapy response. Positive scans indicate higher sensitivity, aiding in personalized treatment selection for chemoresistant patients.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear medicine
- Oncology
- Molecular imaging
Background:
- Technetium-99m-sestamibi (99mTc-MIBI) enters highly metabolic cells.
- Multidrug-resistant (MDR) systems, particularly P-glycoprotein (Pgp-170) encoded by the MDR-1 gene, pump 99mTc-MIBI out of these cells.
- This property forms the basis for assessing cellular drug resistance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between 99mTc-MIBI uptake and retention in malignant lymphoma tumors and their response to chemotherapy.
- To evaluate the potential of 99mTc-MIBI imaging as a predictive tool for chemotherapy resistance before treatment initiation.
Main Methods:
- Forty-one patients with malignant lymphoma underwent 99mTc-MIBI SPECT imaging before chemotherapy.
- Early (30 min) and late (180 min) post-injection scans were acquired and visually interpreted.
- Clinical response was categorized as chemosensitive (ChS) for >6 month remission or chemoresistant (ChR) otherwise.
Main Results:
- Of 41 patients, 27 showed early positive uptake; 67% were ChS and 33% ChR.
- Among those with early positive uptake, 19 had late positive scans, with 79% ChS and 21% ChR (p=0.037).
- Conversely, 10 of 14 patients with negative early scans were ChR. Low-grade lymphomas showed the strongest correlation between uptake and chemosensitivity.
Conclusions:
- 99mTc-MIBI uptake and retention by lymphomatous tumors correlate with Pgp-170 expression.
- This imaging marker, combined with clinical data, can assist in identifying patients likely to be chemoresistant.
- Potential for tailoring treatment strategies based on pre-treatment imaging assessment.
