Technetium-99m-sestamibi scintigraphy in gynecological cancer imaging

A new diagnostic method, technetium-99m-sestamibi scintigraphy, and its potential use in gynecological oncology is described. The biochemical mechanisms of uptake and retention of technetium-99m-sestamibi in neoplastic cells are presented and the grounds for the potential use of the tracer in predicting the response to first-line chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients are discussed. Based on the available literature data and on our own studies, the sensitivity and specificity of technetium-99m-sestamibi scintigraphy in ovarian cancer diagnosis are assessed, and the current place of this method among other functional imaging methods applied in gynecological oncology is discussed. Technetium-99m-sestamibi scintigraphy seems to provide an attractive alternative method to the expensive PET imaging, and can be easily performed in most hospitals. However, further studies in a larger series of patients are necessary before this method is widely applied.