Serial Ga-67 citrate imaging in children with neoplastic disease: concise communication

To investigate the role of Ga-67 imaging in children with neoplastic disease, 83 Ga-67 scans, obtained in 46 children with neoplastic disease, were retrospectively analyzed. The series included 19 children who had two to five serial Ga-67 scans while undergoing therapy over periods as long as 4 yr. Three patterns were identified in the children who had serial Ga-67 imaging: a) twelve children with tumors that were initially gallium-avid had normal scans after chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy; b) four children had persistently positive Ga-67 scans while being treated; and c) three children with gallium-avid tumors developed a normal scan after therapy, but later had a gallium-avid recurrence. All 12 children in the first group were alive and clinically disease-free after a mean followup time of 38 mo. Six of the seven children with persistently gallium-avid tumors or gallium-avid recurrent tumors died during a mean followup time of 15.5 mo. The results of this small series suggest that further investigation is warranted to determine whether the results of serial Ga-67 imaging have any prognostic significance in children with neoplastic disease.