[Clinical application of ROLL technique in non-breast diseases. Complementary use after PET-CT study]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of ROLL technique (Radioguided Occult Lesion Localization) as a verification method of suspicious lesions not related to breast disease found in PET-CT studies.

We retrospectively evaluated 9 patients diagnosed of cancer or with suspected tumor disease who showed hypermetabolic lymph nodes in (18)F-FDG PET-CT. Subjects underwent diagnostic testing for evaluation of treatment response in lymphoma (3), suspected recurrence in other tumors (3) or biopsy guide (3). The study group consisted of 4 women and 5 men, age range 25-72 years. ROLL technique was performed in surgically accessible lesions (supraclavicular region, lateral cervical, axillary and inguinal) with an intralesional injection of (99m)Tc-albumin macroaggregates guided by ultrasound the day before surgery. A scintigraphic study confirmed the focal tracer deposit and absence of skin contamination. During surgery, a gamma probe and portable gammacamera were used to locate lymph nodes.

Surgical localization of radiolabeled lymph nodes was achieved in all cases with minimally invasive surgery and few postoperative complications. Histological study resulted in five tumor involvement (3 lymphoma, 1 germ cell tumor and 1 neuroendocrine carcinoma) and confirmed the existence of four false-positives in PET-CT study (1 sarcoidosis and 3 reactive follicular hyperplasia).

The ROLL technique proved to be a useful and relatively simple method for the study of no breast lesions suspicious of malignancy in PET-CT study.