Iso-intense gallium uptake in hepatocellular carcinoma: potential pitfalls in diagnosis

Twenty-one patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had gallium scans were retrospectively reviewed. Four of them demonstrated iso-intense gallium uptake compared to the adjacent liver parenchyma. The importance is therefore emphasized of using radiocolloid scan with tracer angiogram performed at the same time in order to avoid the potential diagnostic pitfall of not recognizing the tumor on gallium scan alone.