Gallium scanning in differentiating malignant from benign asbestos-related pleural disease

In order to assess the utility of 67gallium citrate in delineating malignant pleural mesothelioma from benign asbestos-related pleural disease, 49 patients with malignant mesothelioma and 16 with benign asbestos-related pleural disease were studied. Seven patients with malignant mesothelioma had no history of asbestos exposure, while the remaining 58 patients were exposed. Forty-three of the 49 patients (88%) with malignant mesothelioma had a positive 67gallium scan including 36 of the 42 (86%) patients with asbestos exposure and all 7 patients without a history of asbestos exposure. Three of 16 patients (19%) with benign asbestos-related pleural disease had a positive scan. 67Gallium radionuclide imaging is nonspecific but may be valuable in noninvasive monitoring of asbestos-exposed populations, which have a high risk for the late development of benign and/or malignant pleural disease.