Tc-99m glucoheptonate in detection of lung tumors

Sixty-three patients aged 21-80 yr were examined. Tc-99m glucoheptonate (Tc-GH) scintigraphy was performed in 32 patients: 26 with primary lung carcinoma; six with metastases in lung, mediastinum, and pleura from carcinomas elsewhere; eight with benign pulmonary diseases; and 23 without known pulmonary disease. Tc-GH accumulated in 23 of 26 primary pulmonary carcinomas as active foci. The specificity of Tc-GH scans for neoplasm detection was higher than that of chest radiographs. The visualization of malignant tumors was much better in the late Tc-GH images (5-6 hr) than in the early (1 hr). Metastases from other carcinomas were positive in four of six patients, but they were considerably better detected in the radiographs, except in one patient with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. Neoplasms or their metastases in the hilar and mediastinal regions were better detected in the Tc-GH scans than in the chest radiographs. Only one of eight benign lung processes was visualized (as a weak diffuse accumulation of Tc-GH in hilar scar formation), and 23 patients without pulmonary disease had no pathological foci.