[67Ga-emission computed tomography in bronchogenic carcinoma--a comparative study with conventional scintigraphy--]

Both conventional 67Ga scintigraphy and 67Ga emission computed tomography (ECT) were performed in 36 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma to evaluate clinical significance of 67Ga-ECT as an adjunctive method. Each patient received 111 approximately 185 MBq (3 approximately 5 mCi) of 67Ga-citrate intravenously. A rotation gamma camera (Shimadzu LFOV-E) was used for ECT study, and a gamma camera (Searle LFOV) was used for conventional scintigraphy. The detectability of 67Ga scintigraphy with ECT in primary tumors and regional lymph node metastases was compared retrospectively with that of conventional 67Ga scintigraphy alone. There was little improvement in detection of primary and metastatic lesions by adding 67Ga-ECT. Only 3 primary tumors were demonstrated more distinctly by 67Ga-ECT. However, there was no lesion which was detected only by 67Ga-ECT. Our data indicate that inclusion of 67Ga-ECT in the routine examination is unnecessary in cases with bronchogenic carcinoma.