[The current status of scintigraphy in oncology (author's transl)]

The clinical usefulness of tumor scanning methods is discussed under the practical considerations of tumor screening, determination of tumor size and noninvasive tumor staging as well as diagnostic follow-up after therapy. Scintigraphy as a primary diagnostic tool is mainly restricted to suspicious enlargements of the thyroid gland whereas scintigraphy with 67Ga-citrate in Hodgkin's disease and bone scintigraphy with 99mTc-phosphates in tumors with tendencies to early bone metastases are widely used non-invasive diagnostic means for the evaluation of tumor propagation. Post therapy conversion of positive findings is of less predictive value than than persistence of a positive scan. Some results of the literature are discussed with our own experiences.