Gallium and bleomycin scans in the clinical staging of testis tumor

Twenty-one patients with testicular tumors had gallium scans prior to retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. Eleven of 14 patients found to have nodal involvement had positive scans, and 2 of 7 patients with negative nodes had false positive scans. Bleomycin scans were positive in 4 of 5 patients with nodal metastases. While these scans provide a simple, non-invasive and occasionally useful technique for the clinical staging of testis neoplasms, they do not, in our experience, significantly supplement other staging procedures.