Increased uptake of 99mTc-HMPAO in necrotic brain tumors

99mTc complex of hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO), which has been used as a tracer for regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), has been shown to localize in primary brain tumors with wide spectrum of its uptake. The causes of the wide spectrum of tumor uptake, however, has not been understood in detail. We performed autoradiographic study with this agent to get further knowledge about HMPAO distribution in 10 cases of transplanted rat gliomas. Eight cases of rat gliomas without tumor necrosis, showed decreased uptake of 99mTc-HMPAO in the autoradiography (average tumor/normal (T/N) uptake ratio: 0.75, range: 0.40-0.90). On the other hand, two cases with tumor necrosis revealed increased uptakes of this agent in central necrotic area. T/N uptake ratios of these two cases were 1.23 and 1.42, respectively. In addition, three patients with histologically proven glioblastoma with tumor necrosis were studied after administration of 20mCi 99mTc-HMPAO. Two out of three patients showed higher uptake of 99mTc-HMPAO in tumor necrotic area than the contralateral area. Our findings suggest that the necrotic area of brain tumor may retain 99mTc-HMPAO and causes an increased uptake.