RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Role of Thallium Scintimammography with Lateral Decubitus Positioning in the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
JO J. Nucl. Med. Technol.
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 213
OP 218
VO 24
IS 3
A1 Hunt-Mozgala, J.
A1 Conklin, E.R.
A1 Cancroft, E.T.
A1 Wasserstein, G.J.
A1 Weitz, J.W.
A1 Deitch, J.S.
A1 Oster, Z.H.
A1 Cabahug, C.
A1 Bardfeld, P.A.
YR 1996
UL http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/24/3/213.abstract
AB Objective: Many different positioning techniques have been attempted in the search for the best method of imaging the breast during scintimammography. A new, effective and comfortable method of positioning the breast is described. Thallium-201-chloride is further explored as an agent to detect breast cancer. Methods: Forty-two women with either a palpable mass or abnormal mammogram were imaged in the lateral decubitus and anterior supine positions. Each patient was injected intravenously with 75–112.5 MBq (2–3 mCi) of 201TI-chloride. Planar images of 10–15 min each were obtained beginning 10 min after injection. Results: Lateral decubitus positioning was very comfortable for the patient and afforded maximum privacy. High-quality images were obtained with breast tissue and axilla clearly visualized. Breast-to-camera distance was minimized to less than 0.5 inch in many cases. The sensitivity of thallium scintimammography was 90% and the specificity was 86% in 26 lesions with pathologic correlation. The smallest lesion detected measured 0.8 cm. Conclusion: Lateral decubitus positioning in scintimammography provides an alternative to prone positioning which is sensitive, comfortable and private. Thallium-201 scintimammography employing lateral decubitus positioning has an acceptable sensitivity and specificity for detecting breast carcinoma.