Lung Tumors

Abstract

Research on the tumor-localizing radioisotope 67-Ga citrate reveals both bone and soft-tissue-seeking properties. Bone localization is apparent by the ability of the nuclide to demonstrate the majority of primary bone tumors. The soft-tissue affinity of this isotope can be illustrated by its uptake in pulmonary neoplasms which represent one of the most consistently visualized soft-tissue tumors. The data reported by Hayes (13) indicate a 68% rate of positive scans in all tumor types studied, with lung and lymphoma subgroups having better results. A recent literature review showed that 194 of 228 (85%) documented cases of lung neoplasms were positive on 67-Ga scanning (1). There is, however, no apparent difference in 67-Ga uptake by lung tumors of various histologic types (24,66).