Abstract |
Patients displaying an abnormal chest X-ray, in some cases, cause a difficult diagnostic problem. A differential diagnosis between benign and malignant lesions is important to determine the choice of treatment i.e. whether or not to perform a thoracotomy. In a prospective study, we have examined the role of 57Co-bleomycin scanning for prethoracotomy assessment of 60 patients with a high clinical probability of lung cancer. For these patients, a sensitivity of 89%, a specificity of 84% and an accuracy of 88% were found. However, as a consequence of the six false-negative scans (two in-situ carcinomas and four stage I carcinomas), bleomycin scanning cannot be regarded as adequate for obviating thoracotomy in patients with a high clinical probability of lung cancer but a negative scan. Nevertheless, the technique is useful for the assessment of tumour size and for the detection of hilar, mediastinal and extra-thoracic metastases, with consequences for TNM staging. It has been found that the tumour dimension correlates well with the actual anatomo-pathologic size determined after surgical examination (r2 = 0.65 and p less than 0.01). Therefore, with an accuracy around 90% for the diagnosis of lung cancer, 57Co-bleomycin scanning offers a major tool for use in clinical investigation.
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Authors | D Slosman, B Polla, R Egeli, D Townsend, C Signorelli, R Megevand, A Donath |
Journal | Nuclear medicine communications
(Nucl Med Commun)
Vol. 6
Issue 4
Pg. 235-44
(Apr 1985)
ISSN: 0143-3636 [Print] England |
PMID | 2410838
(Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
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Chemical References |
- Cobalt Radioisotopes
- Bleomycin
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Topics |
- Adenocarcinoma
(diagnostic imaging)
- Adult
- Aged
- Bleomycin
- Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
(diagnostic imaging)
- Cobalt Radioisotopes
- False Negative Reactions
- Female
- Humans
- Lung Neoplasms
(diagnostic imaging)
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Neoplasm Staging
(methods)
- Preoperative Care
- Probability
- Prospective Studies
- Radionuclide Imaging
- Smoking
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