ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: Preliminary findings have suggested that (99m)Tc-glucarate has tumor-seeking properties. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of this tracer to evaluate malignant head and neck tumors by means of SPECT/CT software fusion imaging. METHODS: Eleven male patients with advanced head and neck carcinoma were included in the study: 9 with locally advanced disease and 2 with clinical suspicion of local relapse. Scanning started 3-6 h after the injection of 1,110 MBq of (99m)Tc-glucarate. Planar and SPECT images of the head, neck, and thorax were acquired. Three-dimensional images were also coregistered with CT. RESULTS: We found (99m)Tc-glucarate uptake in all suspected lesions. SPECT/CT fusion imaging was helpful in all cases for topographically localizing the tracer foci. CONCLUSION: (99m)Tc-glucarate can be considered a potential tracer for the evaluation of patients with head and neck tumors.
Subject(s)
Glucaric Acid/analogs & derivatives , Head and Neck Neoplasms/diagnosis , Organotechnetium Compounds , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Head and Neck Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Male , Middle Aged , Sensitivity and Specificity , Software , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Infarct-avid radiopharmaceuticals are necessary for rapid and timely diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. The animal model used to produce infarction implies artery ligation but chemical induction can be easily obtained with isoproterenol. A new infarct-avid radiopharmaceutical based on glucaric acid was prepared in the hospital radiopharmacy of the INCMNSZ. 99mTc-glucarate was easy to prepare, stable for 96 h and was used to study its biodistribution in rats with isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial infarction. Histological studies demonstrated that the rats developed an infarct 18 h after isoproterenol administration. The rat biodistribution studies showed a rapid blood clearance via the kidneys. Thirty minutes after 99mTc-glucarate administration the standardised heart uptake value S(h)UV was 4.7 in infarcted rat heart which is six times more than in normal rats. ROIs drawn over the gamma camera images showed a ratio of 4.4. The high image quality suggests that high contrast images can be obtained in humans and the 96 h stability makes it an ideal agent to detect, in patients, early cardiac infarction.