Ga Scintigraphy Procedure Guidelines for Tumour Imaging

Please note that this guideline has not been updated since 2003 and, therefore, may not reflect the current knowledge and practice in the field of oncology. EANM is providing this guideline on an 'as is' basis for general information purposes only and does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, currency, relevance, reliability or suitability of the information contained therein. Aim The aim of this document is to provide general information about 67 Ga scintigraphy in oncology. This guideline should not be taken as definitive for all possible 67 Ga procedures or exclusive of other nuclear medicine procedures useful to obtain comparable results. It is important to remember that the resources and facilities available for patient care may vary from one country to another and from one medical institution to another. The present guide has been prepared for nuclear medicine physicians and intends to offer assistance in optimising the diagnostic information that can be obtained from 67 Ga gallium scintigraphy. The existing guidelines of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) have been reviewed and integrated with the present text. The same has been done with the most relevant literature on this topic, and the final result has been discussed by a group of distinguished experts. Background 67 Ga has been used for imaging a variety of solid tumours since 1969. 67 Ga is cyclotron produced and supplied in an isotonic sterile non pyrogenic solution for i.v. administration. Generally it reacts with citric acid to 67 Ga citrate, which is the commonly employed form in nuclear medicine. 67 Ga imaging of neoplastic disease has shown the greatest utility in imaging lymphomas but it can also be used for other tumours. There is general agreement that 67 Ga is useful in the management of patients with lymphoma. In addition, 67 Ga has been employed to detect chronic infections (such as sarcoidosis), to evaluate interstitial lung disease, and to examine patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Clinical usefulness of 67 Ga has been suggested for the study of adults presenting with fever of unknown origin because of the possibility of locating pathological uptake (both malignant and benign).