Pediatric Solid Tumors: Evaluation by Gallium-67 SPECT Studies

A retrospective review of 37 children with a variety of solid tumors who underwent 60 67Ga single-photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) studies was performed. These studies were correlated with clinical and radiological findings and, where possible, histopathologic confirmation. In all studies, SPECT gave better definition and better anatomic localization of disease sites than obtained with planar views. SPECT detected more lesions in the head and neck (planar 16, SPECT 19), chest (planar 39, SPECT 45), and abdomen (planar 22, SPECT 24). In six of 20 patients scanned following chemotherapy, SPECT was useful in demonstrating that tracer accumulation in a normally located and shaped thymus indicated uptake resulting from thymic regeneration rather than tumor recurrence. It is concluded that 67Ga SPECT studies are very useful in the pediatric population, where perhaps because of their small size, interpretation of standard planar views may be difficult.