99mTc-thymine scintigraphy may be a promising method in the diagnosis of breast cancer

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:Mammography has been established as the gold standard for the detection of breast cancer, and imaging techniques such as ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging, scintigraphy and positron emission tomography may be useful to improve its sensitivity and specificity. The objective of this study with breast scintigraphy was to evaluate the uptake of 99mTc-thymine in mammary lesions.METHODS:A total of 45 patients were included in this study. Thirty-three patients (73%) were subjected to surgery or percutaneous biopsy, providing histopathological data. The other 12 patients who remained under surveillance received clinical examinations and biannual mammography with a normal follow-up of at least three years, the data from which were used for comparison with the scintimammography results.RESULTS:The majority of patients (64.4%) had clinically impalpable lesions with a mammogram diagnosis of microcalcifications, impalpable nodules, or focal asymmetry. Of the studied lesions, 87% were smaller or equal to 20 mm in diameter, and 22% had malignant histopathological findings. Scintigraphy with 99mTc-thymine had a sensitivity of 70%, a specificity of 85.7%, positive and negative predictive values of 58.3% and 90.9%, respectively, and an accuracy of 82.2%.CONCLUSIONS:The results of this study are consistent with those previously reported by other authors. The good specificity and high negative predictive value of this technique and the absence of uptake in the heart indicate that it may be a promising complementary method in clinical practice and that it may contribute to reducing unnecessary benign biopsies.

Detection of mammary adenocarcinoma metastases in a cat through 99mTc-thymine scintigraphy

“…[14][15][16] Here we evaluated a cat with mammary cancer carrying out scintigraphy with 99m Technetium-thymine ( 99m Tc-THY), a radionucleotide developed by our research group, and that has been successfully used for the detection of breast tumors in women. [17][18][19] For an efficient labelling method of tumors, radiopharmaceuticals should highlight the investigated tissue/pathology. Since neoplasms have an intense mitotic activity, they readily incorporate the radioactive material, enabling tumor diagnosis and staging.…”

Use of99mTc-doxorubicin scintigraphy in females with breast cancer: a pilot study

“…After an initial study evaluating the toxicity, dosimetry and therapeutic response of rhenium-186 ( Tc-doxorubicin scintigraphy in breast cancer BJR doxorubicin), 33 Soundararajan et al 34 further evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of 186 Re-liposomal doxorubicin combined with radiofrequency ablation of human head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma xenograft in nude rats. Tumour uptake in 186 Re therapy groups was studied with small-animal SPECT for 5 days, and therapeutic efficacy was monitored for 6 weeks with measurement of tumour volume, calculation of the percentage injected dose of 18 F-FDG in tumour from small-animal PET images, and determination of viable tumour volume at histopathological examination. At 6 weeks after therapy, control of tumour growth was better with 186 Re-liposomal doxorubicin than with liposomal doxorubicin alone (p , 0.01).…”

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] We previously reported a technique for labelling the thymidine precursor thymine with 99m Tc, with good specificity and high predictive value. [16][17][18] We have also used 99m Tc-doxorubicin in dogs and cats in order to evaluate its uptake in different kinds of tumours, with promising results, which led to the approval of this pilot trial. 24 …”