Introduction: Dynamic renal scintigraphy with 99mTechnetium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) is a widely performed imaging method to evaluate kidney function of patients with various ...renal pathologies. However the one-stop-shop combination with subsequent SPECT/CT imaging is a rarely discussed topic. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic benefits of SPECT/CT imaging to 99mTc-DTPA dynamic renal scintigraphy. Materials and Methods: A group of 32 patients (21 females and 11 males) who underwent dy- namic nephroscintigraphy with subsequent SPECT/CT was retrospectively studied. A dose of 185MBq (5mCi) 99mTc-DTPA was intravenously applied. A low-dose non-contrast CT protocol was used for attenuation correction and anatomical correlation. Results: Impaired relative renal function in various degrees of left kidney was detected in 18 patients (56%) and of right kidney in 14 patients (44%). SPECT/CT imaging identified the particular cause for the renal dysfunction in the analyzed subjects. The hybrid imaging demonstrated urolithiasis in 11 patients, postoperative ureteral strictures in 5 patients, diagnosed urological cancer in 4 patients and external compression of ureter in 2 patients as a possible obstructive cause. Congenital renal anomalies were the identified causes of impaired renal function in 10 patients – hypoplastic kidney in 4 patients, duplex kidney in 2 patients, multiple cortical cysts in 2 patients, aberrant vessel obstructing the pyeloureteral segment in 1 patient and horseshoe kidney in 1 patient. Conclusion: Dynamic renal scintigraphy combined with SPECT/CT is a very useful clinical tool, by providing not only functional but also anatomical information of the urinary tract, especially in the evaluation of obstructive uropathies and congenital renal abnormalities, that has the potential to change clinical management.
Introduction: Dynamic renal scintigraphy with 99mTechnetium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc DTPA) is a generally used imaging technique for evaluating renal function of patients with ...various nephro-urological conditions. Clinical application of SPECT/CT nephroscintigraphy has rarely been discussed. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the added value of SPECT/CT imaging to dynamic renal scintigraphy with 99mTc DTPA. Materials and Methods: Thirty two patients (66% female and 34% male) who underwent dynamic nephroscintigraphy with subsequent SPECT/CT with mean age 55.9±18.25 years was observed. The CT scan was performed with a low dose protocol. A dose of 185MBq (5mCi) 99mTc DTPA was administered intravenously. Results: Our analysis demonstrated impaired relative renal function in various degrees of left kidney in 18 patients (56%) and of right kidney in 14 patients (44%). SPECT/CT imaging revealed the specific cause, responsible for the renal dysfunction in the cases. The hybrid imaging demonstrated urolithiasis in 11 patients, postopertative strictures of ureter in 5 patients, diagnosed urological cancer in 4 patients, external compression of ureter from ovarian cyst in 1 patient and compression of ureter due to nephroptosis in 1 patient as a possible obstructive cause. In 10 patients congenital renal anomalies were the identified causes of impaired renal function – hypoplastic kidney in 4 patients, duplex kidney in 2 patients, multiple cortical cysts in 2 patients, aberrant vessel obstructing the pyeloureteral segment in 1 patient and horseshoe kidney in 1 patient. Conclusion: The combination of conventional 99mTc DTPA dynamic renal scintigraphy with subsequent SPECT/CT could provide not only functional but also anatomical information of the urinary tract, especially in the evaluation of obstructive uropathies and congenital renal abnormalities, that can change the clinical management
Nuclear medicine methods, with subsequent hybrid SPECT-CT images, are highly sensitive and specific visual methods that establish the functional status of the target organs, diagnose and stage ...pathological secondary lesions with increased mineral activity in bone and joint structures and determine the exact localization, anatomical structure and the corresponding morphological characteristics of the tumors localized in the lower and upper urinary tract. Urothelial carcinomas develop in the process of malignant transformation of cells of the transitional epithelium. Depending on their location, urothelial tumors are divided into those that develop in the lower urinary tract (bladder, urethra) and in the upper urinary tract (ureters and collecting system of both kidneys). Whole-body bone scintigraphy and dynamic nephroscintigraphy with subsequent targeted SPECT-CT studies are of great clinical importance in patients with these oncological localizations for the accurate diagnosis and staging of bone secondary lesions, for visualization of obstructive hydronephrosis and relative renal function, especially in high-risk patients Key words: urothelial carcinomas, SPECT-CT, dynamic nephroscintigraphy, bone scintigraphy
Introduction: Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy in men in Europe. One of the important clinical problems is the early detection and visualization of recurrence after radical ...prostatectomy, radiation therapy or other radical topical treatment, in patients with PSA values above 0.2 ng/ml. With the introduction of molecular highly sensitive imaging methods after administration of radiolabeled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), it became possible to detect early functional changes associated with the development of a metastatic process in this disease, with a negative CT or MRI result. 99mTc-PSMA is a new radiopharmaceutical and is a small ligand that binds to the active core of PSMA. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical role of 99mTc-PSMA in imaging local recurrence and/or loco-regional and distant metastases in patients with recurrent prostate cancer and biochemical disease progression. Material and methods: A cohort of 36 prostate cancer patients was evaluated with established laboratory data for biochemical progression of the disease - increase in the serum value of the tumor marker PSA and its doubling time within 6 months. In 3/36 of the patients, prostate adenocarcinoma was accidentally detected after transurethral resection of the prostate. Hormonal and cytoreductive radiotherapy was performed in these patients as a therapy. The remaining 33/36 patients underwent radical treatment of primary cancer after a systematic or MRI/US fusion prostate biopsy. Results: All of these patients underwent a whole body scan followed by a targeted SPECT-CT study, 1–3 hours after intravenous administration of 99mTc-PSMA. The sensitivity of the SPECT-CT test with 99mTc-PSMA for the detection of recurrent prostate cancer in 36 followed patients was 84.37% (27/32), specificity - 100% (4/4) and accuracy - 86.11% 31/36). Conclusion: For the clinical application of 99mTc-PSMA SPECT-CT we can summarize that this method finds the greatest clinical application for early diagnosis of recurrent disease in patients with prostate cancer and biochemical progression, at serum PSA levels ≥0.50 ng / ml, in order to determine a personalized treatment for each individual patient. Key words: Prostate cancer, recurrent prostate cancer, 99mTc-PSMA, SPECT-CT
Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the thorax including bronchial and thymic tumors belong to foregut NETs. Limited loco-regional thoracic NETs can be resected with surgery, but in extensive metastatic ...disease the treatment is mainly palliative. A high incidence and density of somatostatin receptors (SSTR2, SSTR3, and SSTR5) are found in thoracic NETs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of SPECT-CT somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) with 99mTc-Tektrotyd for imaging, staging and follow up of patients with bronchial and thymic neuroendocrine tumors. Forty-one patients with thoracic tumors with neuroendocrine differentiation were studied. Sixty-eight examinations including SPECT-CT studies of the neck and chest and/or abdomen and pelvis were carried out 2-4 hrs. post i.v. administration of aver-age 740 MBq activity dose of 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC (Tektrotyd, Polatom). In all 41 investigated patients we obtained 81.25% (13/16), 88% (22/25) and 85.36% (35/41) of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of this diagnostic approach, respectively. Somatostatin-receptor scintigraphy correctly identified all primary NETs located in the lungs and thymus. SPECT-CT studies with 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC resulted in exact pre-surgical and pre-treatment N/M staging of bronchial and thymic NETs, except 2 cases with multiple hepatic metastases and 1 with massive suprarenal metastasis. It can be concluded that SPECT-CT with 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC is a valuable tool for staging and follow-up of patients with thoracic NETs.