ACCUMULATION OF I-123 IMP IN EXTRAHEPATIC METASTASES OF HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA

Twenty patients with 58 extrahepatic metastases of hepatocellular carc inoma (HCC) (41 bone, 5 lung, 6 peritoneum, 4 adrenal glands, 1 brain, 1 lymph node) underwent I-123-iodoamphetamine (I-123-IMP) and gallium -67 (Ga-67) scintigraphy. The rate of positivity with I-123-IMP planar imaging was 44% above the level of the diaphragm and 76% below the di aphragm, with an overall sensitivity of 62%. The combination of I-123- IMP scintigraphy and single photon emission tomography enabled positiv e visualization of an additional six metastatic foci: three in the adr enal glands, one in the peritoneum, one in the cranium and one in a ri b. The rate of positivity with Ga-67 planar imaging was 75% above the level of the diaphragm and 45% below the diaphragm, with an overall se nsitivity of 58%. Our findings suggest that I-123-IMP is effective for detecting extrahepatic metastases of HCC, particularly those below th e diaphragm.