HEPATIC FLOW SCINTIGRAPHY IN EVALUATION OF HEPATIC METASTASES IN PATIENTS WITH GASTROINTESTINAL MALIGNANCY

Objective: To assess the value of hepatic flow scintigraphy for occult metastases. Design: Prospective study, 2 years of follow-up. Setting and Study Participants: One hundred twenty-one patients undergoing sur gery for gastrointestinal cancer. Intervention: Preoperative hepatic f low scintigraphy (3mCi of technetium-99m).Main Outcome Measure: Develo pment of hepatic metastases. Results: Hepatic flow scintigraphy had a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 34%. The positive and negative predictive values were 15% and 97%, respectively. Conclusions: Hepati c flow scintigraphy could therefore be useful in identifying patients who are at low risk of developing metachronous liver metastases and th us avoid unnecessary adjuvant chemotherapy following resection of the primary tumor.