INCIDENTAL MASSIVE GA-67 UPTAKE IN THE THORAX AND ABDOMEN FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF LUMBAR OSTEOMYELITIS

Ga-67 uptake in lung carcinoma was first described by Edwards and Haye s in their original reports on Ga-67 uptake in tumors. Ga-67 scintigra phy has subsequently become a widely used method of defining the exten t of tumoral disease. Uptake of Ga-67 in the primary lesion is reporte d to occur in 64%-100% of patients. The authors report a case of a 59- year-old man with low back pain who had an MRI with a lesion in L3-L4. Delayed images on the three-phase bone scan showed uptake in L3-L4 co nsistent with diskitis. Ga-67 scintigraphy showed multiple diffuse foc i of increased uptake throughout the chest and abdomen. The biopsy res ults of one of the lymph nodes confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic a denosquamous carcinoma of the lung. This case confirms the importance of considering malignancy in the differential diagnosis of Ga-67 scint igraphy.