sodium-pertechnetate-tc-99m and Carcinoma--Bronchogenic

Evaporation of 99mTc-pertechnetate at about 2500 degrees C on a carbon surface generates an ultrafine aerosol of labelled carbon clusters. Its particle size of about 2-5 nm enables the aerosol to behave similarly to a gas regarding the ability of penetration. After inhalation, the radioactive particles adhere to the walls of the respiratory bronchioli and alveoli. The high concentration of the radioactivity in the argon carrier gas makes it possible to record a scintigram after a single deep breath. We studied four healthy volunteers and 79 patients including 34 with a tentative diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, 20 with bronchus carcinoma, and 15 with various other lung diseases. Ten of these patients were infants, the youngest being nine months old. All patients also had a perfusion scintigraphy.

Topics: Administration, Inhalation; Adult; Aerosols; Aged; Bronchitis; Carcinoma, Bronchogenic; Female; Humans; Infant; Lung Diseases; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Middle Aged; Pulmonary Embolism; Radionuclide Imaging; Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m

The distribution of Corynebacterium parvum labeled with 131iodine or 99mtechnetium was studied in 17 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma. The labeled bacteria were given intravenously or intrapleurally and monitored by whole-body gamma tracking and samples of blood and urine. Even though the rate of physical decay is quite different for 131iodine and 99mtechnetium, the tracking time of labeled bacteria was limited to 24 h after injection for both radioactive isotopes. Technetium labeling was preferred because of greater imaging resolution and less radiation dose to the patient. Following intravenous administration, labeled C. parvum was found predominantly in the liver and spleen, and in a lesser amount in the lung. Radioactivity was confined to the pleural cavity after intrapleural injection. These results suggest the combined intravenous and intrapleural route of adjuvant immunosupportive agents such as C. parvum for operable lung cancer patients.

Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Carcinoma, Bronchogenic; Humans; Injections, Intravenous; Iodine Radioisotopes; Liver; Lung; Pleura; Propionibacterium acnes; Radionuclide Imaging; Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m; Spleen; Technetium