HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bonnin, F. Articles by Parmentier, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bonnin, F. Articles by Parmentier, C.

Refining Interpretation of MIBG Scans in Children

Department of Nuclear Medicine and Department of Pediatric Oncology, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif France

Correspondence: For correspondence and reprints contact: Jean Lumbroso, MD, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Department of Nuclear Medicine, 39, rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif Cedex, France.

ABSTRACT

In pediatrics, the distribution of radioiodinated metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) has been studied primarily in neuroblastoma. However, normal patterns in children show a number of particularities and pitfalls related to the context of pediatric oncology which must be identified. Methods: We report on 28 equivocal scans in 24 children. In all cases, two experienced observers judged the scans to be equivocal and the definite interpretations were confirmed by follow-up. Results: Difficulties in interpreting the scans were observed at the level of the thorax (15 patients), the abdomen (5 patients), the head (4 patients) or elsewhere (4 patients). The final interpretation of the scans was attributed to an unusual physiological pattern linked to age (9 patients), tumoral context (17 patients) or artifacts (2 patients). Conclusions: A number of important physiological areas of uptake in soft tissues can lead to false-positive interpretations of normal scans, such as the physiological upper thoracic uptake which has never been previously described. Numerous technical and physiological possibilities exist and those pitfalls must be ruled out. A precise knowledge of these technical difficulties and physiological variants can reduce the number of equivocal MIBG scans.

Key Words: pediatrics • neuroblastoma • metaiodobenzylguanidine

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Nedergaard, T. Bengtsson, and B. Cannon Unexpected evidence for active brown adipose tissue in adult humans Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, August 1, 2007; 293(2): E444 - E452. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. D. Pashankar, M. S. O'Dorisio, and Y. Menda MIBG and Somatostatin Receptor Analogs in Children: Current Concepts on Diagnostic and Therapeutic Use J. Nucl. Med., January 1, 2005; 46(1_suppl): 55S - 61S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. H. Kushner Neuroblastoma: A Disease Requiring a Multitude of Imaging Studies J. Nucl. Med., July 1, 2004; 45(7): 1172 - 1188. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Fukuchi, Y. Ono, Y. Nakahata, Y. Okada, K. Hayashida, and Y. Ishida Visualization of Interscapular Brown Adipose Tissue Using 99mTc-Tetrofosmin in Pediatric Patients J. Nucl. Med., October 1, 2003; 44(10): 1582 - 1585. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Pfluger, C. Schmied, U. Porn, G. Leinsinger, C. Vollmar, S. Dresel, I. Schmid, and K. Hahn Integrated Imaging Using MRI and 123| Metaiodobenzylguanidine Scintigraphy to Improve Sensitivity and Specificity in the Diagnosis of Pediatric Neuroblastoma Am. J. Roentgenol., October 1, 2003; 181(4): 1115 - 1124. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Okuyama, Y. Ushijima, T. Kubota, T. Yoshida, T. Nakai, K. Kobayashi, and T. Nishimura 123I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine Uptake in the Nape of the Neck of Children: Likely Visualization of Brown Adipose Tissue J. Nucl. Med., September 1, 2003; 44(9): 1421 - 1425. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. H. Kushner, S. D.J. Yeh, K. Kramer, S. M. Larson, and N.-K. V. Cheung Impact of Metaiodobenzylguanidine Scintigraphy on Assessing Response of High-Risk Neuroblastoma to Dose-Intensive Induction Chemotherapy J. Clin. Oncol., March 15, 2003; 21(6): 1082 - 1086. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Okuyama, N. Sakane, T. Yoshida, K. Shima, H. Kurosawa, K. Kumamoto, Y. Ushijima, and T. Nishimura 123I- or 125I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine Visualization of Brown Adipose Tissue J. Nucl. Med., September 1, 2002; 43(9): 1234 - 1240. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. H. Kushner, H. W.D. Yeung, S. M. Larson, K. Kramer, and N.-K. V. Cheung Extending Positron Emission Tomography Scan Utility to High-Risk Neuroblastoma: Fluorine-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography as Sole Imaging Modality in Follow-Up of Patients J. Clin. Oncol., July 15, 2001; 19(14): 3397 - 3405. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Even-Sapir, Z. Keidar, J. Sachs, A. Engel, L. Bettman, D. Gaitini, L. Guralnik, N. Werbin, G. Iosilevsky, and O. Israel The New Technology of Combined Transmission and Emission Tomography in Evaluation of Endocrine Neoplasms J. Nucl. Med., July 1, 2001; 42(7): 998 - 1004. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]