Immunoscintigraphic diagnosis of head and neck tumors using 99m Tc-labelled anti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibody

Such visualization procedures as sonography, computed tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance tomography are applied in the follow-up therapy of patients with tumors of the head and neck. These procedures are similar in that they can in principle recognize a tumor based on its morphological changes. Immunoscintigraphy, on the other hand, functions differently and even permits an evaluation of the specificity of these changes. Although this method has already become routine in the follow-up therapy of gastrointestinal malignomas, it has thus far been meaningless for patients with head or neck tumors. (orig.)