Scintigraphy in oncology

A review is given of nuclear medicine procedures routinely used in oncology. Bone scintigraphy is discussed with particular attention to its sensitivity in prostatic carcinoma based on data from more than 1000 patients, and also in mammary carcinoma, bronchial carcinoma and sarcoma. The clinical value of 67Ga is reviewed in Hodgkins, non-Hodgkins lymphoma and lung neoplasms. Rapid hepatic and renal sequence scintigraphy as an adjunct to sonography and CT is illustrated including comparative results. The increasing role of functional scintigraphy in detecting complications of radiation and cytostatic therapy is stressed. In conclusion, future developments with preliminary results of 201Tl tumour scintigraphy are discussed. (author)