Intraaterial/intravenous immunoscintigraphy in comparsion with intraaterial/intravenous enhanced CT in the detection of liver metatases

The authors have studied 21 patients to determine the comparative values of intraarterial/intravenous immunoscintigraphy (IS) and contrast-enhanced CT for detecting hepatic metastases. The patients underwent the studies (six intravenous, 15 intraarterial) before surgery. Fifty-eight metastases were found on CT; 35 were found on IS. Both CT and IS revealed three cases of local recurrence. CT showed no lymph node metastases, whereas IS showed two. One case of lung metastasis was seen on CT; none were seen on IS. We concluded that intraarterial/intravenous contrast-enhanced CT had a higher diagnostic value in the detection of liver metastases than did intraarterial/intravenous IS. However, in cases of extrahepatic tumor deposits, IS can be the decisive method for managing colorectal carcinoma