Detection of extracardiac disease during Tl-201 myocardial perfusion study

It is important to observe extracardiac disease processes (ECD) during cardiac perfusion imaging for valuable information can be obtained at no extracost to patients. The aim of the study is to find out the frequency of ECD during Tl-201 stress myocardial perfusion imaging (TSMPI). Retrospective evaluation of 552 TSMPI was done. There were 229 males and 223 females reffered for evaluation of possible ischemic heart disease. Their ages range from 20 to 80 with mean age of 58.8 years. Three mCi (111 MBq) of 201 TlCl is used for adenosine or treadmil exercise testing and myocardial SPECT is performed utilizing low energy high resolution collimators and a triple-head camera ( MultiSPECT, Siemens medical systems, Inc., Hoffman Estate, III., USA). In addition to routine cardiac Tl-201 SPECT acquisition, included in the protocol is 1 min, anterior planar views in 128 128 matrix after stress and rest SPECT studies for evaluation of lung uptake and chamber size. Utilizing these views ECD is assessed. Five patients had focal increased activity suggesting tumor and 3 of 5 cases were confirmed as malignancy. The malignancies were thyroid cancer (Hurthle cell), lung cancer, and breast cancer. Benign lesions were autonomous thyroid nodule and pheochromocytoma. Other ECDs include pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, and paralyzed hemidiapharm.. Extracardiac disease processes such as benign or malignancy are easily detected during Tl-201 myocardial perfusion imaging using our acquisition protocol at no cost to the patients. This information could be life saving in some patients for early detection of clinically unsuspected malignancy