Lymphoscintigraphic technique to image canine esophageal lymph nodes.

Current noninvasive methods of imaging esophageal lymph nodes have an accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of 70%. Using a flexible esophagoscope, technetium-99m antimony sulfide colloid was injected in the esophageal submucosa of six dogs who then underwent nuclear scans to identify lymph-node location. The euthanized animals underwent dissection of cervical, thoracic, and abdominal lymph nodes. Student's t-test showed no statistical difference in the number of lymph nodes visualized in the neck (3.5 +/- 0.6), parietal thorax (1.2 +/- 0.4), visceral thorax (2.2 +/- 0.7), and abdomen (1.0 +/- 0.0) on premorbid nuclear scans and in the number of radiolabeled lymph nodes found in the neck (3.2 +/- 0.9), parietal thorax (1.2 +/- 0.2), visceral thorax (1.8 +/- 1.0), and abdomen (1.2 +/- 0.2) on dissection of the carcass. The positions of the lymph nodes based on the premorbid nuclear scans matched the locations of the radiolabeled lymph nodes at dissection. Dissected tissue was pathologically confirmed as lymph node. The position and number of lymph nodes in the cervical, intrathoracic, and abdominal regions on nuclear scan correlated with the position and number of lymph nodes found on anatomic dissection. This technique may have a higher sensitivity and specificity than current noninvasive techniques in the staging of esophageal lymphatic metastasis.