Evaluation of chemotherapy response using technetium-99M-sestamibi scintigraphy in untreated adult malignant lymphomas and comparison with other prognosis factors: a preliminary report.

The purpose of this study was to predict chemotherapy response using technetium-99m methoxyisobutylisonitrile (Tc-MIBI) scintigraphy in untreated adult malignant lymphomas (ML) and compare the response with other prognosis factors. Before chemotherapy, 25 adult patients with ML were enrolled in this study. Tc-MIBI scintigraphy was performed 10 min after intravenous injection of Tc-MIBI to calculate tumor-to-background (T/B) uptake ratio and interpret the results visually. Chemotherapy response was evaluated in the first 1 to 2 years after completion of treatment by clinical and radiological methods. The mean T/B uptake ratio of the 15 patients with good response (3.3 +/- 0.6) was significantly higher than that of the 10 patients with poor response (1.2 +/- 0.1). All of the 15 patients with good response had positive Tc-MIBI scintigraphic results. All of the 10 patients with poor response had negative Tc-MIBI scintigraphic results. However, there were no significant differences in the incidences of good and poor responses for other prognosis factors. In our preliminary study, when compared with other prognosis factors, Tc-MIBI scintigraphy was the best tool to predict chemotherapy response in adult patients with ML. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.