Technetium 99m bone imaging in the evaluation of cancer of the maxillofacial region.

Technetium 99m bone images were obtained from five patients with mandibular gingival carcinoma and six patients with maxillary sinus carcinoma. Ten to 15 mCi of 99mTc-polyphosphate was administered intravenously, and imaging was performed three hours after injection. The anterior and lateral views of the maxillofacial skeleton were obtained with a gamma camera. Resultant gamma camera images were compared with the radiographic skeletal survey. 99mTc bone survey is a safe and simple diagnostic technique that can demonstrate abnormality of the bone with greater sensitivity than routine radiographs.