Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Controlled Clinical Trial
Results of a Prospective Multicenter International Atomic Energy Agency Sentinel Node Trial on the Value of SPECT/CT Over Planar Imaging in Various Malignancies.
We aimed to assess the additional value of SPECT/CT over planar lymphoscintigraphy (PI) in sentinel node (SN) detection in malignancies with different lymphatic drainage such as breast cancer, melanoma, and pelvic tumors. ⋯ SPECT/CT detected more SNs and changed the drainage territory, leading to surgical adjustments in a considerable number of patients in all malignancies studied but especially in the pelvic cancer group because of this group's deep lymphatic drainage. We recommend SPECT/CT in all breast cancer patients with no SN visualized on PI, all patients with melanoma of the head and neck or trunk, all patients with pelvic malignancies, and those breast cancer and melanoma patients with unexpected drainage on PI.