The results of
Tc-99m-PMT imaging on 100 patients with various malignant and benign hepatic diseases verified histologically (73
hepatocellular carcinoma, 3
liver cell adenoma, 1
cholangiocarcinoma, 5 metastatic liver
carcinoma, 2 liver
cyst, 12
hemangioma, 1 fatty degeneration, 1 liver regeneration, 1 postoperative
liver fibrosis and 1
liver cirrhosis) are reported. All lesions appeared as decreased radioactivity or "cold" defect region on early
Tc-99m-PMT imaging, rendering it valuable for the diagnosis of
tumor localization. In 92 (95.8%) of the 96 patients with various hepatic
tumors and 25 (86.2%) of the 29 patients with small
hepatocellular carcinoma (less than 5 cm), the
tumors were localized by early
Tc-99m-PMT imaging. In 14 of the 73 patients with established
hepatocellular carcinoma, the
tumors gave greater radioactivity than that of the surrounding liver tissues, whereas in 31 patients the radioactivity of the
tumor equalled the normal liver on delayed
Tc-99m-PMT imaging (positive rate 61.6%). There was no significant difference between the positive rates of serum AFP level and the
tumor size shown by delayed
Tc-99m-PMT imaging in
hepatocellular carcinomas. The radioactivity in 3
liver cell adenoma patients was similar to the gallbladder. No false positive result was seen in the other malignant and benign hepatic
tumors. This study indicates that delayed
Tc-99m-PMT imaging is highly specific in the diagnosis of
hepatocellular carcinoma.