Role of ~(99m)Tc-MIBI imaging in the diagnosis of metastatic axillary lymph node in breast cancer

Aim: To evaluate the role of 99m Tc MIBI imaging in detecting axillary lymph node involvement in patients with primary breast cancer.Methods: The total of 52 patients with breast cancer were divided into non metastasis (NG, 20 patients) group and metastasis group (MG, 32 patients) according to the histopathologic diagnosis after axillary dissection. 99m Tc MIBI breast imaging was performed on all patients 1 week before operation. 99m Tc MIBI(555～740 MBq (15～20mCi)) was injected into an antecubital vein in the arm on the opposite side of the known or suspected breast lesion. Two lateral (prone imaging) views and one anterior (supine) planar view were obtained 30 min after injection.Results: In NG, 136 nodes were removed, 2 patients showed positive imaging, 18 negative. In MG, 305 nodes were removed, and 169 showed metastatic disease, 26 patients showed positive imaging, while 6 negative. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 99m Tc MIBI imaging in detecting metastatic axillary lymph node involement was 81.3%(26/32),90.0%(18/20),84.6%(44/52),92.9%(26/28),and 75.0%(18/24), respectively. Conclusion: 99m Tc MIBI imaging is of value in the diagnosis of axillary lymph node in the patients with breast cancer.