Radionuclide bone imaging in the differential diagnosis of head and neck lesions. A preliminary report.

The use of technetium 99m pyrophosphate (99mTcPP) imaging in the evaluation of benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck has been limited. In a clinical prospective study, twenty-one patients with suspected benign or malignant lesions of the temporomandibular joint, temporal bone, maxilla, or mandible were evaluated with regard to clinical presentation, radiographic findings, preoperative 99mTcPP bone scan, and final pathologic diagnosis. Eleven of twenty-one patients had positive scans at the site of biopsy-proven disease. In three cases, a bone scan was the single positive diagnostic test prior to surgical intervention. 99mTcPP imaging offers an additional noninvasive technique in the preoperative evaluation of patients with lesions of the osseous structures of the head and neck.