Comparison of lymphangiograms and gallium scans in the non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

A total of 92 lymphangiograms (L.G.) and gallium scans (G.S.) done in 51 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were evaluated to assess their usefulness in detecting infradiaphragmatic disease. It was found that the correlation between both procedures was fairly good before treatment (85%) but decreased considerably after therapy. A significant number of patients persistently had positive L.G. after treatment, with a negative G.S. No histologic examination of tissues was performed, however, to confirm the radiographic findings. A higher number of equivocal G.S. were found both before and after treatment. No significant difference in correlation was found between the histiocytic and lymphocytic lymphomas but the former were found to have a striking frequency of negative L.G. and G.S. in the infradiaphragmatic area.