Breast scintigraphy with 99mTc-diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid for the detection of malignant disease.

A single-blind prospective study of 99mTc-diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) breast scintigraphy was performed on 160 women who presented at the outpatient clinic with suspected breast tumour. The sensitivity of scintigraphy in establishing the diagnosis of breast cancer was 75 per cent. The specificity of scintigraphy in excluding the presence of breast cancer was 91 per cent. The diagnostic value of DTPA breast scintigraphy is at present too low in comparison with mammography to be clinically useful.