Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in malignant lymphoma: first results and comparison with glucose metabolism measured by positron-emission tomography.

Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy with 111In-labeled octreotide was performed in 22 patients with suspected or known malignant lymphoma. The majority of extra-abdominal lesions (21/24 = 87.5%) were correctly localized, however, only one of nine intraabdominal lymphomas could be detected. No significant correlation was found between scintigraphic results and histological type of lymphoma. Metabolic imaging by positron-emission tomography with 18F-labeled deoxyglucose yielded a higher rate of detection of lymphoma manifestations (92% vs 64%) and better tumor contrast. Further prospective studies are needed to establish the clinical relevance of somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in malignant lymphoma.