Increased iofetamine I 123 brain uptake in metastatic melanoma
J. S. Nagel, M. Ichise, S. P. Mueller, K. A. Johnson, R. J. English, W. D. Kaplan, O. Schober and B. L. Holman
Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
Four of five patients with brain metastases from melanoma had increased
lofetamine I 123 uptake in the region of the tumor deposits. A comparison
group of five patients with melanoma with no clinical or radiologic
evidence of brain involvement and 46 of 47 patients without malignant
melanoma but with known brain tumors of other histologic types had normal
or decreased iofetamine I 123 brain uptake in the region of the tumor. An
exception was one patient whose metastatic small cell lung cancer to the
brain showed focally increased uptake. These findings suggest that certain
brain tumors such as melanoma are capable of selectively binding iofetamine
I 123 because of specific chemical properties of the radiopharmaceutical.
Increased uptake of iofetamine I 123 in brain lesions in a patient at risk
for metastatic melanoma may be a useful aid to differential diagnosis.
