Nuclear medicine scans to detect a pheochromocytoma
What are some available nuclear medicine scans that can be used to detect a pheochromocytoma?
There are several radiotracers that can be used for detection of a pheochromocytoma. The pentetreotide scan mentioned above is useful for detecting pheochromocytomas. However, two related radiotracers, iodine-131 ( 131 I) metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) and iodine-123 ( 123 I) MIBG, localize within intracellular adrenergic storage granules, which makes them more specific for pheochromocytomas. Typically, patients are injected on the first day and imaged at 24 hours post injection. The overall sensitivity is relatively similar for these different single photon emitting radiotracers. Finally, positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers such as 18 F-fluorodopa and 18 F-fluorodopamine have been shown to have an excellent ability to detect pheochromocytomas.
