Gallium scintigraphy in American Burkitt lymphoma: Accurate assessment of tumor load and prognosis

The radiographic evaluation of 18 children with American Burkitt lymphoma was analyzed retrospectively. Pretreatment gallium-67 (⁶⁷Ga) scintigraphy, done in 12 children, was interpreted as normal in only three children. In the other nine children, ⁶⁷Ga scans demonstrated more sites of tumor involvement than any other method. Pretreatment abdominal computed tomography and sonography were valuable for evaluating ascites, density and size of the liver and spleen, renal involvement, and the presence of lymphomatous soft-tissue masses. Sonography was less accurate at localizing tumor deposits, but more sensitive to small amounts of ascites. Any of these methods is an effective way of following response to chemotherapy. However, it appears that sequential ⁶⁷Ga scintigraphy may have significant prognostic value, as those children whose scintigrams reverted to normal within 6 months have survived.