Clinical evaluation of gallium-67 scintigraphy in comparison with autopsy findings in the elderly, with particular reference to histological findings and classification of pulmonary cancer

A correlative study of autopsy findings and retrospective review of gallium scintigrams were performed in 106 elderly patients. Of the cases studied, 57% demonstrated positive gallium study in the present series. Histological correlation was undertaken in cases of lung cancer. Among them, squamous cell carcinoma showed the highest incidence of positive results (83%), whereas adenocarcinoma was the lowest (35%). There is no apparent correlation between subtypes of histological classification of adenocarcinoma and abnormal accumulation of gallium. However, abnormal accumulation of the nuclide seems to be rather related with interstitial reactions, namely fibrotic changes, lymphocyte infiltration and vascularization.