Imaging in Oncology: The Role of Lymphoscintigraphy in Staging

Claudia G. Berman, MD
Radiology Services
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute

Case Description:

A 66-year-old man was diagnosed with an intermediate-thickness melanoma of the left upper back. There was no clinical evidence for metastasis, and preoperative imaging for staging consisted of chest radiograph and lymphoscintigram. The left lateral chest image obtained on lymphoscintigram is shown in Fig 1. The open arrow indicates the injection site.

Fig 1. - Lymphoscintigram of left lateral chest. The open arrow signifies the radionuclide injection site.

This lymphoscintigram may be helpful in which of the following way(s)? Definition of lesional draining lymph node basins
Demonstration of clinically inapparent in-transit lymph node(s) lying between primary and draining lymph node basins Preoperative identification of sentinel lymph node

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