Efficacy of liver scanning in malignant diseases.

The use of radiocolloid liver scanning as a routine diagnostic procedure to detect liver metastases has been declining as the most effective uses of this test have become better appreciated. Liver scanning to detect hepatic metastases appears to have the greatest efficacy in two circumstances. The first is as a staging procedure in malignancies that metastasize to the liver early, before being suspected clinically or liver function parameters alter. Such malignancies include gastric carcinoma, Wilms' tumor, small cell carcinoma of the lung, and rhabdomyosarcoma. The second effective use of liver scanning is as a confirmatory test in patients with known malignancy who develop abnormal levels of serum liver enzymes, carcinoembryonic antigen titer, hepatomegaly, ascites, or jaundice.