Technetium-99m glucoheptonate as a scanning agent in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Technetium-99m glucoheptonate (Tc-99m GH) is concentrated in pulmonary and cerebral tumors. The purpose of this study was to assess the uptake of this radionuclide by hepatocellular carcinoma. Its concentration by the primary tumor was compared with that in the non-neoplastic hepatic tissue in 31 patients who showed obvious defects on a colloid scan, and its uptake by pulmonary metastases was examined in six patients with x-ray evidence of this complication. In two patients, the uptake by the tumor was greater than, in six it was equal to, and in ten it was less than that in the non-neoplastic hepatic tissue. In the remaining 13 patients, there was no concentration at all in the tumor. In none of the six patients with multiple pulmonary metastases could uptake of Tc-99m GH by the metastases be demonstrated. It is concluded that Tc-99m GH is of limited value in the diagnosis of primary or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.