Immunoscintigraphy is a
nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is " radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emi ...
procedure used to find
cancer cell
Cancer cells are cells that divide continually, forming solid tumors or flooding the blood with abnormal cells. Cell division is a normal process used by the body for growth and repair. A parent cell divides to form two daughter cells, and these d ...
s in the body by injecting a
radioactively labeled
antibody
An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...
, which binds predominantly to cancer cells and then
scanning for concentrations of radioactive emissions.
Clinical applications
Immunoscintigraphy is performed using a variety of
radiopharmaceuticals
Radiopharmaceuticals, or medicinal radiocompounds, are a group of pharmaceutical drugs containing radioactive isotopes. Radiopharmaceuticals can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Radiopharmaceuticals emit radiation themselves, which is ...
, for a large range of purposes.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most studied areas, with
indium-111
Indium-111 (111In) is a radioactive isotope of indium (In). It decays by electron capture to stable cadmium-111 with a half-life of 2.8 days.
Indium-111 chloride (111InCl) solution is produced by proton irradiation of a cadmium target (112Cd(p,2n) ...
or
technetium-99m
Technetium-99m (99mTc) is a metastable nuclear isomer of technetium-99 (itself an isotope of technetium), symbolized as 99mTc, that is used in tens of millions of medical diagnostic procedures annually, making it the most commonly used medical ra ...
labelled
epitope
An epitope, also known as antigenic determinant, is the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system, specifically by antibodies, B cells, or T cells. The epitope is the specific piece of the antigen to which an antibody binds. The p ...
s of the
carcinoembryonic antigen. The
antibody
An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...
capromab pendetide reacts with
prostate
The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and phys ...
membrane specific antigen (PMSA) and can be labelled with
111In.
See also
*
Indium-111 WBC scan
*
Scintigraphy
Scintigraphy (from Latin ''scintilla'', "spark"), also known as a gamma scan, is a diagnostic test in nuclear medicine, where radioisotopes attached to drugs that travel to a specific organ or tissue (radiopharmaceuticals) are taken internally and ...
References
2d nuclear medical imaging
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