Iodine-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy for the location of neuroblastoma: preliminary experience in ten cases.

Ten patients with histologically proven neuroblastoma were studied by [131I]MIBG scintigraphy. Tumor uptake of the radiopharmaceutical showed a spectrum varying from no uptake in one case, to slight uptake in two, moderate uptake in two and intense uptake in five cases. Iodine-131 MIBG scintigraphy was more effective in demonstrating the extent of neuroblastoma spread than were conventional bone scan and CT in one patient, equal to these modalities in four cases, almost equal in two cases and significantly inferior in three cases. These preliminary results suggest that [131I]MIBG scintigraphy is useful in detecting the presence and delineating the distribution of neuroblastoma and may, in certain cases, have therapeutic potential.