Experiences in Pancreas Scanning using 75Se-selenomethionine

The authors discuss their experience in pancreas scanning using 75Se-selenomethionine in a total of 50 persons, of whom 20 were normal subjects and 30 represented a variety of pancreatic disease, viz. chronic pancreatitis, islet cell tumour, carcinoma, and extrinsic mass. Normal anatomical variants of the pancreas shadow are described. Using conventional dot-scanning, visualisation of the pancreas was adequate in only 33 per cent of normal cases, while 100 per cent success was obtained when a photorecording system was introduced. The effects of liver uptake and of areas of radioactivity in adjacent structures are discussed, and the authors stress the importance of performing a series of scans in these circumstances. Scanning with 75Se-selenomethionine does not give information as to the histology of a lesion in the pancreas, because many diseases have a similar appearance on the scan, but nevertheless the procedure is useful in a field where few diagnostic aids exist.