Ga-NEB PET/CT Imaging for Lymphatic Disorders

All patients underwent ⁶⁸Ga-NEB PET/CT. Preparation of NEB and ⁶⁸Ga labeling were performed as described in previous publications.^{17 (link)} A Biograph 64 True Point TrueV PET/CT system (Siemens Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany) was used. For the patient with upper extremity swelling, the tracer (0.5 mL, 37 MBq/hand) was injected into the subcutaneous tissue between the thumb and index finger of each hand. For other patients, ⁶⁸Ga-NEB was injected subcutaneously into the bilateral first web spaces of the feet (0.5 mL, 37 MBq/foot), followed by massage of the injection sites. The patients were requested to walk after tracer injection. For those patients with suspected chylothorax, chyloperitoneum, or chyluria, the images were acquired 5 to 20 minutes after tracer injection. For those with lymphedema, longer interval up to 1 hour between the tracer injection and image acquisition was applied. Whole-body images were acquired using a low-dose CT scan (120– kV, 35 mA, 3-mm layer, 512 × 512 matrix, 70 cm FOV). PET acquisition was performed (8–11 bed positions, 2 min/bed).