Gallium scan - Risks
Alternative Names
Liver gallium scan; Bony gallium scan
What the risks are:
There is a small risk of radiation exposure (less than with x-rays or CT scans). Radiation exposure of any kind is not usually recommended for pregnant or nursing women or for young children unless it cannot be avoided.
Special considerations:
Not all cancers show up on a gallium scan.
- Reviewed last on: 11/21/2010
- David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
References
Segerman D, Miles KA. Radionuclide imaging: general principles. In: Adam A, Dixon AK, eds. Grainger & Allison's Diagnostic Radiology: A Textbook of Medical Imaging. 5th ed. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone;2008:chap 7.
Vinnicombe SJ, Reznek RH. Reticuloendothelial disorders: lymphoma. In: Adam A, Dixon AK, eds. Grainger & Allison's Diagnostic Radiology: A Textbook of Medical Imaging. 5th ed. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone;2008:chap 72.
