Gallium-67 (67Ga) scanning was assessed for its usefulness in the evaluation and follow-up of 54 patients with sarcoidosis, both treated and untreated. Scans were repeated in 23 subjects. Serum levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) were determined concurrently in all 54 patients and bronchoalveolar lavage was performed in 29 patients.

Experimentally, during Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) growth, the red blood cell (RBC) polyamine levels increase with tumor volume and are inversely correlated to tumoral concentrations of spermidine and spermine. The RBC level of spermidine is continually correlated to both the volume and the tumoral concentration of this polyamine. Clinically, high levels of RBC polyamine are observed in cases of squamous-cell carcinoma or anaplastic cancer, and not in cases of adenocarcinoma. RBC polyamine levels only permit the establishment of statistical differences between groups of patients. Therefore, clinical use of these molecules as tumor markers depends on an understanding of polyamine distribution within blood.

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