Gallium Scan

• A gallium scan is used for specific types of cancers, mainly of the Reference lymph nodes Opens New Window, bones, or Reference bone marrow Opens New Window. A normal scan does not exclude the possibility of cancer, because some types of cancer do not show up on a gallium scan. A gallium scan also cannot determine whether a tumor is cancerous (malignant) or noncancerous (benign).
• The results of a gallium scan should be interpreted along with the results of other tests, such as a physical exam, blood tests, and X-rays. In many cases, results obtained from a Reference magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Opens New Window or positron emission tomography (PET) may be as accurate as the results obtained from a gallium scan. For more information, see the topics Reference Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Reference Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
• If other nuclear scanning tests need to be done, these tests should be scheduled before a gallium scan because the gallium tracer stays in the body longer than other tracer compounds.

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