Thallium-201 imaging was performed in two patients for evaluation of coronary artery disease. In both cases, there was definite thallium activity within the sternum. One patient had proven sternal metastases from prostatic carcinoma. The other had undergone sternotomy for coronary artery bypass surgery one month prior to scanning, and the sternal thallium activity most likely represented healing granulation tissue secondary to the osteotomy. The mechanism of thallium incorporation into tumor cells is presumably via its interaction with the sodium-potassium ATPase pump. In addition, because of its blood-flow dependency, thallium would maintain greater availability for neoplastic cells, which demonstrate accelerated metabolic activity. Similarly, cells comprising tissue undergoing healing or repair conceivably become increasingly active metabolically during the repair process.
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