Bone Metastasis Evaluation Using Bone Scintigraphy

Background: Diagnosing bone metastasis in patients with a history of cancer remains challenging. Diagnostic evaluation may be prolonged owing to difficulties in distinguishing between bone metastasis and common orthopedic diseases. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate bone metastasis using scintigraphy Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out at Batterjee Medical College, Radiologic Sciences program, and King Abdulaziz University Hospital. It included 200 consecutive patients with a history of malignant disease (60% Females and 40% Males) referred for bone scintigraphy. Using a database of the King Abdulaziz University Hospital, the prevalence of bone metastasis from each type of primary cancer was noted. Results: The results showed that most participants were above 50 years old, with Primary cancer sites including Breast cancer (88 (44%) cases), Prostate cancer (15%), Lung and colon (11%), and Bone metastasis locations including spine (186), Ribs (n= 136), pelvis (n= 133), Lower Extremities (n= 108), and Skull (n= 59), respectively. Conclusions: The most common malignancy is breast cancer, followed by prostate carcinoma, and most bone metastasis locations include the spine, Ribs, and pelvis.