Skeletal scintigraphy as an important complement for detecting bone metastasis from nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Bone metastasis occurs frequently in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Although fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) has been proven to be more sensitive at detecting bone metastases than Technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate skel...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wei-Jheng Yen, Chih-Ting Liu, Ya-Min Chi, Chin-Chuan Chang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2022-08-01
Series:Journal of International Medical Research
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605221116765
Description
Summary:Bone metastasis occurs frequently in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Although fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) has been proven to be more sensitive at detecting bone metastases than Technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate skeletal scintigraphy in pretreatment patients with NPC in most clinical settings, there have been metastatic lesions that were positive on skeletal scintigraphy but negative on PET/CT scans. Herein, we report the case of a patient with stage IV NPC that manifested as multiple metabolically abnormal lesions on pretreatment skeletal scintigraphy and were considered malignant although they were negative on PET/CT examination. Follow-up evaluations with both skeletal scintigraphy and PET/CT scans as post-therapeutic imaging are also presented.
ISSN:1473-2300