title: Bone metastases are infrequent in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer: analysis of their clinical and pathologic features.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinical and pathologic characteristics of patients with bone metastases identified at the time of newly diagnosed prostate carcinoma at biopsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  From November 2002 to May 2004, 1587 consecutive patients had a pathologic diagnosis of prostate cancer and underwent conventional technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate scintigraphy of the entire body. The clinical and pathologic features of those patients with positive bone scan findings (group 1) were compared with those of a subcohort of 372 patients with negative bone scan findings performed at the same nuclear medicine department (group 2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A retrospective complete data collection was available for 1242 of 1587 patients. Bone metastases were found in 31 patients (2.5%). As expected, patients with skeletal metastases had a significantly greater mean serum total prostate-specific antigen level, and a Gleason sum of 8 or 9 was significantly more frequent in the pathologic findings of these subjects. Group 1 patients had a significantly greater prevalence of previous nonprostate primary neoplasms (chi-square 12.74, df = 1, P = 0.0004) and reported a greater prevalence of current use of H2 blockers for the treatment and prevention of gastroesophageal reflux disorders (chi-square 37.52, df = 1, P < 0.0001) than did group 2 patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data have confirmed that bone metastases are more frequent in patients with high prostate-specific antigen levels and poorly differentiated tumors at biopsy regardless of the patient's age. A history of previous nonprostate primary neoplasms and the use of H2 blockers seemed to be more prevalent in those patients with bone metastases at diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Scientific Institute San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy. salonia.andrea@hsr.it
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salonia
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallina
authors.forename: Tommaso Ciro
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Camerota
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Picchio
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freschi
authors.forename: Luigi F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: DaPozzo
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guazzoni
authors.forename: Ferruccio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.forename: Patrizio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rigatti
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Montorsi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate