title: What is the significance of solitary bony abnormalities on bone scintigrams of children with malignancy?
abstract: This investigation was undertaken to evaluate the significance of solitary bony abnormalities on bone scintigrams of children with known or suspected malignancy. A total of 215 bone scans were performed in 183 children in order to look for possible metastasis over a 10-year period. Forty-nine scans (22.8%) were found to have single lesions, of which 18 were due to uptake at the primary site and were excluded from further consideration. Of the remaining 31 lesions, 13 (41.9%) were confirmed as metastases, 17 lesions were proved to be benign, and 1 indeterminate. Solitary hot spots in children with known or suspected malignancy are common and therefore have to be taken seriously due to their higher malignant potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Addenbrookes' Hospital, Cambridge, England, UK.
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Luke I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Sonoda
authors.forename: Nagabhushan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Seshadri
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: Patricia A K
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Set
authors.forename: Kottekkattu K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Balan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate