title: Evaluation of bone metastases from breast cancer by bone scintigraphy and positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to compare bone scintigraphy (BS) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for the detection of bone metastases from breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty patients with breast cancer and bone pain were submitted to both bone scintigraphy and 18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT imaging between July 2012 and June 2013. Scintigraphy was performed following an intravenous injection of technetium-99m-methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) around 10 days before the PET/CT scan, performed using an intravenous injection of 18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose followed by whole-body computed tomography (CT) to characterize metastases by both methods. Student's t-test for paired samples was used in the comparative data analysis, with significance at p<0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CT identified 429 metastatic implants in the 20 patients, with scintigraphy showing 244 of these lesions (57%) and PET/CT showing 307 (72%); however, there was no statistically significant difference between the mean number of lesions detected per patient with the two imaging modalities (p=0.367).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, no difference was found between PET/CT and bone scintigraphy in the detection of bone metastases from breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, Mastology Division, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ary O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, Mastology Division, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil.
authors.forename: Umbelina S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, Mastology Division, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pedro V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Lopes-Costa
authors.affiliation: Department of Mastology, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Gebrim
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, Mastology Division, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. Electronic address: beneditoborges@globo.com.
authors.forename: Benedito B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: da Silva
mesh_terms: D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate
keywords: Bone metastases; Bone scintigraphy; Breast; Cancer; PET/CT