BONE-MARROW IMMUNOSCINTIGRAPHY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL BONE-SCINTIGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF SKELETAL METASTASES IN UROGENITAL MALIGNANCIES

Bone marrow immunoscintigraphy using a Tc-99m-labelled anti-NCA-95 mon oclonal antibody and conventional bone scintigraphy with Tc-99m-methyl ene-diphosphonate were compared in the diagnosis of skeletal metastase s in 58 patients with urogenital tumours. In 13 patients with metastat ic disease, bone marrow immunoscintigraphy proved to be superior to bo ne scintigraphy, detecting 431 metastatic lesions on immunoscans as co mpared to 261 lesions on bone scans. However, on a patient-by-patient basis bone marrow immunoscintigraphy did not demonstrate a clinical ad vantage over conventional bone scanning, as in this study no patient w as identified with metastatic disease still confined to the marrow spa ce, with bone scintigraphy and bone X-ray being normal.