Whole body PET for the evaluation of bony metastases in patients with breast cancer: comparison with Tc-99(m)-MDP bone scintigraphy

The purpose of this study was to determine the potential role of positron e mission tomography (PET) using 2-[F-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) for the evaluation of bony metastasis compared with Tc-99(m)-methylene diphosph onate (Tc-99(m)-MDP) bone scintigraphy in patients with breast cancer. Fift y-one female patients with breast cancer who had PET together with a bone s can within 1 month between September 1994 and March 1997 were included in t his study. The median age was 49 years (range 29-79 years). The sensitivity , specificity and accuracy of the bone scan were 77.7%, 80.9% and 80.3%, re spectively. On the other hand, for the detection of bone metastases PET had a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 77.7%, 97.6% and 94.1%, respect ively. In the diagnosis of bony metastasis derived from breast cancer, FDG- PET was statistically superior to bone scintigraphy in its specificity. In conclusion, FDG-PET appears to be a powerful tool not only in the diagnosis of the primary lesion and soft tissue metastasis, but also in the diagnosi s of bony metastasis among patients with breast cancer. ((C) 2001 Lippincot t Williams & Wilkins).