However, if bone scan has an appreciable role in the initial staging of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, it is logical to expect significantly superior bone recurrence-free survival in patients receiving esophagectomy.
CT, MRI and bone scan have all been shown to be effective in the diagnosis of occult scaphoid fractures [11], but to date no studies have shown additional benefit from early advanced imaging for hard clinical outcomes.
Care needs to be taken when interpreting this finding, as a possible explanation for the apparent better outcome may be that a solitary hot spot on a bone scan has been incorrectly classified as malignant.
(AP) GILMOUR'S BONE SCAN IS NEGATIVE: Buffalo Sabres forward Doug Gilmour, out with a series of ailments, could resume skating shortly now that a bone scan has come up negative.
Traditionally, a 3-phase bone scan has been considered the most sensitive method for early imaging-based detection of HO, with detection as early as two weeks after the onset of symptoms.
However, the interpretation of the bone scan has significant limitations.
The role of whole-body bone scan has been elucidated in several cancers including breast cancer, [ 9] non-small cell lung cancer, [ 10] and prostate cancer[ 11].
6 This type of transformation on bone scan has not been observed, even with androgen deprivation therapy, which to this day remains the most effective front-line systemic therapy for prostate cancer.
In 1970' and 1980's, bone scan had been considered an essential procedure during both initial staging and regular follow-ups in patients with breast cancer, because of the high incidence of bone metastasis being reported [ 12- 15].
The patients were classified as not having metastases only if a bone scan had been performed and no metastases found (n=245).
