Whole-body MRI in comparison to skeletal scintigraphy in detection of skeletal metastases in patients with solid tumors

Nadir Ghanem, C. Altehoefer, T. Kelly, C. Lohrmann, J. Winterer, O. Schäfer, T. A. Bley, E. Moser, M. Langer

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31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic value of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and skeletal scintigraphy in the detection of skeletal metastases in patients with solid tumors. Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty-nine tumor patients were examined with whole-body MRI using coronal TIRM sequences for the different anatomical regions. Skeletal scintigraphy was performed with 99mTc-DPD. Results: In 105/129 (81%) patients, the whole-body MRI and skeletal scintigraphy findings were concordant. In 56/129 (43%) patients, both imaging modalities excluded skeletal metastases. In 49/129 (38%) patients, whole-body MRI and skeletal scintigraphy revealed metastases, however whole-body MRI demonstrated more extensive disease in 22/49 (45%) cases. In 6/49 (12%) cases, skeletal scintigraphy was superior to whole-body MRI in detecting more skeletal metastases. In 24/129 (19%) cases, the imaging findings were discordant. In 15 cases, skeletal scintigraphy was negative, whereas whole-body MRI revealed skeletal metastases. In 9 cases, skeletal scintigraphy was positive, whereas whole-body MRI failed to detect these metastases. In 77/129 (60%) patients, whole-body MRI revealed additional tumor-related findings. Conclusion: Whole-body MRI, as a new staging method, is superior to skeletal scintigraphy with respect to the detection of skeletal metastases and the extent of metastastic disease. Furthermore, whole-body MRI yields additional tumor-related findings. Therefore, whole-body MRI should be performed as an alternative to skeletal scintigraphy for the assessment of skeletal metastases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)173-182
Number of pages10
JournalIn Vivo
Volume20
Issue number1
StatePublished - 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Skeletal metastases
  • Skeletal scintigraphy
  • Whole-body MRI

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