Multiple metastasis-like bone lesions in scintigraphic imaging

Multiple benign osteolytic lesions are very hard to differentiate from disseminated bone metastasis. Whole-body bone scintigraphy (WBBS) with technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (Tc-99m MDP) demonstrates multiple lesions with increased uptake in any bone involved. Even combined with medical history and multiple imaging results, such as MRI and CT, the clinical diagnosis of metastasis lesion remains as a challenge. These clinical characteristics are similar to multiple malignant bone metastases and therefore affect the following treatment procedures. In this paper, we analyzed multiple benign osteolytic lesions, like eosinophilic granuloma (EG), multiple myeloma (MM), disseminated tuberculosis, fibrous dysplasia, or enchondroma, occurring in our daily clinical work and concluded that additional attention should be paid before giving the diagnosis of multiple bone metastases.