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A large soft-tissue lipoma shown on bone scintigraphy
Hua Yang1, Taiyana Miroshnichenko
1Department of Radiology/Nuclear Medicine, New York Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA. hcyang988@gmail.com
Clinical Nuclear Medicine
|March 21, 2013
Summary
Bone scintigraphy is used for prostate cancer staging. A large lipoma in the back mimicked metastasis by appearing as a photopenic region on bone scans.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear medicine
- Oncology
- Radiology
Background:
- Prostate cancer staging often involves whole-body bone scintigraphy to detect osseous metastases.
- Bone scintigraphy utilizes technetium-99m labeled methylene diphosphonate (MDP) to visualize bone turnover.
Observation:
- A 74-year-old male with newly diagnosed prostate cancer underwent bone scintigraphy.
- An unusual finding was a large, ring-shaped, photopenic (less active) region in the left back with increased MDP uptake at its periphery.
Findings:
- The observed abnormality on bone scintigraphy was not indicative of bone metastasis.
- Histopathological or further imaging correlation confirmed the finding as a large lipoma.
Implications:
- This case highlights that benign soft tissue masses, such as lipomas, can cause atypical findings on bone scintigraphy.
- Radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians should consider lipomas in the differential diagnosis of photopenic defects on bone scans, especially when they present with peripheral activity.
- Proper interpretation is crucial to avoid misdiagnosis of metastatic disease and unnecessary patient anxiety or interventions.
