Bone Scintigraphy in Breast Cancer Patients in Ibadan, Nigeria
T O Ogundiran1, O O Ayandipo, K S Adedapo
1Oncology Division, Department of Surgery, University College, Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Background:
The bone is the commonest site of metastases from breast carcinoma. Radionuclide isotope scanning is a sensitive scanning procedure for the demonstration of bone pathology. In May 2006, a gamma camera was introduced into clinical use for skeletal scintigraphy at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Objective:
To review the first five years findings of skeletal scintigraphy in our breast cancer patients.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data and scintigraphic bone studies of patients with histology proven breast carcinoma managed in the Surgical Oncology Division, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria between May 2006 and April 2011.
Results:
Within the period, a total of 597 breast cancer patients had skeletal scintigraphy (SS). Of the 594 (99.5%) SS reports available for review, scintigraphic evidence of bone metastases was found in 232 (39.1%) patients. Correlation of bone involvement and clinical stage showed that a large majority of the patients had stage IV (83.3%) and III (15.7%) disease. Most patients (71.6%) had multiple bone lesions. The bone lesions were osteoblastic in 88.9% of the patients; only 1.8% had purely osteolytic lesions with the remainder being a mix of both.
Conclusion:
There was scintigraphic evidence of bone metastasis in most of our patients with stage four breast cancer and in some with locally advanced disease. Multiple bone lesions were found in many of them and almost all the lesions were osteoblastic. Moreover, both the truncal and axial skeletal bones were involved in similar proportions.
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