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Updated: Feb 6, 2026
Models of Bone Metastasis
Published on: September 4, 2012
Whole body bone SPET/CT can successfully replace the conventional bone scan in breast cancer patients. A prospective
Eleni Mavriopoulou1, Petros Zampakis, Evaggelia Smpiliri
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Patras, Patras, Greece, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. Eleni.Mavriopoulou@med.uni-heidelberg.de, emavriopoulou@gmail.com.
Objective:
Single photon emission tomography/computed tomography (SPET/CT) is usually recommended after ambiguous whole body bone scan (WBS) findings. We investigated the value of routine 2-field ("near" whole-body) SPET/CT application in breast cancer (BC) patients.
Subjects And Methods:
In this prospective study planar WBS and 2-field SPET/CT was performed in 257 consecutive BC patients referred for a bone scan. Whole body scan and SPET/CT were interpreted separately. Additional imaging studies and clinical follow-up for 30±24 months elucidated uncertain findings.
Results:
Bone metastases were confirmed in 65 patients (25.3%). Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive value per-patient was 63.1%, 81.3%, 76.7%, 53.2% and 86.7% for WBS and 96.9%, 87.5%, 89.9%, 72.4% and 98,8% for SPET/CT; differences were statistically significant except for specificity. Respective values of sensitivity per-lesion were 47.6% and 98.9% (P<0.001). Eleven percent of true positive findings were noticed only in the low-dose CT images, while 7% only in SPET. Single photon emission tomography/CT exhibited higher specificity than WBS in the spine (94.8% vs. 88.7%, P=0.04). Whole body scan interpretation changed after SPET/CT in 74 (28.8%) patients. Thirty-two patients with positive/suspicious WBS turned to be metastases-free after the interpretation of SPET/CT while 42 with unremarkable WBS turned to be positive/suspicious. Of these cases, metastases were confirmed in one with negative and 23 with positive/suspicious SPET/CT. The SPET/CT results prompted treatment plan changes in 23 cases (8.9%).
Conclusion:
Whole-body bone SPET/CT scan outperformed WBS in terms of sensitivity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive value and impacted on patient management. Therefore, its use is recommended as a routine procedure in BC patients, even after a negative WBS.
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