Efficacy of follow-up bone scans in carcinoma of the prostate

Three hundred fifteen radioisotopic bone scans ranging from initial scan only to nine scans per patient, performed on 114 patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate between 1979 and 1984, were reviewed. Seventeen patients had positive scans, ten on initial scan and seven at follow-up. Nine patients had bone pain at the time of the first positive scan and pain developed in two patients 6 months and 2 years later, respectively. The other six patients are still asymptomatic 1 to 4 years later. False-positive scans were found in six other patients. No patient with bone pain had a negative scan. We believe that routine bone scans for prostate cancer follow-up are not cost-effective unless the patient is symptomatic. Bone scans also are indicated for initial staging and to observe disease response to protocol treatment.