[Electroroentgen scanning in the diagnosis of bone metastases]

For diagnosis of metastatic bone pathology x-ray and radionuclide studies were combined into one: electroroentgenoscanography. A total of 48 patients with different sites of a primary tumor process were examined using 99mTc-pyrophosphate. Electroroentgenograms were obtained with the help of the Soviet ERGA-MP apparatus in the negative regimen without enlarging the scale of skeletal imaging. The scanning was done on the Scinticart and Deltronix-Nuclear units. The peculiarity o this technique is visualization of the skeleton 2-4 and 20-24 h after i.v. injection of the radioactive indicator. Bone pathology was observed in 85.4% of the cases, and the results of the roentgenoradionuclide studies were identical. In 18 out of the 41 patients visualization of the skeleton with 99mTc-pyrophosphate made it possible to specify the number of foci of pathological bone tissue transformation. In 5 patients (10.4%), secondary metastatic involvement of the skeleton was found by the radionuclide method only. The results of repeated x-ray studies of these patients over the period of 3 months were negative. Clinical-radionuclide information was the reason for revising the clinical staging of tumors and correcting therapeutic methods. The new methodological approach in the diagnosis of bone pathology: electroroentgenoscanning on the 1st and 2nd days after injection of 99mTc-pyrophosphate opens up other opportunities for diagnosing metastatic involvement of the osseous system.