A positive indium-III bone marrow scan in metastatic breast carcinoma. Case report

Indium is generally presumed to localize in the bone marrow within the erythroid cell line. Fibrosis, inflammation, lymphoma, extended field radiation, chemotherapy, or combinations of both treatment modalities generally depress the uptake of indium by the marrow a complex fashion. We report a case of metastatic breast carcinoma and pancytopenia in which the In-111 scan appeared qualitatively similar to a Tc-99m MDP bone scan. Findings were confirmed by bone marrow biopsy.