Computed tomography of bone tumors

CT is now becoming a clinical useful method of evaluating bone tumors. We have experienced 40 cases of bone tumor since last 3 years. There were 30 primary bone tumors (19 benign and 11 malignant cases), and 10 metastatic bone tumors. For bone tumors, CT is useful in (1) localizing the lesions located axial skeleton by crosssectional display without overlaping structures, (2) determining expansion of medullary cavity and intramedullary extent of the tumor arising in bone marrow, (3) showing soft-tissue extension accurately, (4) demonstrating tumor density, composition, and mineralization, which may be contributing to a differential diagnosis between benign and malignant bone tumors, (5) defining the relationship between soft-tissue extension and surrounding structures, in the treatment of bone tumors. (author)