Comparison of bone and 67Ga scintigraphy in the initial diagnosis of bone involvement in children with malignant lymphoma

The relative efficacy of bone and 67Ga scintigraphy for detecting the presence of bone involvement by malignant lymphomas is compared. 83 children were evaluated (mean age 12 years) with histologically proven HD and NHL utilizing bone and 67Ga scintigraphy which were performed prior to treatment. Three of these patients had biopsy proven primary malignant lymphoma of bone. Bone scintigraphy detected 18 bone lesions in 13 patients and 67Ga scintigraphy detected the same 18 bone lesions and in addition 101 extraosseous lesions. Radiography confirmed the presence of focal bone lesions. Both osteolytic and osteoblastic lesions were identified. It was concluded that bone scintigraphy is not necessary in the initial staging of children with malignant lymphoma unless there are specific osseous symptoms. (author)