Skeletal scintigraphy in the initial assessment of women with breast cancer

The results of sup(99m)Te bone scanning have been retrospectively analyzed on 467 women admitted with a newly diagnosed breast cancer. The outcome of skeletal scintigraphy has been studied with reference to various prognostic variables. 9.8% of the women exhibited a positive scintigram. Clinical staging according to the TNM system as well as the histological status of the axillary nodes correlated well with the rate of scintigrams that indicated a disseminated cancer disease. The tumour size, as measured in the operation specimen, strongly affected the frequency of positive and suspicious scans in accord with the prognostic significance of this parameter. The role of skeletal scintigraphy for an adequate staging of breast cancer patients is discussed. (author)