Studies on the abnormal accumulations in vertebrae found on the bone scintigram in cancer patients

From Jan. 1975 to Dec. 1977, 700 patients with various types of cancer were examined by bone scanning with sup(99m)Tc-phosphate compounds for metastatic bone lesions at the National Cancer Center Hospital. Among these selected 156 patients, significant accumulations were found in 120, and equivocal in 21. The remaining 15 showed both significant and equivocal accumulations. In 116 out of 135 (120 + 15) patients, the significant accumulations were due to metastases; and in 19 out of 36 (21 + 15) patients, the equivocal accumulations were due to metastases. Our careful investigation disclosed that some of the benign conditions could present somewhat different scintigraphic patterns from the metastases. These are as follows; (1) a cushion-like accumulation in the intervertebral space in the cases with disc degeneration, which is occasionally noted also in the cases with collapse of the vertebral body, (2) an irregular marginal accumulation of the vertebral body with an occasional cushion-like accumulation in the intervertebral space in the cases spondylosis deformans, (3) a vague and equivocal accumulation covering an entire vertebral body with an occasional extension to the next vertebral body in the cases with spondylosis deformans, (4) symmetrical accumulations in the intervertebral joints due to sclerotic changes. The 4th pattern mentioned above may be noted in the cases with metastases also. (author)