The advantage of PET/CT in detecting bone metastases: a case report

Abstract

Introduction: When detecting bone metastases bone scintigraphy has been long used as the most sensitive radiological modality, especially in lytic metastases, to assess the spread of disease in skeletal structures. Currently bone scintigraphy and CT remain the gold standard for bone metastasis detection in oncological patients in our nation. Method: We describe the case of a 45-year-old man who was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma and was having a whole-body PET/CT scan for staging purposes. The overall report identified the pathological lymph nodes, in more than one region of lymph node stations. These nodes had increased in size compared to the previous study of the patient. Diffuse skeletal pathological uptake of the radiotracer indicated diffuse bone marrow infiltration, while the CT images alone showed no evidence of typical lytic bone lesions. Other findings included splenomegaly and secondary splenic infiltration. Discussion: One of the primary diagnoses for which PET/CT is particularly effective is lymphoma, when it comes to identifying intra and extraosseous recurrence. This is particularly true when it comes to identifying marrow infiltration. Few centers in Kosovo and Albania have used the combined PET/CT modality in the last two years, besides the importance of including it as part of the imaging protocol in the follow-up of the patients with lymphoma, or oncologic patients in general. Keywords: Case report, PET/CT, scintigraphy, metabolically active, bone lesions, lymphoma.