Radionuclide Bone Scan Research Articles

Randomised trial of genetic testing and targeted intervention to prevent the development and progression of Paget’s disease of bone

IntroductionPaget’s disease of bone (PDB) frequently presents at an advanced stage with irreversible skeletal damage. Clinical outcomes might be improved by earlier diagnosis and prophylactic treatment.MethodsWe randomised 222 individuals at...

Lights and Shadows of Clinical Applications of Cardiac Scintigraphy with Bone Tracers in Suspected Amyloidosis.

Radionuclide bone scintigraphy is the cornerstone of an imaging-based algorithm for accurate non-invasive diagnosis of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA). In patients with heart failure and suggestive echocardiographic and/or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging findings, the positive predictive value of Perugini grade 2 or 3 myocardial uptake on a radionuclide bone scan approaches 100% for the diagnosis of ATTR-CA as long as there is no biochemical evidence of a clonal dyscrasia. The technetium-labelled tracers that are currently validated for non-invasive diagnosis of ATTR-CA include pyrophosphate (99mTc-PYP); hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (99mTc-HMDP); and 3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylate (99mTc-DPD). Although nuclear scintigraphy has transformed the contemporary diagnostic approach to ATTR-CA, a number of grey areas remains, including the mechanism for binding tracers to the infiltrated heart, differences in the kinetics and distribution of these radiotracers, differences in protocols of image acquisition worldwide, the clinical significance of extra-cardiac uptake, and the use of this technique for prognostic stratification, monitoring disease progression and assessing the response to disease-modifying treatments. This review will deal with the most relevant unmet needs and clinical questions concerning scintigraphy with bone tracers in ATTR-CA, providing expert opinions on possible future developments in the clinical application of these radiotracers in order to offer practical information for the interpretation of nuclear images by physicians involved in the care of patients with this ATTR-CA.

Diagnostic value of whole -body diffusion weighted imaging added to bone scan in early diagnosis of bone metastases in breast cancer patients

BackgroundMetastases to the bones are a frequent location of metastasis in advanced breast cancer and are responsible for substantial morbidity and healthcare expenses. Imaging has been crucial in directing patient therapy for decades, contributing to the staging and response evaluation of the skeleton. This research aimed to assess the diagnostic value of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion-weighted imaging added to radionuclide bone scans for early diagnosis of bone metastases in breast cancer patients.ResultsThe study was a prospective observational cohort study performed on 20 patients with breast cancer and suspected bone metastases. The patients were evaluated first by obtaining a detailed personal history. Laboratory tests, including CBC, liver, and kidney function tests were assessed. All patients were examined by diffusion-weighted whole-body MRI (DWIBS; diffusion-weighted imaging with background body signal suppression) images and bone scintigraphy after intravenous injection of 20 mci of technetium-99m (99mTc) methylene diphosphonate using a dual head gamma camera. The total number of lesions detected by bone scan was 74, and 75 lesions were seen by DWIBS. Twenty-four lesions were missed by bone scan and detected by DWIBS. Fourteen lesions were detected by bone scan and found free by DWIBS examination in the spine and pelvic bones.ConclusionsWhole body DWIBS seems to be a promising method of imaging in detecting bone metastases from breast cancer that could be used complementary to the traditional bone scan for more accurate diagnosis and staging of the tumor, helping to determine the most appropriate protocol of management.

Nadir Prostate-specific Antigen as an Independent Predictor of Survival Outcomes: A Post Hoc Analysis of the PROSPER Randomized Clinical Trial.

This post hoc analysis of PROSPER evaluated the relationship between depth of PSA decline and clinical outcomes in enzalutamide-treated men with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. PROSPER was an international, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial that demonstrated significantly improved metastasis-free survival and overall survival with androgen deprivation therapy plus enzalutamide vs placebo. A total of 905 enzalutamide-treated men were included in this post hoc analysis. Metastasis-free survival (primary endpoint) and overall survival (secondary endpoint) were evaluated for 4 mutually exclusive subgroups defined by PSA decline: <50% (reference); ≥50% to <90%; ≥90%, nadir ≥0.2 ng/mL; and ≥90%, nadir <0.2 ng/mL. Medians and 95% confidence intervals were determined using a 12-month landmark analysis; hazard ratios and P values were based on an unstratified Cox proportional analysis model. In enzalutamide-treated men, PSA declines of <50%, ≥50% to <90%, ≥90% with nadir ≥0.2 ng/mL, and ≥90% with nadir <0.2 ng/mL were associated with median metastasis-free survival in months (95% confidence intervals) of 22.1 (14.8-not reached), 34.2 (29.4-not reached), 36.6 (33.4-not reached), and not reached, respectively, and overall survival in months (95% confidence intervals) of 40.8 (31.7-44.9), 54.4 (49.0-67.0), 64.3 (63.4-not reached), and not reached, respectively. There was a statistically significant correlation between greater depth of PSA decline and improved clinical outcomes, suggesting a previously underappreciated relationship between changes in PSA levels and clinical outcomes in nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Bone Metastasis in Bladder Cancer.

Bladder cancer (BCa) is the 10th most common and 13th most deadly malignancy worldwide. About 5% of BCa patients present initially with metastatic disease, with bone being the most diagnosed site for distant metastasis. The overall one-year survival of patients with BCa is 84%, whereas it is only 21% in patients with bone metastasis (BM). Metastasis of BCa cells to bone occurs by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, intravasation, extravasation, and interactions with the bone microenvironment. However, the mechanism of BCa metastasis to the bone is not completely understood; it needs a further preclinical model to completely explain the process. As different imaging mechanisms, PET-CT cannot replace a radionuclide bone scan or an MRI for diagnosing BM. The management of BCa patients with BM includes chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, antibody-drug conjugates, bisphosphonates, denosumab, radioisotopes, and surgery. The objective of these treatments is to inhibit disease progression, improve overall survival, reduce skeletal-related events, relieve pain, and improve the quality of life of patients.

Clinical Impact of ASCO Choosing Wisely Guidelines on Staging Imaging for Early-Stage Breast Cancers: A Time Series Analysis Using SEER-Medicare Data.

American Society for Clinical Oncology released the Choosing Wisely list in 2012, highlighting low-value procedures that lack evidence, advising against the use of positron emission tomography, computerized tomography, and radionuclide bone scans for the staging of early-stage breast cancer at low risk for metastasis. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Choosing Wisely guidelines on inappropriate staging imaging among early-stage breast cancers. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program-Medicare data set was used to identify 50,004 women age 66 years and older with new incident diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer (stage 0 through stage 2a; T < 4, N = 0, and M = 0). The primary outcome was the incidence of patients with inappropriate imaging following an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis. The primary outcome was identified within 6 months of the first diagnosis. An interrupted time series analysis using negative binomial regression was performed for outpatient claims for these diagnostic studies versus the two interruptions of guidelines release and guidelines reinforcement. Mean images per patient, percent change for the study period, and rate of change per year were calculated. Imaging rates fell by a modest 2.32% following guidelines release in April 2012 (point estimate = -2.32%; 95% CI, -6.34% to 1.88%). By contrast, imaging rates fell by a four-fold larger amount (point estimate = -9.36%; 95% CI, -13.20% to -5.35%) following guidelines published reminders in journals (or reinforcement) in October 2013. Mean imaging studies per patient (95% CI) declined from 1.80 (1.76 to 1.84) in January 2012 to 1.50 (1.48 to 1.53) by January 2015, representing a 16% decline in imaging overuse in 2015 compared with 3 years earlier. The rate of change (95% CI) in images per patient was initially small at -0.47% (-4.27% to 3.33%) per year between April 2012 and October 2013, but almost eight times faster at -3.70% (-5.81% to -1.60%) per year after October 2013. This analysis demonstrates a substantial decrease in the prevalence of imaging overuse in early-stage breast cancers correlating with the 2013 reinforcement of American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2012 Choosing Wisely guidelines. The creation and dissemination of such resources serves as a powerful tool to improve clinical practice, cost-effectiveness, and patient safety from secondary malignancies, anxiety, and overdiagnosis.

BS-80K: The first large open-access dataset of bone scan images

Background:Radionuclide bone scanning is one of the most common tools in the inspection of bone metastasis. Conventionally, the analysis of bone scan image is derived from manual diagnosing. However, this task requires extensive subjective diagnostic experience and is extremely time-consuming. To this end, a series of studies concerning computer-aided diagnosis via machine learning tools have been proposed. Although some inspiring progress has been achieved, the implemented bone scan image datasets in these research areas are generally too small, private or non-general, which limits their practical significance and impedes the follow-up research. Method:To address this issue, we present a large, publicly available and general dataset consisting of 82544 bone scan images associated with 3247 patients from West China Hospital, named BS-80K. In BS-80K, each patient provides two whole bone scan images corresponding to the anterior view (ANT) and the posterior view (POST). For each view, there are 13 region-wise slices of the body parts susceptible to bone metastasis. Based on an authorized original labeling criterion, labels annotated by experienced specialists are offered with the images. Moreover, within each whole body image, multiple bounding boxes containing suspectable hot spots and their annotations are supplied as well. All images in BS-80K have been de-identified to protect patients’ privacy. Results:Based on 6 popular deep learning models for classification and object detection, we provide the benchmark for a number of computer-aided medical tasks, including general bone metastasis prediction and object detection for whole body images, and specific bone metastasis prediction for different body parts. According to extensive experiments, the adopted classification models achieve remarkable results in accuracy and specificity (around 95%) on most metastasis prediction tasks, which are approximate to the average ability of corresponding specialists. As for the object detection task, the best average precision of the adopted models reaches 0.2484 and the lowest is 0.1334. Discussion:Through the comparison of metastasis prediction performance between the benchmark and related work, we observe that the widely used models trained by BS-80K achieve significantly better results than the elaborately designed models trained by smaller datasets. This indicates that with the large amount of data, BS-80K has great potential to galvanize the research about computer-aided analysis on bone scan image. Conclusion:To the best of our knowledge, BS-80K is the first large publicly available dataset of bone scanning, which favors a wide range of research on computer-aided bone metastasis diagnosis. The full dataset is now available at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DOBkLXgQeREQjF-nQIGNBBzPCb5s7RNu?usp=sharing.

Prospective Assessment of Clinical Tests Used to Evaluate Tibial Stress Fracture.

Background:Tibial stress fracture (SFx) is the most common SFx of the lower extremity. Presently, diagnostic accuracy of clinical examination techniques for tibial SFx remains suboptimal.Purpose:To assess the diagnostic effectiveness of 5 clinical tests for tibial SFx individually versus a test item cluster.Study Design:Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3.Methods:A total of 50 patients with tibial pain (17 with bilateral symptoms) were assessed with 5 clinical examination tests (tibial fulcrum test, focal tenderness to palpation, heel percussion test, therapeutic ultrasound test, and 128-Hz tuning fork test) before they underwent diagnostic imaging (radionuclide bone scan). The application of the clinical tests was counterbalanced to minimize the likelihood of carryover effects. Patients provided a pain rating immediately before and after the application of each clinical test.Results:The prevalence of tibial SFx among the study participants was 52.2%. High levels of specificity were produced by the therapeutic ultrasound test (93.8%), tuning fork test (90.6%), and percussion test (90.6%). The fulcrum test had moderate to high specificity (84.4%). All tests demonstrated low levels of sensitivity, with the highest levels found for focal tenderness to palpation (48.6%) and fulcrum (45.7%). The fulcrum test provided the highest positive likelihood ratio (2.93), followed by the therapeutic ultrasound test (2.30). The fulcrum test had the lowest negative likelihood ratio (0.64), with the focal tenderness to palpation and tuning fork tests having negative likelihood ratios >1.0. Combinations of these clinical tests did not improve the prediction of tibial SFx above that observed among the individual tests.Conclusion:The clinical tests evaluated were generally highly specific, but all had low sensitivity. The fulcrum test provided the highest level of diagnostic accuracy; however, it was inadequate for definitive clinical management. Combining tests did not improve the diagnostic accuracy of tibial SFx.

Ollier&amp;apos;s disease: a case report and review of literature

Background: Ollier&amp;apos;s disease is a rare nonfamilial skeletal disorder characterized by the occurrence of multiple enchondromas with asymmetrical involvement of the extremities either exclusively or predominantly. The etiology and underlying factors contributing to this are under investigation. The diagnosis is based on clinical and radiographic features with the complementary role of radionuclide bone scanning to assess radiologically depicted lesions and to ascertain the complete extent of skeletal involvement. Case Presentation: The present study describes the case of a 55-year-old-male patient who presented with multiple marked swellings from fingers of the right forehand and forearm having suppurative discharge and gross deformity that developed when he was eight years of age. On examination, gross enlargement of the right thumb and fifth digit was seen with hard nodules along with redness, increased vascularity, and areas of necrosis. X-ray showed multiple expansile lytic lesions involving metaphysis and diaphysis with ring and arc calcifications involving distal radius and ulna and almost all metacarpal and phalanges. Bone scan showed asymmetrical unilateral involvement of tubular limb bones sparing the axial skeleton. Conclusion: Ollier&amp;apos;s disease is a benign, rare nonhereditary skeletal disorder with its malignant transformation being a serious form of complication. Diagnosis rests on the clinical and radiological features.

Unexpected Metastasis to Breast, Lymph Node, Subcutaneous, Abdominal Wall, Intraabdominal, and Bone in Osteogenic Osteosarcoma: An Unusual Presentation on Bone Scintigraphy.

Osteogenic osteosarcoma is an aggressive malignant bone tumor with the tendency for local invasion and early metastases. Radionuclide bone scans play an important role in disease management by identifying other areas of skeletal involvement as well as extraosseous metastases. Osteogenic sarcoma metastasis is known to accumulate bone-avid agents due to their osteogenic potential. Here, we report a case of osteogenic osteosarcoma of distal femur with the absence of pleural effusion but extensive extraosseous areas of metastatic involvement in distant lymph nodes, subcutaneous planes (in the form of nodules), abdominal wall, multiple intraperitoneal deposits, breast, and bone metastases visualized on preoperative Tc-99 m methylene diphosphonate bone scan.

Differential Diagnosis of a Solitary Bone Lesion Using SPECT/CT Method

Relevance: Radionuclide bone scan signs of lesions are not specific and require radiological identification. Hybrid tomographic technology is a combination of spatial distribution of radiopharmaceuticals and its anatomical binding. Thus, makes it possible to accurately identify the affected bone structure and also determine the nature of this changes (radiological anatomy). In cancer patients, SPECT/CT method allows to visualize tumor pathology in the bones, but also keeps to a minimum errors and other excessive examinations.Purpose: To demonstrate the most frequent diseases and conditions that simulate tumor lesions in bones on bone scan.Material and methods: We analyzed the results of examinations of 81 patients with various tumor diseases (2015–2020). Bone scan was performed in the whole body 3 hours later, after intravenous administration of 99mTc-phosphotech on a Symbia E, T2 (Siemens, Germany). SPECT/CT was performed after WB Bone Scan.Results: The most frequent reasons for the focal increased uptake of radiopharmaceutical were: reactive increase in metabolism and as a result additional mineral repair: deforming osteoarthritis, osteophytes; post‑traumatic and postoperative changes; fractures (osteoporosis and stress fractures); inflammatory processes; focal uptake due to the benign neoplasms of bones and dysplasia. Combination of highly sensitive but non-specific scintigraphy with highly specific computed tomography makes it especially useful in anatomically difficult areas.Conclusion: SPECT/CT reveals a direct pater of anatomical and structural abnormalities with changes in bone tissue metabolism in case of different injuries and minimizes a number of ambiguous conclusions. SPECT/CT in oncological practice greatly helps nuclear medicine physician in the differential diagnostic process and reduces time of examination for the patient.

Establishing a Local Diagnostic Reference Level for Bone Scintigraphy in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

It is of vital importance to optimize the radiation dose to patients undergoing radionuclide bone scanning. This is one of the most common nuclear medicine procedures in many parts of the world, including Nigeria, and the current study was performed as part of a national survey to establish diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for common nuclear medicine procedures in Nigeria in order to optimize their use. Nuclear medicine was only recently introduced to the health-care system in Nigeria, with only 2 centers presently conducting these procedures. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was performed in the nuclear medicine department of a tertiary hospital in southwest Nigeria to determine the preliminary local DRL for radionuclide bone scanning. One hundred and nine patients who met the study criteria were included. Data were obtained from June 2017 to March 2019 and were analyzed to obtain the third quartile of the distributed administered activity and achievable dose (anthropometric variables and radiation dose to bone surface). Results: The mean administered activity, achievable dose, and DRL were 833.98 ± 106.93, 832.5, and 895.4 MBq, respectively. The calculated preliminary local DRL was larger than values reported in studies done in Sudan, the United Kingdom, and Australia or by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Conclusion: The preliminary DRL from this first-of-its-kind study in Nigeria was high because of practitioners' lack of experience. However, the values were still within the international best-practice range, which when optimized will go a long way toward reducing medical exposure without compromising image quality.

Lessons learned from 15-year of radionuclide bone scan in cancer context at Yaoundé General Hospital (Cameroon) (+ Running poster)

In our setting, patients come lately to cancer treatment centres. The introduction of radionuclide scan in 2004 has had a great contribution to the diagnosis of bone metastases. To take stock of fifteen years of bone exploration in cancer context in our setting. A 15-year retrospective study with 1278 patients who performed each a radionuclide bone scan for different cancers, from 2004 to 2019 in our national reference centre. All 99mTc-MDP bone scans were performed on a Siemens® gamma-camera with a low energy high-resolution collimator. Collected data were analysed using SPSS® software with significant P -value < 0.05. Ages ranged from 15 to 92 years with a mean of 55.9 ± 15.9 and a 1.34 sex ratio. The modal age group was 50 to 70 years (39.36%). The major cancers were prostate (49.68%), breast (31.77%) and cervix (5.16%) cancers. The average duration since the diagnosis of cancer was 25.7 months. Positive bone scans accounted for 40.77% and the presence of bone metastases revealed an unknown cancer in 9.79%. The main affected sites were chest (79.27%), spine (78.31%) and pelvis (71.01%). In 26.49% of positive cases, there was no clinical sign of bone disease. According to Soloway and SWOG's classifications, the prognosis was poor in 70.06% and 66.22%, respectively. Prostate cancer was the most pejorative and cervix cancer was the one with the best prognosis ( P = 0.0014). Bone metastases are present in almost half of cases of cancers, even in absence of clinical signs. Axial bones, mainly chest, spine and pelvis, are the preferential sites. Ten percent of cancers are revealed by bone metastases. In 2/3 of cases, the prognosis is pejorative, especially for prostate cancer. We recommend that clinicians become more aware of the systematic search of bone extension as soon as the cancer is diagnosed.

Paget’s Disease of Bone Affecting Site With Orthopedic Hardware

Introduction: Paget’s disease of bone is a focal disorder of accelerated bone remodeling which leads to bone hypertrophy, cortical expansion and abnormal bone architecture. Either a single bone (monostotic) or multiple bones (polyostotic) can be affected. Although it has been suggested to be caused by a chronic slow viral infection of the bone, a cause and effect relationship has not been clearly established. Therefore, the etiology of Paget’s disease remains an uncertain and controversial topic of discussion. Case Description: A 62-year-old African American male with a past medical history of a left tibial fracture presented with worsening left leg pain for the past 6 months. He denied any recent traumatic events, falls or strenuous physical activity. Since the pain started, his ambulation had been significantly affected requiring the use of a cane for gait stability. His left tibial fracture occurred over 20 years ago after landing on another person’s foot while playing basketball. It was surgically treated with intramedullary nailing and metal rod insertion into the canal of the tibia. Since then, he remained an active person with no physical limitations or ailments until the recent developments that brought him to clinic. A left leg CT-Scan ordered for evaluation of the tibial hardware revealed cortical thickening, marrow expansion and coarse trabeculae throughout the majority of the tibia consistent with Paget’s disease. The hardware was intact with no peri-hardware lucency to suggest loosening or infection. His laboratory workup showed a normal alkaline phosphatase level (94 U/L; normal range 40 - 115 U/L) and low 25-OH Vitamin D level of 14. A Radionuclide Bone Scan done for evaluation of location and extent of bone disease resulted in diffusely abnormal uptake present in the left tibia with no other locations of suspicious uptake. After his 25-OH Vitamin D levels were replenished, a dose of Zoledronic acid IV infusion was given with significant improvement of pain several months after. Discussion: Paget’s disease of bone is the second most common bone disease after osteoporosis. Affected skeletal sites develop a disorganized mosaic of woven and lamellar bone more susceptible to deformities and fractures than normal bone. It is often asymptomatic, but classical features include bone pain experienced either at rest or with motion, cutaneous erythema and warmth. The goal of medical therapy is to relieve symptoms and to prevent future complications with high potency bisphosphonates. Although it is well known that Paget’s disease increase the risk of fractures, this case brings up an interesting take about the possibility of fractures managed with hardware placement increasing the risk of Paget’s disease in the involved site.

Abstract PS14-02: A randomised phase IB/IIA study of CApecitabine plus Radium-223 in breast cancer patients with BONe metastases (CARBON) - Safety and preliminary efficacy findings

Abstract Background: Bone metastases (BMs) occur in approximately 70% of patients (pts) with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Despite significant advances in the management of BMs with bone-targeted agents and the associated reduction in skeletal-related events, there remains an unmet need for further treatment options to improve median overall survival beyond 2-3 years. Radium-223 [R] dichloride is an alpha-emitting radiopharmaceutical that is avidly taken up, like calcium, into the bone where it emits high-energy, short-range alpha-particles resulting in a targeted anti-tumour effect on BMs. Combining R with current systemic therapy could potentially enhance efficacy in MBC with BMs. Methods: CARBON is a UK, open-label, multi-centre phase IB/IIA study evaluating the combination of capecitabine [C] (1000mg/m2 bd days 4-17, 12x21 day cycles) with R 55kBq/kg day 1 given on a 6-weekly schedule in pts with BMs from MBC (+/- other sites of disease) with ≥2 bone lesions on radionuclide bone scan and/or ≥1 lesion confirmed on plain radiographs, CT or MRI. Other eligibility criteria included ECOG PS 0-2, ≤ 2 lines of chemotherapy for MBC and current use of a bisphosphonate / denosumab for ≥6 weeks. To establish the feasibility and safety of C+R the phase IB opened in August 2016 registering 6 pts; the primary endpoint was dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), defined as ≥grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicity lasting &amp;gt;48 hours or ≥grade 4 haematological toxicity lasting &amp;gt;7 days. Subsequently, between April 2017 and March 2019 28 pts were randomised (2:1) to C+R vs C in phase IIa to further characterise the safety profile, with frequency of CTC grade 3-4 toxicities and diarrhoea as primary endpoints. Preliminary evaluation of efficacy through assessment of bone turnover marker changes from baseline to end of cycle 5 and time to progression in bone and overall was made. Results: Baseline clinico-pathologic characteristics and prior treatments were well balanced between the arms; 13 C+R and 9 C pts had visceral metastases. There were 0 DLTs in the 6 phase IB pts, therefore the same C+R dose and schedule was studied in phase IIA. 2 pts randomised to C+R received C alone and are included in the C arm. The safety population consists of 34 pts (23 C+R, 11 C). Median number of cycles received was 8.5 (range 3-12) in C+R arm and 12 (range 1-12) in C arm. 38/307 (12%) treatment cycles were delayed (25 [13%] C+R arm, 13 [12%] C arm). 11 (48%) C+R and 6 (55%) C pts had a permanent C dose reduction. 94/95 (99%) prescribed R cycles were administered. 9 (39%) C+R and 9 (82%) C pts completed all 12 cycles. Other reasons for discontinuation were: progressive disease in 12 (52%) C+R and 0 in C pts; toxicity in 1 (4%) C+R and 1 (9%) C pt; clinician decision in 1 (9%) C pt; progressive disease and toxicity in 1 (4%) C+R pt. Only 25/575 (4%) reported AEs were grade 3-4 (n=21 in 11 [48%] C+R pts, n=4 in 4 [36%] C pts) with 0 episodes of grade 3-4 diarrhoea. Table 1 shows maximum grades of diarrhoea and haematological AEs experienced by arm. 18 SAEs occurred (n=11 in 8 C+R pts, n=7 in 2 C pts). 8 (44%) SAEs were grade 3 (C+R: 6, C: 2); none were related to diarrhoea. There were 0 SUSARs. Conclusion: In the first completed trial evaluating R with chemotherapy in MBC pts, the combination of C+R is safe and well-tolerated. Preliminary efficacy analyses including bone markers are ongoing and will be presented at the meeting. The creation of the data was supported in part by Bayer Plc and Yorkshire Cancer Research. Table 1: Maximum CTCAE grade (G) experienced - diarrhoea and haematological AEs.C+R (n=23)C (n=11)Not experiencedG1G2G3G4Not experiencedG1G2G3G4Diarrhoea7 (30%)14 (61%)2 (9%)006 (55%)4 (36%)1 (9%)00Neutropenia18 (78%)02 (9%)3 (13%)010 (91%)01 (9%)00Thrombocytopenia21 (91%)1 (4%)1 (4%)009 (82%)1 (9%)1 (9%)00Anaemia21 (91%)2 (9%)0008 (73%)1 (9%)2 (18%)00 Citation Format: Matthew Winter, Jessica Kendall, Sarah Brown, Emma Rathbone, Caroline Wilson, Sacha Howell, Chris Twelves, Carlo Palmieri, Anjana Anand, Iain MacPherson, Rob Coleman, Janet Brown. A randomised phase IB/IIA study of CApecitabine plus Radium-223 in breast cancer patients with BONe metastases (CARBON) - Safety and preliminary efficacy findings [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS14-02.

Influence of Age, Estrogen receptor (ER),Progesterone receptor (PR) and Epidermal growth factor -2 (HER-2) in Breast Carcinoma Patient in correlation with Radionuclide Bone Scan – Single Institute Based Experience

Background: Breast carcinoma is a common type of malignancy in women worldwide. Radionuclide bone scintigraphy is recognized choice of investigation for the detection of bone metastases both in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients. Biomarkers like Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), Human Epidermal growth factor -2 (HER-2) also play important role in the management and prognosis of breast cancer. The study was aimed to find out the relationship between the MDP bone scan findingsand hormone receptor and HER-2 status of breast carcinoma patients referred to the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Mitford, Dhaka.&#x0D; Patients and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted among 301 breast carcinoma patients between January 2018 and December 2019. Planar bone scan and SPECT (if needed) was done to all the patients after intravenous injection of 99mTc-MDP. Receptor status (ER, PR and HER-2) were documented from the patient’s medical records. Breast tumors were classified as (a) Triple positive- HER2-, ER-, and PR-positive) (b) Triple negative- HER2-, ER-, and PR-negative (c) Hormonereceptor (HR) positive (ER+/PR+) with HER-2 negative and d) HR negative (ER-/PR-) with HER-2 positive.Patients were broadly grouped according to age as A. less than 50 years (n = 59) and B. more than 50 (n = 260 ) years.&#x0D; Results: The mean age of the patients enrolled for this study was 59.02±9.3 with range of 32 to 81 years. Out of the 301 patients, positive bone scans were found in 105 (34.8%) and negative bone scan were found 196 (66.2%). Patients of group A (&lt;50years) with triple negative and HR+/HER-status had no bone or bone with visceral metastases. Triple positive subtype had 2 bone metastases, and HR-/HER-2+ subtype had 2 bone metastases and 1 had bone with visceral metastases. Group B (&gt; 50years) patients having HR+/HER2- receptor status showed 16% solitary metastases, 53.2% multiple metastases, 33.3% extensive bony metastases, 13.6% bone with visceral metastases. Triple negative subtype showed 36.0 % solitary metastases, 19.1% bone with visceral metastases. Triple positive subtype group had 40.0% solitary metastases, 34.0 % multiple metastases, 66.7% extensive bony metastases, and 13.6% bone with visceral metastases. HR-/HER-2+ subtype group had 8% solitary metastases, 12.8% multiple metastases, and 18.2 % bone metastases with visceral involvement Overall relationship between bone scan and hormone receptor subtype, showed that most of the patients had HR+/ HER-2-(35.2%) subtype and 25.6% patient had triple positive, 23.3% patient had triple negative and 15.9% patient had HR-/HER-2 – receptor subtype. This study showed the visceral involvement with bone metastases (13 % in HR+/HER-2- 52.2 % in triple negative, 13 % in triple positive, 21.7 % in HR-/HER-2+subtype). Highest bone only metastases (35) in triple positive and HR+/HER-2-(31) subtype. Most of the patiens who had bone metastases with visceral involvement belong to triple negative (52.2%) and HER-2 subtypes -HR-/HER-2+ (21.7%). The result was significant (P&lt;0.001).&#x0D; Conclusion: It is observed from this study that triple positive and HR+/HER-2- were more likely to develop bone metastases than triple negative and HR-/HER-2-. Patients with bone scan negative and HR-/HER-2- or triple negative receptor status most likely develop visceral metastases&#x0D; Bangladesh J. Nuclear Med. 22(2): 114-118, Jul 2019

Paget’s disease of bone: A clinical update

Paget's disease of bone (PDB) is a common destructive condition of bone that affects 1-2% of the population, most typically those over the age of 55 years. Itis usually asymptomatic. The aim of this article is to describe theclinical presentation, diagnosis and management of patients with PDB. Most cases of PDB are diagnosed incidentally on radiographs or as an isolated elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase. Symptomatic patients present with bone pain, fractures, arthritis and features of compression neuropathy. Diagnosis is made on the basis of typical radiological features on plain films, while a radionuclide bone scan may be used to assess the extent of disease. The mainstay of treatment for PDB is bisphosphonate therapy, with zoledronic acid being the most effective agent. Asingle infusion of zoledronic acid leads to a sustained reduction in bone pain and markers of bone turnover. However, bisphosphonates should be reserved for symptomatic patients, as treatment with these agents has been associated with an increase in rates of fracture in patients with asymptomatic PDB.

Usefulness of 18f-FDG PET-CT in Staging, Restaging, and Response Assessment in Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft-tissue sarcoma of childhood. Despite clinical advances, subsets of these patients continue to suffer high morbidity and mortality rates associated with their disease. Following the European guidelines for 18F-FDG PET and PET-CT imaging in pediatric oncology, the routine use of 18F-FDG PET-CT may be useful for patients affected by rhabdomyosarcoma, in staging, in the evaluation of response to therapy, and for restaging/detection of relapse. The European Pediatric Protocols are very old, and for staging and restaging, they recommend only radionuclide bone scan. The 18F-FDG PET-CT exam is listed as an optional investigation prescribed according to local availability and local protocols in the investigations panel required at the end of the treatment. We present two cases highlighting the usefulness of 18F-FDG PET-CT in managing pediatric patients affected by rhabdomyosarcoma, providing some bibliographic references.

Bone Scans Have Little Utility in the Evaluation of Well-Differentiated Cartilaginous Lesions of the Humerus.

In the humerus, pain is a poor guide for differentiating between benign enchondromas and malignant well-differentiated chondrosarcomas. Radionuclide bone scans often are used, and chondrosarcomas reliably show increased uptake. However, it remains to be seen whether enchondromas consistently have negative findings on bone scans, which would provide reliable differentiation from malignant lesions. Imaging and medical records were reviewed for patients who underwent radionuclide bone scans for enchondroma of the humerus at one academic medical center over a period of 7 years. Bivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association of bone scan results with the finding of endosteal scalloping on radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. During initial evaluation, 25 patients who had enchondroma of the humerus underwent radionuclide bone scans. No patients showed progression of lesions during an average follow-up of 69 weeks. On bone scan, 18 (72%) had significantly positive findings, 5 (20%) had mildly positive findings, and 2 (8%) had negative findings. Of the 22 patients who underwent MRI scans, 4 showed endosteal scalloping and none showed aggressive features. No statistically significant association was seen between significantly positive (P=.299) or mildly positive findings on bone scans (P=.810) and the finding of endosteal scalloping on radiographs or MRI scans. Enchondromas rarely showed negative findings on bone scans, and bone scan findings did not correlate with the findings on radiographs or MRI scans. The diagnosis of enchondroma can be made based on clinical and radiographic findings, and the added utility of bone scans does not justify their regular use. [Orthopedics. 2020;43(6):e498-e502.].

Abstract IA14: Linking heterogeneous data to enable knowledge discovery in health care

Abstract The vision of precision medicine relies on the linkage of large-scale clinical, molecular, environmental, and patient-generated datasets. Traditionally, diverse data streams have been analyzed independently, including the wealth of information captured in electronic health records (EHRs). However, to successfully leverage the volumes of data that can be used in health care, cross-modality integration is necessary. We have developed a clinical data warehouse for prostate cancer that integrates multiple data streams, from structured EHR data to imaging, state registries to patient-generated data, as well as the rich granular information contained in unstructured clinical narrative text. This rich, longitudinal dataset facilitates secondary data use and enhances observational research in oncology. We have developed advanced machine learning approaches to analyze these data. Our methods can accurately classify patients into clinical and pathologic stage groups and prognostic risk groups. These classifications can be used at point of care to guide optimal treatment pathways based on evidence-based guidelines (e.g., identify high-risk patients for whom a radionuclide bone scan is recommended). Furthermore, linking routinely collected patient surveys to EHRs reveals important differences in global physical and mental health between demographic and clinical subgroups. Giving clinicians visibility into these patient-reported outcomes can help personalize treatment pathways and may inform population health initiatives to support vulnerable groups. The granular health data we collect and link also provide population-based views into changes in treatment patterns and effects from policy changes, e.g., changes to PSA screening guidelines. The integration of diverse data streams presents unique technical, semantic, and ethical challenges; however, our work suggests that multimodal clinical data can significantly improve the performance of prediction algorithms and guide treatment decisions, powering knowledge discovery at the patient and population level. Citation Format: Tina Hernandez-Boussard. Linking heterogeneous data to enable knowledge discovery in health care [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Modernizing Population Sciences in the Digital Age; 2019 Feb 19-22; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(9 Suppl):Abstract nr IA14.