PREOPERATIVE AND FOLLOW-UP BONE SCANS IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY CARCINOMA OF BREAST

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 147  (5) , 745-748
Abstract
The role of preoperative and postoperative bone scans in patients with localized carcinoma of the breast was evaluated. The yield of positive preoperative scans in patients with Stages I and II disease is low and confounded by a relatively high percentage of false-positive results. Conversely, 16% of patients with Stage III disease had evidence of bony metastasis at the time of operation. Positive bone scans were found 3 times as frequently in patients with axillary node involvement than in those without. Thirty percent of those observed for varying times up to 41 mo. had evidence of bony metastases. There was a correlation with initial clinical staging with 3.6 to 8.0 times more conversions in patients with Stage II or III disease than in those with Stage I disease. It appears that the majority of metastases to the bone become apparent within the 1st year. This observation deserves further study to elaborate the natural history of metastatic carcinoma of the breast.

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