Radioisotope Bone Scanning Characteristics of Metastatic Skeletal Deposits of Prostatic Adenocarcinoma

Abstract
Radioisotopic bone scans and metastatic bone surveys were conducted on patients with endocrine-unresponsive prostatic adenocarcinoma undergoing multiple drug chemotherapy. Three types of bone scans were observed. Type I scans were characterized by asymmetric radioisotope activity and normal renal imaging. Type II was characterized by symmetrical skeletal uptake and faint or absent renal imaging. Type III showed symmetrical skeletal uptake with normal renal imaging and was interpreted as normal, although the bone surveys showed diffuse osteoblastic disease. The appearance of a type II scan was a grave prognostic indicator.