Abstract

Bone is the most common site for breast cancer metastasis, occurring in up to 85% of patients during the course of the disease. For a proper management, it is essential to have reliable and reproducible imaging methods that allow the early detection of metastatic disease and a correct response to therapy assessment. The case we present exemplifies the diagnostic utility of bone scintigraphy (BS) in the initial staging of breast carcinoma but also its limitations in assessing the response of the skeletal disease. On the other hand, ¹⁸F-FDG-PET/CT demonstrates a greater specificity categorizing post-treatment residual metastatic lesions, difficult to characterize by BS and CT studies, as well as a greater sensitivity for the detection of new lesions. 

Key Words: Bone scintigraphy, PET/CT, breast cancer, bone metastases.