Evaluation of Breast Cancer Metastasis to the bone Using 99mTc-MDP Bone Scintigraphy

Abstract

Bone Scintigraphy is the one of the most significant study for detection of early occurrence of cancer as well as revealing of early metastasis; therefore it has been used to evaluate the metastasis from the breast cancer to the general skeletal system and the relative biography among breast cancer women. The sample taken for this study consisted of one hundred and fifty (150) patients with age ranging between 25 to 90 years old, who were being scanned by gamma camera (Dual Head SPECT and whole body scanning, Manufactures:( Mediso Medical System) using 99mTc-MDP. The collected data from scanned patients and patient’s biography were analyzed by Excel software. The results showed that: the cancer incidence was so predominant at the left breast with a percentage of 50.7% relative to right breast while the incidence of bilateral breast cancer was very rare, and the common age of breast cancer incidence was between 40-55 years old which represent 33.3% and 24% in women with age range of 25-40 years old relative to rest ages groups. Also the study reveal that: the common regions of skeletal system where the cancer cells could be seeded to establish secondary tumors from the right breast cancer were lumbar vertebrae with a percentage of 26.7%, the dorsal vertebrae with a percentage of 14, the pelvic bone with a percentage of 10%, the cervical vertebrae with a percentage of 8.7%, the skull with a percentage of 7.3% and femur bone with percentage of 6.7%. While the common regions of secondaries from left breast were Lumbar vertebrae with a percentage of 22%, the dorsal vertebrae with a percentage of 19.3%, the pelvic bone with a percentage of 12.7%, the ribs with percentage of 11.3%, the cervical vertebrae with a percentage of 10.7% and the femur bone with a percentage of 10%. The results from right and left breast could deduce that a 56% of bone metastasis was occurred in patients who had left breast cancer. Also the study reveals that the most common regions targeted by migrated cancer cells were the vertebrae (Lumbar and dorsal vertebrae) then the pelvic bone and the ribs. The study also showed that the metastasis from right breast cancer to lung was greater relative to left breast cancer with a percentage of 2% and 1.3% respectively, which were encountered with late stages only. Regarding the cancer patients who were received external radiotherapy course, the study revealed that some of them who were categorized as stage II; in fact they have already circulatory system cancer spread which was not detected by bone scintigraphy during the clinical process, which in turn leading some patients to came back suffering of metastatic symptoms.