Skeletal Metastases in Pancreatic Carcinoma: Study by Isotopic Bone Scanning

Abstract

A review of the literature of 2,155 reported patients with primary carcinoma of the pancreas, revealed 110 cases or 5% to have skeletal metastasis by radiographic or autopsy study. A study conducted over a 2 year period disclosed that 1 case of skeletal metastasis was detected by bone scanning in 16 patients with pancreatic carcinoma. This indicates a minimum skeletal metastasis rate of 6%. We feel these percentages are low and can be further defined by the more routine employment of the bone scan to evaluate patients with carcinoma of the pancreas. The true figure may be much higher, perhaps as high as 20%.

Radioisotope bone scans in the preoperative staging of hepatopancreatobiliary cancer

“…It can identify an alteration as small as 5–15 per cent in local bone homeostasis resulting from tumour involvement11, 12. The clinical value of routine preoperative bone scintigraphy before resection of hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancer is frequently discussed in the literature, but there are few supportive data8, 9, 13–16; no published study has evaluated the role of routine bone scanning in the preoperative staging of asymptomatic patients with HPB cancer. This prospective study evaluated a group of patients with HPB cancers who underwent bone scintigraphy as a part of a preoperative staging protocol.…”

Extensive periampullary carcinoma with scapula metastasis: a case report

“…Pancreatic cancer usually metastized to liver and peritoneal cavity and less common to lung, bone and brain [5,8] and less frequently to ovary, ureter and umbilical region, bony metastasis to appendicular skeleton is common but metastasis to scapular region is rare. There are few case reports in which cancer like lung, esophagus, colon, germ cell tumor develop metastasis to scapula [12][13][14][15].To the best of our knowledge there is only one abstract published in literature which reported isolated right scapula metastasis from ampullaryadenocarcinoma [16].Patients presented with metastasis, usually have one or more site of disease most common being the liver followed by peritoneum and lungs [17][18][19]. In present study, patient has liver as well as skeletal metastasis including scapular involvement.…”

Unusual Osteoblastic Metastases in the Spine Secondary to Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas

“…It is recommended by HATFIELD et al to routinely use the bone scan to evaluate patients with carcinoma of the pancreas based on a detection rate of 6% (9). Besides, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan is useful to determine the primary tumours because the primary carcinomas in 30% of patients cannot be identified when bone metastases are first diagnosed (10).…”