Imaging Studies
Bone Scan
A bone scan is used to scan the bone to see if a tumor present and if so, the extent of the tumor. During the bone scan a special dye, Technetium 99, is injected into a vein and becomes a radioactive tracer.
Osteosarcoma typically absorbs a significant amount of the radioactive material, which is detected by a camera. The tumor will appear as a dark spot on the picture, indicating the area in which most of the radioactivity has been absorbed. The radioactive tracer can be followed throughout chemotherapy, showing the responsiveness of the tumor to the chemotherapy drugs.
Radionuclide bone scans are used for the detection of "skip" lesions and distant bone metastases. Skip lesions occur when there is more than one tumor in the same bone. Bone metastases are not the same as tumors that originally start in the bone. Bone metastases are cancer cells that have broken off from the original tumor and entered the bloodstream, finally settling into a distant bone. Bone metastases found on a bone scan should be confirmed with either an MRI, which is most common, or biopsy.
Osteosarcoma Online > Information for Patients > Just Diagnosed > Imaging Studies > Bone Scan
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