Sensitivity and specificity of nuclear medicines (DTPA and DMSA) with magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosing bone metastasis.

Abstract

Background: The frequency of bone metastases in individuals increases at advanced stages of cancer, mostly in patients suffering from lung, breast, or prostate cancer. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of bone metastases diagnosis of nuclear medicine, CT scan, and MRI in detecting bone metastases among patients with lung, breast, and prostate carcinoma.

Material and methods: Retrospective study design was adopted for the analysis of 120 recruited patients (with the presence of bone metastasis) following a series of examinations and tests.

Results: Better sensitivity (73.33%) and specificity (94.66%) for MRI as compared to SPECT. MRI also proved to be more sensitive (68%) and specific (95.74%), as compared to the findings of the CT scan.

Conclusions: The results conclude that MRI provided favorable diagnostic performance for bone metastasis. It emphasizes that diagnosis using MRI may enable practitioners to devise optimal carcinoma treatment strategies. The healthcare practitioners need to assess the MRI findings to determine improved treatment plans.