Elsevier

Annals of Oncology

Volume 26, Issue 10, October 2015, Pages 2113-2118
Annals of Oncology

original articles
urogenital tumors
Prospective study evaluating the relative sensitivity of 18F-NaF PET/CT for detecting skeletal metastases from renal cell carcinoma in comparison to multidetector CT and 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy, using an adaptive trial design

https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdv289Get rights and content
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open access

Abstract

Background

The detection of occult bone metastases is a key factor in determining the management of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), especially when curative surgery is considered. This prospective study assessed the sensitivity of 18F-labelled sodium fluoride in conjunction with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-NaF PET/CT) for detecting RCC bone metastases, compared with conventional imaging by bone scintigraphy or CT.

Patients and methods

An adaptive two-stage trial design was utilized, which was stopped after the first stage due to statistical efficacy. Ten patients with stage IV RCC and bone metastases were imaged with 18F-NaF PET/CT and 99mTc-labelled methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) bone scintigraphy including pelvic single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Images were reported independently by experienced radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians using a 5-point scoring system.

Results

Seventy-seven lesions were diagnosed as malignant: 100% were identified by 18F-NaF PET/CT, 46% by CT and 29% by bone scintigraphy/SPECT. Standard-of-care imaging with CT and bone scintigraphy identified 65% of the metastases reported by 18F-NaF PET/CT. On an individual patient basis, 18F-NaF PET/CT detected more RCC metastases than 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy/SPECT or CT alone (P = 0.007). The metabolic volumes, mean and maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmean and SUVmax) of the malignant lesions were significantly greater than those of the benign lesions (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

18F-NaF PET/CT is significantly more sensitive at detecting RCC skeletal metastases than conventional bone scintigraphy or CT. The detection of occult bone metastases could greatly alter patient management, particularly in the context when standard-of-care imaging is negative for skeletal metastases.

Key words

renal cell carcinoma
bone metastases
18F-NaF PET/CT
99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy
computed tomography

Cited by (0)

Both authors contributed equally.