Bone scintigraphy in osteosarcoma: A single institution experience

Bone scintigraphy is a well-established method to evaluate for metastatic disease in osteosarcoma. We identified a patient who had a negative (cold) bone scan at skeletal relapse and consequently reviewed the frequency of cold scans in osteosarcoma at our institution. No cold scans were identified at diagnosis, and only 1 patient had a cold scan at skeletal recurrence. No correlation was identified between clinical outcomes and bone scan features, other than identification of metastatic disease. Patients with skeletal recurrence were all symptomatic, thus we suggest that bone scintigraphy is not indicated in routine postchemotherapy surveillance for patients with osteosarcoma.