Incidental Detection of Solitary Hepatic Metastasis by 99mTc-MDP and 18F-NaF PET/CT in a Patient With Osteosarcoma of the Tibia

18F-FDG PET/CT in the Management of Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of primary malignant bone tumor. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT is useful for staging, detecting recurrence, monitoring response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and predicting prognosis. Here, we review the clinical aspects of osteosarcoma management and assess the role of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, in particular with regard to pediatric and young adult patients.

Intensive Multimodal Therapy Combined With Long-term Temozolomide and Etoposide Treatment for Recurrent Osteosarcoma to the Liver and Stomach

The prognosis of patients with osteosarcoma recurring at extrapulmonary/extraosseous sites, especially those with unresectable tumors, is generally dismal due to high resistance to chemotherapy. The present study describes a pediatric patient with osteosarcoma recurring to the liver and stomach. Complete remission was achieved by long-term systemic chemotherapy with temozolomide+etoposide, local irradiation of the stomach, and radical surgical removal of multiple liver metastases following percutaneous transhepatic portal embolization. Second-line multimodal therapy, consisting of salvage chemotherapy and curative local treatment of metastases, may enhance disease-free survival of patients with osteosarcoma experiencing relapse to uncommon sites.

18F-Sodium Fluoride PET as a Diagnostic Modality for Metabolic, Autoimmune, and Osteogenic Bone Disorders: Cellular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications

In a healthy body, homeostatic actions of osteoclasts and osteoblasts maintain the integrity of the skeletal system. When cellular activities of osteoclasts and osteoblasts become abnormal, pathological bone conditions, such as osteoporosis, can occur. Traditional imaging modalities, such as radiographs, are insensitive to the early cellular changes that precede gross pathological findings, often leading to delayed disease diagnoses and suboptimal therapeutic strategies. ¹⁸F-sodium fluoride (¹⁸F-NaF)-positron emission tomography (PET) is an emerging imaging modality with the potential for early diagnosis and monitoring of bone diseases through the detection of subtle metabolic changes. Specifically, the dissociated ¹⁸F^- is incorporated into hydroxyapatite, and its uptake reflects osteoblastic activity and bone perfusion, allowing for the quantification of bone turnover. While ¹⁸F-NaF-PET has traditionally been used to detect metastatic bone disease, recent literature corroborates the use of ¹⁸F-NaF-PET in benign osseous conditions as well. In this review, we discuss the cellular mechanisms of ¹⁸F-NaF-PET and examine recent findings on its clinical application in diverse metabolic, autoimmune, and osteogenic bone disorders.

The clinical significance of incidental soft tissue uptake on whole body 18F-sodium fluoride bone PET-CT

¹⁸F-sodium fluoride (NaF) is a PET bone imaging agent and is commonly used in imaging patients with cancer; however, similar to technetium-99m medronic acid (^99mTc-MDP), it can be useful in the evaluation of benign bone and joint conditions. NaF is an excellent bone-seeking agent with high bone uptake due to rapid single-pass extraction. It has negligible plasma protein binding, rapid blood, renal clearance, high bone uptake and almost all NaF delivered is retained by bone after a single pass of blood; however, uptake of NaF can be observed in non-osseous structures such as the arterial vasculature, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary tract, and viscera. In this article, we present a spectrum of clinical cases with non-osseous NaF uptake in patients referred for cancer staging.

Long-lasting Intense Bone Tracer Activity at the Sites of Collagen Injection

Collagen injection has been used as dermal filler in plastic and cosmetic surgery. A technetium Tc methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy was performed in a 47-year-old woman as part of the breast cancer evaluation. The images showed intense methylene diphosphonate activity on both sides of the frontal head, where she received collagen injection 1 year prior. The activity was visualized again in all 3 follow-up bone scans over the subsequent 3 years.

Microcalcified Hepatic Metastases Incidentally Detected on F-18 NaF PET/CT in a Patient with Prostate Cancer

F-18 NaF PET/CT evaluation has gained importance in recent years. Achievements from F-18 NaF PET/CT are: higher sensitivity of positron imaging, higher target background ratio with higher tracer accumulation in bone hydroxyapatite and higher specificity through CT correlation. These properties have also given directions to new research fields based on imaging microcalcifications, very recently. A limited number of cases have reported the F-18 NaF uptake in macrocalcified soft tissue metastases. Although the presence of microcalcification was not proved; accumulation of F-18 NaF in the metastatic brain lesion with no visible calcification on the CT, in a patient with ductal breast carcinoma has also been reported. Herein we present a patient with microcalcified hepatic metastasis of prostate cancer incidentally detected on F-18 NaF PET/CT which was confirmed with histochemical staining.

18F-NaF PET/CT Images of Cardiac Metastasis From Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcomas are aggressive with a high incidence of recurrence and metastasis. Cardiac osteosarcoma metastasis is rare. We described a 17-year-old boy who had right distal femoral osteosarcoma with lung metastases. During follow-up, right ventricular (RV) metastasis was noted and confirmed by histopathological examination of the surgical specimen. F-NaF PET/CT was then arranged 1 month after debulking surgery for residual tumor survey. The images showed intense F-NaF uptake at RV region, suggestive of residual cardiac metastases.