What is an important bone scintigraphy test for cancer screening? What do you know?

 

'Golscintigraphy inspection' is an unfamiliar name for chewing gum, isn't it? What the hell kind of test is that? It is one of the important tests to determine if cancer has spread to the bones.

What is a bone scintigraphy test?

What is bone scintigraphy?

In short, it is a test that investigates the metabolic status of bones, such as bone resorption and bone formation. First, the drug that has the property of gathering in the bones is marked so that radiation is emitted, and then administered intravenously. And by taking radiation from the body with a special camera, you can observe the shape of the bones of the whole body. Because this drug gathers in places where bone metabolism or reaction is active, it is possible to check the place where the condition is changing with an image.

What diseases can a bone scintigraphy test detect?

Metastasis to bones of various cancers such as breast, prostate, and lung can be known. In addition to this, it is also used for diagnosis and scope confirmation of primordial bone tumors, acute osteomyelitis, and examination of fractures.

How is it different from x-ray examination (x-ray imaging)?

X-ray examination is suitable for looking at the shape of the bones. On the other hand, bone scintigraphy can examine the bone metabolism of the whole body and can detect fractures or lesions that do not change the shape of the bones. Therefore, bone abnormalities can be detected earlier than an X-ray examination. In particular, it is known to be useful for stress fractures and microfractures, which are difficult to diagnose by X-ray examination.

Please tell me about the inspection flow.

First, an intravenous injection of the radiopharmaceutical required for the test. The radiopharmaceuticals that are widely used in Korea are 99mTc-MDP and 99mTc-HMDP. After injection, wait 2-3 hours for the drug to accumulate in the bones. In addition, the drug is excreted with urine, so if there is urine remaining in the bladder, an accurate picture cannot be taken, so the test is performed immediately after finishing the toilet. After that, the whole body is taken, and there seems to be a lot of flow of injections in the morning and shooting in the afternoon.

Are there any precautions to be taken when taking the test?

You can eat breakfast or lunch as usual on the day of the test, but the drug administered during the test is excreted with urine, so drink more fluids than usual. Also, if you are pregnant or likely to be pregnant, or if you are lactating, you should apply to your doctor.

How long will the test take?

It usually takes about 30 minutes, depending on the content of the examination. Among them, it takes about 20 minutes to be immobile, so it is recommended that people who do not like tight spaces or have difficulty staying still, report it in advance.

Questions about the bone scintigraphy test

Are there any side effects of radiopharmaceuticals?

According to a 2015 report, the incidence of side effects is extremely low, 5 cases per 290,000 cases. The amount of drug used in this test is 1.5~2cc, which is about one-fifth of the contrast medium used in CT scan. Side effects are rare with this amount, and if it does occur, you can take the test with confidence because measures are taken quickly.

How much is the dose?

The exposure from radiopharmaceuticals used in this test is very small, about 2 mSv. This is known to be equivalent to the radiation dose received in the barium test above. In addition, since radioactive substances are excreted with urine and are lost over time, there is no need to worry about the effects of exposure on the body. Besides, we are exposed to about 2.4 mSv per year in the natural world just by living a normal life, so I think you can see just how small the amount of exposure from this test is.

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Bone scintigraphy can detect even small fractures that cannot be detected even on X-rays, so it was found that it is a useful test to check the metastasis of cancer to bone. Also, since the drug used is a radioactive drug, there are concerns about exposure and side effects, but since it does not have a major effect, it is said that there is no problem even if you take the test with confidence.