The aim of this study is to assess whether ultra-fast acquisition SPECT/CT (UF-SPECT/CT) can replace standard SPECT/CT (std-SPECT/CT) as "add-on" to whole-body bone scintigraphy (WB-BS) for the investigation of bone metastases. Consecutive cancer patients referred for WB-BS who underwent SPECT/CT in addition to WB-BS were included. Std-SPECT, UF-SPECT, and low-dose CT were performed (std-SPECT: matrix 128 × 128, zoom factor 1, 20 s/view, 32 views; UF-SPECT: identical parameters except for 10 s/view and 16 views, reducing the acquisition time from 11 to 3 min). A consensus diagnosis was reached by two observers for each set of images (WB-BS + standard SPECT/CT or WB-BS + UF-SPECT/CT) using a three-category evaluation scale: M0: no bone metastases; M1: bone metastases; and Me: equivocal findings.
Among the 104 included patients, most presented with prostate cancer (n = 71) or breast cancer (n = 28). Using WB-BS + std-SPECT/CT, 71 (68%) patients were classified as M0, 19 (18%) as M1, and 14 (14%) as Me. Excellent agreement was observed between WB-BS + std-SPECT/CT and WB-BS + UF-SPECT/CT using the three-category scale: kappa = 0.91 (95% CI 0.84-0.97). No difference in observer agreement between cancer types was detected. SPECT/CT provided a definitive classification in 90 of 104 cases in which WB-BS was not entirely diagnostic.
To investigate potential bone metastases, UF-SPECT/CT can be conducted as add-on to WB-BS to notably reduce the SPECT acquisition time without compromising diagnostic confidence.
EJNMMI research. 2017 Jan 05 [Epub]
Helle D Zacho, José A Biurrun Manresa, Ramune Aleksyniene, June A Ejlersen, Joan Fledelius, Henrik Bertelsen, Lars J Petersen
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Cancer Research Center, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark. ., Department of Health Science and Technology, Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark., Department of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Cancer Research Center, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark., Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, Regional Hospital West Jutland, Herning, Denmark.