How is a bone scan done for cancer?
They inject it through a small tube (cannula) in a vein in your arm or back of your hand. It’s a small amount of radiation. You might have a test scan immediately after the injection, but normally you wait 2 to 3 hours while the radioactive tracer travels through the blood and collects in your bones.
What is a bone scan used to diagnose?
Bone scans are used primarily to detect the spread of metastatic cancer. Because cancer cells multiply rapidly, they will appear as a hot spot on a bone scan. This is due to the increased bone metabolism and bone repair in the area of the cancer cells.
What is a bone scan for cancer called?
A bone scan, also called bone scintigraphy, is an imaging test used to determine whether breast cancer has traveled to the bones. Advertisement.
Why does my oncologist want a bone scan?
A bone scan can also find changes in your bones much earlier than they might be noticed using a regular x-ray. Another reason your doctor might request a bone scan is if you have already been diagnosed with bone cancer. That’s because a bone scan can be used to monitor how well your bone cancer treatment is working.
What is 3 phase bone scan?
What is a Three Phase Bone Scan? A three phase bone scan is used to diagnose a fracture when it cannot be seen on an Xray. It is also used to diagnose bone infection, bone pain, osteomyelitis, as well as other bone diseases.
What is the most common indication for bone scan?
What are the generally accepted indications for a bone scan?
- occult fractures, stress fracture, shin splints;
- osteomyelitis, cellulitis or assessing response to treatment (e.g. antibiotics);
- arthritis, Paget’s disease, fractures from osteoporosis;
What can a bone scan detect?
A bone scan is an extremely sensitive test that can detect even minor abnormalities in bone metabolism. It is central to the investigation of bone cancers, including secondary ( metastatic) cancers. Among the conditions a bone scan can help diagnose, monitor, or characterize:
What is a bone scan for lung cancer?
More in Lung Cancer. A bone scan, also known as bone scintigraphy, is a nuclear imaging technique in which a small amount of radioactive material is injected into your vein to highlight areas of bone damage or disease.
How do bone scans work in nuclear medicine?
By using a bone scan, a nuclear medicine technologist can quickly pinpoint areas of damage on a specialized instrument called a gamma camera. The gamma camera is designed to capture patterns of internal radiation and translate them into a two-dimensional image.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a bone scan?
A bone scan has both its advantages and disadvantages. Among them: A bone scan will produce images that are far less detailed than a positron-emission tomography (PET) scan, but will also be far less costly. 2