Thallium-201 scintigraphy for the evaluation of tumor response to preoperative chemotherapy in patients with osteosarcoma Journal Article


Authors: Imbriaco, M.; Yeh, S. D. J.; Yeung, H.; Zhang, J.; Healey, J. H.; Meyers, P.; Huvos, A. G.; Larson, S. M.
Article Title: Thallium-201 scintigraphy for the evaluation of tumor response to preoperative chemotherapy in patients with osteosarcoma
Abstract: BACKGROUND. The degree of tumor necrosis after preoperative intravenous chemotherapy is likely to be an indicator of prognosis for patients with primary osteosarcoma. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of thallium-201 (Tl-201) scintigraphy in assessing response to chemotherapy in patients with osteosarcoma and to correlate the findings with the degree of tumor necrosis assessed histologically. METHODS. Twenty-four patients with biopsy-proven osteosarcoma underwent Tl201 imaging before and immediately after preoperative intravenous chemotherapy. The maximum pixel counts taken over the tumor divided by those taken of a background region yielded a tumor- to-background ratio. The percentage of change in the tumor-to-background ratio before and after chemotherapy, defined as the alteration ratio, was correlated with the percentage of tumor necrosis. The percentages of tumor necrosis were classified into 4 grades: Grade 1, <50%; Grade 2, 5089%; Grade 3, 90- 99%; Grade 4, 100%. RESULTS. Three patients with Grade 1 histologic response had an alteration ratio of 31% ± 4 (mean ± standard deviation). Three patients with Grade 2 response had an alteration ratio of 76% ± 9. Nine patients with Grade 3 response had an alteration ratio of 84% ± 11. Nine patients with Grade 4 response had an alteration ratio of 96% ± 5. These ratios correlated well with the histologic grades (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS. The results of this study suggest that Tl-201 scintigraphy is a powerful tool in the evaluation of tumor response to chemotherapy in patients with osteosarcoma.
Keywords: osteosarcoma; adolescent; adult; cancer chemotherapy; child; clinical article; school child; treatment outcome; bone neoplasms; child, preschool; cancer surgery; preoperative care; combined modality therapy; chemotherapy; scintiscanning; preoperative treatment; evaluation studies; thallium 201; scintigraphy; thallium radioisotopes; thallium-201; humans; human; male; female; priority journal; article
Journal Title: Cancer
Volume: 80
Issue: 8
ISSN: 0008-543X
Publisher: Wiley Blackwell  
Date Published: 1997-10-15
Start Page: 1507
End Page: 1512
Language: English
DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19971015)80:8<1507::aid-cncr19>3.0.co;2-9
PUBMED: 9338476
PROVIDER: scopus
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 17 March 2017 -- Source: Scopus
Altmetric
Citation Impact
BMJ Impact Analytics
MSK Authors
  1. Samuel D J Yeh
    107 Yeh
  2. Henry W D Yeung
    126 Yeung
  3. Steven M Larson
    959 Larson
  4. Paul Meyers
    311 Meyers
  5. John H Healey
    550 Healey
  6. Andrew G Huvos
    289 Huvos
  7. Jiaju   Zhang
    34 Zhang