Casual discovery of Tc-99m MDP uptake for melanoma metastasis in soft tissue

Gastric 99mTc-Methylene Diphosphonate Accumulation in a Patient With Primary Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Melanoma

Unexpected extraosseous uptake is common on Tc-methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy, but accumulation by primary upper gastrointestinal tract malignant melanoma is rarely reported. The present case is a 58-year-old woman with a 10-day history of diffuse bone pain and weakness. Her bone scintigraphy showed unexpected diffuse gastric tracer uptake. Subsequent gastroscopy revealed a number of hyperpigmented lesions in the stomach and duodenal bulb. Malignant melanoma was confirmed by histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Because extensive physical examination failed to identify any other site of ocular and cutaneous melanoma, a diagnosis of primary upper gastrointestinal tract malignant melanoma was established.

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.

Metastatic pulmonary, gastric, and renal calcification demonstrated on bone scintigraphy in a patient with malignant melanoma and renal failure

PURPOSE

This case report describes the clinical, scintigraphic, and pathologic findings in a patient with an unexpected finding of a cutaneous malignant melanoma.

METHOD

Multiple imaging studies were done, as was a pathologic examination of a suspicious pigmented lesion on the patient's back.

RESULT

A Tc-99m MDP bone scan showed diffuse uptake in the skeleton, lungs, kidneys, and stomach.

CONCLUSION

Metastatic calcification, as shown by isotope scintigraphy, is an unusual manifestation of metastatic cancer from a primary cutaneous melanoma.