Positron emission tomography/computed tomography for bone tumors (Review)

A bibliometric analysis based on hotspots and frontier trends of positron emission tomography/computed tomography utility in bone and soft tissue sarcoma

Purpose

This study aimed to analyze articles on the diagnosis and treatment of bone and soft tissue sarcoma using positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) published in the last 13 years. The objective was to conduct a bibliometric analysis and identify the research hotspots and emerging trends.

Methods

Web of Science was used to search for articles on PET/CT diagnosis and treatment of bone and soft tissue sarcoma published from January 2010 to June 2023. CiteSpace was utilized to import data for bibliometric analysis.

Results

In total, 425 relevant publications were identified. Publications have maintained a relatively stable growth rate for the past 13 years. The USA has the highest number of published articles (139) and the highest centrality (0.35). The UDICE-French Research Universities group is the most influential institution. BYUN BH is a prominent contributor to this field. The Journal of Clinical Oncology has the highest impact factor in the field.

Conclusion

The clinical application of PET/CT is currently a research hotspot. Upcoming areas of study concentrate on the merging of PET/CT with advanced machine learning and/or alternative imaging methods, novel imaging substances, and the fusion of diagnosis and therapy. The use of PET/CT has progressively become a crucial element in the identification and management of sarcomas. To confirm its efficacy, there is a need for extensive, multicenter, prospective studies.

PET-CT for the diagnosis and treatment of primary musculoskeletal tumors in Chinese patients - experience from 255 patients in a single center

OBJECTIVE

The current study was carried out to assess the value of positron emission tomography (PET)/CT on the diagnosis and staging of primary musculoskeletal tumors.

METHODS

PET-CT test results and histopathological study reports of all the patients with primary musculoskeletal tumors in our department from January 2006 to July 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in these PET-CT reports were recorded and analyzed respectively for each type of sarcoma.

RESULTS

A total of 255 patients were included in the final analysis. Sensitivity of SUVmax based diagnosis was 96.6% for primary malignant osseous sarcomas and 91.2% for soft tissue sarcomas. SUVmax of high-grade osseous sarcomas (average 8.4 ± 5.5) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than low-grade osseous sarcomas (average 3.9 ± 1.8); based on current case series, SUVmax of high-grade soft tissue sarcomas (7.5 ± 5.1) was not significantly different (p = 0.229) from that of low-grade soft tissue sarcomas (5.3 ± 3.7). Significant decrease of SUVmax value after chemotherapy was associated with favorable prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma.

CONCLUSION

Results of the current study indicate that, the SUVmax based application of PET-CT can be a valuable supplementary method to histopathological tests regarding the diagnosis and staging of primary musculoskeletal sarcomas.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

SUVmax based application of PET-CT is a highly sensitive method in diagnosis of primary osseous and soft tissue sarcomas in Chinese patients.

Primary Ewing Sarcoma of Frontotemporal Bone in Geriatric Patient

BACKGROUND

Ewing sarcoma is a rare primary malignant bone tumor, which mainly affects children and adolescents. Calvarial bone involvement and its appearance in elderly patients are extremely rare.

CASE DESCRIPTION

We presented a 68-year-old female patient with headache and right frontotemporal swelling. Imaging studies showed a right frontotemporal mass expanding to the Sylvian fissure. The patient underwent total resection of the mass, and pathologic evaluation ensured the diagnosis of primary Ewing sarcoma. The patient had adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Prognosis and efficiency of treatment for primary Ewing sarcoma of skull are unclear in elderly patients because of the sarcoma's rare appearance. Therefore more clinical evaluation is necessary. This case is the oldest patient presented in the literature.

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography for osseous and soft tissue sarcomas: A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis

In order to elucidate the value of positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of osseous and soft tissue malignancies, two authors independently searched the PubMed, Medline, Elsevier, Embase and Cochrane Library databases for literature published between January 2003 and February 2016, using the key words 'PET/CT', 'positron emission tomography/computed tomography', 'osseous sarcoma', 'bone tumor', 'soft tissue sarcoma' and 'neoadjuvant', to identify prospective and retrospective studies on the applicability of PET/CT on the clinical diagnosis of bone and soft tissue lesions, and evaluation of their response to neoadjuvant therapies. Data were independently extracted by the two authors and any disagreements were resolved by a third author when necessary. Extracted data were analyzed by Meta-Disc 1.6 software. As a result, 16 trials with a total of 883 patients and 2,214 lesions were included in the present study. The overall diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT exhibited a sensitivity and specificity of 0.90 (0.86-0.92) and 0.89 (0.85-0.92), respectively, and the effect of neoadjuvant therapy was assessed with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.79 (0.30-0.93) and 0.79 (0.69-0.89), respectively. Thus, it may be concluded from the present study that PET/CT is a reliable imaging method to be applied in the diagnosis and treatment of osseous and soft tissue malignancies.

Can Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose PET Be Used As a Useful Method to Evaluate the Treatment Response to Neoadjuvant Therapy Combined With Sorafenib and Antivegf in Children Diagnosed With Metastatical Bone Sarcoma?

Background

The prognosis is still poor for patients with a metastatic bone tumor and new treatment approaches (anti-VEGF and tyrosine kinase inhibitors vs) are therefore needed.

Objectives

The aim of our study was to evaluate how the primary and metastatic lesions of our patients with a bone tumor were affected by these treatments and to determine the importance of the 18F-FDG PET method.

Patients and Methods

Twenty metastatic bone tumor cases were included. Sorafenib and anti-VEGF were added to the standard treatment in cases with widespread metastatic disease at diagnosis or after neoadjuvant chemotherapy showing less than 90% tumor necrosis in the surgical sample. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging was performed at diagnosis, the preoperative period following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, during postoperative follow-up, and when treatment was discontinued.

Results

The primary treatment region median SUVmax level decreased from 7.35 to 2.5 in the living patients (n = 16) while there was no significant decrease in the patients who succumbed to the disease (P < 0.001). Comparison of the pre- and post-treatment metastasis region median SUVmax levels in patients with metastatic involvement showed a decrease from 2.1 to 0 in the surviving patients but only from 4.8 to 3.2 in the deceased patients (P < 0.01). Survival results indicated that 28.6% of the patients receiving classical treatment only died while all the patients receiving additional sorafenib and anti-VEGF survived.

Conclusions

18F-PET may be a useful technique before and during the follow-up of neoadjuvant treatment in pediatric metastatic bone tumor patients. The addition of sorafenib and anti-VEGF to classical treatment has a favorable contribution to the response and therefore the survival duration.