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Superscan

Case contributed by Ian Bickle
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Patient with malignancy of unknown origin, with a CT scan suggestive of sclerotic bony metastatic disease.

Patient Data

Age: 65 years
Gender: Female
Nuclear medicine

Multiple sites of avid increased tracer uptake throughout the bony skeleton in keeping with metastases.

No tracer is evident in either kidney.

Superscan V normal ph...

Annotated image

Superscan V normal physiological uptake both cases of bony metastatic disease

Annotation of normal renal uptake and superscan for comparison.

 

Case Discussion

A superscan is a term given to the appearances on a nuclear bone scan, when bony uptake of Tc99m disphosponate is so profound that the usual physiological uptake observed in the kidneys is no longer apparent.

Although a superscan can occur in a broad range of conditions ,both malignant and metabolic, the vast majority are due to high volume bony metastatic disease.

The scan is 'super' in that the kidneys are not at all apparent as is normally the case.

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