Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2012 Jun;4(3):221-3.
doi: 10.4021/jocmr820w. Epub 2012 May 15.

The Super-scan and Flare Phenomena in a Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patient: A Case Report

Affiliations
Case Reports

The Super-scan and Flare Phenomena in a Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patient: A Case Report

Min-Chuan Lu et al. J Clin Med Res. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

A 26-year-old man with a history of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) presented with bone metastasis. Bone scan revealed diffuse skeletal metastases with superscan appearance. Afterward, radiotherapy for bone lesions was arranged and the effects were evaluated. The bone scan flare phenomenon appeared within a short time after radiotherapy. Diffuse bone metastasis, which is common in NPC, were indeterminate on images showing superscan pattern or flare.

Keywords: Flare phenomenon; Nasopharyngeal cancer; Superscan.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bone scan image reveals diffuse and increased uptake before radiotherapy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bone scan image reveals diffuse and increased uptake 3 months after radiotherapy.
Figure 3
Figure 3
PET scan image reveals “cold” lesions in areas which received radiotherapy.

References

    1. Liu MT, Hsieh CY, Chang TH, Lin JP, Huang CC, Wang AY. Prognostic factors affecting the outcome of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2003;33(10):501–508. - PubMed
    1. Ma BB, Chan AT. Systemic treatment strategies and therapeutic monitoring for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2006;6(3):383–394. - PubMed
    1. Love C, Din AS, Tomas MB, Kalapparambath TP, Palestro CJ. Radionuclide bone imaging: an illustrative review. Radiographics. 2003;23(2):341–358. - PubMed
    1. Pollen JJ, Witztum KF, Ashburn WL. The flare phenomenon on radionuclide bone scan in metastatic prostate cancer. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1984;142(4):773–776. - PubMed
    1. Hage WD, Aboulafia AJ, Aboulafia DM. Incidence, location, and diagnostic evaluation of metastatic bone disease. Orthop Clin North Am. 2000;31(4):515–528,vii. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources