Scintigraphic patterns in certain primary malignant bone tumours.

The diagnosis of solitary bone lesions can be difficult. Skeletal scintigraphy has not achieved a major role for this purpose, being used primarily to determine the presence of metastatic disease. The scintigraphs of 52 patients, comprising 22 with osteogenic sarcoma, 16 with Ewing's sarcoma and 14 with chondrosarcoma, were reviewed. This comparison revealed that each tumour tends to be associated with a characteristic pattern permitting a particular diagnosis to be suggested, thus improving specificity and contributing to patient management.