Abstract
INTRODUCTION: (68)Ga labeled DOTA-Ibandronate ((68)Ga-DOTA-IBA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), is a novel bone-targeting imaging tracer and promising diagnostic method for bone metastases detection. Therefore, this study aimed to compare (68)Ga-DOTA-IBA PET/CT to the (99m)Tc-MDP whole-body bone scan (WBBS) for detecting bone metastases in breast cancer (BC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective study, 45 women with BC underwent imaging via (68)Ga-DOTA-IBA PET/CT and (99m)Tc-MDP WBBS. Clinical and demographic information as well as BC imaging features were recorded. The two methods were compared in terms of their detection rate for bone metastases and the number of lesions. RESULTS: The 45 women were aged 53.5 ± 11.0 years. The bone metastases detection rate with (68)Ga-DOTA-IBA PET/CT was 100% (45/45) and with (99m)Tc-MDP WBBS was 95.6% (43/45). A total of 546 bone metastases lesions were detected. The lesion detection rate using (68)Ga-DOTA-IBA PET/CT was 100% (546/546) and using (99m)Tc-MDP WBBS was 67.8% (370/546). More lesions were found at each site via (68)Ga-DOTA-IBA than via (99m)Tc-MDP WBBS. CONCLUSIONS: (68)Ga-DOTA-IBA PET/CT is a more sensitive method than (99m)Tc-MDP WBBS for assessing bone metastases in BC and may therefore represent a useful imaging technique for bone metastases, while offering a visual basis for (177)Lu-DOTA-IBA diagnosis and therapy response assessments for BC. Further validation using a broader study cohort is warranted to confirm these findings. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=170163, identifier ChiCTR2200064487.