A Bone Scan Is Valuable for Primary Staging of Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer in a Low-Resource Setting (Nigeria)

Objective There is a paucity of information on bone scanning for prostate cancer from low-resource countries. This study evaluated the role of bone scan in the primary staging of newly diagnosed prostate cancer in one such setting. Methods A retrospective analysis of 126 men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer undergoing an initial staging bone scan between January 2017 and December 2020 was carried out at a regional nuclear medicine center in Nigeria. Bone scan results were analyzed according to age, serum level of baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and Gleason score. Equivocal scans and patients with no Gleason score or baseline PSA were excluded from the analysis. p < 0.05 was said to be significant statistically. Results Of 111 patients (aged 38-84 years, median 66 years), who met the inclusion criteria, 26 (23%) men had evidence of bony metastases as shown by a positive bone scan. Higher PSA levels and Gleason scores were associated with an increased risk of a positive bone scan, p < 0.001. No patient with a PSA level < 20 ng/mL and a Gleason score of < 7 had a positive bone scan. Conclusion The role of bone scanning in staging newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients in Nigeria is consistent with global reports. Our study confirms that a bone scan finding is well associated with the risk classification using PSA and Gleason score in our population.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the bone scan results of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients in Nigeria and found a positive correlation between bone metastases and PSA levels and Gleason scores. No patients with PSA levels < 20 ng/mL and Gleason scores < 7 had bone metastases. The findings of this study are consistent with global reports.