What imaging studies are required?
Most patients with musculoskeletal tumors will undergo more than one type of imaging study. The various imaging studies provide complementary information. Below is a list of the imaging studies we use: • Plain radiograph (X-ray) shows the overall appearance of bone tumors. Experienced Orthopedic Oncologists and Skeletal Radiologists can predict the diagnosis of a bone tumor with the plain radiograph since most tumors have a “typical” appearance on x-ray. • Computed tomography (CT) is very useful because it reveals the fine details of bone lesions. • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) reveals details of normal and abnormal soft tissues. It is also good at determining the extent of tumors in inside of bones. • Bone scan (Bone scintigraphy or Nuclear Medicine) is a sensitive test of bone inflammation and can screen the entire skeleton at once. It is usually used to look for evidence of tumor spread to other bones. For the test, the patient is given an intravenous injection of a radiotracer
