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.