A prospective investigation of two different radionuclide imaging
techniques for the skeleton--technetium-99m phosphonate and gallium-67
citrate--was carried out prior to biopsy in fifty-five patients with
primary bone tumors of the extremities and limb girdles. The study showed
that the technetium-99m phosphonate scans were not useful in separating
benign from malignant lesions or in defining reliably the local extent of
malignant tumors. Gallium scans were more accurate in delineating the local
extent of malignant tumors and may provide better indentification of benign
tumors.